Higher starting salaries for SIT class of 2023, with tech graduates earning the most

SINGAPORE – Recent graduates from the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) received higher starting salaries in 2023, but fewer of them were able to find jobs after graduation.

Results from the latest graduate employment survey, released by SIT on September 12, show that people in full-time permanent employment earned an average gross monthly salary of $4,000 in 2023, up from $3,950 in 2022.

This is the highest average gross monthly salary ever reported for SIT graduates.

But the latest figures also showed a decline in employment: in 2023, 81.4 percent of graduates had a full-time permanent job, compared to 86.6 percent in 2022.

In total, 88.5 percent of graduates found work, including part-time and freelance work. This is down from 91.6 percent in 2022.

These figures were released in the annual Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey, which was conducted by SIT between March 1 and May 20, 2024.

Of the 2,412 graduates of the SIT class of 2023, 78 percent, or 1,881 graduates, participated in the survey.

The research results for other autonomous universities were announced earlier in 2024, due to their different academic calendars.

In 2023, recent graduates from the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University and Singapore University of Social Sciences enjoyed higher salaries than in the previous three years, with a median gross salary of $4,313.

Similar to SIT’s results, fewer graduates found full-time or part-time employment: only 84.1 percent of graduates were able to secure full-time permanent employment in 2023, compared to 87.5 percent in 2022.

In total, 89.6 percent of 2023 graduates found work, including part-time and freelance work, within six months of graduating, down from 93.8 percent in 2022.

Graduates from SIT’s health and social sciences programs – specifically diagnostic radiography, dietetics and nutrition, and occupational therapy graduates – all found employment within six months of graduation. Those from the dietetics and nutrition degree programs have been the trailblazers since the course began in 2019.