Computing, IT undergrads have highest pay expectations

Singapore undergraduates with computing and IT majors have the highest salary expectations among their counterparts.

In survey results released Wednesday, about 78 percent of them said they expected to earn above S$3,000 (US$2,396) per month for their first job. This was above the average of 64 percent of respondents overall across all faculties.

The annual study was part of the JobsCentral Employers of Choice Survey, which surveyed 2,213 undergraduates and fresh graduates online from local universities, between April and May this year. In 2011, the same survey reported only 55 percent of respondents demanded more than S$3,000 per month for their first job.

"The low unemployment rate and inflationary environment in Singapore has brought about higher wage expectations across the country. So it is not surprising that the fresh graduate market has followed this trend," says Lim Der Shing, CEO of JobsCentral Group.

The lowest expectations in 2012 came from Arts undergraduates and fresh graduates, with only 46.8 pecent of them expecting to earn more than S$3,000 per month.
Three out of four, or 75.5 percent, of fresh graduates expect their first promotion to occur within the first two years of their career. However, this percentage has actually been declining steadily over the last two years--from 76.2 percent in 2011, and 81.3 percent in 2010.

Google topples Apple to be the most popular employer
The survey also revealed that Google was the top choice as an employer for fresh graduates, with 38 percent of respondents voting for the technology giant. Apple, which was the winner for the last two years, slipped to third behind Singapore Airlines.
However, JobsCentral noted that the brightest minds--those who secured or are expecting to receive a first class honours degree or Summa cum Laude--voted for Apple as their employer of choice, leaving Barclays and Google tied at second place.