Private Uni Grads Earn 28% Less Than Public Uni Grads with Average Difference of $775

Growing up in an Asian family, it is inevitable for our parents to emphasise on the same things over and over again.

Study hard, get into a good school so you can get a good job.

But there’s just one thing…

What is considered “hard”? How good is “good”?

Some measure it with the results you get and the salary you bring home.

So there’s kind of a link between good results brings you high salary…

…which is not always the case.

But that your parents don’t tell you.

“Just get into a good uni lah”, they say.

“Which one?”

“Aiya, don’t know, get good job with good pay can already!”

“…”

Results

In the annual economic survey by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), it is found that graduates from Singapore’s autonomous universities (AUs) received starting salaries that were 28% more than their fellow peers from private education institutions (PEIs).

The AUs in the survey include: Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Singapore Institute of Technology, and Singapore Management University.

The study shows that the largest gap was among the humanities graduates, with AU graduates earning 39% more.

The least salary gap was seen among those in architecture and building as well as health sciences courses, standing at 11% and 12% respectively.

There were many different factors that were accounted for in the survey, such as the student’s year of enrolment and graduation, whether they studied part-time or full-time, their L1B4 score, which school they went and what they studied.

Other variables like income, age, gender, and housing type were also included.

On average, private uni graduates’ starting pay is $2,550 while public uni graduates’ starting pay is $3,325.

Do the maths and you’ll see that the difference is $775.

Lack of data

The study did not pinpoint the exact reasons that led to the difference, according to TODAYonline.

But it did suggest that it could be due to “differences in institutional and course quality, as well as employers’ perceptions of the degrees.”

In other words, it’s very subjective lah.

As the study only looked at starting wages, it claimed that it would also have to examine if the difference in wages would persist over a longer period of time.

Other factors

For those of you who might be thinking AUs is the way to go, here’s what the experts have to say:

Dr Sam Choon Yin, dean of the PSB Academy (PSB), felt that to measure a graduate’s ‘success’, other factors such as career progression and personal development should be considered.

Dr Sam said that PEI students appear to be “late bloomers”, as he stressed that society should not “perpetuate the flawed impression that PEI graduates deserve a lower starting salary than their peers from autonomous universities.”

He also warned that such misconceptions could lead to social exclusion, where graduates from public funded education institutions may see themselves as socially more superior to others.

Ms Jesline Wong, senior director of communications at Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), said that salary is “but one facet of a graduate’s employability”.

Such surveys might not have an accurate representation of the education landscape because of differing methodologies and response rates.

She said: “ Employers are also looking beyond qualifications and will choose the right candidate whether from AUs or PEIs.”

Long story short: there’s no way you’ll know which university and which course will bring you how much money you earn in the future.

And if you listen to those who are not doing anything related to what they studied, they’ll probably tell you to study something that you’ll love, instead of what your parents want you to.

In fact, here’s one very interesting takeaway: my boss apparently didn’t even remember what universities some of my colleagues graduated from (very often he’ll say, “Eh, you last time is SIM right? Oh, no ah, is NUS arh?). He just know their performance and that’s all that matters for him.

Welcome to adulthood.

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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Featured Image: TODAYonline