damn this post has a lot of wisdom

Rather than go to a foreign land where you'll be disadvantaged .

The main disadvantage is at the start, when need company sponsorship to get visa, when the company doesn't know if you are capable to do the job.
Speaking from personal experience, some people in Malaysia may think they are a star performer, but in reality a lot of companies just treat Malaysia as a cheaper place to offshore less important work.

In London, I learned it isn't so much about implementing, but about designing a more comprehensive solution, something I won't get exposed to when in Malaysia.

Once gained some experience overseas, it is much easier to get other jobs, or return to Malaysia with a wealth of experience. Staying in Malaysia doesn't necessarily help career advancement

in some countries they need to give priority to locals etc. Sometimes even need to show that they have tried but failed to get locals before they promote foreigners.

Prior to Brexit they need to give priority to EU first even. So Marehsian lowest of the totem pole.

In marehsia, u r a local so u will be given the chance to go up in rank as first choice.

The things that can be done sometimes relate to the posts that you hold.e.g if u r exec , u can't say u have done a manager's job etc so Ur CV can't say that. So maybe Ur friend in marehsia alrdy become manyzer due to less competition and status as citizen , but overseas u have to stay longer as exec , plus they view Ur previous Malaysian work experience as nothing.

So if wanna go overseas actually best to go as fresh grad because it's better than working in marehsia then going over , then Marehsian work experience is considered half of the duration. E.g work 2 years but consider 1 year seniority only etc.

Which is why the first hurdle is the hardest. Have to be better than the locals, and the EU (before Brexit) and not to forget all other foreigners from all over the world. So if you succeed it means you have sufficient talent/skill that you can compete even with a disadvantage

After a few years in the local market, then you are essentially the local and have the benefits of the local people you were competing with when you first started

I'll be attending an interview next week conducted by a UK-based company, the hiring manager is a good friend of mine (a European) we used to work and hang out in the US many years ago.
Recently he contacted me and asked if I'm willing to join his team in the UK, he seems to be very keen on bringing me there. We had an unofficial chat about the role before the actual interview.

Currently, I also work in a UK company based in Malaysia. Salary around rm11k. I have no significant commitments, house (in KL) and car paid off. Married with a child.
Though I own a house, I'm renting so I could stay nearby work. After minus all my critical expenses (rent,grocery,family,utilities) I can save about 3-4k a month ( I invest half of it).

Now about the UK work, I didn't really ask my friend about the salary just yet but from what I got to know from Glassdoor, for the same exact position the salary is about 5200 pounds a month.
After-tax, that's around 3.7k. Unit rental, to have similar convenience that I have now, i.e large house, close to work... I may need to fork out around 1.2-1.5k.
Now that leaves me about 2.5k for the rest. I may need a car. And for the rest of the expenses I might be down to 1-1.5k in savings --> which equates to rm6-7k.

With all the negative economic news surrounding the UK, I'm no expert but everything just not pointing in the right direction. Inflation, rental hikes, recession.
I don't know if this is something I should be pursuing. I love the work, it's something I'm good at and no doubt - the company is an 'elite' brand in its industry - like Rolex for watches. It would be great for the CV. But I don't know if it's worth the trouble of moving there, leaving the life I have here. Do I leave for that extra rm2-3k, leaving behind my friends and family - starting all over again? I worked in the US for 7 years before and came back to Malaysia 3 years ago thinking I may not get another oversea opportunity. But here we are... if this was just another company, I might have just said no thank you - but its like a dream company to work with because of its brand.

Something for me to think about but I would like to know your thoughts about the move or experience working in the UK, any piece of advice.
Thanks.

2 things bro, you cannot convert your UK savings in to MYR, if you are there for a couple of years, you will need that money for stuff like travel and education

And on education, I am unsure how old your child is and how much education is subsidised by the UK gov and what kind of residency status you have, something to ponder on

What I know about Australia is you pay international student fees if you are not a permanent resident, plus you don’t get subsidised public health care. UK might be a bit different as they only give out PRs to people working in the UK for x number or years

Why cant I convert my money?

Just go. There's many big companies setup their base in Surrey

I was there for study and now working with a British company in Malaysia. I get to go to UK for business meeting 2-3 times a year. Groceries expenses doesn't change much from when I was a student. It's affordable. But can't say so for accommodation and energy bills. Pity my colleagues have to fill up GBP100 for a full tank of diesel into her Volvo XC60 :-(

Is your friend the decision maker in your hiring? If yes, you are likely to confirm getting the job. The interview is just a formality. If the company has business entity setup here, instead of physically move to UK, you can try negotiate to be based in Malaysia, to be paid in GBP equivalent, work in same UK time zone remotely (many jobs transformed thanks to COVID). It's only 7-8 hrs different, not as bad as USA where you need to be night owl to serve their territory.

If you do get to move to Surrey and decide to come back later (must stay at least 3 years), can apply for Returning Expert Program (REP) from government. You'll get lower income tax, can buy CKD car tax free, etc

How were you able to transfer from MY to US
then back to MY?

With your 11k.salary. you can save quite a bit too right?
I think looking at the situation. Until things really stabilise, I will stick to a more familiar situation right now.

You see how things change so much and they can easily introduce a new mandate to make your life tough..

I think you can still save more then that amount if you stay here. Provided you start preparing food for yourself etc. It's still more comfortable here as over there you probably have to prepare food often and share a place with others.

What are the working hours there? Lesser then here?

And with food inflation being a major issue in the west. Better to stay here.

But it depends on whether you think this will improve your career significantly. From a savings point, I dun see the point. And most likely you will probably have to spend more since you need to familiarise with the environment.

One thing that most people forget to calculate is the company contribution to EPF etc.

When I was in Singapore, I realized that I was not that highly paid actually when I actually take into account the EPF that is being paid.

why is that, Singapore doesn't have a pension fund? Or you are not entitled for one?

I came back to Malaysia in 2019 after living in the UK for more than 20 years. To me, Malaysia is still the best.

At the moment, I work a UK company and salary is based on UK, so I can save a lot now compare to when I was working in the UK.

To be honest with you I nearly fell off my chair when I heard about your salary! £5000+ is a lot of money in the UK. The tax bracket is also higher at 40% if your pay is at that rate (need to be verified). The norm salary is between £30-40K for a senior managers position. The top 10% earns £60K and above.

In any case, I think you should move. No need to think long term. Just go for 1 year initially and see how you get on. I think for 1 year you can leave your wife and kids here in Malaysia. At least by doing this you are not tying yourself down to a number of years there and if you only stay for 1 year you will get the experience which may be useful when you come back to Malaysia.

I came back to Malaysia in 2019 after living in the UK for more than 20 years. To me, Malaysia is still the best.

At the moment, I work a UK company and salary is based on UK, so I can save a lot now compare to when I was working in the UK.

To be honest with you I nearly fell off my chair when I heard about your salary! £5000+ is a lot of money in the UK. The tax bracket is also higher at 40% if your pay is at that rate (need to be verified). The norm salary is between £30-40K for a senior managers position. The top 10% earns £60K and above.

In any case, I think you should move. No need to think long term. Just go for 1 year initially and see how you get on. I think for 1 year you can leave your wife and kids here in Malaysia. At least by doing this you are not tying yourself down to a number of years there and if you only stay for 1 year you will get the experience which may be useful when you come back to Malaysia.

At the moment, I work a UK company and salary is based on UK, so I can save a lot now compare to when I was working in the UK.

I came back to Malaysia in 2019 after living in the UK for more than 20 years. To me, Malaysia is still the best.

I can easily save about 50% if I want to, but I save about 30% currently (20% enjoy la)

At this point, comfort and space are important to me, don't see myself sharing places with others, especially if I'm going to bring my family as well.

from career point of view, though I would be in the same position but the company is "elite", a dream brand to work for. a jaw dropper surely. I don't think its a company affected by global economy because they only deal with wealthy people.
I would like to see it as a stepping stone for something better in the future, but unfortunately, it's something you can't foresee. One thing for sure, I will return back to Malaysia if I did go, just don't know when. Maybe even for retirement.

Hi TS, I am living in UK for almost 10 years now.

The negative economic news by youtube and western media are often way over exaggerated because GBP is still strong so it isn't that bad

I personally think it is very good opportunity and never regretted moving over

But you have to get used to the weather, the food. Salary isn't the biggest issue normally, cars are cheap. You have to take driving license again

Most importantly, which part of UK?

It really depends on what you want. I would like to say its worth it for the money, but I see you are married and have a kid, so long term wise you family will have to move there as well so I don't think there's much 'savings' per say.

And if your plan is not to build a life there, what else is the advantage of going? Career-wise, it seems like this will be a great move. Even if it does not last, the name on your resume will be helpful and I do not believe you won't find something similar given how niche your skillset is (based on what you say).

But company name aside, is it a bigger / higher role? Because given the nature of London, you might be a big fish here but going over there, you will be a small one and unless you are darn sure you have to capability to grow to be big, it might be a waste and detrimental to your current growth in your role.

its niche and rare is what I meant, very2 few companies that offer that kind of job (rnd engineering), its more popular in US,EU and China.
Im going for a similar level I have now, just that I'm going back to an industry I'm familiar.

Well not sure about big or small fish, when I first went to US, I thought I was a small fish too but I think I did quite well there. However,after starting a family, my career seems to have stagnated, guess it was just me, I switched my focus. Im not as career oriented as I used too, just want to go back when its 5. No more taking extra courses, or trying out new things (work related) after work. And I compete with guys who are still single and live in the office.