Login

Advertisement

IN THE NEWS

University Graduates Have Median Pay of At

Least $2K More Than Non-Degree Holders
Hui Juan Neo ● 05 Dec 2022

If you can recall, we’ve recently published the latest salary guide for fresh
graduates.

Today, a survey found that university graduates in their 20s and 30s are
earning more than double those with secondary and lower education, as well
as those from the Institute of Technical Education.
1 comments
To be exact, we’re talking about the median salary, which is $4,200 per
Login
month.

Source: Tenor

We’re not talking about starting salary, but the median salary i.e. the income
in the middle after the workers are ranked by their income.

This figure is also 62 per cent higher than the median salary of diploma or A-
level qualification holders, at $2,600.

If you’re thinking of pursuing a degree after working in the field for a while or
this is part of your plan to upskill, this might be a signal…

TL;DR: Research Found Significant Earning Gaps

Between Degree Holders & Those Without

1 comments
 Login

In summary, the study’s first set of findings revealed:

There is an existing group of “young working poor”

Working conditions and opportunities:

35% of low-wage workers suffered job disruptions or quit during the

COVID-19 pandemic, and 19% experienced an income loss
75% of low-wage workers did not work remotely at all. compared to
41% of those with higher wages
10% of the respondents have more than one job
Of those with higher wages, 21% suffered job disruptions while 4%
saw an income loss
Those who are better educated are given opportunities and
experience more job security

Mental health: More low-wage workers have symptoms of anxiety, such

as having trouble sleeping or being particularly irritable, compared with
those earning higher wages.

Disclaimer: The research is still ongoing and we will update this article in due
1 comments
course.
 Login

Research on Young Working Adults in Singapore

Here’s some background, the research was led by Associate Professor Irene Ng
of the Social Work Department at the National University of Singapore,
alongside 18 other researchers.

This is the first nationally representative research on the young working poor
in Singapore.

To put things into context, 1,905 Singaporeans between the age of 21 and 38
years old and living in four-room or smaller Housing Development Board
(HDB) flats were interviewed about the challenges they faced at work, among
other things.

Before we move on, you will need to understand the definition of “low wage”
and “higher wage”.

According to the Ministry of Manpower, low-wage workers refer to those in the

bottom 20th percentile of wage earnings, which was $2,492 in June 2022;
Higher-wage workers refer to everyone earning above the 20th percentile.

The research’s wave 1 report indicated the following median salaries between
educational qualifications:

Secondary and Diploma and Degree and

ITE
below A-level above

Mean $2,221 $2,104 $2,829 $4,753

Median $2,000 1$2,000

comments $2,600 $4,200
Back to top
Login

Jobs Held By Young Working Adults

Similarly, the top five common jobs by the highest educational qualification
(in descending order):

Top 5 job in Secondary

Diploma and Degree and
descending and ITE
A-level above
order below

Administrative
1 Delivery riders Technicians and general Engineers
executives

Call centre
Administrative agents and Administrative
2 assistants and Delivery riders customer and general
clerks service executives
officers

Salespersons, Salespersons, Financial

Administrative
retail retail consultants
3 assistants and
assistants and assistants and and insurance
clerks
cashiers cashiers agents

Call centre
Financial
agents and Administrative
consultants Accountants
4 customer and general
and insurance and auditors
service executives
agents
officers

Call centre
agents and General
Security
5 customer Technicians managers
officers
service (unclassified)
officers

1 comments
For the uninitiated, just last week, the MOM reported that lower-income
Login
workers are seeing higher pay increments, due to support from tripartite
initiatives such as the Progressive Wage Model. Their income at the 20th
percentile rose 4.8% this year from 4.4% last year.

But when we look at the bigger picture, the real median income of employed
residents has increased to 2.1%, and at present, the gross median income is
$5,070 across all industries and ages. If we were to put away the differences in
sampling and demographics, the research figures among young working
adults do seem quite alarming because of qualification differences.

As Prof Ng described:

“We value paper qualifications a lot.”

“Why so,” you ask?

There’s no better explanation than 1what our Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence
comments
Wong said:
 “Singapore’s economy places too much of a premium on cognitive Login

abilities, and does not sufficiently value those engaging in “hands-on

and heart work” such as technical, service and community care roles
adding that this earnings gap increases over their lifetimes.”

Back to top

Impact on Lower-wage Young Working Adults

Source: Giphy

The gap between those with different qualifications will only be bigger if we
don’t close it up.

With various upskilling programmes such as SkillsFuture, or Work-Study

diplomas, one might think it’s easy to jump on a new training programme.

However, by the level of education, degree workers were found to have

attended more work training over the past 12 months, compared to those who
are not.

Overall, according to the report, the1 comments

lower-educated respondents had lower
decision latitude, faced monotonous tasks more frequently, and were much
less likely to attend employer-sponsored training.
Login

In terms of the working environment, 75% of low-wage workers who were

interviewed did not work remotely at all, as compared to 41% of those with
higher wages.

Furthermore, more low-wage workers have symptoms of anxiety, such as

having trouble sleeping or being particularly irritable, compared with those
earning higher wages.

As Prof Ng summed up:

“If we don’t deal with the challenges they face, they will become the
future poorest of the poor in need of government assistance.”

Back to top

Afterthoughts

“We must move away from preconceptions that academic success

should be prized above all others. Instead, we must respect those who
labour with their hands and hearts, and confer upon them the same
status as other paths.”
~Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister

To move towards creating a more balanced and equal society, we would have
to place more value on technical jobs or jobs in the services and community
1 comments
care sector.
It’s probably really the time to focus on work performance and not just paper
Login
qualifications.

What are your thoughts on these findings?

Share them with us on Seedly!

Advertisement

1 comments
 Login

About Hui Juan Neo

Personal finance is almost everything in life and it starts from the smallest details. I'm
a maven-connector and I enjoy sharing life and saving hacks!
You can contribute your thoughts like Hui Juan Neo here.

What are your thoughts?

KiH Goh 4h ago

Well written but no impact given the target audience.

🎉 Encourage KiH Goh by liking their first comment!

Reply Save Share 👍0

🔥 What's Popular
BLOG BLOG BLOG

GST Voucher 2022, Budget Treasury Bills (T-Bills) Best Fixed Deposit Rates
2022 Household Support Singapore Dec 2022 Guide: Singapore (6 Dec 2022): U
Package (HSP), Assu... Latest T-Bills I... OCBC, DBS,...
Ming Feng Nov 27, 2022 Justin Oh Dec 01, 2022 Joel Koh Dec 06,

1 comments
 Related Articles Login

CAREER
Uni Fresh Graduate Salary in CAREER EDUC
Singapore 2022 Guide Based on Fresh Graduates: Should You Accept a Can
Graduate E… Lower Starting Salary or Wait fo… Doe
Joel Koh ● 2mth ago Ming Feng ● 30mth ago M

Stay updated with the latest finance tips!

Subscribe

Receive bite-sized finance on Telegram here.

Advertisement

Company Product Reviews

About Credit Cards
Contact Online Brokerages
Careers Robo-Advisors
Privacy 1 comments
Crypto Exchanges
Terms Savings Accounts
 Broadband
Login
Remittance
Product Sitemap

Business
SeedlyBusiness
Advertise with Seedly

1 comments