(DNA Top 10 in 2014) ICT has among best-paying jobs in Malaysia: JobStreet survey

(Originally published on Jan 15, 2014)
Digital News Asia (DNA) continues reprints of our top 10 stories of 2014, in conjunction with the ‘DNA Top 10 of 2014’ contest. For details on the contest, click here.
 
Being a teeny-weeny media outlet, DNA journalists can’t be everywhere, the wonders of videoconferencing and email aside, and sometimes we just have to depend on press releases to get the word out.
 
We don’t usually expect them to be that well-read, but put in keywords like ‘jobs’ and ‘salaries’ in there, and you know interests will be piqued – more so when the story carries the name of one of the most successful Malaysian-founded Internet companies, JobStreet. – A. Asohan
  • Malaysian jobseekers say salary is single-most important consideration
  • Most jobs in top 10 best-paying list tend to be technical- or science-based

(DNA Top 10 in 2014) ICT has among best-paying jobs in Malaysia: JobStreet surveyWHILE salaries in Malaysia’s ICT (information and communications technology) industry lag others in South-East Asia, the industry still has some of the top 10 best-paying jobs in the country.
 
In a JobStreet.com report on the top 10 best-paying jobs in Malaysia, careers in technical fields still give a good return on investment, especially in software-related fields, and get even better as a candidate’s career progresses.
 
This is in contrast to the annual ICT Job Market Outlook report released by the National ICT Association of Malaysia (Pikom), which JobStreet.com also helps compile and whose data is analysed by consultancy firm KPMG.
 
In the most recent report, it was found that ICT jobs in Malaysia paid significantly less than those in Singapore, Thailand and even Vietnam; but higher than in the Philippines and Indonesia.
 
Salaries are a predominant factor with Malaysian jobseekers, JobStreet.com noted, citing a recent Nielsen survey that showed that when it came to choosing a job, salary is their most important consideration.
 
This is why JobStreet.com introduced a salary-matching feature on its recruitment portal last December, saying it was the first job site in South-East Asia to do so.
 
Using that feature, the company compiled a report on the Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in Malaysia, which showed that most jobs in the top 10 list tend to be technical- or science-based.
 
Candidates at the executive level who specialised in Medical, Engineering, Finance and IT generally earned above-average salaries of RM2,800. As for managerial levels and above, specialisations such as IT, Science and Engineering gave better compensations, the company said in a statement.
 
The following is the list of jobs with the highest average salaries across all position levels, based on the salaries posted by employers on JobStreet.com from Jan 1 to Aug 31, 2013.
 
[RM1 = US$0.30]
 

Fresh Graduates
 (DNA Top 10 in 2014) ICT has among best-paying jobs in Malaysia: JobStreet survey
Fresh graduates can expect to get an average salary of RM2,100 per month. Those in Pharmacy can earn RM3,600 as a starting wage. Executives doing corporate strategy come in second, earning a basic pay of RM3,200, JobStreet.com said.

 
These are just basic salaries and do not include any other forms of compensation such as leave credits, medical benefits, insurance and incentives, the company stressed.
 
On average, fresh graduates earn anywhere between RM1,500 and RM3,600, with the average being RM2,100 across most industries.
 

Junior Executives
 (DNA Top 10 in 2014) ICT has among best-paying jobs in Malaysia: JobStreet survey
Although young doctors can get RM2,700 as housemen, their salaries quickly increase to about RM3,900 with three to four years of experience.

 
Most specialisations in the list of Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in the junior executive level are in technical fields, including Process Design & Control, Engineering (Oil/ Gas), Aviation and IT Software, JobStreet.com said.
 
On average, junior executives can earn a salary of between RM2,100 and RM3,900, with the average being RM2,800 across all industries.
 

Senior Executives
 (DNA Top 10 in 2014) ICT has among best-paying jobs in Malaysia: JobStreet survey
For senior executives, the engineering sector pays well for employees. Out of the top 10, they take up three slots in the best paying jobs, the company said.

On average, senior executives can earn a salary range from RM3,200 to RM7,500, with the average being RM4,300 across all industries.
 

Managers
 (DNA Top 10 in 2014) ICT has among best-paying jobs in Malaysia: JobStreet survey
Doctors, engineers and managers in the aviation specialisations draw the highest pay, with doctors earning the highest with an average salary of RM9,500 per month.

 
On average, managers can earn a salary range from RM3,900 to RM9,500, with the average being RM6,600 across all industries, JobStreet.com said.
 

Senior Managers
 (DNA Top 10 in 2014) ICT has among best-paying jobs in Malaysia: JobStreet survey
It takes years of experience and expertise before one becomes a senior manager, but all that hard work pays off, JobStreet.com said.

Overall, senior managers in specialisations such as IT Hardware, Quality Control/ Assurance and Geophysics have the top highest-paying jobs at this level, the company said.

On average, senior managers can earn a salary range from RM5,555 to RM18,100, with the average being RM12,800 across all industries.
 
Related stories:
 
Malaysian ICT salaries trail SEA region ... again
 
Why women in the ICT industry are paid less than men
 
Slower hiring, but IT pros and engineers needed: JobStreet
 
How much are you worth? Robert Walters has an app for that
 
JobStreet rolls out salary-matching feature
 
 
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