NodeFlair, a Tech Career SuperApp, recently released its Asia Tech Salary Report 2024 in Singapore news on Monday.
The data reveals a significant change in salary patterns, primarily driven by the obstacles faced by various sectors, such as hiring restrictions and workforce reductions.

On a more positive note, there is some good news, particularly for those in data science positions in Singapore. Salaries for these roles are defying the overall trend and are actually increasing.

Singapore Salary Report 2024

Salaries in the tech industry in Singapore experienced a decline in 2023 due to a downturn. However, there were notable increases in wages for specific roles such as data science and cybersecurity, as revealed by a recent report.

Some of the occupations that experienced the most significant wage growth compared to the previous year include data scientists (11.3%), systems analysts (8.27%), cybersecurity engineers (8.24%), and quality assurance professionals (8.01%).

A comprehensive analysis considered over 422,000 salary data points. This included pay slips, offer letters, and job advertisements from various countries, companies of all sizes, and industries.

According to Nodeflair, the increase in compensation for data scientists is linked to the growing fascination with generative AI. In 2022, the AI industry experienced a significant surge thanks to the introduction of the widely popular chatbot ChatGPT in November.

According to the report, companies are making a deliberate effort to attract and retain top talents by offering a significant 11.3% increase in average salaries specifically for data scientists. Singapore has taken steps to align with this trend by implementing an updated AI strategy last year.

This strategy outlines the country's plans to further integrate AI into various sectors in order to stimulate economic growth. According to the report, salaries for cybersecurity engineers have increased due to the rise in cyber attacks in the Asia-Pacific region and organizations giving more importance to cybersecurity measures.

However, there is a notable disparity in salaries among software engineers at the 10th and 90th percentile. Salaries can vary depending on the level of responsibility. Junior positions may have a starting salary of $5,000, while managerial positions can offer a higher earning potential of around $13,500. 

READ NEXT: Total Solar Eclipse 2024: Passengers Witness View of Rare Celestial Event While Onboard

Tech Salary Changes in Singapore

The report highlights the importance of individual performance, specialized skills, and negotiation ability in determining salaries. Here are the changes in salaries in Singapore from 2022 to 2023, according to The Independent SG: 

• Mobile Engineer: +2.23%
• Blockchain Engineer: -5.41% 
• Data Engineer: -1.19%
• Data Analyst: -1.09%
• Data Scientist: +11.30%
• Quality Assurance (QA): +8.01%
• DevOps: -1.95%
• Site Reliability Engineer: +0.52%
• Cybersecurity Engineer: +8.24%
• Solutions Engineer: -5.69%
• Systems Engineer: +1.87%
• Systems Analyst: +8.27%
• Game Engineer: -6.66%
• Product Manager: +0.20%

In 2023, the Asia-Pacific region experienced a significant number of cybersecurity incidents, with malware and phishing being the most prevalent, as revealed by IBM's 2024 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index released recently.

According to the Nodeflair report, tech salaries experienced a decline in 2023 due to a decrease in tech funding in Asia.

Amidst a worldwide decline in tech funding, startup funding in Asia experienced a significant drop of 38% last year, reaching its lowest point since 2015, as reported by data platform Crunchbase. In 2023, venture funding in Asia saw a decrease to $78.1 billion, compared to the $125.2 billion raised in 2022.

The average compensation for software engineers in Singapore experienced a decline of 0.99% in 2023, following a significant increase of 7.61% in 2022. Wages for solutions engineers and game engineers also experienced a decline of 5.69% and 6.66% respectively, CNBC reported.

READ MORE: 'No Tech For Apartheid:' Growing Number of Google Employees Quit Over Tech Giant's Association With Israel