Anonymous career talk from Malaysian job seekers — salary, interviews, company culture, WFH and more.
I have 6 hours of meetings on some days. Started blocking 2-hour focus blocks on my calendar. Huge difference.
Yes, non-negotiable. Nearly every serious frontend and Node role lists TypeScript now. The learning curve is 2-3 weeks. The productivity and bug-prevention payoff is immediate.
It is a good structured foundation for people new to data analytics. Covers SQL, R, spreadsheets, and Tableau. Will not replace a degree but it gets you through resume filters at some companies.
Margins have been squeezed by Shopee and TikTok Shop local sellers. Still works for niche products and brands with loyal communities. Commodity dropshipping is nearly dead. Brand building is the play now.
Mute the group. Set your phone to Bedtime mode. If they escalate, respond next morning with I saw this at 8am. If nothing burned down overnight, the pattern of urgency was fake.
If you meet 60-70% of requirements, apply. Job ads are wish lists. Many so-called requirements are negotiable. The interview is where you show why your actual experience maps to what they need.
3 years here. Pay is decent, culture is corporate and political at senior levels. WFH is 2 days. Career mobility within the group is a real advantage.
Jupyter for exploration, VS Code for production scripts, dbt for transformations, Airflow for pipelines, Power BI for stakeholder dashboards (they will not learn Python dashboards). Real world beats tutorials.
Month 1 income: RM2,100 (terrifying). Month 6: RM6,200. Month 12: RM9,800. Month 18: RM13,500. It compounds. The key was saying no to bad clients early and doubling down on good ones.
1. CV too long or cluttered. 2. No quantified results. 3. Applied without reading the JD. 4. Poor follow-through after interview. 5. Weak answers to Why this company. 6. Salary mismatch communicated too late.
Month 1: still exhausted even on leave. Month 2: started sleeping properly. Month 3: creative thinking returned. Month 4: started a side project for fun. Recovery is not linear but it is real.
It is excellent for explaining concepts, generating quiz questions, and debugging logic. It is terrible for factual accuracy on niche topics. Treat it like a smart study partner who sometimes makes things up.
Was on 3-month leave for burnout. Said family medical reasons and they moved on. You are not obligated to disclose.
The RM12k job was destroying me. Panic attacks, insomnia, hair loss. RM7,500 new role: I can think, sleep, and actually do good work. Mental health has a ringgit value and it is high.
Series A startup offered 0.3% with 4-year vest. At RM30M valuation that is RM90k vested over 4 years. Not amazing but not nothing.
In order: Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, SQL, Java. ML/AI adds premium. Go and Rust are niche but well-paid.
Files, research memos, and attending court hearings. Stipend RM600-1,000. Useful if you want to practise law.
Year 1 RM3,200. Year 3 RM5,500 after moving. Year 5 RM7,200 promoted. Year 7 RM9,500 moved. Year 8 RM11,000 counter-offer. Every big jump came from a company move.
Competency-based questions using STAR format. Written case for consulting roles. Dress formally. Be ready to discuss Malaysia business context.
Timeline is long (3-4 years part-time) but employers in finance and audit value it highly. CPA or CIMA might be quicker for industry roles.
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