Local or overseas graduate doesn't make much difference in general.
Anyway, I am not sure if I can fully agree that actuarial pay is really super high..
Comparing against non actuarial, maybe it's true in the earlier stages of career. However, in later stages, I would say while it's slightly higher, it's not that much higher..
Say, a senior manager in other department could be earning about 15-18k while an actuarial senior manager would perhaps earn about 10%-20% more. the gap reduces further as you go up the ranks.

Job Title : Assistant Manager IT
Job Description : Take care company and sister company IT, hardware and software
Age : 33
Years spent in company : 7
Company : Logistic
Industry :Logistic
Tenure : Permanent
Employment Level : Manager
Experience before joining (years) : 4
Highest paper qualification/ education background : Diploma
Location : Peninsular Malaysia
Average Working Hours Per Week (incl lunch hours): 45

Monetary Payout
Basic Salary + Fixed Allowance : RM5,150
Contractual Bonus (months): 0
Performance, Variable Bonus & Commissions (months) : Depends on performance

Benefits (where relevant) :
Health Benefits : Basic health insurance
Transport Benefits : N/A
Mobile / Internet / Gadget Benefits : N/A
Flexi Working Hours : N/A
Other Benefits : N/A

Status : only me and one executive to handle IT in company....
Career Growth: Hard,due to company is losing money, bad management...
Opportunities for now : company are replacing old system (although is bad call from management to replace system, 2 years already haven't complete ), as a coordinator between developer and user, learn a lot about the production and financial
Plan : When project is finish and commencing, will leave and find better opportunity.

yea this sums it up quite well. i'm not a local grad but it doesn't really matter..
i guess if you're progressing well in the actuarial department and also passing exams, i would say it is common to earn more than 200k/annum including bonuses before you are 30.. but beyond that then it's pretty much the same world as everyone else.. the gaps won't be that big as you go up the ranks

Agree. Actuarial starts high but as you move up the ranks, the compensation is pretty much equal.

A HoD/VP/C level for operations, sales, IT, HR etc will be very similar to Actuarial.

To me, yes. How old are u? If u are young and don't have to worry, go ahead.

almost mid 30 with family & mortgage
i am afraid that most company don't prefer to hire people around that age
and if it is true, am gonna be lot of trouble if the contract is not renew
and the hassle to go thru another job seeking process..phew

deep inside i still want to learn & grow my knowledge, skills and career
but guess it is too late already when i have commitment and reach >30 eh?
most people i ask prefer to settle with whatever they have around that age..

Contract jobs don't come in favor for you anymore it seems. It's really quite risky for your age and like what you have mentioned, what if they don't renew your contract and you have to go through the hassle and agony of not having a job when you have bills to pay.

I think you can leave behind the option of going contract but instead open yourself up for permanent job opportunities. As age & commitments climb, job security should come above all else.

Changing from perm position to contract position is a risky decision. I have friends do that because of the higher pay and career opportunity.
But in your case your expected salary is still low for contract based. You should ask them to give around 7k to compensate any of your benefits as compare to perm. person.

You have family and other commitments as well. Make sure you have long term plan and backup plan if you encounter worst case scenario such as termination contract or project cancel.
As for your age (mid 30s), I don't think this would impact at all if you want to find perm position in future. Potential employers would only care on your experience and your contribution to the company. Probably few employers would think age might influence their decision to hire someone, but very rare.

All the best.

I disagree on you on age part.

Age does not influence for employers to decide (unless the person would like to apply for lower post).

What I'm saying is by his age settling down should come as priority instead of having to worry having his contract not being renewed or worst terminated prematurely but have bills waiting to pay.

So opting for something which offers job security should come above all else albeit the pay won't live up to contract jobs' pay.

in today's world. permanent post do not guarantees job security. let's face it.

I do agree on this. But when we compare permanent vs contract position, permanent position do offer more job security in comparison.

more like perceived security...if they don't need/want u, still off u go

Face it, two exact same job with the same company & exact same pay, one is contract, another's permanent, people will still pick the latter citing better job security.

And why contract jobs offer higher pay than permanent jobs, because most people are concerned of uncertain future, and higher pay are there to conceal the flaw and make the package look more attractive.

One can argue about the turbulent job market we have today but matter of fact is permanent jobs still have a certain degree of job security advantages over contract jobs. Or else it'd be a no brainer why people still hesitate to take up contract jobs which offer way better pay.

Yes, permanent staff will be retrenched as well.

From my perspective, my priority for career development. I will choose contract if the job allow me to learn precious skills, provided i get increment from the job hop.

Example:
My current monhtly salary 4k + 2mth bonus, annual salary is 4k*14=56,000

Job offer:

A: Permanent, 4500 + 2 mth bonus, annual salary is 63,000, 14 AL, 14 ML, insurance, etc.. doing similar thing with previous job.

B: Contract, 5250 (no bonuses), annual salary is 63,000,14 AL, 14 ML, insurance, etc.. job scope changed and offer learning opportunity aka better career development.

I will choose B with no doubt, provided the salary is not lesser than another offer.
I also found that, if select option A, the 2 mth bonus will be pro-rated depends on company policy, such as probation period will not count when come to bonus.
If select contract job, yes, i don't need to bother about bonus and don't need to wait for year end when come to career planning.

PS: The contract job here is not BOND (some people will be misunderstood), which i still can resign within contract period, by serving notice period.

I hope you can say that again when you're closing to your 40s, with kids, their education, mortgage & car loan to pay

Oops, I forgot to mention i haven't reach 30s, yeah, i agreed with you when you have high commitment, you need high stability job.
As of now, i just need to learn as much as possible no matter contract job and permanent job.

Also, some of the C-Suite positions are in contract basis, so you will let go the offer when you are 40s yo with family commitments? Correct me if i am wrong.

I'm located at Penang, increment about 26%. Well sure thing is I don't get to sit in front of my PC often anymore.

Then again coming back with the age issue. STOP seeing this as burden to change your career movement.

Its up to the person whether they can cover their commitment or not.

I have alot of colleagues who are in age range between 40s and 50s, and working as a contract position. They are all doing fine and can support their family and commitments.

I have talked them why prefer taking contract post. One thing they mentions is the pay is high, and can expose much on career development, compare to as permanent position.

I have also seen they can transition from contract to permanent position easily, as employer only regards experiences and skill as their upmost priority.

C-level position is different than any other employees level due to high pay scale. Some of employees who got promoted to C-level position had worked in the company for so long and had to change from permanent to contract basis. But they are totally difference than a person who get contract position on lower grade. Besides high pay, C-level also receives alot of benefits (car/driver/house/travelling/business/board meeting allowance, stock shares, etc.).