i am more into the operation/process/business side consulting. However, most of the time, tech advice would be needed

First time heard of that

Are you by any chance also working in the same line as well?

Job Title: Mortgage Sales
Job Description: Housing loan (sales)
Age: 27
Years spent in company : 2
Company: Bank
Industry: Finance & Banking
Tenure: Permanent
Employment Level: Degree
Experience before joining (years) : 2
Highest paper qualification/ education background : Degree
Location: KL
Average Working Hours Per Week (incl lunch hours):30 hrs (very flexible)

Monetary Payout
Basic Salary + Fixed Allowance: RM4k
Contractual Bonus (months): No
Performance, Variable Bonus & Commissions (months) : RM6k /month

Benefits (where relevant) :
Health Benefits: 1k> annual claimable
Transport Benefits : RM250
Mobile / Internet / Gadget Benefits : RM100
Flexi Working Hours: yes
Other Benefits: WFH, AL 12 days only

Ultimate goal is to become a portfolio manager so I am going to take CFA next year😁

Job Title : Senior
Job Desciption : Tax - Transfer Pricing
Age : 30
Years spent in company : around 4.5 years
Company : One of the top 10 accounting firm
Industry : Tax Consultancy
Tenure : permanent
Employment Level : senior
Experience before joining (years) : less than 0.5 year
Highest paper qualification/ education background : degree (currently undertaking CPA Aus)
Location : KL
Average Working Hours Per Week (incl lunch hours): min 40 hours per week

Monetary Payout
Basic Salary + Fixed Allowance : RM4,500
Contractual Bonus (months): n/a
Performance, Variable Bonus & Commissions (months) : Max 1.5 month based on previous record

Benefits (where relevant) :
Health Benefits : RM500 medical on claim basis + group medical
Transport Benefits : mileage claim for biz purposes
Mobile / Internet / Gadget Benefits : n/a
Flexi Working Hours : if not bcz of gov restrictions, must work in office
Other Benefits : study leave, exam leave, up to 20 days annual leave for 5 years and above tenure


After checking out here, I feel like i am way underpaid by toxic firm. Right?
Failed to get jobs in other same range firm that I want.
Feel cheated by superiors for their selfishness and lost all my passion now.
Failure in life.

Don’t ever lose hope, my friend. You’re not a failure at all

Underpaid.
But need to consider your working experience is 4.5years+0.5 years? Means around 5 years. Could be slightly less than others in the age of 30.
Considering 4.5 years experience in 1 company, you can try for another job

Basically every small and big matter in the firm will come to me since I am the most senior there. From supervising/monitoring junior/intern staff to boss' own matter like her property's tenancy and so forth. It was bearable at first however as time goes by it became unbearable. At some point of time staffs were leaving one by one, some were forced to leave and the workload is piling more and more on the existing staff since there is no new hire (dont know why it seems to be so difficult to hire/get new staffs and the turn over rate is so high. Is every where else the same? Or is it no one looking for job?).

My portfolio in the firm was as a conveyancing cum corporate advisory and commercial drafting associate.
We handle and attend to the conveyancing files from the beginning (drafting of agreement) to the end without any assistant (save and except for corporate advisory and commercial drafting whereby partner will involved). No complaint on this maybe I'm used to it. It was alright and I would say quite fun? where at one point of time when we are rushing to prepare documents for oversea signing trip. 3 of us and yes you didnt heard wrongly and only 3 of us to prepare around 50-60 agreements or more in one go for the overseas signing (prepare, checking, binding, colouring, packing, etc). Which was really so last minute where we got to stay in the office till 2-3am just to finish it. I am happy during this time. No complaint.

However, as your ranking become higher your responsibilities increases as well as your workload. Barely have sufficient time to complete the files on time (files handle by me), I was then given more responsibilities whereby I was required to train, oversees and monitor the junior staffs on their work as well as the work of the other branch office (which most of the time required to be dealt asap ie, within an hour or two once informed by the branch office).

Whenever junior faced with problems with their files, I am required to solve their problem first so that they can attend to it and their work can run. So their problem will eventually become my responsibility as well in a sense and I have my own files to handle. I will be the first person to answer the boss when problem arises from my juniors' work. Already working from 9am-9pm daily but still unable to attend to all the files at hand (files handle by me) that required attention as most of the time spend on solving other's problem. So I would consider myself doing other people's work as well and got chase like hell from all directions, boss, client, agents under the pretext of urgent/need to be fast/to show client of our efficiency. In this line of work, time frame is very important. I couldnt afford any late in attending to the files as it will resulted to penalty.

Besides, I am also required to attend to miscellaneous work from time to time such as the firm's yearly bank panel ship renewal as well as the partners' practicing certificate renewal. Also need to ensure that the documents are delivered/collected on time to the respective parties/by runner. Moreover, the firm is lacking of a system for staff to follow. There isnt any system available and it is always in accordance to the whims of the partner.

Further, as Im sitting near to the boss's room I would be hearing the boss's shouting and screaming almost every single day. Although I am not the one being scolded but it does create something in me (fear and something more.. Im not sure what) against the boss. and it put me into thinking "oh shit. sooner or later I'll become like them" which give me the feeling of stepping on the egg shell everyday.

You must also be ready to be a mediator among the staff whenever any bickering/argument arises and to find out their cause of argument. and also require to check on the staff well being from time to time whether they are happy/ alright with their job so that you will be able to answer/report to the boss from time to time. Why do I need to take care of others while I have my own problems?.

Is not like I want to complain but it just too much for me. I feel exhausted. I have tried to go on long leave (2 weeks) for soul searching/ to recover from my exhaustion but its of no use. It only temporarily heals me. The exhaustion, unhappiness, frustration, grumpiness? comes back after awhile. and according to my family members & friends my behaviour changed in becoming quite an impatient person. There is once I wake up in the middle of the night just to cry and I had no idea why.

After so long, I again feel that this line of work is not to my calling. I want a change of environment and also seek for work life balance where I am able to spend more time with my family and friends.
After contacted with Covid early this year, it make me realize that life shouldn't consist of only working, working and working. I should as well enjoy while I can and I'm now doubtful if I still have passion to continue. I'm so reluctant to go to office everyday, not enjoying and not even looking forward to it.

Im not sure if all firms are the same or just that Im unlucky to be in this firm or even worst its my own problem that I cant overcome it.

This post has been edited by High hope: Sep 10 2021, 01:16 AM

Thanks for the detailed description.Yeah soul searching and having a break will help keep the sanity. Good luck in your search!

Rm4.5k age 30 is normal sLRy range right?

Below average based on perception. But maybe because tax field needs exam and certs?

seems like alot of ppl here getting higher salary.......

Please share some tips here too. Have similar intention ✌️

Yea sure why not, lemme share my experience. Ok basically there are 3 "tiers" of consulting firms. I'm excluding engineering / O&G etc. as usually people don't think of them when consulting is brought up, though technically they are consultancies too.

Tier 1 - fresh grad can get above 10k MYR in Msia, future is unlimited:
Mckinsey
Bain
Boston Consulting

To get into these you either need to be from a top uni like Oxbridge or the Ivy league unis or really really really outstanding. They advise people on really high end things like company strategic direction and so on. If you're asking on Lowyat it's probably already too late. Anyway I didn't get into one too so it's not the end of the world

Tier 2 - fresh grad around 3-4k MYR, average to hit 10k maybe 7-8 years (less if you are outstanding), senior personnel can get 20-30k or significantly more
Big 4 consulting wings (Deloitte, PWC, EY & KPMG) - they advise on IT, finance, process restructuring, taxation, HR, etc
Accenture & IBM - they advise on IT mostly and some finance / process restructuring for Accenture

If you're moderately hardworking and not a complete idiot you can probably get into this tier - this is where I got in. Best to start as young as possible like a fresh grad, make sure your grades are good and you speak good English. If you are a bit older you can still join, but your years of experience may get discounted to some extent depending on what you did. Anyway to get in a certain vibe helps a lot (think good English, well-dressed, look and sound like the typical corporate annoying person) cos consultants are quite snobbish. The question here is if you are already in another industry is it worth it to lateral in or not since your say 5 years in another company may get downgraded to 3 years of experience here, my view is that if your existing company and job role are already promising like say you're on the fast track in Nestle or something then DONT COME, but if you are in local Chinaman company 101 and there isn't much job progression... well why not. You can slog it out, get a promotion and a much nicer looking CV then go back out for work-life balance.

Tier 3 - fresh grad around 2k+ to 3k I think, high end no idea...
All the small vendors (mostly IT)

This is mostly for IT folks, going in here frankly is still much better for your learning than 99% of end user companies as IT is not their key focus. So you can go in to accelerate your learning. As for tier 2, if you are stuck in your current job and it sucks, you can consider getting into here. One way to get into tier 2 is to get into tier 3 first then apply for tier 2 in a couple of years time.

I've heard of people going from tier 2 to tier 1 but never seen it happen myself. I think it's a very rare occurrence, somewhat like winning the lottery or something.

If get low salary already malu post so only high salary can brag here

But i feel majority is giving the honest feedback

Thank you for the response and detailed sharing, @flying_manate!
Tier2 doesnt seems too bad from Tier1 from how you are right now. What is your education background? Any colleague coming from unrelated background or non consultant type job history?

Haha thanks, Tier 1 folks with my level of experience (around 11 years) would probably be drawing 30-40k or significantly more so there's still a big gap. Having said that the attrition rate in the top-tier consulting firms is really high and the majority would have left by this stage. Anyway I'm not starving so no complaints here.

I did finance in school myself, my colleagues come from all sorts of educational backgrounds, business / engineering / actuarial science / humanities / computer science etc. I don't think it really matters what type of degree you do unless you're going in for a hardcore technical role like programming.

Hey y'all, I managed to get an offer today and below is the updated salary:

Upcoming Job

Job Title: Senior Software Engineer
Job Desciption:
# .Net/Angular/React development web based to manage Fleet Management System for Network and Workforce tracker
# Participate in daily scrum meeting and contribute to the team
# Participant in Enterprise Architecture meeting to give advice, decision, and direction
# Supervise, train, and set goals for Junior Devs

Age: 27
Years spent in company: 0
Company: MNCs
Industry: Network Monitoring Tools / Telecommunication
Employment Level: Permanent
Experience before joining (years): 4 Years 9 Months
Highest paper qualification/ education background: Degree in ICT | Major: Software Engineering | Minor: Corporate Management
Location: TTDI Office, Home at Damansara but maybe will move to Rawang in 2022
Average Working Hours Per Week (incl lunch hours): 40 (8 Hours/day) but flexible and no need to attend full 8 hours (as long work finish)

Monetary Payout
Basic Salary + Fixed Allowance: MYR6,500.00 + MYR 300 Fixed Allowance + 13th Month Salary Bonus

Benefits (where relevant) :
Health Benefits: AIA Medical Coverage (Didn't get the details yet.
Transport Benefits: Null
Mobile / Internet / Gadget Benefits: Null
Flexi Working Hours: Yes (Hybrid WFO WFH)
Other Benefits: Unlimited AL, MYR 1,200 Flexible Allowance Claim (Gym, Spa, Hotel, Travel, etc), Parking provided, 16% EPF Contribution


Also updated previous company Bonuses for references.


What do you guys think on my career journey so far? Underpaid, Average, or Good?

I got almost 71% increment jump (calculated from basic salary) and I'm sooooooooo happy.

Job Title : Manufacturing Engineer
Job Desciption : Handle product related to medical device.
Age : 27
Years spent in company : 2 months ( Being retrench in previous company due to shutdown bad economy).
Company : US MNC
Industry : Medical Device Equipment
Tenure : Permanent
Employment Level : Engineer
Experience before joining (years) : 3 years
Highest paper qualification/ education background : Degree Elec
Location : Penang
Average Working Hours Per Week (incl lunch hours): 9 hours (Mon-Fri)

Monetary Payout
Basic Salary + Fixed Allowance : RM4400.00
Contractual Bonus (months): -
Performance, Variable Bonus & Commissions (months) : 1-2 mth

Benefits (where relevant) :
Health Benefits : Full insurance
Transport Benefits : none
Mobile / Internet / Gadget Benefits : none
Flexi Working Hours : Yes
Other Benefits : Meal allowance, profit sharing, stock purchase.


Hi..I am asking for advise whether my current new position is underpaid or not within the market especially in Penang area...