The money in Technology & AI: first pay and growth

Key facts

• Among new degree graduates in information and communication technology (ICT) who finished in 2025, the most common monthly pay band was RM3,001-RM4,000 (35.9%), and 59.1% earned more than RM3,000 (our sum of the published bands).^[1]
• Among new ICT diploma graduates, the most common band was RM1,501-RM2,000 (39.4%), and 57.0% earned RM2,000 or less (our sum).^[1]
• 92.5% of new ICT graduates had a job in 2025.^[1]
• Across all ages, the median monthly pay in the information and communication industry was RM4,723 in 2025.^[2]
• Your first salary depends on the role, the employer, the location and your qualification. These ranges are what other new graduates reported to the government's survey, not a promise of what you will earn.^[1]

Technology & AI covers building software, working with data and the new jobs around AI tools. In 2025, new ICT degree graduates had the highest share in the RM3,001-RM4,000 band of any field of study.^[1] The gap between people is still wide, and the route you take changes your starting point a lot.

Typical first roles

People in this area often start as a software developer, data analyst, product designer or AI operations associate. Job titles vary between employers, so read what the job involves, not only its name.

What new ICT graduates earned in 2025

These figures come from the Ministry of Higher Education's (KPT) Graduate Tracer Study 2025. It covers Malaysian citizens who convocated in 2025 and was published in October 2026.^[1] The amounts are gross monthly pay, before EPF (your retirement savings) and SOCSO come out. The study's fields of study do not match our career areas exactly, so we use the closest field; that choice is ours. The last two columns are our own sums of the study's published pay bands.

Source: KPT tracer study 2025.^[1]

The tracer study does not cover people who start work straight after SPM. For all Malaysian employees whose highest qualification was SPM or below, the median in 2025 was RM2,203, but that includes people with many years of experience.^[2]

Pay later on

DOSM's 2025 survey gives the median for everyone working in an industry, at every age. In information and communication it was RM4,723.^[2] By type of job, the median was RM6,124 for professionals and RM3,852 for technicians and associate professionals.^[2] Across all jobs, the median rose from RM1,931 at ages 20-24 to RM2,884 at 30-34.^[2] These are different people at different ages, so they show a general pattern, not your future pay.

What about startups?

There is no official figure for startup pay. The Edge reported in 2025 that NodeFlair's Tech Salary Report 2025, a commercial survey by a jobs platform, put junior pay for traditional software engineers between RM2,750 and RM8,000 a month.^[3] It is not an official statistic and the article does not say how the data was collected, so treat it as a rough range.

Startups may offer shares as well as salary. Ask what the basic salary is without them, when any shares become yours, and whether EPF and SOCSO are paid on the basic pay.

What this means for you

• The route matters a lot here. With an ICT degree, 59.1% of new graduates started above RM3,000; with an ICT diploma, 8.6% did. A degree also takes longer and usually costs more, so weigh both.
• A new certificate holder in ICT most often started at RM1,501-RM2,000. If you start there, plan your first year's budget on that band, not on the industry median.
• The industry median of RM4,723 includes people with many years of experience. It tells you where pay can go, not where it starts.
• A project you can show (an app, a dashboard, code you wrote) gives an employer something to judge besides your certificate. You can start one during your course.

Your next step

1. Find two real entry-level job adverts for one role in this area (for example junior software developer or data analyst). Note the pay, the location and whether EPF and SOCSO are mentioned, then compare the pay with the band for your route above.
2. On Day 3, bring that band and its source ("KPT tracer study, graduates of 2025") to the first-salary simulation. first-salary-simulation-explained shows how a gross salary becomes take-home pay and a month's budget, and payslip-basics-epf-socso-eis-minimum-wage explains each deduction. For every career area side by side, see first-salaries-by-career-area.

Scope and current-policy check (24 October 2026)

All graduate bands refer to citizens graduating from the institutions covered by KPT in 2025, grouped by field of study. They are not salaries for all SPM leavers or for a particular job title. DOSM medians cover different people across ages and roles; they do not establish a pay trajectory, causal qualification premium, job security or Malaysian vacancy growth. A tech startup is an employer type, not a separately measured salary population in these sources. Do not invent a startup premium.

RM1,700 is the reference in the published Minimum Wages Order 2024.^[4] Budget 2027 announced RM2,000 from June 2027 with an MSME sales exemption; treat that as an announcement until a new instrument and implementing guidance establish the applicable scope and effective date.^[5] Check the official 2027 updates guide before accepting an offer.

Ask whether pay is basic or includes overtime, whether shifts and probation apply, who pays licence and safety costs, and when progression is reviewed.