NUS Graduates Landing Strong in the Job Market
February 22, 2023
IN BRIEF | 10 min read
- NUS graduates continue to be highly in demand, and command competitive salaries, according to findings from the Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey 2022..
Fresh-faced and plunging straight into their first careers – these graduates from the Class of 2022 are poised and well-prepared for the hustle of the working world.
With degrees across diverse fields from Business, Computing, Engineering, Economics, to Life Sciences, they are ready to take on the world, drawing from a rigorous interdisciplinary education which has broadened their horizons and prepared them to be agile and adaptable, in a volatile and complex Industry 4.0 economy.
A Holistic Education Opens the Door to an Exciting Tech Career
Working in a large Cloud Computing company, Benjamin Fheng Guo Jing, who majored in Computer Science with a specialisation in Artificial Intelligence, plays an exciting role of harnessing his technical knowledge and expertise of the Cloud to assist tech and non-tech companies in improving their business effectiveness. Serving as a technical advisor to his clients, he applies his knowledge about the Cloud to design technical architectures and build cloud solutions of varying complexities – from machine learning to digital twins – to address technical challenges. He credited the rigorous Computer Science education at NUS for giving him a strong technical foundation for his work role, and added that the extracurricular activities he took part as a student had also equipped him with valuable soft skills and confidence that are paramount in helping him succeed at his role.
Beyond the classroom, Benjamin was an active student leader during his NUS days. He co-founded and served as the Vice President of the NUS Technopreneurship Society (StartIT) Club, and presided the Ridge View Residential College Student Committee as its Vice President.
NOC (NUS Overseas Colleges) Toronto was a key turning point in Benjamin’s NUS undergraduate journey. Immersing himself in the start-up ecosystem and working on projects with his NOC peers during the year-long programme in Toronto enabled him to pursue his interest in technopreneurship. Under the NOC programme, he studied technical start-up and product management courses at the University of Toronto, Canada, while working as a Software Engineer intern at Daisy Intelligence Corporation.
“I had always believed that the typical Computer Science graduate would inevitably follow the career path to become a Software Engineer. But through my NOC experience, I discovered so many other roles that I can explore which are better suited to my strengths, steering me to my chosen career today,” he said.
More than nine in 10 NUS fresh graduates secured employment within 6 months after final exams
- 93.9 per cent were employed within 6 months of completing their final exams.
- Another 2.7 per cent have either accepted a job offer pending commencement of duty or are actively starting a business venture.
- Fresh graduates from Dentistry, Engineering Science and Nursing (Honours) achieved 100 per cent employment, while 99.3 per cent of Accountancy (Honours) majors and 99.0 per cent of Real Estate majors secured jobs.
- More than nine in 10 fresh graduates from courses in Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Computing, Design and Engineering, Nursing and Science employed within six months of completing their final exams.
- More than nine in 10 graduates from Architecture, Law and Pharmacy employed after completing practical training, practical law course, pupillage, and pre-registration training.
Internship in France Paved her Pharma Career
During the third year of her undergraduate studies, NUS Life Sciences student Allaine Gallego was excited yet hesitant about the prospect of an internship in France with cosmetics giant L’Oreal as an Advanced Research intern. With the encouragement and guidance from her career advisor at the Centre for Future-ready Graduates, she nailed the internship which was supported by the France Excellence Internship Programme. She never looked back – having benefited immensely from the overseas learning experience where she even picked up some of the native language.
NUS has prepared Allaine well for her current job as a Medical Information Manager at Astellas Pharma, a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company. Fuelled by a deep passion for biomedical science and science research, she undertook the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme in Science offered by NUS Faculty of Science, as well as a second internship at Janssen Pharmaceutical, where she provided scientific and medical marketing support for brands, and gained a first-hand experience in the execution of medical education initiatives.
Benefiting from Dynamic Curriculum and Career Guidance
Landing a role in a fast-moving, multinational conglomerate is the ‘dream’ of many students – none less for NUS Business School graduate Josh Ng Zhi Hui. Thus, he was thrilled when he secured an internship with pharmaceutical company Proctor and Gamble (P&G) – thanks to the valuable support from the NUS BIZCareers Office in preparing him for the interviews and sprucing up his resume.
Josh now works full-time as a Product Supply Manager at P&G, where he leads supply chain and cross-functional teams in new product launches in Japan and Korea. His role at P&G has also provided him with good career development, and the opportunity to collaborate with teammates across the globe to solve business problems.
Josh credits the holistic and dynamic curriculum of the Business Administration (BBA) programme for keeping students like him abreast of current trends and staying adaptable in the competitive VUCA environment. He recounted that the case studies and lecture resources, which are dynamically updated based on the latest macro-economic developments, have taught him the importance of staying inquisitive and not remaining status quo.
Double Degree Graduate Clinches Investment Role
Rika Ogawa’s pursuit of her Real Estate and Business Administration double degree at the NUS Business School culminated on a high note, with her scoring the Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal for Best Graduate, and the honour of being named as Valedictorian for the Class of 2022.
She was also one of three outstanding graduating students of the NUS Bachelor of Science (Real Estate) to be accorded the inaugural WLI (Women’s Leadership Initiative) Singapore Commendation Award 2022 by the Urban Land Institute. Earlier on in her undergraduate studies, she netted the NUS Real Estate Scholarship in her freshman year.
“I participated in many projects as part of my undergraduate studies in Real Estate and Business Administration that nurtured skills such as confidence and team collaborations which are essential in my work,” said Rika, now an Investment Analyst at BlackRock Inc.
Rika added that the support she received from NUS Business School’s career advisory services was instrumental in her securing internships with organisations such as the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, and real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank. “I’m also thankful to my career counsellors for the practical guidance, such as job interview skills, which helped me land my current job.”
NUS graduates in full-time permanent employment continued to draw higher starting salaries
- Close to 13 per cent increase in the mean gross monthly salary of NUS fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment, which rose to S$4,808 in 2022 from S$4,258 in 2021.
- The median gross monthly salary of fresh graduates from NUS in full-time permanent employment also increased to S$4,300 in 2022, from S$3,850 in 2021.
- Graduates from 35 courses in Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Computing, Design and Engineering, Law, Nursing, Science, and Music achieved improvements in starting salaries.
Stronger Employment Prospects and Higher Starting Salaries for NUS graduates
NUS graduates continued to command high employment rates and earned higher starting salaries in 2022, as shown in the findings of the Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey 2022. NUS’ rigorous interdisciplinary university education equips its graduates with the necessary agility and adaptability to excel in their chosen careers.
Please click here for the press release.
5,554 out of a total of 7,430 full-time fresh NUS graduates from the Class of 2022, and 531 out of 824 follow-up NUS graduates, participated in the joint survey.
This story first appeared on NUSnews on 21 February 2023.