I think I'm a little out of touch with the world, not knowing how everyone else is doing.

Last week my company decided to give me a raise due to my good performance, to RM7k per month, effective next Jan 2022.

At age 27, is this considered:

1. poor?
2. average?
3. above average?
4. exceedingly good?

EDIT thanks to user "wailam" saying it is important to say what is the field, to make sure the context is right.

I'm in finance/audit/accounting related field.[SIZE=7]

Edited font size for more visibliity

This post has been edited by Sasuke95: Dec 17 2021, 04:57 PM

depends on your job. i'm still 1.2k > computer tech.

what industry? Seems slightly above average for your age and earning?

If wanna compare with my peers, u r doing below avg at 27.

If wanna compare with ur peers, i donnow ur peers.

If wanna compare with the rest of population in MY, we have T20, M40, B40 to benchmark urself.

If wanna compare with the rest of the world, can convert accordingly.

Honestly I dont know what you are trying to achieve here

so what is the good average for age 27?

im trying to know if im doing well or doing poorly, im scared that i give the illusion to myself that im still doing great while it is not, but i wont know because people dont just go around and reveal their pay

this^

What was your salary before your "raise"?

Again, depend bro.

If u r in Mata Ayer, I think u are doing really well. Super.

If u r in Penang, not too bad.

If u r in KL, I think you belong to the top 10% with that age.

If u r in London, still below avg.

I think in essence, with your age, you are doing well compared with others. I think la

i would say above average

audit AM? 7k is above average in the real world.

but in the forums world, 7k is nothing but minimum wage.

very good already some ppl age 35 still rm2k

about 6k

yes im in KL, hmm i guess let's try not to compare with other country, i remember my colleague told me he worked in McDonalds in Australia and earn Converted MYR of 10k, it's like a humiliation losing to someone in McD in another country while working as a professional in your own country

again, thanks for your input

hmm, good to know that

you mean, a lot of pro in forum earning exceedingly well?

This post has been edited by Sasuke95: Dec 17 2021, 04:37 PM

how much you can save?

ah i see where you're coming from, i'm a very low maintenance person, expense only about 2k per month, so if my pay is 7k, i can actually save 5k

but lets not discuss about how much you can retain, different people have vastly different result on this, a lower position person may still beat the manager level person if the lower position one is single while the manager is married, expense shot up in marriage, even if manager earn higher, end up saving lesser than the single person with lower position

Not sure about your field but for IT its below average.

its all relative, no need to compare with others, instead, compare with your younger self, everyday make a little bit more improvement, be it financially or whatever in your life.

i always heard good things about pay for IT too, is there a reason for it?

indeed, im always making progress, just that sometimes i have a feeling that "im doing great/ok" is just an illusion, while majority is actually outperforming me

OK la.. can retire d...

I am IT and 27 getting 7500... So... what is average?

While I know you're in Fin/Audit/Acct

but could you be more specific with your job grade+scope?


job grade does affect/define your paygrade and your scope/experience also could define where you should be standing at.

Like myself, I have 6-7 years of experience in a certain industry, my pay is rather above average because of my knowledge, skills. I recently got a new job but it's different from what I was doing, however, I'm still paid higher because of my knowledge despite the lack of experience.

though I must conclude here that you must speak with people in the same industry to know where you should stand.



cc mafioso

good enough...majority still earning <3k

you already said you can save 5k per month, which would be very very very good standard.
again, relativity comes to mind, if you have more than what you need, you should be happy.

just make sure you make your saving works too

For me work in RnD engineering still below 5k, age 29, sad 🥲

so generally, knowledge is better than experience? actually i noticed the trend that the interviewers are focusing more on my Professional Papers achieved, and when i answered i havent been much of experience in certain tasks, they actually will overlook it and hire me anyway

is there a reason why this happens? sounds unreal to me, 3k is barely survivable figure

What profedsional papers you have?

quite a good salary at your age. I think I was earning a bit more than half of that number only at your age hahaha

Have to be specific as finance field too wide to compare as a whole

Some people age almost 30 but salary still in 4k range

So ts is in a good spot

Really? Hasn't the household income increased? An increase in household income would generally mean most people's pay has increased.

i guess now you far surpass me already, as you're older now


relieved to know that

7K nett or 7K gross? if gross I would say average. but nett, that would be above average.

This post has been edited by brkli: Dec 17 2021, 05:36 PM

as long as you are satisfied, it is the only thing matters...

Very poor if in KL. Must have more than RM10,000

gross, so after the mandatory deduct from EPF, boom 700 gone just like that, leaving you with around 6k+ after the other Misc deductions such as socso and tax and other shit

the company will always overestimate the tax you're going to pay and deduct directly from payroll, every year i need to claim back during income tax season, because i always overpaid

yes, i share your sentiment, sometimes more doesnt necessarily good, we all have to decide for ourselves what is worth it and what's not

eg: promoted to be a manager with very high pay, but spend most time working, very less family time, some people saw thru this and not keen to progress further to have a better life balance, because ultimately, what is money if you dont have time to spend it?

Slightly poor, in /K everyone above 20K monthly

what they do to get that lmao

not necessarily. I mean, different field/industry, different requirement.

like my friend here mafioso, he would hire anyone who has the relevant experience + skills rather over certs/papers.

for some sectors, paper is more important, you can have 100 certs and get hired but your salary is shite, or it could be high but you won't know what you're doing.

on the high side already.

Big 4 auditor? Assistant manager?

TS, you've mentioned interviewers look at your professional papers achieved instead of experience, may I know what papers you have?

Keep it up bro.. Next year 8k

Big 4 pay well but work like shit. We do 3 people's work per day.

online persona != real life persona

while everyone here claims they're 20k/month, only a certain few were able to prove.

don't compare yourself with online personas.

im transitioned from audit to commercial not long ago

just ACCA, simply throw a stone in the street you'll hit someone who has an ACCA
but still, this qualification is notoriously hard to pass, still got a lot of people look highly at it

doubt can be that fast lol

agreed, marriage is a blackhole of expense, if man shoulder everything, no 5 fig dont even think bout it, if girl is cooperative and continue working to be able to contribute, then guy burden wont be so heavy, few k from both side still workable, but child may be neglected a bit, everything has a price, give or take

im not sure if you are 50% bragging, 100% bragging, or 0% bragging

anyway, i hope you not having intention to brag here.

yes it's a good number, set more goal to achieve more, not only financially, but even in relationship, furthermore relationship with your parents, family, spouse, kid etc.

the first step to success are easier to take, when the people you care about are right by your side

Tumpang thread.

I am 26 with salary 8k. Ok or not?

when i was that age of yours, i work odd jobs bro and earned much lesser than the amount u make until my early 30s.

Sasuke shouldn’t go around asking about salary. Pls save the world

gj TS and best of luck in your career. How is the bonus like at your job? If >3 months each year, then very good already.

That's quite low actually for your age.
Try work some freelance or part time or climb the ladder

Eh.... buy you in finance sector. How can you compare a Oz employed McD guy money converted to here <10K?

No need look far also can. As most of the people who are from here work in SG also will get way more than most companies here can offer with lower end jobs.

Long time ago i had a colleague that was designing brochures for company and his pay was around RM3K. But he quit and worked in UK as an illegal as a dish washer, and his salary was close to RM10K per month. He managed to work there for 7 years until he was deported and banned. Now i dunno what he does.

Your salary is better than most people. Seriously. Of course if can breach 5 figures the better! 😁 But at that time, company would categorize you up as a financial weight down, unless you really have worth in company to justify that pay.

its depend on who are you comparing

my company

around 40 yo and their salary
20k 15k 6k 5k

around 35 and their salary
8k 6k 5k 4k 3k

around 30
4k 3k 2k

around 25
10k 3k 2k

around 20
1k 2k 3k

have 25yo manager also have 40 yo clerk
have 25yo associate also have 40 director

got person forever associate since 20 years ago

got person join as associate half year become senior
2nd year supervisor, 3rd year AM, 4th year Manager, everyone tot she will 5th yr senior manager but her legend ended at Manager only but still the most epic in our company

some people are dragon and some people are worm
who are you comparing？

I’m almost 40 & still struggle to get that amount.

good la....this year i 32 le.

still taking 1.3k nett as cleaner

7k is extremely good with that age. I didn't get that figure when that age. Then again spend your income wisely, don't do anything stupid like buying expensive luxury car just to show off. Invest your money

if you want to compare ; that will be endless

most important is that money is enough for you and you are comfortable to your job


just like my senior ; older than me 3 years old and taking almost 50 to 70% more than me

This post has been edited by fantasy1989: Dec 17 2021, 08:07 PM

Terrible. I 25 already earning 40k.

Against what?

Other 27 yo finance yuppies working in kl with similar socioeconomic and education background?
Average.

Against every 27 yo malaysians?
Above average. that is what u want to hear ya?

Against 27 yo sg investment bankers?
Bottom scrapping poor.

So stop comparing, if you want, compare with urself.

Slightly above average in the finance field given that people usually graduate with a degree at age 24 with rm3k salary when they start working, if u r comparing to your peers. But comparing to the general workforce pay? It's kinda average. Or b40 standard in KL

I'm only earn 3.5k per month in KL, and I'm 27

Just go SG and have 7-9k net SGD mate

average. K next.

hard to measure

different people have different abilities and skillset, how good they can get the job done and how fast they can solve the problem for a company.

why don't you go out and interview, to find out how much outside is willing to pay you based on your experience

Above average

i hope bogdanoff pump it so i can be free of wage slavery

Im age 35.. but salary 3300 only..

At 27 I already hit 12k as a project manager. That was 6 years ago.

Life is not a race.

Stop comparing yourself with others

As long as can survive, perhaps already good enough, cut down all unnecessary spends then you still have a lot at end of day

What field is it? What's the process leading you to project manager?

Construction. I started off as a project engineer and got an opportunity to lead a project due to employee shortage. I took on the challenge eventhough I didn’t have any experience.

Later on I applied for a project engineer job with a competitor and in interview I explained my experience and convinced my prospective employer of skill set I’ve learned. They felt it was good enough to offer me PM job and I took took it.

It wasn’t a fluke as I did the same thing a fews later and jumped to sales.

If you keep comparing with others, you'll never be happy.

Do your work to the best of your ability and advance whenever you can. Comparing with others is pointless. You can always find someone earning worse than you and someone earning better than you. Average is just a statistical figure computed from the lowest to the highest. It doesn't have much relationship to reality. A small number of very high earners can skew the average.

It depends on your job and the salary range of pay for your role.

I'd say 7k is quite good for a 27 year old if you consider yourself average.

@ghost420 is probably an outlier to achieve 12k at 27 years old.

This post has been edited by VinluV: Dec 18 2021, 10:02 AM

You're doing good, in KL. Nuff said.

If you find a partner who earns also as much as u, your household income already T20. Comfortable life

I achieved RM7k at 29 in the same field as you but with CPA instead. So, you're 2 years earlier than me and doing well.

The issue with doing well at that age is that.... everybody's expectation of you is high, challenges are only increasing and while you are carrying more responsibilities and projects - your team members that you have to lead don't share your goals / fire. Summore older-gen perceive you as a threat. I often miss the days I a normal exec level.

Continue to self-develop and be a manager that is capable, kind and give the same good guidance that we fortunately received to next-gen.

Against Top IT professionals of the same age, you are making less than 50% of their salary.
Fresh grads (23) from Salesforce, Microsoft, Amazon, intel in Malaysia starts at 5k rm.
With the booming IT sector, easily 10k by 28 with not much effort.
But u are doing well for the rest of comparison. Just keep it up.
Next step would be to get a foreign paying job in Malaysia. That's way you get paid 30k a month while working in Malaysia. Not easy but doable

Why are we chasing for numbers?

I don't understand 😕

chase girls, girls will leave you
so chase number instead

Any tips for that (in bold)? Especially in TS' Accounting/Finance field where rules and regulations across countries differ greatly.

Or is it limited to just digital/IT roles which knowledge & expertise is more universal?

thank you all, i got read all of your replies, i think i almost can form a picture of what the reality looks like in salary terms, i'll just be grateful of what i have, it's looks like not much, but not too shabby either

This post has been edited by Sasuke95: Dec 18 2021, 11:45 AM

nicole_4ever would u like to chase guy who chase number?
Or would u like to be chase by guy?

Still can survive for now.. my future wife dont want to go work..

From sg perspective you're taken for a ride. 7k can barely service 2k sgd Singapore apartment which is typical of a live streamer aged 21-25 and you're already 27.

But if you're comparing KL audit, I guess you're above avg.

Good luck.

if you have to ask...

Dump your future wife, you're already barely surviving, if she's not helping, she'll be burden, you'll live a miserable life your whole marriage

What's your pay now?

Guy who chase number of course

How is the sudden Sg comparison relevant?

this whole thread is not relevant anyway

Average. Fresh grads get more than you in SG.

More than 20 grand.

I guess my point was to share with TS that we should take calculated risks else it would be very hard to grow in the corporate environment

youre my idol, how can i be like you

Should look at the prospect rather than current salary.

Having 7k at 27, what about the next 10-20yrs? Any growth? Or it wil stop at there for next 10 years? Note that salary growth will slow down as it breaches 10k. Then with inflation in play, if growth is merely 3-5%, the value of the salary is actually on downtrend, you will feel poorer year on year.

There is nothing such as enough in the job market, higher is always better …

May I know what is the magic number?

yes, very good in fact. my campeni aged 40+ celeri still around 6k.

In terms of good bad it all depends on yourself and what you need, im your same age i earn less than 5k every month but im content myself and get to live with what i enjoy, for higher spending people with family, even with more salary they still struggle, you are doing fine of you are living well and enjoying life, i have also seen people earning less and still feeling content with their family, its all up to you not your money