Salary & Benefits

What's a realistic fresh grad salary to ask for in KL tech in 2025?

by Li Wen Jing·March 2, 2026

I'm graduating with a CS degree from UM this May and have offers from a few companies. Just want to know if what I'm being offered is fair.

Current offers:
- Local startup: RM3,800 + equity
- MNC (tech role): RM4,500
- Government-linked company (GLC): RM3,200 + full benefits

The MNC seems to win on base but I've heard their work culture is brutal. The GLC pays less but the EPF employer contribution is like 15% and you get full medical for your family.

What would you take? And is RM4,500 actually good for 2025 or should I negotiate?

#fresh-grad#tech#salary#MNC#negotiation

Comments (3)

Izzati Zainudin72

RM4,500 as a fresh grad in 2025 is okay but not amazing. I'd say RM4,800–5,200 is the new market rate at decent MNCs. Negotiate — the worst they can say is no and they rarely rescind an offer.

Bryan Chew55

Went through the exact same dilemma last year. Picked the MNC. Salary is higher but the culture is rough — lots of pressure, midnight Slack messages. If you can handle it, the learning is real though.

Syahirah Mohd48

Compare the total package not just the base. GLC often has COLA, housing allowance, more predictable annual bonus, plus the EPF bump. Run the full numbers before deciding.