I am in this field for almost 15 years now. I started as a medical lab tech in a hospital and now I am a lab manager in a private hospital.

My vision was exactly as yours, finish study and work as a researcher, find cure for cancer and all. But as you put it, Malaysia is not a good place for clinical researchers.

There are alot of clinical labs in Malaysia. In hospitals, or as standalone labs. Which makes business hard. And then, there are alot of biomed science graduates. I mean "stockpiles of resumes" alot. My point is, a fresh grad would normally makes shy of 2k and if you are lucky to work in a hospital lab with on call, another 1k. If you are not lucky, which you most probably will, you'll work in with less than 2k every month for a year, working on shifts. Increment is bull crap since you are replaceable. "There are alot more people waiting to work for us" bull crap.

My advise, work in singapore / oversea. Get a cert / post degree such as cyto screener after you finished study. Try to work and gain experience first and then do your post degree cert. Dont go for masters / phd unless you want to be a lecturer. Which is a good idea, should you love teaching.

But dont forget us Malaysians.