'What they told me kind of shocked me': Singaporean compares fresh-grad salaries with Taiwan's

Salary may be a sensitive topic for many in the workforce, especially at a time when we're navigating high inflation and cost of living. 

We've read about how some fresh graduates in Singapore expect their starting salaries to be between $5,000 and $10,000. 

One Singaporean content creator, however, shared that fresh graduates in "office jobs" in Taiwan earn around S$1,300 – a modest amount compared to here.

In a 129-second TikTok clip posted on Tuesday (Aug 29), Zachary Tan, or Zac, shared how much a fresh graduate in Taiwan earns on average, excluding people from the finance and engineering industries, which tend to command a higher salary in general.

@heys2ach When i told them our fresh grad salaries, their jaw literally dropped #hustleculture #worklifeproblems #freshgrad ♬ Aesthetic - Tollan Kim

"What they (the interviewees) told me actually kind of shocked me," said Zac while highlighting that Taiwan is a developed country. 

While the starting salary is low, Zac also pointed out that the cost of living in Taiwan is low as well. For instance, he noted that university tuition fees for a semester in Taiwan are below S$1,000, while in Singapore, they can range anywhere from $6,000 to $7,000.

For context, he compared how much a fresh graduate in Singapore who does marketing would earn, giving a ballpark figure of $3,500 to $4,000. 

That said, he also understood that it's not an "apple-to-apple comparison" considering the differences between Taiwan's and Singapore's median incomes.

Speaking to AsiaOne, Zachary tells us more from his encounters with Taiwanese fresh graduates. 

"Some were from the hotel industry, one was in a big construction company. Some are doing secretarial work. None of them I talked to were from high-paying industries like finance.

"One said that their salary is actually sufficient for them to live life in Taiwan. Almost all don't stay in the city area as houses are very expensive. They stay in the outskirts and then travel to Taipei for work," he said.

Others chimed in with their perspectives

Netizens also gave their two cents in the comments section.

One user pointed out that the admission rates of Taiwan universities are lax. 

Others echoed Zac's observations, emphasising the overall affordability of living in Taiwan.

Another user remarked that Singapore fresh graduates in marketing typically earn between $2,500 and $3,000. 

While one pointed out that earning $4,000 as a marketing graduate is tough unless you're working for big tech companies. 

Online sources indicate that starting salaries for marketing positions in Singapore typically range from $2,300 to $2,500.

Zac's observations ring true. According to Taiwan media, university graduates typically begin their careers with a monthly starting salary as low as NT$22,000.

A 2015 study showed that the median monthly salary for employees in listed companies was NT$51,000. 

In contrast, employees in non-listed, typically smaller companies earned a median monthly salary of NT$33,000. 

Companies with fewer than 10 employees had a median monthly salary below NT$30,000, while those with more than 100 workers reported a median monthly salary exceeding NT$40,000.

ALSO READ: '$20k to $30k would be good': Some people share how much salary they think is needed to live comfortably in Singapore

venkat.gunasellan@asiaone.com

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