SINGAPORE – Diagnostic radiologists, financial derivatives dealers and flying instructors are the highest-paid occupations in Singapore’s private sector, each earning a gross median monthly salary of $20,000, according to the latest Ministry of Manpower (MOM) data.
The findings also reflect the growing premium placed on artificial intelligence skills.
Among workers aged 25 to 29, AI and machine learning engineers command the highest gross median monthly salary of close to $9,000.
Conducted between July and December 2025, the Occupational Wages Survey covers an estimated 391,300 full-time resident employees in private sector companies with at least 25 employees. Public sector workers, such as radiologists employed by public hospitals and air force flying instructors, are excluded.
Some practitioners in the medical field told The Straits Times that the earnings of radiologists – doctors who interpret medical images to diagnose diseases and suggest treatment – can vary considerably between the public and private sectors.
Diagnostic radiologists
One senior practitioner, who declined to be named, said public sector compensation is “quite fixed across the board”, with variations mainly due to performance bonuses and on-call allowances.
In private practice, however, the pay is far more variable, with a higher number of scans generally resulting in higher earnings. “There is usually an expectation to work harder and earn more in private practice,” he said.
Singapore has 490 registered diagnostic radiologists, according to the Singapore Medical Council’s 2024 annual report. While their numbers have grown by almost 20 per cent since 2020, a 2023 paper by doctors from Singapore General Hospital and National University Cancer Institute, Singapore warned that the country could face a shortage of radiologists as its population ages and chronic illnesses become more prevalent.
While AI is expected to improve productivity, radiologists are still needed to review findings and discuss complex cases with clinicians, the senior practitioner said.
But training a radiologist takes years. Doctors typically spend five years in medical school, followed by a year of housemanship and five years of residency training before they can begin practising as associate consultants in public hospitals. Promotion to senior consultant typically takes another seven to eight years.
The long career track is partly why diagnostic radiologists recorded one of the largest pay spreads in the MOM survey, with those at the 25th percentile earning $10,849 a month, compared with $30,000 at the 75th percentile.
The latest MOM data, however, does not include occupations such as surgeons. They are generally regarded as among the highest-paid medical specialists, particularly if they work in private practice.
Financial derivatives dealers
Also topping the salary rankings are financial derivatives dealers, who help businesses and investors manage financial risks using derivatives contracts tied to assets such as commodities, currencies and interest rates.
Among the surveyed dealers, their median and 75th percentile monthly pay are the same at $20,000, suggesting that their earnings – before bonuses – are clustered at that level.
Marcus Goi, managing director and chief executive of Orient Futures International (Singapore), said the derivatives business is highly client-driven, and those who can generate business and cultivate strong client relationships are often well paid.
“It is like private bankers. If they can bring in high-net-worth clients and generate significant business for their firms, they are likely to be well compensated; otherwise, competitors may attract them with better offers,” said Goi, who has worked in the derivatives industry for over 30 years.
He added that client-facing derivatives dealers generally earn fee income from servicing clients and executing trades. Proprietary traders, who deploy their firms’ own capital and take market positions, typically have greater earning potential because their remuneration is often closely tied to trading performance. But underperformance can affect both their income and job security.
Competition for talent has also become stiffer as more foreign financial institutions expand in Singapore, compelling firms to offer higher pay to attract and retain people, Goi said.
The generous pay, however, comes with demanding hours, said Kevin Tan, group chief commercial officer at Straits Financial Group.
“A decade ago, most trading in Singapore took place after London opened. But with the rise of China and other Asian markets’ participation, mornings can be quite active,” said Tan, adding that the crypto and digital assets markets are also pushing trading towards a 24/7 model.
“I typically start in the late morning, and I sleep only after New York closes (around 4am the next day). Occupational hazard.”
There are no official figures on the number of financial derivatives dealers in Singapore, but Tan estimates there are several thousand professionals involved in derivatives trading, dealing and broking. He said the profession remains male-dominated, but female participation has steadily increased in areas like sales, risk management and electronic trading.
The MOM survey found no gender pay gap among financial derivatives dealers, with men and women earning the same median salary.
Goi noted that women are increasingly thriving amid the industry’s shift towards automated trading, where success depends more on risk management and careful monitoring rather than aggressive discretionary trading.
Flying instructors
Flying instructors also retained their place among Singapore’s highest-paid occupations, after topping the list in 2025.
They also recorded the widest salary spread in the latest survey, with workers at the 25th percentile earning $9,567 a month, compared with $30,000 at the 75th percentile.
Industry observers have previously told ST the wide range can be due to differences in instructors’ qualifications, flying hours and whether they are training pilots to fly commercial aircraft, or teaching hobbyists to fly a smaller propeller plane.
The MOM survey also captures how earnings evolve with age in different occupations.
AI/machine learning engineers
Among workers aged 25 to 29, AI and machine learning engineers topped the rankings with a median monthly salary of $8,970.
Some young AI engineers told ST that the figure should not be taken as the typical starting salary.
A 26-year-old employee at a financial services firm said he earns about $5,300 a month after working for about a year developing applications and backend systems using AI.
He said it generally takes several promotions before one can make $8,970 a month.
Another AI engineer, 28, who works at a technology consulting firm, said salaries vary widely based on employer, with big banks typically offering higher pay.
Among workers in their 30s and 40s, the top-earning occupations include financial derivatives dealer, economist and infocomm technology sales and services professional.
Among those in their 50s, flying instructor, in-house legal counsel and fund/portfolio manager are among the best-paid occupations.
Gender pay gap
The survey also revealed differences in earnings between men and women.
Men earned higher median salaries than women in 251 of the 365 occupations where comparisons were available. Women earned more in 105 occupations.
The widest gap favouring men was among fund/portfolio managers, trade brokers and sales professionals.
Women, however, earned higher median salaries in occupations such as sports centre managers, business valuers and industrial safety engineers.
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 (CPF) 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.
According to a separate set of MOM data released in January 2026, the median pay for full-time resident employees in 2025 stood at $5,000 – excluding CPF contributions from employers and platform operators.
Public sector employees are included in this study.
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Additional reporting by Emerald Lo
