The last time I checked, I was a freshman all excited about starting the first chapter of my #roadtoperfectGPA life. Somewhere 2 years into the academic paper chase, many of us feel like we’ve been hit in the face by truckloads of negative thoughts as the spectre of impending unemployment looms.
Before you sign your soul away to the corporate world, we’ve done the homework to make sure your job isn’t just one with a rosy start – it’s one that can be rewarding in the long term as well. Here are the top jobs within the industries Infocomm Media, Health Sciences, Accounting, Marketing and Banking that will get even more rewarding in ~5-10 years. Because good things come to those who wait.
Salaries extracted from Kelly Service’s 2016 Singapore Salary Guide.
Source: @govtechsg
What the job entails: Understanding every aspect of computer programs, from running systems to latest software applications
Salary range: $4,000 – $12,000 per month
Could be your calling if you are: the curious kid always eager to take on challenges and finding solutions for them. It’s in you to analyse situations and design systems to meet the needs of it. You are quick to intervene when problems arise and of course, making sure the different pieces of your product fit like a puzzle.
What the job entails: Vulnerability scanning, configuring assessment tools, identifying relevant threats, gain commitment from stakeholders and project teams to implement security controls and conducting critical platform management
Salary range: $7,000 – $10,000 per month
Could be your calling if you: are that person who has trust issues with the internet. The world might have only just found out about Mark Zuckerberg putting tape over his webcam and microphone jacks, but you’ve been doing that long before. The internet is the world’s most powerful double-edged sword, and you see that as clear as day. Your job is building a firewall fort so strong, outsiders don’t even stand a chance hacking your company’s system.
What the job entails: Investigate, determine and manage quality non-conformances, maintain and ensure documentation and procedures meet ISO standards, as well as improve testing procedures of laboratory and management functions .
Salary range: $6,000 – $10,000 per month
Could be your calling if you are: the one who scores at What’s The Difference and have the dedication to lead a team of super on-the-ball minions with quick reflexes like you. Always alert, you pick out outliers in a split second and make sure all things run smooth according to plan. You not only demand great efficiency but always strive for to improve beyond status quo.
What the job entails: Overseeing quality management system set up, implementation, and maintenance based on regulatory requirements so healthcare products are safe and effective.
Salary range: $ 4,000 – $12,000 per month
Could be your calling if you: are the pharmaceutical genius who can tell apart the long names of medication many your friends mix up. You raise an eyebrow when your friend mentions taking antacand instead of antacid, or clorazil instead of colazal. You’ll have to be super on-the-ball to sieve out potentially problematic products in the production line – lives are at stake with even the smallest of mistakes.
What the job entails: You oversee your firm’s incoming finance and make sure all incoming and outgoing payments are received promptly.
Salary range: $6,500 – $8,000 per month
Could be your calling if you: are that super efficient class treasurer or THE math whiz who always sort out bills when your friends go out for dinner. You’re first in the line when it comes to paying but never fail to recoup your “investments” by being a pseudo-loanshark among your friends. Eh owe money pay money bro – and no one dares say no to you.
What the job entails: Strategically direct your company’s financial assets and predicting future expenditure plans.
Monthly salary range: $6,000 – $10,000 per month
Could be your calling if you: are meticulous, adventurous and an avid Wall Street Journal reader. You love challenges, have farsighted career goals and have an insatiable appetite for business expansion. Remember the time when your friends in accounting class struggled to balance their financial statements? You got them done in a snap and aced it anyway. – shrugs-
Source: @shopee_sg
Some of you might have rekt your bank accounts in September when Shopee had their 9/9 flash sale but that’s the result of a genius marketing team.
What the job entails: Driving online traffic to your company’s website, manage digital marketing campaigns to raise brand awareness and help the company stay relevant with digital marketing developments.
Salary range: $6,000 – $10,000 per month
Could be your calling if you: are a creative soul with a passion for social media and advertising. From photogenic flatlays to visually appealing website aesthetics, you need eye for design and creating interesting content. You’ll also work with media partners like The Smart Local to drive awareness for campaigns you’re running!
What the job entails: You’ll need an eye for detail for this position as you’ll be designing and developing financial application tools that facilitate and streamline digital transaction processes. You’ll have a real say in how millennials and generations after handle their money!
Salary range: $7,500 – $12,000 per month
Could be your calling if: you’re the master of cashless living. You live out what you do best: making heavy wallets a thing of the past. From Paypal and PayLah to Apple Pay, you develop tools that shrink finances to the convenience of everybody’s fingertips so they can now leave home with only a card or a smartphone. It’s like enabling the world to mimic the days when you turned up at exams with just a pen. That swag and convenience, but even more powerful.
What the job entails: Making sure what your company is doing is up to date with Singapore’s changing laws and not accidentally becoming criminals because “nobody noticed when Parliament passed that new law”.
Salary range: $5,000 – $10,000 per month
Could be your calling if you: did ALL your readings in uni. You keep up with the latest news and keep yourself updated on everything that’s happening. Or if you prefer, think of yourself as the “company policeman” who keeps everything in order. Under your close watch, loose funds won’t be misplaced nor will there be gold taps installed in private washrooms. #noshade
What the job entails: Authorising payments, risk management and implementing procedures to limit risks.
Salary range: $5,000 – $8,300 per month
Could be your calling if you are: SWIFT savvy. No, you won’t have to run as fast as Usain Bolt, but this job will require your brains to work no less quickly. SWIFT is an internationally-recognised code used for international wire transfers: think Carousell payment multiplied a gazillion times sent through the net – yeah, we’re so over Bond and agents with their suitcases stuffed with cash.
What the job entails: Assessing and improving the company’s business model, implement cost-effective solutions, analysing requirements and even driving or overseeing projects
Salary range: $4,000 – $10,835 per month
Could be your calling if you are: the Sherlock Holmes wannabe in your biz cohort. You love looking at things from an eagle’s eye, magnifying every nook and cranny to develop technical solutions to business problems.
Your evidence-gathering skills are FBI-worthy. You lay them neat like a deck of cards on the table, and conclude the strategic steps you need for any situation to: conquer, improve and turn things around. Every company needs someone with great foresight and you’re that trump card.
What the job entails: Develop software with Java, C++ or Ruby, design and integrate other data providers, and work with Linux/UNIX systems.
Salary range: $7,200 – $9,500 per month
Could be your calling if you are: a tech pro who is paranoid about losing your files. You’re the person your friends come crying to for help when their computer crashes, and you’re an early adopter who’s been telling everyone “the future’s in the cloud” for years. More than just a techie, your business side shines through when your expertise directs and powers more efficient systems for your company.
Whether you’re a freshie or a graduating student trying to get your thesis-writing life together without missing your meals, in one way or another: you can smell the anxiety of being a fresh grad resigned to kickstart working life with below-average pay. Anxious, you’ll want to immediately jump on board any attractive job offer.
Now that you know how managers – in any field – are crowned the best paid job anchors, you realise that the industry you dive into makes a whole lot of difference in the long run as well. After all, you wouldn’t want to be 35, strapped down by financial commitments thinking ‘what in the world was I thinking’ at the start of your career climb.
There are some high paying jobs here that most people wouldn’t have expected. The Infocomm Industry, for example, is a booming one and is quickly growing as one of the highest paying sectors in Singapore. And now that even your ahgong and ahma are starting to use apps like Uber and Grab, being in the tech industry is exciting – especially when we welcome a future of driverless cars.
One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is how the Infocomm sector is still seen as predominantly male. This is something that’s still most evident as in our universities, where courses like Computing see a comparatively low ratio of females to males. However, the landscape is changing rapidly.
It’s no longer the men who hold the key to fixing systems and generating complicated codes anymore. In this day and age, women all over the world are progressively empowered to pursue their passions and breaking away from their domesticated roles.
The triumph of these 8 Singaporean women who took the tech industry by storm and the fact that female-led startups gets 35% higher returns on investment is proof enough! No more will women be looked down upon in the world of tech. We’ve even got Facebook groups and events dedicated to helping the women of tech network.
Don’t let gender stereotypes from years ago hold you back from your dreams – doors are always open, as long as you have enough of an appetite and passion for the industry. Be a part of the tech revolution today – it might just be the greatest step forward you’ll thank yourself for in a couple of years time.
This post is part of an initiative to encourage diversity in the tech industry.
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