Latest fresh poly graduate salary guide for 2022: Here's how much poly graduates are earning
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PUBLISHED ONJanuary 27, 2022 10:00 AMByJoel Koh
If you are a polytechnic graduate, potential polytechnic student or know someone in these two categories, listen up.
On Jan 13, 2022, the results of the 2021 Polytechnic Graduate Employment Survey (GES) were released.
This survey which was jointly conducted by Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic, showed that things are improving for fresh polytechnic graduates.
For example, a little over nine in 10 (92 per cent) polytechnic graduates managed to find jobs within six months after graduating or completing their National Service (NS) in 2021 — an almost five per cent increase from 87.4 per cent in 2020 when Singapore was struck by a recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Also, the median gross monthly salary for polytechnic graduates who secured permanent full-time jobs was $2,500 in 2021, up from $2,400 in 2020.
Well, you might be wondering how is this relevant.
Well, this article will equip you with the knowledge that will help you:
- Choose your polytechnic course as pay is one of the many factors you should consider. Other factors like your interest, aptitude for the course and the career prospects for course graduates should be considered as well.
- Manage your salary expectations before an interview
- Gain clarity about the situations of your peers and those that came before you
- RECOGNISE YOUR WORTH.
TL;DR — Latest poly graduates salary guide for 2022
| Course cluster | Fresh graduates | Post-NS graduates | All | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Arts, Design & Media | $2,200 | $2,000 | $2,100 | $2,400 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,200 | $2,100 | $2,200 |
| Built Environment | $2,300 | $2,230 | $2,350 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,550 | $2,300 | $2,345 | $2,400 |
| Business | $2,155 | $2,100 | $2,200 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,519 | $2,270 | $2,200 | $2,300 |
| Engineering | $2,350 | $2,300 | $2,400 | $2,550 | $2,500 | $2,700 | $2,470 | $2,450 | $2,500 |
| Health Sciences | $2,580 | $2,550 | $2,625 | $2,627 | $2,698 | $2,800 | $2,600 | $2,553 | $2,650 |
| Humanities & Social Sciences | $2,400 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,656 | $2,580 | $2,500 | $2,450 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Information & Digital Technologies | $2,300 | $2,300 | $2,500 | $2,600 | $2,600 | $2,700 | $2,450 | $2,500 | $2,600 |
| Sciences | $2,023 | $2,120 | $2,200 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,607 | $2,125 | $2,250 | $2,250 |
| Overall | $2,300 | $2,350 | $2,400 | $2,540 | $2,500 | $2,614 | $2,400 | $2,400 | $2,500 |
Source: Polytechnic Graduate Survey 2021
Polytechnic graduate employment survey 2021 methodology
The polytechnics managed to get 9,025 out of 11,928 or about 76 per cent of all polytechnic graduates who graduated in 2021 to respond to the survey.
In addition, the polytechnics managed to get 5,191 out of 8,875 or about 58 per cent of all graduates from the 2018 batch who completed their full-time NS training from April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021 to respond to the survey too.
In case you would like to know why the surveyors used the median gross monthly salary, here’s why:
- Mean: An average of the salaries
- Median: The 50th percentile, meaning the 'central' graduate amongst everyone.
Median is a more accurate reference as data of the salaries received are not symmetrically distributed.
Also, the Ministry of Manpower defines gross monthly salary as:
An important thing to note is that this guide is not a super exact be-all and end-all of what kind of salary a fresh polytechnic graduate should get.
But, it should still prove very helpful in negotiating your salary and help in your decision making when it comes to your studies and career.
Here are the results of the survey.
Poly graduates employment numbers 2019 — 2021
Here are the polytechnic graduate employment numbers for 2019 — 2021.
| Proportion of respondents in the labour force who were: |
Fresh graduates | Post-NS (PNS) graduates | Combined (Fresh & PNS) graduates | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Employed | 89.10 per cent | 85.40 per cent | 91.40 per cent | 94.10 per cent | 91.90 per cent | 94.20 per cent | 90.70 per cent | 87.40 per cent | 92.20 per cent |
| In Full-Time Permanent Employment |
56.60 per cent | 45.80 per cent | 56.00 per cent | 70.70 per cent | 65.50 per cent | 63.30 per cent | 61.10 per cent | 52.00 per cent | 58.10 per cent |
| Freelancing | 2.90 per cent | 2.80 per cent | 3.40 per cent | 6.70 per cent | 6.00 per cent | 7.80 per cent | 4.10 per cent | 3.80 per cent | 4.70 per cent |
| In Part- Time/Temporary Employment |
29.60 per cent | 36.80 per cent | 31.9 per cent (1) | 16.70 per cent | 20.40 per cent | 23.2 per cent (2) | 25.50 per cent | 31.60 per cent | 29.4 per cent (3) |
| In Part- Time/Temporary Employment (Voluntary) |
27.30 per cent | 32.80 per cent | 30.30 per cent | 14.60 per cent | 17.10 per cent | 20.90 per cent | 23.20 per cent | 27.90 per cent | 27.60 per cent |
| In Part- Time/Temporary Employment (Involuntary) |
2.30 per cent | 3.90 per cent | 1.60 per cent | 2.10 per cent | 3.30 per cent | 2.30 per cent | 2.30 per cent | 3.80 per cent | 1.80 per cent |
| Unemployed | 10.90 per cent | 14.60 per cent | 8.60 per cent | 5.90 per cent | 8.10 per cent | 5.80 per cent | 9.30 per cent | 12.60 per cent | 7.80 per cent |
| Unemployed but starting work soon or actively starting a business venture |
2.80 per cent | 3.40 per cent | 2.90 per cent | 1.40 per cent | 1.90 per cent | 1.40 per cent | 2.30 per cent | 2.90 per cent | 2.50 per cent |
| Unemployed and still looking for a job |
8.10 per cent | 11.20 per cent | 5.70 per cent | 4.60 per cent | 6.20 per cent | 4.40 per cent | 7.00 per cent | 9.60 per cent | 5.30 per cent |
| Median Gross Monthly Salary of those who are in Full-Time Permanent Employment |
$2,300 | $2,350 | $2,400 | $2,540 | $2,500 | $2,614 | $2,400 | $2,400 | $2,500 |
Source: Polytechnic Graduate Survey 2021
Note: The percentages may not add up due to rounding off.
(1) Of these, 2.0 per cent of respondents are on the SGUnited Traineeships Programme
(2) Of these, 2.7 per cent of respondents are on the SGUnited Traineeships Programme
(3) Of these, 2.2 per cent of respondents are on the SGUnited Traineeships Programme
Most notably, about half the polytechnic graduates in part-time/temporary employment were concurrently pursuing or preparing to begin further studies. This is consistent with the trend in previous years.
Poly Graduates Salary by Courses 2019 – 2021
| Course Cluster | Fresh Graduates | Post-NS Graduates | All | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Arts, Design & Media | $2,200 | $2,000 | $2,100 | $2,400 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,200 | $2,100 | $2,200 |
| Built Environment | $2,300 | $2,230 | $2,350 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,550 | $2,300 | $2,345 | $2,400 |
| Business | $2,155 | $2,100 | $2,200 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,519 | $2,270 | $2,200 | $2,300 |
| Engineering | $2,350 | $2,300 | $2,400 | $2,550 | $2,500 | $2,700 | $2,470 | $2,450 | $2,500 |
| Health Sciences | $2,580 | $2,550 | $2,625 | $2,627 | $2,698 | $2,800 | $2,600 | $2,553 | $2,650 |
| Humanities & Social Sciences | $2,400 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,656 | $2,580 | $2,500 | $2,450 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Information & Digital Technologies | $2,300 | $2,300 | $2,500 | $2,600 | $2,600 | $2,700 | $2,450 | $2,500 | $2,600 |
| Sciences | $2,023 | $2,120 | $2,200 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,607 | $2,125 | $2,250 | $2,250 |
| Overall | $2,300 | $2,350 | $2,400 | $2,540 | $2,500 | $2,614 | $2,400 | $2,400 | $2,500 |
Source: Polytechnic Graduate Survey 2021
With the Health Sciences and Information & Digital Technologies industry booming, it is little wonder that the median gross monthly salaries of graduates from these courses have been consistently higher than the overall median for all graduates.
Also, here are how the courses are classified:
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This article was first published in Seedly.