SINGAPORE — Flying instructors have emerged as Singapore’s top earners — at least by median gross monthly salary, which stands at an impressive $20,000.
Following closely behind are foreign exchange brokers, who pull in a median pay of $19,750, and in-house legal counsel, who earn $17,972.
The salary data is revealed in the latest Occupational Wage Survey released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in August.
Conducted from July to December 2024, the survey covers a representative sample of 407,800 full-time resident employees from private sector companies with at least 25 employees each.
Public sector employees are excluded from the survey, so the salaries of roles such as air force flying instructor and in-house lawyer in the judiciary and ministries are not reflected.
Bus attendants, civil engineering and building construction labourers, and laundry and dry cleaning workers are among those earning the lowest median salaries, ranging from $1,400 to $1,560.
The MOM data also shows the pay for each occupation at the 25th and 75th percentiles — unless the sample size for certain niche roles is too small.
At the 75th percentile, flying instructors still take home the most handsome pay cheque at $30,000. However, those at the 25th percentile are earning $8,050, making this the profession with the widest pay gap at the middle level.
The data comes as no surprise to Fabian Lim, an aviation consultant at WingsAcademy.sg, which employs several full-time flight instructors to guide customers through retail flight simulator experiences.
“Anyone in the industry can tell that only a small subset of flying instructors make $20,000 or more,” he told The Straits Times.
He said the top earners are typically commercial airline pilot instructors with at least 15 to 20 years of flying experience.
In contrast, those teaching private lessons are often retired commercial or military pilots who are not after a big pay cheque. There are also junior instructors working to accumulate 1,500 flight hours towards an airline transport pilot licence, and their earnings tend to be on the lower end of the range, Lim added.
Jezreel Mok, chief pilot at Aviation Hub and an instructor, shared similar insights.
“If you train pilots to fly an Airbus or Boeing jet aircraft, your pay will be on the higher end. But if you are teaching beginners in a smaller propeller or piston engine aircraft, your pay will be below the 25th percentile, and depends mostly on the number of students you have,” he told ST.
Company size also plays a role.
Flying instructors who work for bigger firms with at least 200 employees earn significantly more than those working for smaller outfits. The difference in their salaries is close to $13,000, according to MOM data.
Salespeople, management consultants and company directors in bigger companies also command much higher salaries than their peers in smaller firms.
But those in certain roles, such as general practitioners, advocates and solicitors, and actuaries who analyse and manage financial risks, tend to earn more working for smaller companies with fewer than 200 employees.
The best-paid roles for men are those of flying instructor, foreign exchange broker, in-house legal counsel, oil and bunker trader and economist. Their median salaries range from $16,808 to $20,000.
Women who command the highest income are in-house lawyers, chief information/technology/security officers, foreign exchange dealers, chief operating officers or general managers, and commercial airline pilots. Their median salaries range from $12,179 to $17,477.
According to the MOM data, a significant gender-based pay gap still persists in some professions.
The median salaries for male economists, human resource consultants and infocomm technology quality assurance specialists are far higher than those of their female counterparts.
Conversely, female security operations specialists, attractions managers and beauticians tend to out-earn their male counterparts.
There is no gender-based pay disparity in some occupations, such as executive search consultant, auxiliary police officer, masseur and foot reflexologist.
Among younger professionals aged 25 to 29, the highest median earners are software and app managers, in-house lawyers and foreign exchange dealers.
For those in their 30s, the most lucrative roles include those of in-house lawyer, trade broker and management consultant.
For those in their 40s, the median salaries of top earners like flying instructors, in-house lawyers, trade brokers and oil and bunker traders all hit $20,000.
Among those in their 50s, the best-paid positions are in-house legal counsel, flying instructor, foreign exchange dealer, financial/investment adviser and commercial airline pilot.
Certain roles tend to offer higher pay with age and experience. These include business valuer, financial/investment adviser, infocomm technology sales and services professional, environmental officer and news editor.
On the other hand, some professionals such as securities and finance dealers, executive search consultants, financial services managers, management consultants and auditors tend to see their earnings peak in their 40s before dipping in their 50s.
The gross salaries reported in this survey include basic and overtime pay, commissions, allowances and other regular cash payments — before deduction for employees’ Central Provident Fund contributions and personal income tax.
Employers’ CPF contributions, bonuses, stock options, other lump-sum payments and payments in kind are excluded.
As the data is captured from a sample survey, year-on-year comparisons are discouraged as the wage changes are prone to fluctuations, MOM said.
In a separate set of MOM data released in January, the median pay for full-time resident employees in 2024 stood at $4,860 — excluding employers’ CPF contributions. Public sector employees are included in this data.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
