A young engineer in Singapore shared his feelings of burnout and dissatisfaction with his pay on a popular job-hunting forum, sparking advice from tenured tech workers who encouraged him to treat his career as a 'long marathon'.
A young engineer in Singapore shared his feelings of burnout and dissatisfaction with his pay on a popular job-hunting forum. He revealed that he had been earning just S$3,800, including CPF, and felt 'sucked out' after comparing himself to his peers who were earning at least S$4,200 in various roles.
He asked if this was the norm for fresh graduates after one year of work and wondered about the yearly increment in the market. Several experienced tech workers responded, sharing their own career paths and encouraging him to treat his career as a 'long marathon', not a sprint. One commenter recalled earning only S$2,600 as a fresh graduate, while his classmate who joined a Swiss bank was earning S$4,000.
Five years later, the classmate was able to buy a condo, while the commenter was still earning less than S$4,000. Another commenter, who described himself as a 'slow learner', started as a software engineer earning just S$2,000 and received a S$200 increment after his first year. He now earns S$7,700. A third added, encouraging the post author to 'trust the process'.
Meanwhile, another commenter at a similar stage in his career shared that he earned around S$3,200 to S$3,400 after his first year of work and only increased to S$4,500 after job-hopping after his second year. He said he used to compare himself with his peers, but now places greater value on having a better work-life balance.
The latest Randstad Employer Brand Research report released in June 2026 found that 'good work-life balance' remained the most important factor for Singapore workers when choosing an employer, edging out 'attractive salary and benefits'
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