The first joint Graduate Employment Survey by SMU, NUS and NTU, in which more than 9,600 respondents were polled, revealed that 91 per cent of these graduates found employment - including part-time and temporary work. More than nine in 10 graduates found work within six months of leaving university.  Graduates who landed full-time permanent jobs last year earned a median gross monthly salary of $3,050 - up from $3,000 in 2011. SMU graduates' average monthly pay climbed from $3,388 to $3,395. The biggest earners at SMU were law graduates - who earned a median monthly salary of $5,000. SMU graduate Cai Min, 26, had to spend almost a year applying to more than 30 companies before he found employment. The 26-year-old, who is now working in a trading house after completing a double major in economics and finance, started his job search before graduation. "The landscape is getting more competitive," he said.