Average Child Development Specialist Salary in Malaysia for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Child Development Specialist salary for 2024 in Malaysia and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Malaysian ringgit. To keep things simple, we are using the MYR currency code instead of the currency symbol RM.

How Much Does a Child Development Specialist Make in Malaysia?

A Child Development Specialist working in Malaysia will typically earn around 111,900 MYR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 56,100 MYR to the highest average salary of 172,200 MYR.

Average Annual Salary
111,900 MYR
Average Monthly Salary
9,325 MYR

Lowest Annual Salary
56,100 MYR
Lowest Monthly Salary
4,675 MYR

Highest Annual Salary
172,200 MYR
Highest Monthly Salary
14,350 MYR

These are average salaries for a Child Development Specialist in Malaysia and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Child Development Specialist to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Child Development Specialist salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Child Development Specialist Salaries in Malaysia

So we've looked at the average salaries a Child Development Specialist will earn in Malaysia. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Child Development Specialist can earn between 56,100 MYR and 172,200 MYR on average in Malaysia. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Child Development Specialist in Malaysia is 111,900 MYR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 111,900 MYR, and 50% of the population earn more than 111,900 MYR.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Child Development Specialist salary in Malaysia, 25% of the population are earning less than 73,020 MYR while 75% of the population earn more than 73,020 MYR.

75% of the population earn less than 138,800 MYR, and 25% of the population earn more than 138,800 MYR.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Child Development Specialist Salary by Experience Level in Malaysia

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average child development specialist salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Child Development Specialist in Malaysia that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 66,440 MYR.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Child Development Specialist salary would increase to 88,620 MYR.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Child Development Specialist, the average salary would be 117,440 MYR.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 138,800 MYR.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Child Development Specialist with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 152,100 MYR.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Child Development Specialist with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 161,300 MYR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
66,440 MYR
2-5 Years +32%
88,620 MYR
5-10 Years +34%
117,440 MYR
10-15 Years +19%
138,800 MYR
15-20 Years +8%
152,100 MYR
20+ Years +7%
161,300 MYR

Child Development Specialist Salary by Education Level in Malaysia

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Child Development Specialist in Malaysia based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Child Development Specialist in Malaysia with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 87,020 MYR.

  • Master's Degree. A Child Development Specialist in Malaysia with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 115,940 MYR.

  • PhD. A Child Development Specialist in Malaysia with a phd education can earn an average salary of 154,700 MYR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
87,020 MYR
Master's Degree +38%
115,940 MYR
PhD +31%
154,700 MYR

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Malaysia is around 32,900 to 98,800 MYR and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Child Development Specialist Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Malaysia, a male child development specialist will earn an average of 107,380 MYR, while a female child development specialist will earn around 114,940 MYR.

This means that a male child development specialist earns approximately 7% less than a female child development specialist for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Malaysia

Male
107,380 MYR
Female +7%
114,940 MYR

Child Development Specialist Average Pay Raise in Malaysia

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Child Development Specialist in Malaysia is around 13% every 18 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Malaysia is around 9% every 17 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 13 ÷ 18 ) × 12  = 9%

What this means is that a Child Development Specialist in Malaysia can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 9% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Malaysia for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Malaysia.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
4%
Energy
8%
Information Technology
3%
Healthcare
7%
Travel
2%
Construction
6%
Education
1%

Child Development Specialist Bonus and Incentive Rates in Malaysia

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Child Development Specialist is a moderate bonus based job, with 55% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

45% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6%.

Received Bonus
55%
No Bonus
45%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Malaysia earn approximately 11% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
81,960 MYR
Private Sector -11%
73,820 MYR

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Child Development Specialist

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Child Development Specialist in Malaysia.

Job Title Category Salary
Activity Assistant Care Giving and Child Care 26,100 MYR
Advice Worker Care Giving and Child Care 33,960 MYR
Care Manager Care Giving and Child Care 98,820 MYR
Care Worker Care Giving and Child Care 26,500 MYR
Child Care Assistant Director Care Giving and Child Care 75,040 MYR
Child Care Specialist Care Giving and Child Care 115,560 MYR
Child Care Teacher Care Giving and Child Care 34,080 MYR
Child Development Center Assistant Care Giving and Child Care 45,580 MYR
Child Life Specialist Care Giving and Child Care 115,560 MYR
Child Protection Officer Care Giving and Child Care 36,160 MYR
Child Psychotherapist Care Giving and Child Care 119,860 MYR
Child Support Officer Care Giving and Child Care 33,440 MYR
Clinical Care Coordinator Care Giving and Child Care 35,340 MYR
Clinical Officer Care Giving and Child Care 35,560 MYR
Custodian Care Giving and Child Care 50,180 MYR
Day Care Director Care Giving and Child Care 136,100 MYR
Elderly Care Giver Care Giving and Child Care 26,080 MYR
Group Home Manager Care Giving and Child Care 139,100 MYR
Kids Activity Assistant Care Giving and Child Care 24,860 MYR
Live In Carer Care Giving and Child Care 32,960 MYR
Nanny Care Giving and Child Care 33,120 MYR
Nursery Nurse Care Giving and Child Care 34,480 MYR
Nursery Teacher Care Giving and Child Care 31,660 MYR
Nursing Home Administrator Care Giving and Child Care 41,820 MYR
Personal Assistant Care Giving and Child Care 25,160 MYR
Physical Health and Wellness Specialist Care Giving and Child Care 114,900 MYR
Preschool Education Coordinator Care Giving and Child Care 54,140 MYR
Primary Therapist Care Giving and Child Care 86,460 MYR
Psychiatric Aide Care Giving and Child Care 37,380 MYR
Rehabilitation Counselor Care Giving and Child Care 103,900 MYR
Support Worker Care Giving and Child Care 25,660 MYR

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Malaysia, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Ampang 97,840 MYR
Ipoh 114,380 MYR
Johor Bahru 111,900 MYR
Klang 104,600 MYR
Kota Kinabalu 111,700 MYR
Kuala Lumpur 124,400 MYR
Kuching 112,560 MYR
Petaling Jaya 114,000 MYR
Shah Alam 115,220 MYR
Subang Jaya 105,940 MYR

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