The Merlion Baller

By MERLION$ | Merlion Finance

Good morning, TGIF! Grab your kopi, settle in, and let’s get real about money in 2026 – Singapore style.

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🤖 When AI Says “Nice Job, Software Engineer – You’re Fired”

Remember when fresh CS grads used to strut into the workforce with $7K–$8K/month salaries?
Those were the golden days of “code like mad, get paid like king.” But horizon’s shifting.

Now we’ve got:

• ChatGPT-style tools that write code, debug, generate tests.
• AI workflows replacing boilerplate software engineering tasks.
• Companies quietly asking: “Do we need five junior devs when one prompt and one human oversight will do?”

The risk? Entry-level software engineering might not command high salary anymore. Fresh grads could walk in and find a smaller paycheck than the last batch. The tech stack isn’t gone, but the salary premium might shrink.

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🎯 What About Fresh Grads in Cyber Security & Data Science?

Let’s look at three fresh-grad pathways and what’s likely for 2026.

💂 Cyber Security (Fresh Grad)

• Industries scream for talent (banks, fintech, govt).
• Even if AI handles some tasks (alerts, triage), humans still needed for real investigations.
• Outlook: Still strong. Fresh grads could expect $5K–$6K/month in Singapore, moving to $7K+ with 2-3 years experience.
• Opportunity: If you bring niche skills (Cloud SecOps, detection engineering, Purple Team), you’ll outrun average.

📊 Data Science / Analytics (Fresh Grad)

• Data = fuel for AI, so demand remains high.
• Entry roles may get more competitive as more students upskill.
• Outlook: ~$5K/month start, but companies might push for “AI-ready” skills (ML modelling, pipeline engineering) for bigger $$$.
• Strategy: If you lean into actionable insights + understanding business + AI pipeline, you’ll win.

🤖 Entry-Level AI/ML Jobs (“AI kids”)

• This is the new gold rush.
• Even entry roles like “AI Model Trainer”, “Prompt Engineer”, “AI Data Analyst” might start at $6K–$8K/month, if you can show relevant project/portfolio.
• Companies still figuring it out – premiums still there.
• Watch out: Don’t join just hype – many roles still need solid math/statistics/data engineering fundamentals.

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🚀 Upskilling = Your Insurance Policy

If you’re fresh or near-graduate:

• Learn AI/ML fundamentals (models, pipelines, deployment) – not just “use tools”.
• Build portfolio projects: e.g. “Built sentiment model for SG retail chain”, “Automated cloud detection using Sysmon + Sigma rules”.
• Get certifications or badges (cyber: CEH, Splunk, cloud security; data: TensorFlow, AWS ML).
• Network & internships matter – side projects show you do more than “do assignments”.

Why this helps:

Because when the “fresh grad SWE $8K” narrative changes, the premiums will shift to roles that are hard to automate – SecOps, detection engineering, AI infrastructure, data pipelines.

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🧭 Final Word

2026 in Singapore isn’t doom and gloom. It’s change.
If you wake up expecting the same job + same salary story, you’ll end up grudging that kopi is more expensive than your dreams.
But if you adapt – upskill, target fields less likely to be replaced, learn how to ride the AI wave instead of being swallowed by it – you’ll still be in the money game.

🦁 Stay rational. Stay ballin’.
– MERLION$ | MerlionFinance.com

Disclaimer: This is just personal opinion. Do your own research, check your risk tolerance, and choose your path wisely.