Starting salary for Research Assistant in Malaysia

 As soon as I finished my last paper in UKM, I packed all my remaining stuff and headed to Kuching. I didn't even travel like many graduates these days. I started my first real job as a research assistant in Institute of Health and Community Medicine, UNIMAS. My monthly salary was approximately RM1000. That's pathetically low. But who's complaining. For one who intend to pursue post graduate study and making a career in science, research assistantship is the very first step. Mind you, it's not easy to find such post in Malaysia. I don't claim to be the best. My boss gave me the chance to work in her lab because she liked someone with totally no experience with celll culture, DNA extraction and PCR. 

 

Six months passed and a new window of opportunity appeared. I was offered the post of Research Officer and Mastership in USM, with monthly salary double of what I earned in UNIMAS. One thing for sure. To be a good researcher, learning every scientific methods of getting an answer to science is pivotal. Being a Master candidate with salary is a privilege. Even to this very day.

  

In less than a year, I'm not very happy with the lab management. Not so much of having problem with my supervisor but sharing lab with other research group got on my nerves many a times. So, a word of advice here. Try not to join a research group with no lab facilities of its own. It doesn't worth the headache. 

 

 

I applied online for a research assistant vacancy in NUS, Singapore. I had no friends in the republic. I knew nobody there. The interview was difficult but the boss was happy with my research experience. I was offered a monthly salary of almost double of what I used to earn in USM. I'm actually follow a very conservative route of making a career in scientific world. 

In less than a year, I was offered a training in Miami for two years. Here lies the problem. Research assistantship is tied to the amount of grant applied. In other words, there will be not be much increments with the increasing years of work. I quited soon to join National Heart Centre as Research Officer with salary of at least 25% more of what I earned in NUS.

Last advice from me. If you are a Science graduate, always seek for every chance of improving your scientific skills. Don't look at the low salary in the beginning. Else, forget about being a scientist. Might as well becoming a lab technician which will earn you at least half a million ringgit in five years in Singapore.

Starting Salary of Biochemist in Malaysia

My job is known as Biochemist in Malaysian public hospital. I've been working in the industry since late 2009. When I reported duty on my first day, I was told that my monthly salary shall be RM2782.97.

A biochemistry course is a difficult one. Trust me. There are too many pathways to remember. And too many terms to understand. And with this recombinant technology and that enzymology, where got time to watch movies?

I went into Biochemistry course in UKM because my seniors told us that it's easy to get in. It wasn't even called Biochemistry at the time. The course is spelled as Molecular and Cellular Biology. Biochemistry is my major in Year 2. Sounds sophisticated, right. If you googled Biochemistry Job Prospect, this is what you see on the first search


"The career prospects and employment opportunities of biochemists have shown considerable improvement over the past years. Jobs are being offered by both government and private medical institutions and hospitals engaged in research activities related to various diseases and disorders like AIDS, cancer, mental disorders etc. The pharmaceutical industry where genetically engineered drugs are developed and manufactured also look forward to employing biochemists. Research related agricultural industries and institutions also absorb individuals with background in biochemistry." 

In Malaysia, don't talk about career prospect. Job prospects are hard enough to grab by. One can be best employed by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia as a Pegawai Sains (Kimia Hayat). Private medical laboatories hardly employ biochemists because profit is still much highly rated rather than the results' qualities. In my cohort, there were at least 100 of us. I knew none of them working in public hospitals. 

A quick check on the Net will reveal that there are at least 18 Malaysian institutions offering biochemistry degree course. A simple arithmetic works out approximately 1800 graduates in a year! Do I know what I was going to study when I enrolled into the course? No. 

Do you think these 1800 people know what they are studying? I haven't counted those who go overseas to study biochemistry.

Unless, you are very sure that you want to become a good scientist. And you have great depth of English language, please read my next post. Stay tuned. Else, don't bother to enrol into a biochemistry course.