Hi @Belphegor thanks for the info! I have ptptn to be paid and if there's an offer for me in KL imma gonna rely on public transit. Not insured as well.

Do you think asking for 4k is too high for this industry? I dont think I cam survive with anything less (unless any sifu can teach me how)

If you are a fresh graduate and this is your first job, I think the max you can get is around 3.5k in banking sector. You can always ask for more, no harm trying.

Bear in mind the average salary in banks are lower in general, but their benefits and bonuses are usually good.

This post has been edited by coolguy99: Mar 30 2019, 07:04 PM

Why not try find a job in your hometown? Would it be better? You get to save many things.

1. Understand you're from banking / financial, so expect somewhere 2.4k - 3k for entry level. I heard there's some management trainee program which offer up to 5k, but it's too competitive.
2. Without experience & entry level position, 5k is an amount almost no employer willing to pay.
3. Live within your means and you'll survive literally under any circumstances, I'll provide a breakdown of living expenses in KL after this.
4. Try filtering your criteria on job portals, I believe there's a rare few programs which willing to pay up to 4k.

Monthly living expenses breakdown in KL.
1. Accommodation - RM700 - RM1,000 for a fully furnished room with close proximity to metro system & not too far from CBD (Close to metro is important as from your earlier post you'll be relying on public transportation)
2. Transportation - RM100 for MY100 pass (unlimited ride on rapidKL buses, MRT, LRT & monorail)
3. Food - RM600, assuming RM20 a day average
4. Utilities - RM150 (RM50 for electric on sharing basis, RM20 for water bill on sharing basis, RM80 for broadband)
5. Miscellaneous - RM400 - Socializing, outing, celebrations, attending events, etc
Total : ~RM2K

Assuming your pay is RM3K, after deductibles it'll be about RM2,649. Deducting above expenses, you'll be left with about RM700 a month.

Since you're contemplating whether to remain in Penang, what you can do is try factoring in all the necessity and expense and see how much you'll end up a month.

Also, list down all your priorities and give each a weightage and see which city will give you a higher weightage score. From your earlier description, two main priorities are staying close to your family and looking for better job opportunity with better pay in KL.

With all being done, maybe you'll be able to draw a clearer picture & direction to decide on your next step in life.

OMG Thank you! You dont know how much I needed this

I see, would asking for more makes HR ignore my application?

Its true but there are limited jobs here and with the progression Im looking for. So maybe its best to travel out of my comfort zone

I've heard from my friend who is working as HR they will filter out those with good resumes first (they will look at cgpa and school for fresh graduate hires), then look at salary demand.

But of course every HR works in a different way. It will be better if you can find out how much is the average pay for a fresh graduate in the bank that you are applying to, and work from there.

Glassdoor is a nice place to start!

Thanks @coolguy99, very cool! Are you working now and if yes how much did you asked for your salary and any tips on getting offers? (no luck so far)

You can always put 4K, but HR will definitely pay less than that. To be safe 3k-3.5k is a better figure to put. It’s a highly competitive market out there, and for a fresh graduate with unproven record, it’s hard to negotiate with HR.

I asked for 3.2k for my first job and gotten the job. I would say it’s a pretty decent pay.

Considering that you do not have any bargaining power (apart from your cgpa), I would say don’t set your expectations too high, focus on gaining experience and money will come eventually if you are proven to be good at what you do.

Work in hometown area doesn't necessarily mean you are in your comfort zone. I believe there are many way can make you step out of your comfort zone.

How come you cannot live with anything below RM4K? I used to live under RM1k, even in the third year of my working (though granted I lived with my parents at the time).

Even say you have car installment RM600 and rent a good place at RM1.5k....that still comes up to RM3k only!

That's quite a myopic view of the expenses involved.

What about EPF? What about food? What about bills and other commitments? What about tax? What about savings?

The world doesn't just revolve around car installment and rent.

This post has been edited by NowLat.yet: Mar 31 2019, 02:58 PM

I suppose there are alot of factors that we are not in shoes to comment. He probably have alot commitments so let's not get there

Heys yes you're right, after accounting for possible epf, sosco and eis cut, ptptn repayment and money for my family, anything less than 3k might be hard for me (but I know you all have the smarts to make it possible). Thank you all for the comments and this has really helped me prepare just in case I got an offer in KL!

Please wish me luck too!

Manda <3

This post has been edited by AmandaFluffy: Mar 31 2019, 07:15 PM

Fair enough, different factors etc...but the standard starting pay in the financial industry is ~RM2.8k...if you're good, can get RM3.0-RM3.2k...and if you're the creme de la creme, you get RM3,5-RM4.0k. For someone who is a fresh grad...to say even RM4k wouldn't be sufficient...I have a hard time understanding it. Maybe if he broke down how/why he requires RM4k...that'd be appreciated. At least eye opener to those of us who think it's excessive.

Job Title: Tax Semi Senior
Job Description: Corporate tax compliance, preparing tax computation and tax return for companies and some tax admin works such as filing of tax estimates, submission of documents to LHDN for clients during tax audit, attend to LHDN's queries for clients, etc.
Age: 25
Years spent in company: 1 year 6 months
Company: One of the Big 4 in KL
Industry: Accounting/Taxation
Tenure: Permanent
Employment Level: Semi-Senior
Experience before joining (years): 1 year in another Big 4
Highest paper qualification/ education background: ACCA affiliate, few more months to become a member
Location: Klang Valley
Average Working Hours Per Week (incl lunch hours): 9am to 6-7pm (offpeak)/8-9pm (peak season)

Monetary Payout
Basic Salary + Fixed Allowance: RM3,850 + RM200
Contractual Bonus (months): N/A
Performance, Variable Bonus & Commissions (months) : 1.5mths (last bonus received)

Benefits (where relevant) :
Health Benefits: Basic medical card
Transport Benefits: RM0.80/km
Mobile / Internet / Gadget Benefits : N/A
Flexi Working Hours: Yes (but definitely not applicable during peak season )
Other Benefits: Dental & Optical benefit of RM300 per year

Currently quite pissed with the boss but I will stay at this job for at least 2 years. After this, if I jump to non-accounting firm, do I have enough bargaining power with employer given the above background (with 3 years of working experience in Big 4 by then)? or should I stay with the firm/work in other tax firms for a few more years before starting my career in the corporate sector? I have the passion working in tax but I'm unsure if my working experience will have high demand in the job market compared to those with audit background

Advice from all sifus here is highly appreciated! Thank you!

This post has been edited by MrDylan94: Mar 31 2019, 11:05 PM

3rd update at 5.5yrs exp

Job Title : Actuarial assistant manager
Job Desciption : Insurance Pricing
Age : 28
Years spent in company : around 5.5 Years
Company : Local Insurance Company
Industry : Insurance
Employment Level : AM
Experience before joining : 0 Experience
Highest paper qualification/ education background : Associate Actuary (ASA). One last 5 hours exam to become fully qualified actuary
Salary : 12.5k
Bonus : 2-3months
Average working hours : 9am to 7-8pm on non peak. If peak then around 10pm.
After working will spend at least one hour to study at home, weekend allocate at least 8 hours on studying for exams since I joined the industry. So life is basically work and exam with little social life. To make it worse, I am not a smart person and failed the same exam a few times.

This post has been edited by ZeonKid: Apr 2 2019, 11:06 AM

wow thats high