Highest paying jobs in Singapore 2023: Which industries pay 6-figure salaries?
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PUBLISHED ONMay 27, 2023 1:00 AMByJoanne Poh
I firmly believe that comparing ourselves to others is a pointless endeavour. Only tiger parents engage in that kind of toxic exercise. Yet here I am, writing this article about the highest-paying jobs in Singapore, one that is sure to give you a moment of panic…unless yours appears on the list.
That said, you don’t have to give up on your dreams and force yourself to apply for one of the jobs on this list. Not, that is, if your dream is to work in artificial intelligence. According to global job site Indeed, AI is the next big thing — with job postings for AI research fellows jumping nearly 60 per cent in five years and searches by job seekers for AI-related jobs jumping 150 per cent.
Taking a page from Morgan McKinley’s 2023 Salary Guide, we review what employees with 5 - 10 years of experience are being paid while working in a permanent role. This year, the guide compiles results from 3,860 professional and 636 employer/hiring manager respondents.
A brief overview of the highest-paying jobs in Singapore 2023
| Industry | Role | Top Salary (5-10 years’ experience) |
| Accounting | CFO / VP Finance | $250,000 |
| Banking & finance | Managing Director (Investment Banking) | $500,000 |
| HR | HR Director / Head of HR | $160,000 |
| Risk | Quant | $120,000 |
| Projects & change (financial services) | Programme Manager | $180,000 |
| Technology | Solution Architect / Pre Sales (Figures inclusive of OTE) | $150,000-$250,000 |
| Marketing | Vice-President/President/CxO (Technology) | $300,000 |
| Supply chain & procurement | Procurement/Purchasing Director | $120,000 |
| Sales | Director/Managing Director | $200,000 |
Highest paying jobs in Singapore 2023 by industry
Highest-paying jobs in accounting
Those G2000-clad accountants might look like they’re constantly in need of a shot of espresso (maybe 2), but hey, at least they’re earning more than you.
| Job | Annual salary |
| CFO / VP Finance | $250,000 |
| Finance Director | $180,000 |
| Internal Audit Director | $160,000 |
| Tax Director | $160,000 |
| Treasury Director / Treasurer | $160,000 |
| Financial Controller | $120,000 |
| Financial Planning and Analysis Director / Business Controller | $120,000 |
| Corporate Finance Manager / Director | $120,000 |
| Financial Planning and Analysis Manager | $100,000 |
Highest-paying jobs in banking & finance
There’s a reason so many fresh grads are anxious to work for banks, even with degrees in biology or sociology. For the warm fuzzies when they make big companies and high net worth individuals’ lives better, of course.
| Job | Annual salary |
| Managing Director (Investment Banking) | $500,000 |
| Managing Director (Private Equity) | $500,000 |
| Management Director (Private Banking) | $400,000 |
| Director (Private Equity) | $350,000 |
| Director (Investment Banking) | $300,000 |
| Executive Director (Private Banking) | $280,000 |
| VP (Private Equity) | $275,000 |
| VP (Investment Banking) | $250,000 |
| VP (Private Banking) | $160,000 |
| Associate (Private Equity) | $150,000 |
| AVP (Investment Banking) | $150,000 |
| COO / Head of Operations | $120,000 |
| AVP / Associate Director (Private Banking) | $100,000 |
Highest-paying jobs in HR
Despite the good work that they do, there remain some nasty misconceptions about the folks in the HR department. C’mon, they are the reason that you get your paycheque on time, or not.
| Job | Annual salary |
| HR Director / Head of HR | $160,000 |
| Head of C&B | $150,000 |
| Head of L&D | $150,000 |
| HR Business Partner | $120,000 |
| C&B Manager | $120,000 |
| Head of Talent Acquisition | $120,000 |
| HR Associate Director | $108,000 |
| HR Business Partner | $100,000 |
Highest-paying job in risk
Getting carpal tunnel syndrome is probably the biggest risk these people face at work, but all the same, some in this field are paid quite well for protecting other people’s money and business interests.
| Job | Annual salary |
| Quant | $120,000 |
Highest-paying jobs in projects & change (financial services)
Don’t be fooled by the tech start-up-sounding lingo. The highest earners in projects and change have sold out to work in the financial services industry.
| Job | Annual salary |
| Programme Manager | $180,000 |
| Lean Six Sigma/Operational Excellence Expert | $175,000 |
| Strategy Consulting | $150,000 |
| Business Transformation | $150,000 |
| Agile Coach | $120,000 |
| Project Manager | $120,000 |
| Digital Project Management | $120,000 |
| Change Manager | $120,000 |
| Business Process Improvement Manager | $120,000 |
| Senior Business Analyst (Financial Services) | $100,000 |
| Process Analyst (Financial Services) | $100,000 |
Highest-paying jobs in technology
If you are over 35, tough luck — your parents who bugged you to become a doctor or lawyer could never have known that IT would become one of the highest-paying industries of the 2020s. That said, it’s never too late for a job switch. Lifelong learning, right?
| Job | Annual salary |
| Cyber Security, Governance and Audit in IT | |
| Cyber Presales | $100,000-$250,000 |
| Technology Risk & Governance | $100,000-$160,000 |
| IT Audit | $100,000-$160,000 |
| IT Security | $100,000-$160,000 |
| Security Project / Program Manager | $100,000-$160,000 |
| Cyber Security Engineering | $90,000-$130,000 |
| Cyber Threat Intelligence | $90,000-$120,000 |
| Cyber Security Analytics | $90,000-$120,000 |
| DevSecOps | $90,000-$150,000 |
| Cyber Security Operation | $80,000-$110,000 |
| Chief Information Security Officer | $80,000-$110,000 |
| Sales, Pre-Sales – Vendor, System Integrator, FinTech, and Telecommunications | |
| Solution Architect / Pre Sales (Figures inclusive of OTE) | $150,000-$250,000 |
| Business Development (Figures inclusive of OTE) | $120,000-$250,000 |
| PreSales (Fintech) | $150,000-$180,000 |
| Inside Sales (Figures inclusive of OTE) | $120,000-$180,000 |
| Channel Sales (Figures inclusive of OTE) | $120,000-$180,000 |
| Direct Sales (Figures inclusive of OTE) | $100,000-$250,000 |
| Account Management | $90,000-$200,000 |
| Infrastructure in Technology, Telecommunications & Fintech | |
| Cloud | $80,000-$130,000 |
| DevOps | $80,000-$130,000 |
| Network (Data/Voice/Firewall) | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Project Management | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Servers (Unix/Linus/Wintel) | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Storage | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Network (Data/Voice/Firewall) | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Data Centre | $80,000-$100,000 |
| Database | $80,000-$100,000 |
| End-User Computing (Desktop/Messaging/Collaboration) | $80,000-$100,000 |
| Infrastructure in Banking & Financial Services | |
| End-User computing (Desktop/Messaging/Collaboration) | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Network (Data/Voice/Firewall) | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Storage | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Database | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Middleware | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Servers (Unix/Linux/Wintel) | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Data Centre | $80,000-$120,000 |
| Cloud Engineer/Architect | $100,000-$120,000 |
| Infrastructure Project Management | $100,000-$120,000 |
| Technical Infrastructure Architecture | $100,000-$120,000 |
| DevOps | $80,000-$130,000 |
| ITIL Process Owner (Incident/Problem/Change/etc) | $80,000-$100,000 |
| Development and Testing in Banking & Financial Services | |
| C++ Developer | $65,000-$100,000 |
| Java Developer (Server side & Front End) | $65,000-$100,000 |
| C#/.net Developer (Server Side & Front End) | $65,000-$100,000 |
| Full Stack Engineer/Developer | $65,000-$100,000 |
| Technical Lead | $90,000-$120,000 |
| Development Lead/Manager | $90,000-$120,000 |
| Application Support in Banking & Financial Services | |
| Trader Support (FO) (Application) | $75,000-$100,000 |
| Head of Application Support (FO) | $75,000-$100,000 |
| Level 3 Technical Support | $70,000-$100,000 |
Highest-paying jobs in marketing
Marketing grads are thought of as the underachievers of business school, but guess what, marketing can be quite lucrative in certain industries, especially if you’re a digital marketing specialist.
| Job | Annual salary |
| Vice-President/President/CxO (Technology) | $300,000 |
| Marketing Director/Senior Director (Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices) | $220,000 |
| Marketing Director / Senior Director (Consumer Goods) | $180,000 |
| Regional Head of Marketing/Director/Executive Director (Banking & Financial Services) | $180,000 |
| Associate Director/Director (Technology) | $160,000 |
| E-Commerce VP/Director (Digital Marketing) | $180,000 |
| Marketing Director/Senior Director (Consumer Goods) | $180,000 |
| Digital Marketing Director (Digital Marketing) | $160,000 |
| Associate Marketing Director (Consumer Goods) | $160,000 |
| Associate Marketing Director (Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices) | $160,000 |
| Head of Marketing/VP/SVP (Banking & Financial Services) | $150,000 |
| Head of Marketing/Communications (Technology) | $120,000 |
| SEO Director/Lead (Digital Marketing) | $120,000 |
| Head of Content/Director (Digital Marketing) | $120,000 |
| Marketing Manager (Consumer Goods) | $120,000 |
| Trade Marketing Director (Consumer Goods) | $120,000 |
Highest-paying jobs in supply chain & procurement
These behind-the-scenes employees are seldom seen by consumers, but the highest-level posts actually pay quite well.
| Job | Annual salary |
| Procurement/Purchasing Director | $120,000 |
| Supply Chain Director | $120,000 |
Highest-paying jobs in sales
Salespeople are some of the biggest hustlers in the working world. Given the salaries and commissions involved, it’s not hard to see why.
| Job | Annual salary |
| Director/Managing Director | $200,000 |
| Account Director (Regional/Global) | $200,000 |
| Head of Strategic Partnerships | $150,000 |
| Category Director | $150,000 |
| Country General Manager/Commercial Director | $180,000 |
| Head of Sales/Business Development Director | $150,000 |
| Business Manager/Business Unit Head | $120,000 |
| Business Development Manager | $100,000 |
| National Sales Manager | $100,000 |
ALSO READ: Up to $8,500 for junior staff: Salaries of software engineers in Singapore hit record high
This article was first published in MoneySmart.