PETALING JAYA: New graduates are content with the wages they have received but emphasise that they and their cohorts need to constantly upskill themselves to meet the future demands of the job market.
For one fresh graduate, Nufus Sulaiman, 24, managed to secure her current position as an environmental, social and governance (ESG) programme manager at a private education sector after her internship.
“I was first interning at the workplace and was absorbed as the junior EGS programme manager after my five month stint.
“I feel I managed to secure the job due to my networking and communication skills. I was also recently promoted as the ESG programme manager this month,” the environmental studies graduate said.
Nufus added that she was comfortable with her salary of between RM4,000 to RM5,000 per month as manager but stressed to fresh graduates to enhance their skills before looking for a job and conduct research on the current salary rates.
“I have not personally experienced any wage disparity, I do believe that this is rare in Malaysia.
“I believe that it largely depends on how we position ourselves during the interview and the value we bring to the role. This plays a significant part in determining our earning potential.
“As fresh graduates, it might be daunting to demand but if you display good ethics and show what you’re worth I think the employers will value you more,” she added.
Marketing Management graduate Kamarul Zamani, 24, from Shah Alam, said he was "quiet content" with his starting salary of RM2,800 as a sales person at an office solutions firm.
"It's been almost a year and I had previously won an incentive trip to Taiwan for hitting the sales quota.
"Since I still live with my parents, I'm quite comfortable with my salary that also comes with sales commissions and incentives."
With plans for a house, a new car and building a family in his near future, Kamarul said he has been making plans to upskill himself.
"I want to achieve more, and give back to my parents. I can't do much if I stay on my salesman job," he said, adding that was planning pursue a Masters degree in Data Science.
"With a higher qualification I may go into entrepreneurship or teaching, which I like. I want to have more options," he said.
Chloe Leow, 20, who graduated from a Creative Multimedia diploma course in Melaka six months ago, said she was offered a junior graphic designer job in Seremban, which she accepted three months ago.
"I'm paid RM1,900 in basic and have access to overtime, which happens quite often in the company.
"There's not much left after factoring in my room rental, food and transportation costs, but it is my first job.
"I want to gain some experience and exposure for a bit before switching to somewhere else with a higher pay," she said.
Leow said her male colleague, who joined the company a month before her, was paid RM200 more because he could handle online digital content.
"I think having more skills is a plus," she said, adding that she has planned to pursue a degree in the future.
