Digital Byte - Market Update · Ambition Malaysia

Back to Blogs

Over the last 3 years, Malaysia has seen a significant increase in investment and resulting growth within the Digital sector and as such, the demand for talent has increased proportionately. This can be attributed to a number of immediate factors:

MNCs & SMEs see Kuala Lumpur as ideal hub for digital innovation and in particular operations
Relative low-cost other Asia locations for talent and key infrastructure
Proximity / central location to the rest of the ASEAN region
Talent base – capable, growing and worth investing in and English speaking
Local policy and institutions catalysing growth - MDec, TalentCorp

All of this is a positive reflection of the government’s vision of Malaysia as a leading digital economy by 2020.

As the local talent pool strives to keep pace with the growth in demand, Malaysia is increasingly becoming the ‘go-to’ location for many organisations looking to establish their Digital Development hub. As KL becomes more of an international hub, it becomes more feasible as a location for very highly skilled ex-pats to be deployed here and help fill gaps in niche, emerging areas within Digital and help build a skill legacy locally. Given the growth in this sector, Malaysia has seen an increased number of returning Malaysians who are bringing international experience and a global mindset back to the home market – this bodes well in terms of fulfilling projected continued growth in demand for talent across all areas listed below.

Software Development & Engineering

Key Functions	Salaries (5 to 10 yrs)	Salaries (10+ yrs)	Grade Difficulty (10 hardest)
Java Developers	7 – 12K	12 – 18K	6
Front End Developers	8 – 15K	15 –22K	5
Mobile Developers	7 – 12K	N/A	7
Development Operations	11 - 16K	17 – 25K	9
Software Architects	12 – 20K	20 – 28K	4
Ruby on Rails Developers	6 - 11K	11 - 18K	5

Digital Marketing

Key Functions	Salaries (5 to 10 yrs)	Salaries (10+ yrs)	Grade Difficulty (10 hardest)
Advertising Operations	6 – 10K	10 – 12K	6
Analyst	12 – 15K	15 – 22K	8
Social Media	8 – 12K	12 – 15K	5
Digital Marketing	10 – 15K	15 – 22K	5
Digital BD / Sales	10 – 15K	15 – 18K	7
Programmatic	20 – 25K	25 – 30K	9

Design & Usability

Key Functions	Salaries (5 to 10 yrs)	Salaries (10+ yrs)	Grade Difficulty (10 hardest)
UI / UX	6 – 10K	10 – 12K	6
Usability Specialist	12 – 15K	15 – 22K	8
Information Architect	8 – 12K	12 – 15K	5

Strategic Senior

Key Functions	Salaries (7 to 12 yrs)	Salaries (12+ yrs)	Grade Difficulty (10 hardest)
Project Management	8 – 12K	12 – 18K	7
Product Management	8 - 14K	14 - 20K	6
Head of Engineering / VP	N/A	25 – 40K	8
CIO / CTO	N/A	30 – 50K	7
Software Architects	25 – 30K	30 – 45K	9