Yup, specialists in gov salary is according to their pay grade (UD52 and above) which isn’t any more than rm20k after adding critical allowances, on calls, etc. However, the hospital/gov does allow them 2-3 “flexi” days (I can’t remember the term they use) where they are allowed to work in private sector and can earn anywhere between rm20k - rm100k depending on their speciality and clients.

My boyfriend’s boss works an an EP in public sector a few days a week and earns on average rm60k a month. Not sure if that’s with or without his salary from gov.

This is done so that gov don’t lose the specialists in public sector, since we are already lacking specialists.

My father is an anaesthethist in private hospital.. the monthly income isnt fixed.. sometimes 70k sometimes 90k.. the most i see his pay slip is 120k .. yearly average is 900k to 1.2 million...

I can assure you, their income is not fix, my father earn 70k to 120k per month.. depends on the number of operation he did..

Some folks earn wayyyyyyyy moreeee mang

But the best la

Hi Farisaa,

That's definitely a lot of money! Only top 1% in Malaysia earns that amount. Private sector do pay well. But hopefully not many government specialists goes to private otherwise the rakyat will suffer.

But yeah I agree with you that the income is not fixed. However 70k a month is a good minimum already

What do you mean here can't understand

Hi guys,

I am researching the possibilities of returning home from US as an interventional cardiologist in 2023. I know it is still early at this point but due to my visa restriction I have to make up my mind by early 2022, otherwise I will have to start looking for a J1 visa waiver job in the US early next year.

I have a couple questions here, and I appreciate any input from you guys.

1) Do I need to serve the government upon returning home? Or can I go to private directly? I was born and raised in Malaysia, went to India for medical school, followed by internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship in the US. I have recently matched to an interventional cardiology position from 2022-2023. I used to hear that one needs to have "10 years experience" overseas before returning home to avoid compulsory government service. Does this still hold true?

2) How easy, or tough it is for one to join private practice in Malaysia. Do Malaysians (especially my colleagues and patients) appreciate a US-trained physician? I have not worked in Malaysia before and I am sure there will be a huge difference in the medical system back home. My concern would be how easy it is for me to develop my practice from scratch (learning the system at the same time).

3) Would you recommend me joining teaching hospitals for a couple years to learn the system before venturing into the private world? Like joining IJN or some of the university hospitals for instance.


Thank you very much in advance! If there is anyone who went through the similar path that you know of, kindly let me know. Appreciate your help.

This post has been edited by soulmate6063: Feb 1 2021, 04:41 PM

What's your motivation in returning in the first place?

I have been away from home for many years, from medical school until fellowship. With COVID lockdown I have not been home for the past 2 years. Sometimes it makes me wonder if it is worth spending the rest of my life/career in a foreign country, far away from home, not able to see and take care of my family when they need me. Every time I go back, parents are getting older. And of course, the Char Kway Teow in Penang is unbeatable, after having tried most Malaysian restaurants in NY, Chicago, and LA haha.

Hi, I think you should visit a blog called Pagalavan's Avatar, a blog written by a private specialist which is very helpful. It is probably the best place for you to get answers.

Just curious, isn't the opportunities in US better? Heard doctors in US make a lot of money. Or am I understanding it wrong? Appreciate your input.

Thank you. Yes, I have been following Pagalavan's blog but I dont remember seeing any posts about returning to Malaysia (I could have missed those). The blog is mostly about the issues of malaysian medical education. He did talk a little bit about practicing in foreign countries etc.

The physician salary in US is good, taxes are high too. At the same time, patients are more demanding. It is very common for patients to call/message the office with questions and doctors are expected to reply within 24 hours. One of my attendings in private is getting up to 30 medical questions/emails/messages on a daily basis. If we talk about money alone, I don't think there is too much of a difference between interventional cardiologists in US as compared with the private cardiologists in Malaysia. For eg, interventionists here make about USD 400-700k/year in private; those in academic center make about 300-400k. (Forget about the outliers like Samin Sharma who makes 5 mil/year). With such income you are at the highest bracket for federal tax ie. 37%. On top of that, we pay state tax (more than 10% in California), social security, medicare etc. So I am talking about half a paycheck just for taxes, excluding retirement plan and disability/malpractice insurance etc.

From what I heard (correct me if I am wrong), private cardiologists in Malaysia make about RM100k/month which is about RM1.2 mil/year on average. The good earners are making RM 300k/month upwards. Bear in mind our highest tax bracket is less than 30%, with no state tax.

This is just about the money, which I think is important but not everything. Maybe I have been away from home for too long, or maybe the travel ban due to COVID stirred up my emotion. Now at this stage, for me, family is above all else.

This post has been edited by soulmate6063: Feb 13 2021, 03:15 PM

Hi,

It's good that you put it that way as now the comparison is clear between physician salary in the US and Malaysia. Many local graduates yearn to practice overseas in US etc assuming that life will be much better overseas. It's certainly eye opening that you mentioned the work culture and taxes in the US. I for one has always assumed that the US is a good place to practice medicine.

As for the salary of private specialists in Malaysia, there are many sources quoting different amount of earnings for these private doctors which can be confusing. There is a blog post by Dr Paga on this too but he is saying that earning 6 figures means literally selling your soul to the hospital. Also I am sceptical as to how certain doctors can earn that much without doing hanky panky work (unnecessary procedures etc). Because its quite crazy for any salaried professional to be earning that amount when especially in healthcare where it is a fundamental right. But thats just my opinion regarding the situation in Malaysia.

Btw where did you hear about the salary of private cardiologists in Malaysia? Just so we can make an informed judgement and also so that you would be getting an accurate picture about the situation in Malaysia.

Thank you for your note. Oh I did not know that there are a lot of Malaysians interested in coming to the US. There were about 7 Malaysians who matched in my year. I know there are a couple every year (excluding IMU-PMS students). The salary comparison above is only for interventional cardiology. For internal medicine I think US could be a better place to practice for several reasons. Hospitalists work 1 week on, 1 week off. Starting salary about $200k/year in academia, $300k in private. If you work extra shifts, $400-500k/year is possible. There are abundance of support from consultants in most hospitals. The downside is the lack of job satisfaction since hospital medicine is like the middle man and dumping ground for all other services.

A friend of mine first told me about the salary of private cardiologists in Malaysia. One of his family members work in private too but in a different specialty. He said it is a lot of money in private but you work really hard. (I am not sure how does that compare to the US but I would think US physicians have better work-life balance in general especially those in academia).

Nice one, I am in the same boat, but in the UK. Family is most important - a fact that not many appreciate, until you have been away for a very long time.

I am in the midst of planning my return home in the next year or so, currently about to start a post CCT complex PCI fellowship in Bristol. My view/understanding is that it is very unusual to come home straight to private practice (although possible) if you have never worked in Malaysia before. The reason for this is there are some nuances about practising here that might not be apparent to us and a period of adjustment will do us good and the patients justice as well.

For that reason, a Uni environment is the best middle ground (they have private wings now so you can split your working time between Uni and private and the earning potential is decent) and it gives you the chance to earn as well as teach/do research/find your feet when you come home having previously worked in a completely different working environment. At least that's what I am planning to do. You can then understand the lie of the land and decide what you want to do long-term once you have settled down.

It just so happens that I am in KL this month on leave and have arranged visits to UMMC and UITM to see how things are. Happy to be PM'd.

Never thought I would meet a fellow interventional cardiologist on Lowyat!

This post has been edited by bauer: Oct 17 2021, 05:39 PM

Hi there,

Good to know that you are thinking of coming back home! How was the visits to UMMC and UITM? Any insights?

Is the earning potential very different between the UK and Malaysia?

Can I know which private hospital he’s working at ? How’s the working hours ?

Can somebody post an actual salary slip for verification purposes?

I prefer Malaysian pay gap on instagram. Thats more legit

45k is sort of the median, while the superstars pull in at least 200k a mth

Yup I realised this too. Seems to be a huge range quoted on this forum. Imagine doctors getting 200k a month. Sounds way too overpaid to me

Can I know how you got the 45k figure please? Just curious