Working in the social services, or in the non-profit sector, can sometimes seem like volunteer work. But with recent moves by the National Council of Social Services (NCSS), the statutory board that governs the non-profit sector in Singapore, to publish salary guidelines, pay is much better today, compared to 10 years ago.
I graduated with a bachelor’s in social work, and worked in a Family Service Centre (FSC) as a social worker for two years.
My starting pay was $3600. After a year, I asked for a 11% pay rise, but was only bumped up by 2.5%, to $3690 a month. If you’re worried about bonuses, yes, there was a 13th month bonus and a performance bonus too.
What you can expect to earn as a frontline, client-facing social worker. It’s not too shabby. Source: NCSS Salary Guidelines for the Social Service Sector
Whilst I may not have the point of view of an HR professional, I spoke to other HR professionals within the social services.
This article aims to dispel some of the myths you might have about entering the social services, and to share points that you may not have thought about.
Myth: I won’t earn money in a non-profit
You may think that working in a non-profit means that you will be volunteering your time and service for free.
That’s not always the case. In Singapore, the government does fund many programmes that charities run. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) also ensures that staff costs are factored into the grants provided. This means that you can get a salary from your work in non-profits.
A large majority of funding still comes from the government. Source: Commissioner of Charities Annual Report 2020
We have to acknowledge that the social service sector has made big improvements in pay over the past few years. It was worse before. In a study published by NUS Professor Irene Ng and Rebecca Tan, in collaboration with survey data from the Singapore Association of Social Workers, the public used to think that social workers were ‘volunteers’, working for free in charities. The pay was also miserly.
Study on the salary of social workers in 2009. Source: What if Social Workers are Paid More? –
The publication of the salary guidelines by NCSS yearly also gives you a benchmark of you can ask for from potential employers. If you find that they are not willing to pay what you’re asking for, you might want to consider another organisation.
It’s a fallacy to think that charities don’t have money. It’s not that they do not have the money, but they are just under greater restrictions on how they can spend it. With the salary guidelines given, funders have tried to fund manpower costs in line with the guidelines. As long as you ensure that your asking is within the guidelines given, you would have a better chance of getting a salary you can thrive on.
Adrian (who declined to be identified for this article), an organisational development (OD) practitioner working in the social services, also moved from a higher-paying private sector job to a role in the social services.
When asked why he did so, he said that COVID-19 pushed many charities to their limits. He found his calling in helping them manage change in a better way. “It’s really at what stage of life you are at. If you’ve kids and a family to support, you may find it difficult to drop your pay expectations from what you got in another sector. But for me, it’s enough to meet my needs.”
As Adrian advises, it’s important to know what you want and what your priorities are financially. There’s no point going into charities if you know you will struggle living on that pay.
Myth: I have to take a pay-cut or retrain to join the social services
Many think that joining the social services involves a mandatory pay-cut because you’re now in a different industry, doing a different role.
There’s a reasonable salary, even if you worked in a corporate role. Source: FY22 Salary Guidelines for the Social Service Sector (NCSS)
If you’re moving from a previous corporate role, you don’t have to abandon your skills in corporate communications (for example), to take on a client-facing role. You can still use your skills in corporate communications to serve the wider organisation.
Speaking to others who’ve considered a switch from corporations into charities, I’ve found this a major sticking point. Many have spoken about how they wish to retrain as a counsellor or a social worker, or a client facing role. But you don’t always have to do that to be relevant to the social service sector.
In fact, you may bring valuable insight and experience from a different field. Looking at the salary scales for those at the managerial level in corporate roles, you may realise that the pay is comparable to those in the public sector.
Myth: A charity job is a place to sunset my career
Adrian points out that many previous corporate professionals think that coming to the social services is ‘taking a break.’
If you’re a hard charging executive accustomed to an accelerated career, you may think that the charity sector may be something you do when you want to relax. Adrian doesn’t think so. The nature of social problems is complex and multifaceted, and coupled with the tighter constrain on resources, staff may not necessarily be having an easier time.
You might also feel that there isn’t much career development if you join the social service. Rather than thinking that your career would be hampered by the growth of your organisation, look at the wider sector, as Adrian points out “your career is the sector.” There are many ambitious charities today that are looking to transform the face of social care.
NCSS, who oversees the development of the charity sector, has also introduced the Sun-Ray scheme, its flagship leadership development programme. Under this programme, you will be rotated amongst different charities, and put on a structured development programme. This might be something you wish to apply for should you aspire to a leadership role in the sector.
The benefits you can get under Sun-Ray
It helps to start from a larger organisation
It depends on what your priorities are. If pay is a major factor, start from a larger organisation.
Larger charities (here defined by the Commissioner of Charities as having annual receipts of more than $10 million) have a greater assurance of funding due to the larger number of programmes they run. Their credibility and track record also often make them the agency of choice in piloting new programmes. Smaller charities may be more concerned with day-to-day funding requirements and may have less to offer pay-wise.
An easy gauge is to go to the organisation’s annual report and find out their yearly revenues. Charities are bound by the Charity Council’s Code Of Governance to publish their financial reports. This can help you to assess if the charity is on a stable financial footing.
It’s not only about the pay, but also the wider corporate support. Many funders have traditionally funded for programme staff, and not necessarily for backroom staff such as the HR, finance, or IT support team. But this is necessary for more efficient and effective work.
If you’re used to having regular staff welfare events, seamless IT systems, and working printers (oh, those are godsends!), these things are the work of good corporate support. In smaller charities, this may not always be the case.
You may not be rich, but you may be satisfied
Many who’ve moved from high-flying corporate jobs into social services share about how it’s more than the money. It’s also the chance to work with people who are the most marginalised and vulnerable in society.
There are some things money can’t buy.
To date, there’s a poignant scene I remember. In Xi’An, I worked with a home that supported children who had been found abandoned on street corners, doorsteps, or rubbish dumps.
I often wondered what it felt like to be abandoned. Somewhat insensitively, I asked one teen boy as we were walking home one afternoon.
Do you miss Mummy?
Without hesitation, he says, “No, I don’t.”
I thought I heard wrongly. I asked again.
This time he said, “No, I don’t. I have friends and aunty here.”
Later, when I went to his room, all he had on his bed was a teddy bear, and a suitcase under his bed. In the eyes of the world, he had nothing.
But in his eyes, he had everything.
Because he had friends, and an aunty who cared for him. This aunty was his care assistant. Daily, she would ensure that he had his meals, that he was well-dressed, and that he was emotionally okay.
She probably didn’t earn much. But money could never measure the role she played in this boy’s life.
And if you take the leap to the social services, maybe, just maybe, you will find that money isn’t the most important thing.
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