The topic of salary in the Singapore Technology market is a source of constant debate and evaluation, notably because it is such a fast moving sector which has changed dramatically in the last 2 years. As recruiters, we are regularly being asked ¡®what is the market rate for X or Y?¡¯ by candidates and clients alike. Whilst some clients may approach 3rd party consultancies for specially formulated data, I do genuinely believe a good recruitment agency is able to offer a reasonably accurate price guide if they are in tune with their market.
The fact is, in Singapore, offering an accurate answer seems no longer to be a science but an art. Due to the many layers that now exist within the technology landscape, it is a completely subjective process. Take the example of a mid level Java developer. It is largely the bread and butter of recruiters¡¯ requirement portfolio; it tends to be a fairly definable and predictable set of requirements and a good recruiter should be able to write the CV of typically suitable candidate, eg:
Computer Science Degree
5yrs+ structured OO development
Core Java / J2EE skills
Full SDLC exposure
Database skills
(One would hope good communication skills¡)
But what happens to the salary benchmarking process now? Singapore is increasingly becoming Asia¡¯s epicenter for on-line services development and many investment banks are building specialist development teams locally to provide globally distributed platforms. Will the average candidate who meet the criteria above squarely be the perfect fit? Absolutely not! Singapore is becoming more and more a haven for the rock star quality developer with salaries to match. To put this in context, I would say a typical salary benchmark for a Java developer would be $6-8K/month (which many may say is very competitive looking at Technology professionals generally). But in very recent times, we have seen your top quality talent being offered as much as $12-14K/month. This is an upper quartile salary by any standard, let alone for a hands-on developer. But the fact is, in terms of global significance, top developers should be offered this type of bounty salary. They are extremely talented individuals who are helping to shape and evolve the on-line products and services we use daily, increasing our quality of life and in the case of the banks, your top developers are helping to safeguard against a repeat of the GFC of 2008.
Put this also in context of Silicon Valley (or even Bangalore), where your rockstar developer could be offered a salary in the millions quite literally. If Singapore is to stand a chance of becoming a genuine hub for innovation, it has to be on par in terms of salaries to attract and retain talent.
But in spite of all this (and perhaps to the relief of HR and line managers who have their eye on rapidly evaporating budgets), as recruiters we need to be mindful of the inflationary effect of the themes above. There does seem to have crept into the psychology of the Technology jobseeker a magic ¡®20%¡¯, ie the de facto increment that any job seeker should look to achieve. I have to say, I contest this strongly. Again, the reason for moving job is completely subjective and appropriate pay increases should really be evaluated on a case by case basis. Granted, some candidates may well warrant a 20% pay increase (and in some cases more), but what about those who have moved jobs only 6 months prior and achieved the same lift? Really C where does it all end?! Just because someone has been made redundant or has fallen foul of some internal restructuring, it does not mean they are eligible for a pay increase in the next role they find.
I¡¯m am certainly not saying all candidates are like this, but we do have to combat irrational inflationary psychologies when considering appropriate salary expectations and focus more on the facts of the particular scenario. This has to be measured also against choosing the right employer in terms of opportunities, culture, learning and development potential, stability etc.
But one thing is for sure: The neat and tidy benchmarking of 5 years ago has definitely been blown out of the water by the innovation trend in Singapore. So whilst I side with the employer when it comes to unfounded salary expectations, if companies do want the best of the best, such talent will (and should) come at a price.
