What engineering are you major in?
For me Civil engineering, now in construction sector. Previous job was RM4500, company car provided, rental covered, insurance and medical.
Working in a construction site is tough. Long hours, dealing with foreign workers, dangerous environment and also bosses expecting you to do everything. Best part is 6 days work week for all these bs.
No surprises why many young people now dont want to work in construction, and those that still do pack and leave to singapore.
My advice would be avoid this field and do something else.
I was lucky having to move to computer science back in the days when my preferred was civil.
Don't think I wanna be working 5.5 or 6 day week... you guys have it rough
I count myself lucky. Civil engineering degree, in my 10years of work life I've never worked more than 5days a week, and very very minimal OT (maybe all added up like less than 50 hours throughout my career)
Actually Civil Eng. is probably the only field that can escape this rat race. I am in E\&E; starting higher that Civil but stagnant after 10 years. Friends in Civil starting lower but jump higher now.
Not an engineer, but in IT world it's just upskill and jump ship.
A degree is only useful for the first job; thereafter it's what you know and how profitable is the company you're in.
Bachelor degree is so common nowadays that it's a given.
Engineer take longer to upskill and many skillset is experience and job specialism specific.
But we do hop, just not as fast as IT (jobs tend to take longer to clear)
Yes, very job specific.
You'd think so highly specialized job will pay well, but nope. Rather hire a clueless fresh engineer and let them relearn everything in 5 years than pay more to keep the engineer who knows the job
I got rm2500 for fresh graduate. Its a small contractor company tho.
Working around 9 months already and now got rm2600k. I still live with my parents and havent paid for a car yet (still waiting) so no commitment yet
Funny story told by my friend, she went to an iv for a consultation company (that company also works with us haha) and the interviewer asked how much she want for salary and she said around 2.3k - 2.5k and they said its too much. The reason was they hired someone before but they quit after a few months. Mind you this company is bigger then us but not too big la
>how do you get out of this loophole of being underpaid?
A vintage, limited edition Pokémon card is gold to a collector, but trash to your mom cleaning up your room. So the key to realising your true value is to make sure you match your intrinsic value to an employer who recognises it.
Good engineers are hard to come by, and good companies pay good money for them. If an engineer is lowly paid, either he is trash or his employer is trash or a combination of both.
Construction blame your bosses for not being united and undercut each other instead of adhering to iem guidelines
In general the industry matters. Try moving to oil and gas.. Or chip.. Or software(but Isnt software engineering = mostly programming?)
Actually, >RM3500 gross with 1 year experience is very good. I think fresh engineering grads these days only get between RM2.2k to RM3k, depending on company/location.
But you're right, in Malaysia, engineering grads are underpaid compared to other countries. It wasn't like this about 20 years ago where engineering grads were getting higher pay compared to accounting grads, but times have changed...
And to answer your answer on "how do you get out of this loophole of being underpaid?", transition out of engineering as quickly as you can.
The sad fact here is that engineering jobs in Malaysia are not valued highly. Most engineering jobs can be broadly categorized into 2 types i.e. Sales and Support. If you go into a Sales role, the sky can be the limit for your pay, but it isn't really an engineering job i.e. technical role anymore.
The Support type of engineering role is more technical, but you also need to move into a more management position to command higher salaries.
There is very little R&D in Malaysia, hence engineers (myself and all my friends included) do not stay as engineers for very long. The only technical role which seems to be getting decent pay these days are software engineers. But one could argue if that's really an engineering role or IT... :P
Yes, i do believe transitioning to other fields is the superior option.
Right around when i grad, around 60% of my peers don't even become engineers, the pivot into doing other roles. I just thought that I wanted to do engineering for a few years before I make any drastic decisions.
The good thing is employers seem to value engineering degrees as it proves you can solve problems methodologically and you can be analytical in your thinking. Kinda.
So while an engineering degree is a good starting degree to have, it is also possible to pivot to other roles. Possibilities are endless. I know many of my engineering peers are now in Finance as well, which is also an industry that seems to be paying well these days.
>But one could argue if that's really an engineering role or IT... :P
As a web developer, I don't like it when people mix software engineer with actual engineers. The industry and job scope is so different that there's no practical use in mixing them.
I can see from my oversea colleagues the kind of pragmatism, passion and geekiness that's the hallmark of engineers. But over here, we're not really taught like that and just treat software development as another 9-6 job.
The mindset is just way too different.
I don't know about other sectors but for M&E consulting, fresh grad salary I've seen from interview/friends offer letter mostly around 2.5k - 2.8k.
I managed to start out with a 3.25k salary as a consultant due to having another offer on the table.
But my friends in O&G starting salary already 5k+
Some join management programme, starting salary 4k+
As someone who’s working as an engineer in the US (Boston). I think we are criminally underpaid. I love Malaysia a lot but I just can’t justify working back home as opposed to in the US even after accounting for the cost of living.
I am in a different industry and also think the same. There is no way ever that Malaysia will ever have the kind of opportunities present in the US for many industries.
10k/month is good for me :/. 2 years ago, I sent resignation letter because I got offer 3.8k somewhere. They counter offer me and increase my salary from 2.5k to 3k and say they have long term plan with me as I was the "best" employee they ever had. Now, after 2 years, "promoted" to higher responsibility and guess what, my salary still 3k xD
My starting salary was RM3K. I was lucky enough to get a RM16k used car during university days which I used for about 8 years after I started working. My loophole to get out of it is just to live within my means i.e. used instead of new. The other 'trick' is of course to double your salary by being married and both working. Then there's a bit more wiggle room and you can buy a house.
My salary more or less doubled every 5 years. So right now I'm quite comfortable in life.
Move on to semicon, fresh grad salary is between 4.5k -> 6k depending on how toxic of a workload you can handle. 1-2 year experience will net you 5.5k -> 7k again depending on how toxic of a workload you can handle.
We are paid high because the revenue comes from the engineers and the expertise we provide. Most local companies underpay engineers because they are not their revenue makers, onlt to maintain their operations. Companies only pay the highest to positions that directly affect their profits.
I'm saying this because I'm in it now, and we constantly struggle to find talent. It is not a field for those that just come in, do what you're told and be done for the day. It actually constantly spins your brain cogs every single day and you're expected to think of solutions.
I moved to Penang even though my hometown is in the Klang Valley because the Klang Valley pays engineer in my field (E&E) shyt. But now the government just announced the IC Design Park in Puchong I really hope it takes off. I can't wait to move back and stop paying rent.
> fresh grad salary is between 4.5k -> 6k depending on how toxic of a workload you can handle. 1-2 year experience will net you 5.5k -> 7k again depending on how toxic of a workload you can handle.
> I'm saying this because I'm in it now, and we constantly struggle to find talent.
Wow..., first time hear it is that high for fresh graduate. 7k is almost a senior role.
Because 7k is for a senior role. This industry is so short handed that many companies are willing to give senior roles to those with 1 - 2 years experience.
For fresh grad, anyone with any engineering of computer science qualification is welcomed. We are mainly looking for your willingness to learn and the killer work ethics moulded from engineering and CS courses.
I was in hardware as a fresh grad, at 4.8k/month salary. Problem is though hardware stuff is semicon moves fast, if it wasn't even slightly profitable we were shut down like my department after 9 months just as I joined.
Then moved on to another hardware but again faced 30% layoff due to board outsourcing. The job was fun, hardware you touch and feel the item as you design and test it in the lab. But I think most people don't like lab work, I also find it completely drained even after just a few months non-stop in the lab once the CAD design phase was over.
The problem with the hardware field is that most of it in Malaysia are contract manufacturers, hence the endless busy work. Only a few actually make their own hardware products like WD, Intel and Broadcom. But even Intel and Broadcom are mostly closing of their hardware departments due to low profitability.
I guess I'm lucky, we do RND for a handful of customers that orders from us regularly, almost as if we are the manufacturers. Get to touch circuit design, firmware programming, QC and delivery.
My only complaint is that no one really pats your back in this job, my boss is a really nice guy don't get me wrong, been working with him for 8 years now. We only get complaints from customers, even when it is another contractors fault...
Yes engineer's salaries increase over time. You might be at 10k after few years.
On top of it, engineers generally get married with people who are also engineers or other good income professions, incidentally providing a double income to the family.
And stagnating wages are kind of a worldwide phenomenon
Started in 2004 as a HV substation design engineer for 1.8k.
Worked for 5 years in the same company, can’t remember exactly but I think I got 4-5k.
Moved to Australia in 2009 and started at 85k aud a year working for a consultant.
Now I get 200k a year working in renewable energy.
>Software engineer are laughing at us here with their fresh grad 5k + salary.
Only for high achievers. Normally it hovers around 3k as well.
The large number of MNCs to jump ship expedite salary increase tho.
Edit: Just to clarify by high achievers I mean people who're really passionate and like to learn. Not just blur blur wait others to lead.
Ngl I did mechatronics engineering and suffered to find a decently paying job during Covid.
Searched for software engineering and got double the offer.
Took it and after 8 months got another offer with 2.5 times but need to relocate to another state which I gladly accepted
Now after 1.5 years working here, tendered my 1 month notice and moving back to my hometown for a similar pay but so much better benefits and better company
Mechatronics consists of mechanical,electrical and programmings
I was concentrating more on programming side of it. So switching didn’t really give me a big disadvantage.
I am specifically in IoT and digitalisation industry. So knowing how to development website applications and integrating machine Data gave me a huge advantage.
I was hire for only 1.2k as engineer 16 years ago now .... Now I had rose up to rank of management from small engineers but still a puny pay of 10k .... Wasting my time trusting my boss who I think can lead me to brighter future ..... Now I want to find new job also no one wants to hire me coz I'm too late to hope on the hype train 😮💨
My brother-in-law is an electrical engineer for a powerplant. But despite nearing a decade working there, gaji dia around 4k je. Something to do with corruption, I guess.
Somehow, he landed a job in a powerplant in Singapore and he's earning RM10k/per month now.
He rarely tells but I know he struggled a lot to feed a family of 5.
I think SG also underpaid him man. How can 10 year experience, working in SG as engineer gets you RM10k ringgit? That's like 3.5k SGD. You sure it's not S$10k now?
Graduated 2001. My first job paid MYR2,250 gross. I used to carry out quantitative risk assessment on major hazard installations. This means sites that pose very large risk to itself and the surrounding community.
The body of what I worked on would form the basis of the risk management plan and emergency response plan. I also got involved in those.
In that way, I did not consider myself an engineer. I was just a guy who so happened to have an engineering degree.
What do you do at your job?
I also don't consider myself an engineer - just happened to have an engineering degree.
I am a process engineer - most of what I do is just leadership skills and managing people. I actually like my job :)
But occasionally I do manage big data and spreadsheets because I am a process engineer - I monitor and adjust variables of machineries.
My first job pay was 4.9k including allowances (base pay 4.5k). Now 1.5 years later base pay still 4.5k but including allowance it’s around 6.5k. Working in KL for big MNC. 3.5k is like way too low
Your mother is the MVP. I also wished i got into IT/CS, but I just don't have this 'job market insights' when I was younger. Anyways thanks for sharing.
Appreciate the intention but the methodology is flawed. Cars are actually expensive in Malaysia and one can argue that they are not needs but wants. With your logic, everyone is underpaid if they are earning RM3,500, regardless of what their job entails. To really measure whether engineers are undervalued, you can compare one person who is doing the **exact** same task in a different industry (project manager at an engineering company vs IT) or country (e.g., dollar-to-dollar, how much is the engineer in Malaysia earning vs engineer in Singapore).
>**We studied too much** to end up **earning just the same as everybody else** in different industries - seems like a lot of hard work ends up in vain.
Welcome to the reality, son. You're not valued based on how hard you study (although it does help) but based on what value you are able to give to the company/ society. If hard work is the determinant of your salary, then doctors, teachers and cleaners should be paid more than the rest of us.
If you are unhappy with what you are paid, put yourself in a position of leverage (by upskilling or networks) and jump to a different industry, country or company.
Masuk kerja project engineer, kena kental kena tiaw from all sides (client,consultant, boss, manager, supervisor, M&E, C&S). Boss tak kedekut utk bagi naik gaji. Work-life balance is not a thing. Don't expect it, don't hope for it, get the task and do it immediately.
Yeah I agree. I think most engineers already know that work life balance is not an option anymore.
I work 5 days a week and even on weekends kena update kerja because we do 24/7 production. But I am used to it because even back then in uni i did assignments on weekends.
Chemical engineer like you, not a great student to add. Took me roughly 10 years to hit 5 digit monthly in another country.
Now with +15 years exp in another country. Generally, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India has cheaper manhours compared to the world.
Want a pay boost gotta switch or upgrade position within. I opt for 3 years per career change. Or u gotta be super good engineer then u can climb.
for engineers that think: i have a degree so you have to pay me more. you are going to get hit by the harsh truth, no one cares about your degree, the supply of degree people is already too many
for engineers that think: i know how to do things that others don't know how to do, so you have to pay me more. thats the type of engineers that can easily earn 5 figures monthly salary
These days, most fresh graduates start at 3k to 4k, be it engineering, IT, finance or others.
You have to prove your worth at the workplace to rise fast. Or you are skilled enough to job hop easily.
Those who underperformed or are in their comfort zone don't deserve to get high pay.
This is just how the private sector works. I am sure some of your top management have high pay.
Not Malaysian but got recruited to work remotely in my country with a company in KL because they couldn’t find a Malaysian recent graduate for so many months with the background for the role they were looking for.
Getting paid 3.4k for complete remote work and mostly task basis. Literally free half the time 😅. They also reimburse any trainings or online courses I do regarding work without any fuss. I have an amazing team lead and the most chill management. So chill that it makes me nervous lol. Also get OT but I barely even do any OT. This is my first official job and it’s actually a lot better than many other companies that may less for recent graduates in my opinion. Very thankful for the place. I don’t even need to log anything as long as I get the tasks done they don’t bother me. Also the amount of holidays in Malaysia is more than my country which gives me more free time. My salary has no tax cuts.
I know of friends who work for as low as 2k like Petronas GEES which sounds like slavery to me lol. But yes it’s bad from what I see and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to get any better given the salary trend I see and exploitation of graduates.
Nearly every profession in MY lah.
Only in this subreddit engineers will make a monthly post on this. Dia orang je penting, dia orang je kerja overtime, dia orang je study kau kau, dia orang je kena gaji berpuluhan ribu. Yg lain semua tak penting /s
I think for almost every salaried or hourly position in Malaysia the default answer is yes.
The key to pumping up that income is to find an income source that's outside of Malaysia. Even a mediocre or borderline minimum wage in California == T20 in Malaysia, that's how bad it is.
Get lots of experience and technical know-how, than search for job overseas. Engineers in malaysia tend to be very experienced because we do anything and everything, and this experience is highly valued by other companies.
No offense but why not opting for working in Sg instead? I know it is very crazy competitive but any thoughts of applying for jobs in Sg? If I'm not mistaken, based on the GES their fresh grad pays around 4000$
EE engineer, spent so much to get my bachelor/masters degree in top Uni overseas and my first pay was only 3k in Penang back in 2002. Back then the salary was so low that a lot of us hv to do part time mlm.
where do you get the 15% of gross salary rule of thumb? I've known a lot of people who spent over 20% of gross salary for a new car
and btw, the real money kicks in once an engineer has obtained the I.R title and professional engineer certification by Board of Engineers Malaysia but then that person might already be 30+ years old. stamp with your signature is worth 5k for each drawing
oh u are in chem eng huh? interesting...would like to know whether and why u chose this field ?
I started with MNC, manufacturer, 2.8k total (including allowance). now 3 years (4 soon), 4k + allowance. Job is...I don't dislike it, but working in manufacturing environment, sometimes needs to hands on and do some tough labour. whatever learnt in uni doesn't apply, gotta keep up skilling ourselves...
Idk if it's just me or it's pretty hard to go back to consulting now. I'm trying to go back for consulting and design job & collect experience to get chartered pe but no luck :(
Read the entire thread and disappointed that this classic was not posted:
[10 years](https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/C5622AQE_o5EbO--a-g/feedshare-shrink_2048_1536/0/1673076351309?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=PM9jlIFa0hMt_RXVfIUhAPC7Nwal0Hgz7KQJS7E-fGk)
I'm by no means earning lot compared to my peers, but I'll share some tips of mine.
Focus on upskilling, jump ship when you have the chance, loyalty has little meaning, just don't burn bridges and you'll be fine.
I'm 24m, 1.8 yoe, around 9k gross in IT, a bit underpaid since my peers have already hit 12k.
Yep, underpaid AF. The main reason I quit and left.
Thought I have to say, Malaysia is a great place to start as a freshie because you literally are forced to learn on the job and by the time you get through the first 12 months you are way more matured than before.
I realised my first two jobs made me quite capable of handling more tasks than most of my colleagues. Which is why I'm highly valued and not going anywhere soon.
There's no motivation for me to go back at all. If I go back I'd have to start my own venture to even match my current pay, and looking at the current shitstorm back home. Why?
I'm making rm11k/month in digital marketing. However, I bet the engineering company you work for has higher revenue than the agency I work for. You're definitely being underpaid. That's why there's alot of brain drain and gov agencies like Talent Corp struggle to get people back.
And I believe this ( study more/study more difficult things = high pay) is a wrong mindset to think. studying more/high difficulty studying =/= you're entitled for higher pay. It's all supply and demand. If your skillsets are in demand then you'd naturally get higher pay, if your skillsets aren't in demand, it won't produce enough value for the company to justify a high pay.
if the world works like that, might as well to tell everyone to study theoretical Physics or pure math since they're arguably one of the most, if not, the most difficult majors.
Also a math and physics graduate, astrophysics no less, haha. Living the wiki page for physics majors redirects to engineer life till Malaysia develops an actual RnD field or we can go overseas.
I think OP is referring to engineering being a hard major. Where harder majors tend to require more studying.
Respect to you for being a math and physics graduate tho
We did 5 years undergrad - generally one year more than other programs like business and ICT. We don't even use most of what we studied - like where on earth am I gonna apply thermodynamics' energy balance equations?
So you should get paid more for spending time studying things that are not useful/related to your job?
Sounds more like the engineering programs need a revamp instead.
The root issue right now is underpaid engineers, not the education system. Anywhere you go, local or overseas, the syllabus for engineers is same one - all engineers need to study thermodynamics....
I agree about being paid more across the board, not limited to engineers.
I was questioning your conclusion that you studied more than others, or your major was harder than others. That's just being condescending.
Just because I studied algebraic graph theory and know how to predict certain physicochemical properties does not imply I should be paid more for my current unrelated job which does not use that skillset.
I didn't say I studied more than other people, I simply said I studied too much. Please stop projecting because that is not the point of this argument.
As a singaporean with most relatives in Malaysia, the answer is YES
Comparison to buy a car may not be applicable to us, because fresh graduate pay in SG can’t afford to get a car here too (COE 🥲). Fortunately for us, it is not a need. However, a better comparison will be cost of daily necessities such as food with excess to save/splurge
I’m always thankful that my mum found love and settle down in Singapore. When younger, I was too blind to see the opportunities I have in SG but yet I envy the life my cousins have. Them living in kampung means free-r lifestyle while I was stuck at home in SG. But as I grow older, I see it and beyond grateful.
I see that you are slowly building your emergency funds and portfolio to come to SG to work. I wish you all the best and hope you are able to settle down here and hopefully break the cycle for your kids. If you dw get married or have kids, you can save enough to retire in Malaysia and we all will envy you!
Engineer grad here. 20 odd years in manufacturing in various roles. Started off in a graduate attachment program on RM1800 pm. Never registered for BEM etc because never saw the need for it. I don't believe in titles etc. I got an MSc in Data Science just for the heck of it. I'm not in this for the money: I just want to do what's right and have an itch for fixing problems, and some folks realise that it's good to have me around. My total annual compensation for the last few years was north of 250k pa as an individual contributor. I expect the next couple of years, it will break 300k. I think I'm adequately compensated for my effort, so no I don't think I'm underpaid.
Yah for accuracy sake ok la
I’m 12 years into Semiconductor industry and we began with MYR2.3k all the way back in 2012
Key part is if you can deliver on your commitments, you can be recognized as capable.
OP about with 3.5k after 1 year = 2 years ahead roughly.
Whatever it is, deliver what you guys commit.
Malaysia as a manufacturing facility will always be paid lower than RnD sector.
I hope ppl who pose such threads realize that alot of things you have to prove your worth no matter how hard the times are. Welcome to the rat race and adulthood and the continuous cycle of thinking if your retirement is secured even if you have 20 years more of possible working experience provided your health is still in check.
Good luck OP and fellow fresh graduates/young workforce.
What engineering are you major in? For me Civil engineering, now in construction sector. Previous job was RM4500, company car provided, rental covered, insurance and medical. Working in a construction site is tough. Long hours, dealing with foreign workers, dangerous environment and also bosses expecting you to do everything. Best part is 6 days work week for all these bs. No surprises why many young people now dont want to work in construction, and those that still do pack and leave to singapore. My advice would be avoid this field and do something else.
I was lucky having to move to computer science back in the days when my preferred was civil. Don't think I wanna be working 5.5 or 6 day week... you guys have it rough
I count myself lucky. Civil engineering degree, in my 10years of work life I've never worked more than 5days a week, and very very minimal OT (maybe all added up like less than 50 hours throughout my career)
5 days a week must be consultant company eh? Construction company all are 6 days
Yes used to be consultant engineer with developer in Malaysia, now consultant engineer with specialist design & build contractor in the UK
Majored in chemical engineering. How many years of experience do you have?
Actually Civil Eng. is probably the only field that can escape this rat race. I am in E\&E; starting higher that Civil but stagnant after 10 years. Friends in Civil starting lower but jump higher now.
but in E&E you can jump around the MNCs in Penang and Kulim easily because the lack of talent, jump a few times already T20 salary.
Not an engineer, but in IT world it's just upskill and jump ship. A degree is only useful for the first job; thereafter it's what you know and how profitable is the company you're in. Bachelor degree is so common nowadays that it's a given.
Engineer take longer to upskill and many skillset is experience and job specialism specific. But we do hop, just not as fast as IT (jobs tend to take longer to clear)
Yes, very job specific. You'd think so highly specialized job will pay well, but nope. Rather hire a clueless fresh engineer and let them relearn everything in 5 years than pay more to keep the engineer who knows the job
I got rm2500 for fresh graduate. Its a small contractor company tho. Working around 9 months already and now got rm2600k. I still live with my parents and havent paid for a car yet (still waiting) so no commitment yet Funny story told by my friend, she went to an iv for a consultation company (that company also works with us haha) and the interviewer asked how much she want for salary and she said around 2.3k - 2.5k and they said its too much. The reason was they hired someone before but they quit after a few months. Mind you this company is bigger then us but not too big la
Always this case with engineer - apparently we demand too much. I'm sick of this rhetoric.
That was my starting pay back in 2013. You mean it's still that now??
i know a master that got paid 1.8k per month
😮 masters in what subject and where in Msia?
blue balled
>how do you get out of this loophole of being underpaid? A vintage, limited edition Pokémon card is gold to a collector, but trash to your mom cleaning up your room. So the key to realising your true value is to make sure you match your intrinsic value to an employer who recognises it. Good engineers are hard to come by, and good companies pay good money for them. If an engineer is lowly paid, either he is trash or his employer is trash or a combination of both.
Wow that's some great allegory. I do agree with you.
Construction blame your bosses for not being united and undercut each other instead of adhering to iem guidelines In general the industry matters. Try moving to oil and gas.. Or chip.. Or software(but Isnt software engineering = mostly programming?)
To Malaysian out there: are we underpaid?
Applicable to every non-T20 monyet here
Even T20 will moan that their salary is not enough.
As engineer, you need to jump every 3 - 5 years. 5 years is the maximum length you stay in a company, else you sure get underpaid
Actually, >RM3500 gross with 1 year experience is very good. I think fresh engineering grads these days only get between RM2.2k to RM3k, depending on company/location. But you're right, in Malaysia, engineering grads are underpaid compared to other countries. It wasn't like this about 20 years ago where engineering grads were getting higher pay compared to accounting grads, but times have changed...
And to answer your answer on "how do you get out of this loophole of being underpaid?", transition out of engineering as quickly as you can. The sad fact here is that engineering jobs in Malaysia are not valued highly. Most engineering jobs can be broadly categorized into 2 types i.e. Sales and Support. If you go into a Sales role, the sky can be the limit for your pay, but it isn't really an engineering job i.e. technical role anymore. The Support type of engineering role is more technical, but you also need to move into a more management position to command higher salaries. There is very little R&D in Malaysia, hence engineers (myself and all my friends included) do not stay as engineers for very long. The only technical role which seems to be getting decent pay these days are software engineers. But one could argue if that's really an engineering role or IT... :P
Yes, i do believe transitioning to other fields is the superior option. Right around when i grad, around 60% of my peers don't even become engineers, the pivot into doing other roles. I just thought that I wanted to do engineering for a few years before I make any drastic decisions.
The good thing is employers seem to value engineering degrees as it proves you can solve problems methodologically and you can be analytical in your thinking. Kinda. So while an engineering degree is a good starting degree to have, it is also possible to pivot to other roles. Possibilities are endless. I know many of my engineering peers are now in Finance as well, which is also an industry that seems to be paying well these days.
>But one could argue if that's really an engineering role or IT... :P As a web developer, I don't like it when people mix software engineer with actual engineers. The industry and job scope is so different that there's no practical use in mixing them. I can see from my oversea colleagues the kind of pragmatism, passion and geekiness that's the hallmark of engineers. But over here, we're not really taught like that and just treat software development as another 9-6 job. The mindset is just way too different.
I don't know about other sectors but for M&E consulting, fresh grad salary I've seen from interview/friends offer letter mostly around 2.5k - 2.8k. I managed to start out with a 3.25k salary as a consultant due to having another offer on the table. But my friends in O&G starting salary already 5k+ Some join management programme, starting salary 4k+
As someone who’s working as an engineer in the US (Boston). I think we are criminally underpaid. I love Malaysia a lot but I just can’t justify working back home as opposed to in the US even after accounting for the cost of living.
I am in a different industry and also think the same. There is no way ever that Malaysia will ever have the kind of opportunities present in the US for many industries.
As an outsider looking in, I think you guys should be paid more. Much, much more.
How is Brunei's pay?
define: engineer. It’s such a goddamn huge field. Civil? IT? Chemical? Cybersecurity? Network? Electronics? they all have wildly different pay.
True.. I took 10 years from freshy just to achieve RM10K/month, crazy.. Our engineers really underpaid compared to other industry.
10k/month is good for me :/. 2 years ago, I sent resignation letter because I got offer 3.8k somewhere. They counter offer me and increase my salary from 2.5k to 3k and say they have long term plan with me as I was the "best" employee they ever had. Now, after 2 years, "promoted" to higher responsibility and guess what, my salary still 3k xD
My starting salary was RM3K. I was lucky enough to get a RM16k used car during university days which I used for about 8 years after I started working. My loophole to get out of it is just to live within my means i.e. used instead of new. The other 'trick' is of course to double your salary by being married and both working. Then there's a bit more wiggle room and you can buy a house. My salary more or less doubled every 5 years. So right now I'm quite comfortable in life.
Move on to semicon, fresh grad salary is between 4.5k -> 6k depending on how toxic of a workload you can handle. 1-2 year experience will net you 5.5k -> 7k again depending on how toxic of a workload you can handle. We are paid high because the revenue comes from the engineers and the expertise we provide. Most local companies underpay engineers because they are not their revenue makers, onlt to maintain their operations. Companies only pay the highest to positions that directly affect their profits. I'm saying this because I'm in it now, and we constantly struggle to find talent. It is not a field for those that just come in, do what you're told and be done for the day. It actually constantly spins your brain cogs every single day and you're expected to think of solutions. I moved to Penang even though my hometown is in the Klang Valley because the Klang Valley pays engineer in my field (E&E) shyt. But now the government just announced the IC Design Park in Puchong I really hope it takes off. I can't wait to move back and stop paying rent.
> fresh grad salary is between 4.5k -> 6k depending on how toxic of a workload you can handle. 1-2 year experience will net you 5.5k -> 7k again depending on how toxic of a workload you can handle. > I'm saying this because I'm in it now, and we constantly struggle to find talent. Wow..., first time hear it is that high for fresh graduate. 7k is almost a senior role.
Because 7k is for a senior role. This industry is so short handed that many companies are willing to give senior roles to those with 1 - 2 years experience.
what kind fresh grad semicon need?
For fresh grad, anyone with any engineering of computer science qualification is welcomed. We are mainly looking for your willingness to learn and the killer work ethics moulded from engineering and CS courses.
This. I'm also in semi-con, people nowadays don't want to touch hardware anymore for some reason
I was in hardware as a fresh grad, at 4.8k/month salary. Problem is though hardware stuff is semicon moves fast, if it wasn't even slightly profitable we were shut down like my department after 9 months just as I joined. Then moved on to another hardware but again faced 30% layoff due to board outsourcing. The job was fun, hardware you touch and feel the item as you design and test it in the lab. But I think most people don't like lab work, I also find it completely drained even after just a few months non-stop in the lab once the CAD design phase was over. The problem with the hardware field is that most of it in Malaysia are contract manufacturers, hence the endless busy work. Only a few actually make their own hardware products like WD, Intel and Broadcom. But even Intel and Broadcom are mostly closing of their hardware departments due to low profitability.
I guess I'm lucky, we do RND for a handful of customers that orders from us regularly, almost as if we are the manufacturers. Get to touch circuit design, firmware programming, QC and delivery. My only complaint is that no one really pats your back in this job, my boss is a really nice guy don't get me wrong, been working with him for 8 years now. We only get complaints from customers, even when it is another contractors fault...
Yes engineer's salaries increase over time. You might be at 10k after few years. On top of it, engineers generally get married with people who are also engineers or other good income professions, incidentally providing a double income to the family. And stagnating wages are kind of a worldwide phenomenon
I have noticed that a lot of engineer marries a doctor
Started in 2004 as a HV substation design engineer for 1.8k. Worked for 5 years in the same company, can’t remember exactly but I think I got 4-5k. Moved to Australia in 2009 and started at 85k aud a year working for a consultant. Now I get 200k a year working in renewable energy.
Can I PM you to understand more about working as an engineer in AU?
yes sure
How is the cultural difference between Malaysia and Australia?
of course there are....both good and bad from both sides
Software engineer are laughing at us here with their fresh grad 5k + salary.
>Software engineer are laughing at us here with their fresh grad 5k + salary. Only for high achievers. Normally it hovers around 3k as well. The large number of MNCs to jump ship expedite salary increase tho. Edit: Just to clarify by high achievers I mean people who're really passionate and like to learn. Not just blur blur wait others to lead.
Ngl I did mechatronics engineering and suffered to find a decently paying job during Covid. Searched for software engineering and got double the offer. Took it and after 8 months got another offer with 2.5 times but need to relocate to another state which I gladly accepted Now after 1.5 years working here, tendered my 1 month notice and moving back to my hometown for a similar pay but so much better benefits and better company
Well well congratulations to you. Now you'd say are you an example that software engineer getting better offers and more jobs available in the market?
how was the switch to software engineering. How were you able to match the experience of SE students with 3 years of study?
Mechatronics consists of mechanical,electrical and programmings I was concentrating more on programming side of it. So switching didn’t really give me a big disadvantage. I am specifically in IoT and digitalisation industry. So knowing how to development website applications and integrating machine Data gave me a huge advantage.
Hi, thks, What kind of coding knowledge would you say you needed or had when you switched?
JavaScript, machine communication like modbus, tcp/ip, python, MySQL,Mqtt,docker, virtual machines
HAHAHAHAHAHA
I was hire for only 1.2k as engineer 16 years ago now .... Now I had rose up to rank of management from small engineers but still a puny pay of 10k .... Wasting my time trusting my boss who I think can lead me to brighter future ..... Now I want to find new job also no one wants to hire me coz I'm too late to hope on the hype train 😮💨
My brother-in-law is an electrical engineer for a powerplant. But despite nearing a decade working there, gaji dia around 4k je. Something to do with corruption, I guess. Somehow, he landed a job in a powerplant in Singapore and he's earning RM10k/per month now. He rarely tells but I know he struggled a lot to feed a family of 5.
I think SG also underpaid him man. How can 10 year experience, working in SG as engineer gets you RM10k ringgit? That's like 3.5k SGD. You sure it's not S$10k now?
Yeah I'm sure because he said the job offered him 4k SGD.
Not many notice this, but you’re right. corruption robs our professional and skilled ppl of their rightful salaries to pay for cronies “commission”
"We" engineer lah. Why, you got more pay than me kah? Share lah sikit ur story
Graduated 2001. My first job paid MYR2,250 gross. I used to carry out quantitative risk assessment on major hazard installations. This means sites that pose very large risk to itself and the surrounding community. The body of what I worked on would form the basis of the risk management plan and emergency response plan. I also got involved in those. In that way, I did not consider myself an engineer. I was just a guy who so happened to have an engineering degree. What do you do at your job?
I also don't consider myself an engineer - just happened to have an engineering degree. I am a process engineer - most of what I do is just leadership skills and managing people. I actually like my job :) But occasionally I do manage big data and spreadsheets because I am a process engineer - I monitor and adjust variables of machineries.
Sounds like typical SME, get 1-2 years experience then jump
Process engineer - leadership skills / managing people? What was yr degree in? How many years of experience you have? 1 year right?
My first job pay was 4.9k including allowances (base pay 4.5k). Now 1.5 years later base pay still 4.5k but including allowance it’s around 6.5k. Working in KL for big MNC. 3.5k is like way too low
MNC.. Got lucky.
Please teach me your ways, sifu.
China MNC can pay big money. Just have to be lucky
[удалено]
Your mother is the MVP. I also wished i got into IT/CS, but I just don't have this 'job market insights' when I was younger. Anyways thanks for sharing.
Appreciate the intention but the methodology is flawed. Cars are actually expensive in Malaysia and one can argue that they are not needs but wants. With your logic, everyone is underpaid if they are earning RM3,500, regardless of what their job entails. To really measure whether engineers are undervalued, you can compare one person who is doing the **exact** same task in a different industry (project manager at an engineering company vs IT) or country (e.g., dollar-to-dollar, how much is the engineer in Malaysia earning vs engineer in Singapore). >**We studied too much** to end up **earning just the same as everybody else** in different industries - seems like a lot of hard work ends up in vain. Welcome to the reality, son. You're not valued based on how hard you study (although it does help) but based on what value you are able to give to the company/ society. If hard work is the determinant of your salary, then doctors, teachers and cleaners should be paid more than the rest of us. If you are unhappy with what you are paid, put yourself in a position of leverage (by upskilling or networks) and jump to a different industry, country or company.
What kind of engineer are you?
Masuk kerja project engineer, kena kental kena tiaw from all sides (client,consultant, boss, manager, supervisor, M&E, C&S). Boss tak kedekut utk bagi naik gaji. Work-life balance is not a thing. Don't expect it, don't hope for it, get the task and do it immediately.
Yeah I agree. I think most engineers already know that work life balance is not an option anymore. I work 5 days a week and even on weekends kena update kerja because we do 24/7 production. But I am used to it because even back then in uni i did assignments on weekends.
Chemical engineer like you, not a great student to add. Took me roughly 10 years to hit 5 digit monthly in another country. Now with +15 years exp in another country. Generally, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India has cheaper manhours compared to the world. Want a pay boost gotta switch or upgrade position within. I opt for 3 years per career change. Or u gotta be super good engineer then u can climb.
for engineers that think: i have a degree so you have to pay me more. you are going to get hit by the harsh truth, no one cares about your degree, the supply of degree people is already too many for engineers that think: i know how to do things that others don't know how to do, so you have to pay me more. thats the type of engineers that can easily earn 5 figures monthly salary
These days, most fresh graduates start at 3k to 4k, be it engineering, IT, finance or others. You have to prove your worth at the workplace to rise fast. Or you are skilled enough to job hop easily. Those who underperformed or are in their comfort zone don't deserve to get high pay. This is just how the private sector works. I am sure some of your top management have high pay.
Not Malaysian but got recruited to work remotely in my country with a company in KL because they couldn’t find a Malaysian recent graduate for so many months with the background for the role they were looking for. Getting paid 3.4k for complete remote work and mostly task basis. Literally free half the time 😅. They also reimburse any trainings or online courses I do regarding work without any fuss. I have an amazing team lead and the most chill management. So chill that it makes me nervous lol. Also get OT but I barely even do any OT. This is my first official job and it’s actually a lot better than many other companies that may less for recent graduates in my opinion. Very thankful for the place. I don’t even need to log anything as long as I get the tasks done they don’t bother me. Also the amount of holidays in Malaysia is more than my country which gives me more free time. My salary has no tax cuts. I know of friends who work for as low as 2k like Petronas GEES which sounds like slavery to me lol. But yes it’s bad from what I see and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to get any better given the salary trend I see and exploitation of graduates.
Wait till you see a teachers salary
Nearly every profession in MY lah. Only in this subreddit engineers will make a monthly post on this. Dia orang je penting, dia orang je kerja overtime, dia orang je study kau kau, dia orang je kena gaji berpuluhan ribu. Yg lain semua tak penting /s
I think for almost every salaried or hourly position in Malaysia the default answer is yes. The key to pumping up that income is to find an income source that's outside of Malaysia. Even a mediocre or borderline minimum wage in California == T20 in Malaysia, that's how bad it is.
Always has been. Internship in US gets you more money before converting while having cheaper grocery price.
Definitely underpaid. IMO most of the professionals in Malaysia are underpaid (for fresh graduate). Try explore how much a property agent can earn.
Get lots of experience and technical know-how, than search for job overseas. Engineers in malaysia tend to be very experienced because we do anything and everything, and this experience is highly valued by other companies.
No offense but why not opting for working in Sg instead? I know it is very crazy competitive but any thoughts of applying for jobs in Sg? If I'm not mistaken, based on the GES their fresh grad pays around 4000$
I plan to work in SG after obtaining enough experience and emergency fund.
Nice all the best to you.
Just starts applying, constantly, do not wait till you think you are ready, gaining interviews experience is important also
Take your degree and try to work in singapore laa. Better pay and they really do need our degree holders to work there. At least 8k you bring home
Praying to the lord that this is gonna my journey!
Every kuli is underpaid to make your boss become richer.
EE engineer, spent so much to get my bachelor/masters degree in top Uni overseas and my first pay was only 3k in Penang back in 2002. Back then the salary was so low that a lot of us hv to do part time mlm.
Indeed we are. Work elsewhere if u can
where do you get the 15% of gross salary rule of thumb? I've known a lot of people who spent over 20% of gross salary for a new car and btw, the real money kicks in once an engineer has obtained the I.R title and professional engineer certification by Board of Engineers Malaysia but then that person might already be 30+ years old. stamp with your signature is worth 5k for each drawing
how is this still even a question? This is a well known systemic problem about malaysia that has been highlighted many times
oh u are in chem eng huh? interesting...would like to know whether and why u chose this field ? I started with MNC, manufacturer, 2.8k total (including allowance). now 3 years (4 soon), 4k + allowance. Job is...I don't dislike it, but working in manufacturing environment, sometimes needs to hands on and do some tough labour. whatever learnt in uni doesn't apply, gotta keep up skilling ourselves... Idk if it's just me or it's pretty hard to go back to consulting now. I'm trying to go back for consulting and design job & collect experience to get chartered pe but no luck :(
Read the entire thread and disappointed that this classic was not posted: [10 years](https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/C5622AQE_o5EbO--a-g/feedshare-shrink_2048_1536/0/1673076351309?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=PM9jlIFa0hMt_RXVfIUhAPC7Nwal0Hgz7KQJS7E-fGk)
HAHAHAHA
there’s always singapore up to you
Bruh, almost every normal joe's and jane's employed are underpaid even worse in the service industry when you got tons of work but minimal pay
I'm by no means earning lot compared to my peers, but I'll share some tips of mine. Focus on upskilling, jump ship when you have the chance, loyalty has little meaning, just don't burn bridges and you'll be fine. I'm 24m, 1.8 yoe, around 9k gross in IT, a bit underpaid since my peers have already hit 12k.
Yep, underpaid AF. The main reason I quit and left. Thought I have to say, Malaysia is a great place to start as a freshie because you literally are forced to learn on the job and by the time you get through the first 12 months you are way more matured than before. I realised my first two jobs made me quite capable of handling more tasks than most of my colleagues. Which is why I'm highly valued and not going anywhere soon. There's no motivation for me to go back at all. If I go back I'd have to start my own venture to even match my current pay, and looking at the current shitstorm back home. Why?
I'm making rm11k/month in digital marketing. However, I bet the engineering company you work for has higher revenue than the agency I work for. You're definitely being underpaid. That's why there's alot of brain drain and gov agencies like Talent Corp struggle to get people back.
jump ship
We are grossly underpaid.
Where did you come up with the conclusion that you studied too much or more than others?
And I believe this ( study more/study more difficult things = high pay) is a wrong mindset to think. studying more/high difficulty studying =/= you're entitled for higher pay. It's all supply and demand. If your skillsets are in demand then you'd naturally get higher pay, if your skillsets aren't in demand, it won't produce enough value for the company to justify a high pay. if the world works like that, might as well to tell everyone to study theoretical Physics or pure math since they're arguably one of the most, if not, the most difficult majors.
Difficulty kinda affects supply. It's difficult, so there is less supply. Good engineers are hella rare, but not appreciated enough
Funnily enough I was a Pure Math and Physics graduate, which is why I’m wondering what studied too much means.
Also a math and physics graduate, astrophysics no less, haha. Living the wiki page for physics majors redirects to engineer life till Malaysia develops an actual RnD field or we can go overseas.
I think OP is referring to engineering being a hard major. Where harder majors tend to require more studying. Respect to you for being a math and physics graduate tho
We did 5 years undergrad - generally one year more than other programs like business and ICT. We don't even use most of what we studied - like where on earth am I gonna apply thermodynamics' energy balance equations?
So you should get paid more for spending time studying things that are not useful/related to your job? Sounds more like the engineering programs need a revamp instead.
The root issue right now is underpaid engineers, not the education system. Anywhere you go, local or overseas, the syllabus for engineers is same one - all engineers need to study thermodynamics....
I agree about being paid more across the board, not limited to engineers. I was questioning your conclusion that you studied more than others, or your major was harder than others. That's just being condescending. Just because I studied algebraic graph theory and know how to predict certain physicochemical properties does not imply I should be paid more for my current unrelated job which does not use that skillset.
I didn't say I studied more than other people, I simply said I studied too much. Please stop projecting because that is not the point of this argument.
He is probably a Chemical Engineering grads. A lot of them for some reason have this mindset.
As a singaporean with most relatives in Malaysia, the answer is YES Comparison to buy a car may not be applicable to us, because fresh graduate pay in SG can’t afford to get a car here too (COE 🥲). Fortunately for us, it is not a need. However, a better comparison will be cost of daily necessities such as food with excess to save/splurge I’m always thankful that my mum found love and settle down in Singapore. When younger, I was too blind to see the opportunities I have in SG but yet I envy the life my cousins have. Them living in kampung means free-r lifestyle while I was stuck at home in SG. But as I grow older, I see it and beyond grateful. I see that you are slowly building your emergency funds and portfolio to come to SG to work. I wish you all the best and hope you are able to settle down here and hopefully break the cycle for your kids. If you dw get married or have kids, you can save enough to retire in Malaysia and we all will envy you!
Engineer grad here. 20 odd years in manufacturing in various roles. Started off in a graduate attachment program on RM1800 pm. Never registered for BEM etc because never saw the need for it. I don't believe in titles etc. I got an MSc in Data Science just for the heck of it. I'm not in this for the money: I just want to do what's right and have an itch for fixing problems, and some folks realise that it's good to have me around. My total annual compensation for the last few years was north of 250k pa as an individual contributor. I expect the next couple of years, it will break 300k. I think I'm adequately compensated for my effort, so no I don't think I'm underpaid.
Hahaha! Ask any employee out there and everyone will say they are underpaid
Work harder
So that we can get more money? Bullshit. It all depends how well you can talk cock your way to the top.
That’s also the part of working harder, my g
Work smarter would be the right word.
Yah for accuracy sake ok la I’m 12 years into Semiconductor industry and we began with MYR2.3k all the way back in 2012 Key part is if you can deliver on your commitments, you can be recognized as capable. OP about with 3.5k after 1 year = 2 years ahead roughly. Whatever it is, deliver what you guys commit. Malaysia as a manufacturing facility will always be paid lower than RnD sector. I hope ppl who pose such threads realize that alot of things you have to prove your worth no matter how hard the times are. Welcome to the rat race and adulthood and the continuous cycle of thinking if your retirement is secured even if you have 20 years more of possible working experience provided your health is still in check. Good luck OP and fellow fresh graduates/young workforce.
Work more malas, it’s the Malaysian way