My salary history in Kuala Lumpur : 2005-2025

Jumping on the trend. 

My salary history in Kuala Lumpur : 2005-2025

https://www.threads.net/@_jerng/post/DHdAK0wT99Y

---

2005-2025 / Ballparks

I won't write about why I left each job - that's off-topic.

"No number is big enough - I'll always want more" - a college mate

2005 USA

My classmates graduate, and go to Wall Street. We're a tier-two liberal arts college ( bates.edu ) with a decent economics department. Goldman pays $/y 60,000. Smaller shops pay that, and a $10,000 hiring bonus to compete. IBM consultants make about $/y 40k, and school teachers as little as $/y 12k

---

Elsewhere in the world, nepo-babies are getting $800k bonuses in their first year at hedge funds.

This is all irrelevant to me, as my entire college career is designed to avoid commercial subjects. I had planned to learn about commerce only after graduation. I'm also not interested in competing for visas in the US because I don't think I'm commercially competitive, so I burn my F1 student visa's "one free year to work in the US" and head home to Malaysia.

---

2005 MY

RM/m 1900. My first job is via church networks, and I work in a think tank that supports Putrajaya.

2006

RM/m 2100. My first commercial job, is in management consulting data services, surveying local salaries. I get some strategic data. Public company bank CEOs make around RM 20-30k basic, with benefits.

My team manager makes RM/m 10k, the country manager makes about RM/m 40k, but is useless and is fired.

---

McKinsey pays about RM/m 10k for fresh graduates at this time.

Accenture pays about RM/m 3k.

2007

RM/m 2300. My first and only IB job, is on the buy side in funds management. CIMB's chief investment officer is making maybe 10-years bonus in a good year. That's RM 3.6 m, which I think is pathetic, and so there are zero jobs which sound like "good money" in Malaysia at this point.

2008

RM/m 2000. I help some folks to pitch their startup to a listed company, and they are acquired.
---

RM/m 500

As a bartender on Changkat, Malaysia has no minimum wage. Take home is about 1.6k

BCG pays about RM/m 15k for fresh graduates at this time.

In my own reflection, that's a good enough number to "just get by for life, even if it's a ceiling", so broadly I target to bill freelance work at that price.

2009

RM/m (4000 cash + 2500 in shares). I learn web development, while performing administrative duties for another startup. My shares are never encashed.

---

2011

RM/m 15000. I do freelance work, and this is now comfortably billed given the acquired skillset.

RM/m 4500. I help out at a friend's tech public relations firm.

2012

RM/m 5500. I get a raise, but it is time for a proper sabbatical, and I manage to take 8 months off that year.

I am impressed by how easy it is to make money trading securities and derivatives, but I don't feel that I have enough corporate experience, so I make myself go back to work the next year.

---

2013

RM/m 2000. I help a hipster cafe to pitch for family funding, and set up operations.

2014

RM/m 1500. After the place is set up, I train as a barista.

RM/m 3000. GM for a small systems integrator.

RM/m 5000. A software development gig.

RM/m 15000. A technical management gig.

2015-2020

RM/m 3500. I am the managing partner of a small cafe. It is a career move, as I finally get to work on an entire company without idiot bosses. I am the idiot boss.

---

2021-2023

RM/m 20,000. I work for two companies, doing various forms of corporate development and mentoring.

2023-2025

RM/m zero. I am again in sabbatical. Hopefully I can keep my costs of living within the range of prison food, and complete a decade of this.