At a glance
Mechanical engineer salary in Singapore
- Mechanical engineer: S$6,015 median a month. Middle 50% earn S$4,615 to S$8,210.
- Air-conditioning and refrigeration engineer: S$6,497, the highest of these titles.
- Graduates: S$4,200 to S$5,000, six months after graduating.
- By employer: S$7,146 in wholesale and retail trade, S$5,750 in manufacturing.
- Assistant engineers and technicians: S$4,488 and S$3,780.
How does your pay compare?MOM figures, June 2025. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Part 1 · Pay today
How much do mechanical engineers earn?
A mechanical engineer earns S$6,015 at the median, S$1,527 more than an assistant mechanical engineer.
Gross monthly wage, June 2025, all industries.
| Occupation, all industries | Basic wage, median | Gross, 25th pct | Gross, median | Gross, 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical engineering technicianFull detail | 3,334 | 2,951 | 3,780 | 4,960 |
| Assistant mechanical engineerFull detail | 4,022 | 3,875 | 4,488 | 5,299 |
| Industrial machinery/tools engineerPartial detail | 5,602 | 4,957 | 5,969 | 7,069 |
| Mechanical engineerFull detail | 5,660 | 4,615 | 6,015 | 8,210 |
| Air-conditioning/Refrigeration engineerFull detail | 6,441 | 5,184 | 6,497 | 8,802 |
Source: MOM Occupational Wages 2025, Table 4. Full-time resident employees, June 2025.
Cell references
T4!C308:I308, T4!C253:I253, T4!C151:I151, T4!C172:I172, T4!C76:I76What it means
- Assistant mechanical engineers sit in MOM's associate professional group, one level below engineers.
- Wide range: S$4,615 to S$8,210 for the middle 50% of mechanical engineers.
Starting salary for mechanical engineering graduates
Mechanical engineering graduates earn S$4,200 to S$5,000 at the median six months after graduating. NUS is highest.
Graduates in full-time permanent jobs, surveyed on 1 November 2025.
| University and programme | Basic, median | Gross, median | Gross, mean | Gross, middle 50% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NUS, Mechanical Engineering | 4,645 | 5,000 | 5,045 | 4,495 to 5,591 |
| NTU, Mechanical Engineering | 4,400 | 4,500 | 4,664 | 4,090 to 5,000 |
| SIT–Glasgow, Mechanical Engineering | 4,183 | 4,200 | 4,326 | 3,890 to 4,675 |
| SIT–Newcastle, Mechanical Design and Manufacturing | 4,200 | 4,200 | 4,252 | 3,900 to 4,500 |
Full-time permanent jobs only, as at 1 November 2025. Source: MOE GES 2025 (NTU, NUS, SIT).
What it means
- NTU graduates earn S$4,500.
- SIT's courses with the University of Glasgow and Newcastle University both report S$4,200.
Job outcomes for mechanical engineering graduates72.3% to 75.7% of responding mechanical engineering graduates were in full-time permanent jobs.
72.3% to 75.7% of responding mechanical engineering graduates were in full-time permanent jobs.
Share of graduates in the labour force.
| Programme | Course response rate | Currently employed | In full-time permanent employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| NUS, Mechanical Engineering | 70% | 79.6% | 75.7% |
| NTU, Mechanical Engineering | 78% | 79.5% | 73.3% |
| SIT–Glasgow, Mechanical Engineering | 78% | 83.3% | 75.0% |
| SIT–Newcastle, Mechanical Design and Manufacturing | 71% | 78.7% | 72.3% |
Share of graduates in the labour force. Source: MOE GES 2025.
What it means
- Between 16.7% and 21.3% were not working six months after graduating.
Part 2 · Who earns more
How pay changes with age
Mechanical engineer pay rises from S$4,417 at 25 to 29 to S$7,061 at 50 to 59.
Median gross monthly wage by age group.
Mechanical engineerTechnician
| Occupation | 25–29 | 30–39 | 40–49 | 50–59 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical engineer | 4,417 | 5,665 | 6,800 | 7,061 |
| Air-conditioning/Refrigeration engineer | 4,937 | 6,683 | 7,742 | 7,300 |
| Industrial machinery/tools engineer | – | 5,759 | 6,324 | 6,186 |
| Assistant mechanical engineer | 3,824 | 4,147 | 4,413 | 4,613 |
| Mechanical engineering technician | 3,058 | 3,744 | 4,280 | 4,142 |
Median gross monthly wage, S$. "–" = suppressed by MOM. Source: MOM Occupational Wages 2025, Table 3.
Cell references
T3!C150:K150, T3!C72:K72, T3!C131:K131, T3!C214:K214, T3!C261:K261What it means
- Age 30 to 39: S$5,665, S$1,248 more than in the late twenties.
- Technicians rise from S$3,058 to S$4,280 by their forties.
- How to read it: each age band shows different people in June 2025, not one person's career.
By sex and employer sizeMechanical engineers at firms with 200 or more staff earn S$6,324, against S$5,550 at smaller firms.
Mechanical engineers at firms with 200 or more staff earn S$6,324, against S$5,550 at smaller firms.
| Occupation | All, median gross | Men | Women | Women vs men |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical engineer | 6,015 | 6,190 | 5,422 | -12.4% |
| Air-conditioning/Refrigeration engineer | 6,497 | 6,399 | 7,180 | +12.2% |
| Industrial machinery/tools engineer | 5,969 | 5,976 | – | – |
| Assistant mechanical engineer | 4,488 | 4,500 | 4,220 | -6.2% |
| Mechanical engineering technician | 3,780 | 3,767 | 3,900 | +3.5% |
Median gross monthly wage, S$. Two group medians, not an adjusted pay gap. Source: MOM Occupational Wages 2025, Tables 1.1 and 1.2.
Cell references
T1.1!C150:E150, T1.2!C151:E151, T1.1!C71:E71, T1.2!C72:E72, T1.1!C130:E130, T1.1!C219:E219, T1.2!C217:E217, T1.1!C270:E270, T1.2!C256:E256| Occupation | Firms with 25 to 199 employees | Firms with 200 or more | Large vs small |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical engineer | 5,550 | 6,324 | +13.9% |
| Air-conditioning/Refrigeration engineer | 5,763 | 6,700 | +16.3% |
| Industrial machinery/tools engineer | 5,355 | 6,192 | +15.6% |
| Assistant mechanical engineer | 4,351 | 4,505 | +3.5% |
| Mechanical engineering technician | 3,525 | 3,908 | +10.9% |
Median gross monthly wage, S$. Source: MOM Occupational Wages 2025, Table 2.
Cell references
T2!C168:G168, T2!C77:G77, T2!C149:G149, T2!C245:G245, T2!C299:G299What it means
- Men and women: S$6,190 and S$5,422 for mechanical engineers.
- These compare two groups. They are not an adjusted pay gap.
By employer industry
Mechanical engineers in wholesale and retail trade earn S$7,146 at the median, against S$5,750 in manufacturing.
| Employer industry | Median gross wage | Gross wage, middle 50% |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and Retail Trade | 7,146 | 5,362 to 11,270 |
| Professional Services | 6,885 | 5,275 to 9,415 |
| Transportation and Storage | 6,725 | 5,326 to 8,387 |
| Health and Social Services | 5,998 | 5,062 to 7,511 |
| Manufacturing | 5,750 | 4,600 to 7,490 |
| Construction | 5,000 | 3,920 to 6,700 |
| Financial and Insurance Services | 4,560 | 4,530 to 5,290 |
| Information and Communications | 4,496 | 3,619 to 5,288 |
Mechanical engineer (SSOC 21441). Source: MOM Occupational Wages 2025, Tables 4.1 to 4.14. No figure published for the other 6 industries.
Cell references
T4.3!C71:I71, T4.9!C86:I86, T4.4!C58:I58, T4.12!C37:I37, T4.1!C74:I74, T4.2!C40:I40, T4.7!C78:I78, T4.6!C64:I64What it means
- MOM publishes mechanical engineer pay for 8 of 14 industries. Professional services is second at S$6,885.
Part 3 · Over time
Pay over time and 2026 outlook
Assistant mechanical engineer pay rose from S$3,180 in 2020 to S$4,488 in 2025.
Official medians for the last six years, then a projection for June 2026.
| Occupation | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical engineer | – | – | – | 5,777 | 6,205 | 6,015 | |
| Air-conditioning/Refrigeration engineer | – | – | – | 7,085 | 6,503 | 6,497 | |
| Industrial machinery/tools engineer | – | – | – | 4,995 | 6,000 | 5,969 | |
| Assistant mechanical engineer | 3,180 | 3,894 | 3,454 | 3,606 | 3,983 | 4,488 | |
| Mechanical engineering technician | – | – | – | 3,362 | 3,748 | 3,780 |
Median gross monthly wage, June of each year, S$. "–" = not published, or the job code changed in a way that cannot be linked one-to-one. Earlier years use SSOC 2020 codes, linked to SSOC 2024 with SingStat's official correspondence table. MOM advises that single-year changes are noisy because the survey is a sample; look at the direction over several years. Source: MOM Occupational Wages 2020 to 2025, Table 4.
June 2026 projection Estimate
| Occupation | June 2025 (MOM) | June 2026 projection | 80% range | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical engineer | 6,015 | Not projected: too volatile | ||
| Air-conditioning/Refrigeration engineer | 6,497 | Not projected: too volatile | ||
| Industrial machinery/tools engineer | 5,969 | Not projected: too volatile | ||
| Assistant mechanical engineer | 4,488 | Not projected: too volatile | ||
| Mechanical engineering technician | 3,780 | Not projected: too volatile | ||
Foundific projection v1, not official data. Central estimate = average of the last two MOM medians + economy-wide wage growth (3.73% a year, from MOM median income and the MAS inflation forecast). Tested on 2025: typical error 8.1%; 78.7% of actual values fell inside the 80% range. How the projection works.
What it means
- Mechanical engineer history starts in 2023 under the current job code: S$5,777, then S$6,205 in 2024 and S$6,015 in 2025.
- No projections: every title moved too much between years to project.
- Estimate: projections are ours, not MOM data. MOM's June 2026 figures are due around mid-2027 and will replace them.
Part 4 · AI impact
Is mechanical engineering affected by AI?
The ILO rates mechanical engineers and technicians Not exposed.
Based on the International Labour Organization's 2025 index, which scores every core task of a job from 0 (AI cannot help) to 1 (AI could do nearly all of it).
Mechanical engineer
Not exposedAI exposure
Not exposedVery high
AI can do very little of this job. Most tasks are hands-on or face to face.
- Most exposed taskAdvising on and designing non-electrical parts of apparatus…
- Least exposed taskAdvising on and designing steam, internal combustion
- In numbersNone of its 7 main tasks is one AI could do a large part of.
Mechanical engineering technician
Not exposedAI exposure
Not exposedVery high
AI can do very little of this job. Most tasks are hands-on or face to face.
- Most exposed taskPreparing detailed estimates of quantities
- Least exposed taskAssembling and installing new and modified mechanical…
- In numbersNone of its 8 main tasks is one AI could do a large part of.
Mechanical engineerSSOC 21441
Not exposedexposure to generative AI
- Not exposed
- Minimal
- Some
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
Scored as ILO group 2144 Mechanical engineers. Average task score 0.32, higher than 60% of the 427 jobs the ILO scored.
Mechanical engineering technicianSSOC 31151
Not exposedexposure to generative AI
- Not exposed
- Minimal
- Some
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
Scored as ILO group 3115 Mechanical engineering technicians. Average task score 0.26, higher than 48% of the 427 jobs the ILO scored.
Eight factors, role by role
| Factor | Mechanical engineer | Mechanical engineering technician |
|---|---|---|
| 1Exposure levelThe ILO's rating for the whole job, from not exposed up to very high. | Not exposed | Not exposed |
| 2Average task scoreHow much of each core task generative AI could do, averaged. 0 means none, 1 means nearly all. | 0.32 higher than 60% of jobs | 0.26 higher than 48% of jobs |
| 3Tasks AI could do much ofTasks scoring 0.5 or more. These are the parts of the job most likely to change. | 0 of 7 | 0 of 8 |
| 4Hands-on or people tasksTasks scoring under 0.25: physical, in-person or judgement work that AI barely touches. | 1 of 7 | 2 of 8 |
| 5How even the exposure isEven means AI touches most tasks a little. Uneven means a few tasks are exposed and the rest are not. | Even (0.06) | Even (0.08) |
| 6Most exposed taskWhere AI tools are likely to show up first. | Advising on and designing non-electrical parts of apparatus… 0.43 | Preparing detailed estimates of quantities and costs of… 0.41 |
| 7Least exposed taskThe task AI can help with least. | Advising on and designing steam, internal combustion and… 0.22 | Assembling and installing new and modified mechanical… 0.14 |
| 8Pay trend so farChange in the MOM median since the first year on record. Any AI effect would show here in later years. | +4% S$5,777 (2023) to S$6,015 (2025) | +12% S$3,362 (2023) to S$3,780 (2025) |
Most and least exposed tasks
Mechanical engineer
Most exposed tasks
- 0.43Advising on and designing non-electrical parts of apparatus or products such…
- 0.36Advising on and designing airframes, undercarriages and other equipment for…
- 0.34Advising on and designing machinery and tools for manufacturing, mining…
Least exposed tasks
- 0.22Advising on and designing steam, internal combustion and other non-electric…
- 0.28Ensuring that equipment, operation and maintenance comply with design…
- 0.30Establishing control standards and procedures to ensure efficient functioning…
Mechanical engineering technician
Most exposed tasks
- 0.41Preparing detailed estimates of quantities and costs of materials and labour…
- 0.31Ensuring that mechanical engineering designs and finished work are within…
- 0.28Designing and preparing layouts of machines and mechanical installations…
Least exposed tasks
- 0.14Assembling and installing new and modified mechanical assemblies, components…
- 0.18Conducting tests of mechanical systems, collecting and analysing data and…
- 0.25Developing and monitoring the implementation of safety standards and…
Compared with our other guides
Source: ILO Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (Gmyrek et al., 2025), CC BY 4.0. Singapore jobs matched to ILO groups with the SingStat SSOC 2024 to ISCO-08 correspondence table. Pay: MOM Occupational Wages. The ILO scores international job groups, not Singapore titles. How we read the AI scores.
Cell references
SSOC 21441 to ISCO 2144 (SSOC2024-ISCO08!B136); SSOC 31151 to ISCO 3115 (SSOC2024-ISCO08!B441)What it means for mechanical engineering
- Mechanical engineers: average task score 0.32, higher than 60% of the 427 jobs the ILO scored.
- Technicians: 0.26, higher than 48% of jobs.
- What exposure measures: how much of the work AI could do or speed up. It does not measure job cuts. Employers decide how to use AI.
Part 5 · Using the figures
Which figure should you compare with?
Match your title first, then your age band and your employer's industry.
| You are | Compare with | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing a mechanical engineering course | Mechanical engineering, six months after graduating | S$4,200 to S$5,000 |
| Mechanical engineer, early career | Age 25 to 29 | S$4,417 |
| Mechanical engineer in your thirties | Age 30 to 39 | S$5,665 |
| Mechanical engineer in manufacturing | Manufacturing figure | S$5,750 |
| Air-conditioning or refrigeration engineer | That title's row | S$6,497 |
| Assistant mechanical engineer | Assistant engineer row | S$4,488 |
About these figures
What the pay figures includeMonthly gross pay with allowances and overtime, without bonuses or employer CPF
Every figure is monthly, includes allowances and overtime, and excludes bonuses and employer CPF.
| Measure | Includes | Excludes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic wage | Basic pay | Allowances, overtime, bonus, employer CPF |
| Gross wage | Basic + allowances + overtime + commissions | Bonus, employer CPF, lump sums |
| Graduate salary | Same as gross, full-time permanent jobs only | Bonus, employer CPF |
- S$6,015 × 12 = S$72,180 a year before bonus. It is not a total package.
What this data does not coverFigures cover Singapore citizens and permanent residents only. Engineers on work passes are not included.
Figures cover Singapore citizens and permanent residents only. Engineers on work passes are not included.
- Residents only: figures cover full-time Singapore citizens and permanent residents. Staff on work passes are not included.
- Private sector: MOM surveys private-sector employers with 25 or more staff. Government ministries are not included.
- Bonuses: excluded from every figure.
- Small firms with fewer than 25 staff are outside the survey.
Related guides
Sources
MOM Occupational Wages 2025 and MOE Graduate Employment Survey 2025
- MOM, Occupational Wages 2025, Tables 1 to 4. June 2025, released 30 June 2026. SSOC 21441, 21443, 21442, 31004, 31151. Exact cells are listed under each table.
- MOE, NTU GES 2025. Mechanical Engineering.
- MOE, NUS GES 2025. Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering).
- MOE, SIT GES 2025. Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Mechanical Engineering (University of Glasgow); Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Engineering (Newcastle University).
- MOM, Coverage and Methodology 2025.
- ILO generative AI exposure index 2025, matched to SSOC through the SingStat correspondence table.