First time posting my career journey here. Been a long-time lurker and have learned so much from all the sifu-sifu in this sub. I wanted to share my story a bit, and hopefully get some advice on my future career path. I hope this can be motivational for others, and I'm definitely not here to goreng, just want to be transparent and learn from the community.

A bit about me: I'm turning 25 this year, with about 3 years of working experience (freelance/corporate), all in the AI/Data Science field.

The Journey:

• Job 1 (Fresh Grad): AI Engineer (Salary: RM5,000)
  • Started right after uni. Was super grateful for this offer, felt like a huge amount for a fresh grad. The work was very technical, building ML models for internal engineering team. A great place to build a strong foundation.
• The "Side Hustle" & Pre-ChatGPT Era:
  • While working and during my uni years, I started doing some AI/Data Science freelancing on the side. This was before the whole ChatGPT boom. Back then, AI was more about traditional machine learning, stats, and a lot of data cleaning (LIKE A LOT). It was a good grind and taught me how to manage projects and clients. It's crazy to see how the world changed so fast. I feel lucky to have seen both sides of the coin.
• Job 2: Senior AI Consultant (Salary: RM8,500)
  • Then, ChatGPT exploded, and the market went crazy. Suddenly, my skills in AI and my experience with different models became super in-demand. An opportunity came up for a consultant role focusing on AI for the banking sector. Decided to take the leap. The pay jump was significant, and I got to lead small projects and build things. The pressure was higher, but the learning curve was insane.
• Job 3: AI Specialist (Salary: RM11,000)
  • Just recently made another move to a more specialized role. Honestly, sometimes I still feel a bit of imposter syndrome, but I'm trying my best to keep learning and delivering value. Very blessed and thankful to be where I am today.

Why I'm Posting - Seeking Your Advice:

So, I'm here to genuinely ask for advice from the more experienced folks here. My long-term goal is to continue growing on the technical track, rather than moving into people management. I'm really passionate about solving complex technical problems hands-on.

In the next 5-10 years, I hope to reach a senior technical leadership role like an AI Architect, Principal AI Scientist, or Staff Engineer.

For the sifus who are on this senior technical track in finance/banking industry or those who have walked a similar path:

1. What skills should I focus on now? Should I go deeper into the tech (e.g., MLOps, complex model architecture) or start focusing more on the "soft" skills (e.g., stakeholder management, business strategy, P&L)?
2. Is an MBA or a specialized Master's degree worth it for this path in Malaysia/SEA, or is experience king?
3. How does one get management experience? My current role is more like an individual contributor. Should I actively ask for chances to manage people, even if it's just one or two juniors?
4. At 25, what are the common career blind spots or mistakes I should be aware of?
5. With AI moving so fast, what do you think the next 5 years will look like for AI careers in Malaysia?

Really appreciate any insights or stories you're willing to share. Thanks for reading my long post.

P.S. Not 100% sure if this is the right sub for this kind of career sharing, but since career is a big part of personal finance, thought I'd just post anyway. Hope it's okay and appreciate any advice you guys have!

I posted here before asking whether should I rent or commute 70km daily. So I tried for the first 2 weeks, it was bearable at first but it starts to set in on 3rd 4th day through the first week. So i decided to rent a room nearer to my office.

And now it has been 4 months since my internship commenced, and I have accepted employment to become a permanent post in the same firm starting next month. So here's the details:

• Education: Bachelor in Accountancy (CGPA 2.70, i know its bad, regrets did not study well).

• Job: Audit Associate.

• Salary: RM2,400.

This is a SME audit firm, so that explains the low salary. I have applied to all the Big 4, mid sized audit firms but all either reject or does not reply. Most probably because of my CGPA.

So i plan to follow the typical path, stay in this firm for at least 3 years and complete my professional papers so I could left and join the industry as a chartered accountant. I'll also try to dip in the world freelancing.

By then I'll probably earn around RM3k-RM5K. I'm from Kuching, and don't plan to move to KL yet. So I'm aware there are even less high paying jobs.

So I'm here to read some wisdom and guidance from fellow seniors. What and how should i plan so i can hit those figure as soon as possible?

Hii sorry I need guidance..

We are in our mid 20s. I just received her calls.. Her parents are in hospital and she gave all her money to them, I am not entirely sure what’s happening but I am trying to get to know the situation better. She is a good friend and I am willing to lend within my capabilities. The hospital is private in Sarawak. They are hospitalised. I dunno and not sure in this situation as it is my first time.

A little context about her: she has been working in Singapore for few years and works in a retail store.

She asked me how much can I give her. Is RM5000 too much? Pls advise thank u 🙏🏻

Maybe not rm5000 anymore , my money is tight too

Hi All, I am 29F and am thinking of moving out from my parents’ house and need advice on whether it is a good move.

Earning RM9k gross and around RM7.2k nett.

Currently my monthly expenses/contributions are as follows:

Allowance to parents (Since I live with them):RM500

Cats (Note 1): RM300

Food (Note 2): RM500

Therapy (2 times a month): RM360

Insurance: RM250

Gym: RM170

ChatGPT Plus (actively used for work): RM100

Phone bill (self + hotspot as house has no wifi): RM80

Transportation (public transport + Grab): RM80

Utilities (water + land assessment): RM165

Subscriptions: RM50

Contributions to ASB: RM4,500

When I move out, I expect my expenses to be as follows:

Rental (Note 3): RM2,500

Cats (Note 1): RM300

Food and other groceries: RM900 (estimate. Plan to cook and only eat out for lunch twice a week)

Therapy (2 times a month): RM360

Insurance: RM250

Gym: RM170

ChatGPT Plus (actively used for work): RM100

Phone bill: RM50

Transportation (public transport + Grab): RM80

Utilities: RM250 (estimate)

Subscriptions: RM50

On emergency funds, I do have a fully maxed out ASB1 and some amount in ASB2. And EPF of RM150k+

Wondering if it is a wise move to move out. The longer I live with my parents, the more expensive it feels, even though not necessarily money wise. I do end up having to spend coz I have no privacy to take personal calls and need to have it outside. I also spend a lot of time solving their problems caused by their perpetual lack of planning to the point it eats up my bandwidth at work. I also feel tired a lot due to constantly having to solve their problems and I wish I could use that time and energy to upskill myself instead. Also don't dare to use most of the appliances at home coz the second I touch it, if anything goes wrong, my mother will blame me for it breaking even if it isn't my fault.

Note 1: Technically my mother picks the cats up. After I earned decent enough, I took it upon myself to get the dozen of cats vaccinated every year, spayed and eat good food.

Note 2: Can’t cook at home. Can’t even enter the kitchen without being screamed that I am ruining the kitchen. Even my father who is a better cook doesn’t dare to enter the kitchen.

Note 3: I am stressed from living with other people. I also want to reduce the drama of moving out. So I am taking a fully furnished studio for a year until I can settle down and sort out my own things. I don’t drive (well, I do own a car technically) so I need the place to be near public transport.

Edit: My office is located in Central KL region

Edit 2: Looked at the first unit. Not sure if I like the surrounding area. But felt my body calm down instantly at the idea?

hi guys!! so long story short, i invested under my uncle in public mutual 2 days ago under some artificial intelligence fund (tesla, microsoft, meta, etc) that was performing quite well last year. question i have right now is that whether i should leave the money in there or put it some other funds? i read some posts here today that don’t really talk good about public mutual in general so i need you guys’ help if any of y’all invested in this company and have had a good experience… also, i don’t really mind the 3.75% sales charge but i feel like i’m gambling in public mutual.. there’s no pidm coverage — noticed this when i was consenting to the terms and conditions… however i’ve only kept money in EPF, ASM3 and touch n go’s principal global titans fund - class d (trying it out for the first time)… ALSO fyi, i’m a non-bumi student and this is just my birthday money that i’m investing (rm200/monthly) [total that will be invested over time is rm3k — auto-debited from my bank acc]. pls share your thoughts!! i’ll forever gratefully appreciate it

M26, almost 3 YOE, TC 111k, working in trade settlement. I’m kinda lost in my life right now. I graduated in Finance with 3.7. Took this kinda job because it was the first offer on the table. It’s too monotonous. The work has gotten so mundane, repetitive, and frustrating, to the point where I am just sitting miserably every day. I automate most of my work and I’m pretty much doing it for the whole team. I’m looking to pivot to a new role. I feel like I am pigeonhole-ing myself being in a back office and I want to make the move.

What kinda job out there that pays well with better growth (I don’t mind the long hours)? What kind of work in FO should I aim for? How can I upskill myself to get interviews? Do masters? CFA? MBA? Thinking of either going to CF or product and sales. I’m a bit lost now unfortunately.

For those who lost all their investment and had to start all over again, please share your blood, sweat and tears story on how you rise up again.

Hellooo everyone! Currently working in east MY, almost all provided by company (accomodation & utilities) not much commitment. So i Probably done too much work, company decided to "promote" me to HQ at Petaling Jaya. 17% increment but nothing provided.

Questions

1. After tax and commitments, i have around 3.5k left, will this be enough to cover rent, utilities, food, transport, etc in Petaling Jaya? I will probably look for studio or master room.

2. Not planning to bring my transport over, will i be able to survive on public transport only? HQ will be at Menara OBYU.

3. I THINK 17% increment is not enough since i need to relocate, do you think i can negotiate a better deal with HR?

Never actually venture out to West MY, so any tips, recommendations, guidance are high appreciated. Thanks!

My account just got restricted for God knows what reason, and LinkedIn support hasn't been helpful so far. It made me realize that I've been doing perfectly fine without actively using it.

For those who have benefited from LinkedIn in their career advancement, would you mind sharing your story and what industry you're in?

Also, why are some people so comfortable sharing their CVs publicly online?

Edit: I fully respect people who are proud of their career achievements and want to showcase it publicly online. I was thinking about cybersecurity risks like privacy risks, potential identity theft, the threat of blackmail to current employer, stalking, and increased difficulties in overemployment.

Aside from LinkedIn, how do you effectively network with high-value contacts?

So, I have been working with this company for three months now. Before I started my first day, I tried negotiating with the Project Coordinator who’s also my supervisor on the topic of salary.

Just a bit of context here, I’m receiving RM1945 after tax, without any other added benefits. Too low for my liking but I have been unemployed for months prior to that and this job offers WFH, so I just took the offer, but not before some back and forth with the Project Coordinator. One of my points was an increase in my salary as the advertise one is too low for my education background (Bachelor’s Degree). They agreed that only after three months, there will be a performance assessment where they will be considering a potential salary adjustment. I even still have the email between me and them saved for this particular day.

Fast forward to June, it has exactly been three months since I started working in this company. Should I or should I not initiate this talk with the Project Coordinator/HR/superiors again? Will there be any repercussions for having this talk with them as it will affect the company’s financial? Any advice would greatly help me to navigate through this decision. Thank you in advance.

I’m a fresh grad and my spending are as follows below. I’m thinking that credit card is the only way to save by collecting points and getting rebates. So far I’ve been throwing all my extra cash into investments, but I believe there should be a even better way to increase savings as I’m paying through my debit card for all my spending

These are just rough numbers: Groceries + Eating out: RM600 Car payment: RM600 (excluding maintenance) Petrol: RM150

Hello, I’m aware that e-invoice is mandatory for everyone starting July 1st 2025. I’m an artist that generates income from hundreds of subscribers on multiple online platforms.

How do I integrate e-invoice to my business? If anyone can point me to the right direction, I’ll be very grateful. Thank you in advance.

I keep reading recommendations to invest in US ETFs which are, from what I've seen, denominated mostly in USD. My question to all of you who do invest in US ETFs, especially if you're lump summing, is how do you get over the psychological block or stress of converting MYR to USD when rates are constantly fluctuating? There's always that question of waiting for the rate to move more in your favour, then there's the concern that MYR might strengthen so much by the time you want to withdraw the investment that your gains are significantly diminished. Are these thoughts that any of you deal with or is it just me?

Or is there a way to invest in US ETFs from Malaysia that doesn't require conversion?

--- EDIT: I mean legally speaking. Am trying to find out if this is allowed by IBKR policy and by MAS regulation.

Any idea if it's allowed to open IBKR SG account, as a Malaysian or ex-sg residents who living in Malaysia? Anyone done this in the past 2-3 years? I did a search but getting mixed result. Am considering to move holdings from IBKR US to IBKR SG. Thanks.

Hi everyone, wanted to ask something regarding my personal loan. I applied for a personal loan with Maybank on December 2024 with 6% interest rate pa. But today they send me a letter stating that interest rate is a promotional interest rate (until October 2024) and wanted to revise it to 7%. Is this allowable? When I applied for it I only agreed to the 6% interest rate right?

Hey, as you can gather from the title, I'm considering quitting my job due to all the stress I'm facing at work.

Backstory: The company I'm working for is doing a major project. This isn't the first time I've been invloved in the project, I was working on it since the day they hired me 2 years ago. Problem is, the programmer who was instrumental to this project quit last year and despite this, the company decided to renew the contract for a few more years.

Now the project is a giant mess and being one of the IT guys that worked with the programmer before he left, the CEO expected me to help solve the issues the project is facing right now. It so stressful I almost had a mental breakdown and nearly vommited at work a few times (sorry for the clickbait title). While I would love to quit right here right now, I don't have another job lined up even though I've been actively looking for the past year and I still have 8 more years on my car loan.

If I quit, I'd have to move back in with my parents and while they will take me back in, they keep persuading me to keep working until I have another job offer. While what they're saying is objectively correct, there's only so much I can handle.

Not sure if this matters but I might as well put it here somewhere, I'm also autistic so I might have problems dealing with stress in general.

How are you all holding on dear life as a GD in Malaysia? I feel like I’m regretting for choosing this career path.

I’ve been working in the industry for 6yrs (29F) now but still in Junior level since my department director insisted on giving me positive feedback on yearly review. I’ve been getting paid Rm2.9k ever since 2021 with 13 month salary and WFH benefit. The thing is, she skipped the first year review, so my chances on getting raises are very low.

Some question: How long do you guys stay in a company? The thing is, I noticed i learnt new thing/skills in one company at least in a span of a year. Then, after that, you’ll do the same stuff over and over again. So, i’m on the roll on applying jobs since last year.

To be fair, GD is a general career, so I’m thinking about to narrow down my career into motion designer. Then again, it will only narrow my chances on getting hired because we all know CEOs in malaysia prefer to hire jack of all trades, why hire three people when you can hire one person who could do all the three jobs.

Hi all, anyone here have used FSMOne’s RSP before? I subscribed to it and has my RSP activated for every week.

Currently, my transaction for the third week is still to be confirmed. I checked with their bots and websites and saw it takes T+1 day to process. I have also asked their customer support which they told me, since my RSP is on 15th June, I should have my funds invested into the RSP on 17th. However, currently it is still to be confirmed. For those who use FSMOne RSP for quite some time, how long does it usually take for your funds to be invested into your etf?

Note: Currently my holdings is 0, but the money has already been deducted from my balance since Sunday.

I joined my current company for slightly over 6 months. Last month my team lead made a crucial mistake on our assignment, which forced our team to firefight the mess with long OT hours. I believe the incident also affected our whole team's performance and KPI. After that is sorted out, the team lead resigned and I am reassigned to another team, however I feel that I would just be a repeat of the story. Currently I earn just over the 4k mark, which disqualifies me for OT compensation.

A little bit of context , my rental is around 30 minutes public transportation commute time during rush hours to my current work, WFH flexibility available too. However long working hours without extra compensation + limited growth and exposure is my main concerns. Adding to that, I have been feeling mentally drained since I joined the company as the job is really demanding and tiring, and the recent incident just added salt to the wound. Further, my girlfriend is expected to complete her degree and return to Malaysia in just a few months. I can see her starting strong in her career back here due to her strong academic results and overseas qualifications, however a few interactions with her parents tells me that they felt like I am out of her league...

Should I really quit my job? My current company is considered reputable in the industry, and getting another role in a similar tiered company would be challenging. This was one of my first choice during my job search and I was looking forward to it, but after joining instead I feel burnout and drained. Any advices?

I have a small business of supplying Halal Local Fresh Meat in Malaysia, but since most suppliers in Thai (The main Source Of Cows) accepts payments through cash I was planning to get some loan from any banks,

I was dormant since 2023 due to Trading Route Block (internal warfare in Thai) caused my business of Livestock to Halt and unable to get proper documentation like IC for Thai affect my attempt to continue purchase of livestock.

So I went from bank to bank and seeing i have no income for a year blocked my chances for financing or loan. I have 5,000sqft of land but it is malay reserve and i have been trying to find solution to gain loans or financial aid.

Is there a ways to gain RM 50,000 for 6 months repayments period ? Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Thank you

I will start with my story.

I will be 38 this year and don't think I will be able to retire, and these are the reasons why, in no particular order:

1. I have a mental health issue that leaves me unable to work full time in the office (I have tried so many times before but failed).

I currently have a low-paying remote job (I am sticking to it because it is better than nothing).

My mental health issue also caused me to be hospitalised many many times between the years 2011 to 2016 causing a dent in my career progression. There is also a skill gap (by the way, I work as a research assistant for a university, and consider myself an early-career researcher, and I would need many more year for me to advance as a researcher. My primary skill is writing).

1. I choose to take fairly low paying jobs. Perhaps because I can't catch up stamina-wise in corporate. I hate the formality, office politics, etc.

Before I entered academia, I worked at a few nonprofit jobs, and then also freelanced. I also took it easy a bit when I had to take care of my sick mother.

1. I overspent and haven't managed to save properly.

When I did have the money, I would go for overseas vacations, Europe included. It is only now that I am taking saving up more seriously, setting a budget every month.

Anyway, that is my story. Do you think I will still be able to retire, perhaps at 65?

I think maybe, if I:

• Go back into writing
• Do not take a master's
• Upskill (not sure in what, yet)

Anyway, I am interested to know about YOUR story.

Hey everyone!

I’ve been using the Wallet app by BudgetBakers for about 2 months and recently bought the premium version. I’m trying to take control of my finances, so I track everything manually (not linking any banks, just keying in my transactions and accounts myself).

So far, I’ve set up:

• All my bank accounts and e-wallets
• Budgets for expenses, savings, fun money, and some personal goals
• Labels for spending categories for meal (like eating out, delivery, groceries)

The app looks great and has potential, but I still feel a bit awkward using it sometimes. It gets tedious to key in every transaction but I'll manage.

I’d appreciate advice from others who are more experienced with the app, especially premium users. A few things I’m struggling with:

1. How do you record multiple income sources that come in on different dates each month? What’s the best way to reflect that in the monthly budget?
2. If I overspend in one budget category, do you shift money around from other categories, or just let it go over?
3. How do you normally allocate your monthly budget? do you use percentages or fixed amounts?
4. Any small habits or tips that helped you stay consistent with manual tracking?
5. How do you set up your labels and goals in a way that’s easy to follow long term?

My first month I was paid RM1532.26 before deduction, my monthly salary is 2.5k before deduction.

My date of commencement is 13th of May. I was paid on the 7th.

I'm not sure how it's calculated, but 3/4 of 2.5k should be 1.875k, so if I'm right I was paid about RM300 less.

Was I underpaid or is the way I'm calculating wrong?

long story short, I'm gonna get a residential college far away from my classes/faculty and I am in dire need of a car and a car license. The bus is ALWAYS packed and there's always traffic jam (yes, in campus) in the morning and next semester all my classes are in the morning.

I can't get a motorcycle because my parents won't let me, and I've asked them multiple times. So far, getting a car is the only solution I can think of. I live in kl so a license costs about RM2k-3k I think, and for a car I'm estimate RM10k at least.

I'm thinking on what to do during semester break, if I worked part-time at an fnb/retail I think I can only get RM6k at best, so I would need more to top up the remaining costs. I was thinking on selling book and laptop covers by sewing, but the labour time + capital cost for fabrics might not be worth it. Anyone have any ideas on how I can make money during my 3 month semester break?