Average Mental Health Counselor Salary in Malaysia for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Mental Health Counselor 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 Mental Health Counselor Make in Malaysia?

A Mental Health Counselor working in Malaysia will typically earn around 105,080 MYR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 46,040 MYR to the highest average salary of 163,800 MYR.

Average Annual Salary
105,080 MYR
Average Monthly Salary
8,756 MYR

Lowest Annual Salary
46,040 MYR
Lowest Monthly Salary
3,836 MYR

Highest Annual Salary
163,800 MYR
Highest Monthly Salary
13,650 MYR

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

Mental Health Counselor 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 Mental Health Counselor Salaries in Malaysia

So we've looked at the average salaries a Mental Health Counselor will earn in Malaysia. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Mental Health Counselor can earn between 46,040 MYR and 163,800 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 Mental Health Counselor in Malaysia is 112,560 MYR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 112,560 MYR, and 50% of the population earn more than 112,560 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 Mental Health Counselor salary in Malaysia, 25% of the population are earning less than 70,880 MYR while 75% of the population earn more than 70,880 MYR.

75% of the population earn less than 151,800 MYR, and 25% of the population earn more than 151,800 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.

Mental Health Counselor 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 mental health counselor 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 Mental Health Counselor in Malaysia that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 55,220 MYR.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Mental Health Counselor salary would increase to 70,840 MYR.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Mental Health Counselor, the average salary would be 107,820 MYR.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 128,900 MYR.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Mental Health Counselor with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 142,300 MYR.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Mental Health Counselor with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 152,300 MYR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
55,220 MYR
2-5 Years +34%
70,840 MYR
5-10 Years +48%
107,820 MYR
10-15 Years +22%
128,900 MYR
15-20 Years +9%
142,300 MYR
20+ Years +8%
152,300 MYR

Mental Health Counselor 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 Mental Health Counselor 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 Mental Health Counselor in Malaysia with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 60,600 MYR.

  • Master's Degree. A Mental Health Counselor in Malaysia with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 97,760 MYR.

  • PhD. A Mental Health Counselor in Malaysia with a phd education can earn an average salary of 161,300 MYR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
60,600 MYR
Master's Degree +57%
97,760 MYR
PhD +68%
161,300 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.

Mental Health Counselor 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 mental health counselor will earn an average of 107,900 MYR, while a female mental health counselor will earn around 96,560 MYR.

This means that a male mental health counselor earns approximately 12% more than a female mental health counselor for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Malaysia

Male
107,900 MYR
Female -12%
96,560 MYR

Mental Health Counselor 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 Mental Health Counselor 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 Mental Health Counselor 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%

Mental Health Counselor 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 Mental Health Counselor is a high bonus based job, with 84% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

16% 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 5% to 9%.

Received Bonus
84%
No Bonus
16%

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 Mental Health Counselor

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Mental Health Counselor in Malaysia.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 107,960 MYR
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 83,900 MYR
Assistant Instructor Counseling 40,560 MYR
Career Counselor Counseling 99,340 MYR
Consultant Counseling 99,340 MYR
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 123,400 MYR
Disability Consultant Counseling 73,980 MYR
Employment Counselor Counseling 96,600 MYR
Family Advocate Counseling 66,840 MYR
Family Services Specialist Counseling 69,260 MYR
Family Support Specialist Counseling 101,980 MYR
Family Youth Worker Counseling 30,700 MYR
Guidance Counselor Counseling 98,000 MYR
Guidance Director Counseling 117,380 MYR
Mental Health Therapist Counseling 93,660 MYR
Programs Coordinator Counseling 52,820 MYR
Psychologist Counseling 128,500 MYR
Supervising Counselor Counseling 106,740 MYR
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 96,560 MYR
Youth Advocate Counseling 54,280 MYR
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 99,340 MYR
Youth Care Specialist Counseling 57,800 MYR
Youth Development Manager Counseling 118,200 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 95,980 MYR
Ipoh 116,540 MYR
Johor Bahru 107,320 MYR
Klang 97,300 MYR
Kota Kinabalu 108,300 MYR
Kuala Lumpur 112,600 MYR
Kuching 103,580 MYR
Petaling Jaya 115,620 MYR
Shah Alam 112,000 MYR
Subang Jaya 98,120 MYR

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