The sg job market was hit really badly during the crisis and I pretty much found a lot of my own friends and other peers in same situation as me..  In fact, some have not even found a job since 2009. I would argue it has not really recovered ever since - unless you are covering Indonesia ..  KL market on the other hand is relatively more stable (I guess that probably is due to the lower cost base than anything else).. Cant say I am really a reluctant returner but begger cant be choosers so I have to make the most out of it.. it's sth that I am actively pursuing now.. been in touch with few headhunters but market is still very luke-warm.

To Maverick2011, I dont have your answer to your exact question but as usual, I can try to pinpoint some data point (I try to limit data point to local banks)

1)CF - Head of Department. A typical MD level at says CIMB (they call it Team Director or sth) would be raking in something close to RM40 - 50k p. mth as based. bonus would be anywhere from 12 mths to 36 mths.  Head of CF would probably rake in 80k per mth but you are not likely to get there with just 15 yrs experience, unless the odder batch steps down. These days, I were made to understand even if a 10 years Director can make close to 30k at cimb. at the same time, Maybank under TZ has greatly revamped its senior troop comp to be on par or even more competitive than cimb.

2) Sell Side Analyst . A typical Head of Research would probably raking in RM30k+ but bonus usually wont be more than 12 mths. I stand to be corrected here as I dont have that much analyst friends.

3) Head of Dealing. This is really hard to gauge cos I heard that one CIMB Head of Treasury actually made a lot more money than Jay Razak (sth like RM15+ million in a good year). On the other hand, one senior dealer at Ambank that I know of made some RM30k per mth whereas another guy at OSK only make 15+k. This fluctuates hugely but my guess is that this CIMB fella is probably more or an outlier than anything.

In summary, IB head > Analyst > Head of Dealing on average.

This is the trend at foreign IB as well .

There are quite a few top gun Malaysian just for sharing:-

Check out the Richard Ong brothers (both spent years at GS, and one is a multi-billionaire running his own pe fund in China; the other now the Chief Investment Officer at Temasek / GIC). They are probably the top percentile-representative of the IB career path. And then there's Kendall Court's Chris and a few more..

Then there is this Penang fella Cheah of Value Partners, ex Morgan Greenfell Analyst Head who then founded one of the largest hedge funds in asia with >usd5b AUM (just fees alone he would be pocketing some USD50m per year).  He would probably the top % representative of the Analyst career path. -and if you never hear of him, google it. his story would be a true source of inspration (he has to drop off high sch at 15/ 16 and work as rubber tapper in some kinda of sob story)

I cant thk of anyone who made as much money  or as high profile as Head of Dealing. but if you mean Trader, there is one Malaysian ex-Citi prop trader based in NYC - his firm is called Kamunting Capital or sth like that - again with ten of billions AUM..

So sky is indeed the limit.

No doubt everyone has a burning desire for big money but what make you stand out from the other guys to really excel in the industry (and how to get in if you are not in yet)?

This is the question I ask myself every day!!