SUTD Sustains Trend of High Overall Employment Rates and Starting Salaries for the Third Year

22 Mar 2018
  • Overall employment rate remains over 90.0%, similar to 2016

  • A 3.5-percentage point increase in full-time permanent employment rate1 for engineering graduates compared to 2016

  • Median gross monthly salary of $3,700 for SUTD fresh graduates in 2017, an increase of 1.4 percent compared to 2016

The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) continues to maintain high overall employment ratesand starting salaries for its graduates for the third year. The results from the latest Graduate Employment Survey revealed that more than nine in 10 SUTD fresh graduates were employed within six months of completing their final examinations, with overall employment rate increasing by 0.4 percentage points, from 91.0% in 2016 to 91.4% in 2017.  In addition, around 3% of economically active graduates had accepted job offers but had yet to start work at the time of the survey. 86.2% of our graduates secured full-time permanent employment in 2017, an increase from 84.0% in 2016. In particular for engineering graduates, the full-time permanent employment rate was 89.6% in 2017, a 3.5 percentage point increase compared to 2016.  
 
The mean gross monthly salary3 among SUTD’s fresh graduates employed in full-time permanent employment remained consistently high, at $3,859 in 2017 compared to $3,853 in 2016. The median gross monthly salary for fresh graduates employed in full-time permanent employment was $3,700 in 2017, compared to $3,650 in 2016. Some of the top hiring sectors include Information & Communication, Scientific Research & Development and Financial & Insurance. For example, graduates from SUTD’s Information Systems Technology and Design pillar also achieved 100% full-time employment rate and their median salary increased to over $4,000.

228 out of SUTD’s third cohort of 267 fresh graduates participated in the survey which took place from mid-February to March 2018. 
 
Professor Chong Tow Chong, SUTD’s Acting President and Provost, said: “SUTD students have been carefully nurtured within SUTD’s multi-disciplinary technology and design ecosystem to hone their critical thinking and problem solving skills. By equipping every student with industry experience through internships, coupled with overseas exposure to provide them with a global perspective, SUTD graduates are industry-, region- and future-ready. We are pleased that for the third consecutive year, employers continue to recognise these invaluable qualities, and our graduates continue to enjoy a high employment rate and starting salary.”
 

  1. Full-time permanent employment refers to employment of at least 35 hours a week and where the employment is not temporary. It includes those on contracts of one year or more.

  2. The overall employment rate refers to the number of employed graduates working in full-time permanent, part-time, temporary and freelance employment,as a proportion of graduates in the labour force (i.e. those who were working or not working but actively looking and available for work), approximately 6 months after completion of final examinations.

  3. Gross monthly salary comprises the basic salary, overtime payments, commissions, fixed allowances, and other regular cash payments, before deduction of the employee’s CPF contributions and personal income tax. Employer’s CPF contributions, bonuses, stock options, other lump sum payments, and payments-in-kind are excluded.