We were talking about rent increases and rising costs, the usual complaints over lunch. Then my colleague mentioned their salary, casual as anything, just explaining how they budgeted for their new place.

The number hit me like a slap. It was noticeably higher than my own, and the more I replayed the exchange in my head, the harder it became to brush aside.

At first, I assumed there had to be context I was missing. Different responsibilities, perhaps, or a role that carried more weight than mine. But as I thought about our day to day work, the similarities were difficult to ignore.

The Realisation That Followed

We were at similar stages in our careers, had comparable levels of experience, and worked on overlapping projects. In some cases, our responsibilities were almost interchangeable.

For the first few days, I tried to logic my way out of it. Maybe they negotiated harder, or had better qualifications I didn’t know about, or there was some factor I was overlooking that explained the gap.

But the uncertainty lingered, and it pushed me to examine whether my salary actually matched my role.

Putting My Pay Into Context

Before drawing any conclusions, I tried to look at the situation as fairly as possible by reviewing my role, responsibilities, and the feedback I had received over the years. My performance reviews had been consistently positive, and my workload had expanded gradually, but my salary had only risen by low single-digit percentages each year. That pace felt increasingly out of step with wider trends, especially when national data showed median wages growing by around 5 to 6% annually.

At that point, I stopped relying on assumptions and turned to market data. I reviewed my payslips and calculated my total compensation, taking into account my base salary, bonuses, and allowances, before comparing those figures with salary ranges published on job portals, recruitment reports, and industry surveys relevant to my role.

Across multiple sources, the picture was consistent: I was underpaid, and not by a small margin. My salary sat near the bottom of the market range, which was impossible to ignore once I saw it laid out in black and white.

What Being Underpaid Really Costs Over Time

The implications of lower pay extend far beyond monthly spending. Over time, a smaller salary limits how much can be set aside for savings, slows the growth of an emergency fund, and reduces the amount available for long term investments.

There is also the effect of inflation to consider. When salaries remain flat while living costs rise, purchasing power slowly erodes. Day to day expenses, including meals that now cost several ringgit more than they once did, can quietly strain a budget over time, even without any lifestyle changes.

I began to see that staying underpaid was not simply a matter of career satisfaction. It carried tangible consequences for long term financial security.

How Salary Transparency Changed My Thinking And Shaped My Next Steps

If that conversation had never happened, I might still believe my pay was fair simply because it was familiar. Salary transparency, even in an informal setting, has a way of challenging assumptions that often go unexamined, particularly when there are no clear reference points for comparison.

Many people avoid discussing money at work, viewing it as uncomfortable or inappropriate. While those concerns are understandable, silence also makes it easier for pay disparities to persist. Without shared context, it becomes difficult to assess whether compensation truly aligns with role, responsibilities, and the wider market.

Having access to better information prompted me to focus on preparation rather than reaction. Instead of confronting the issue immediately, I reviewed my CV, documented my contributions, and thought more carefully about what I wanted from the next stage of my career, while continuing to research market rates.

Whether this leads to a salary discussion, a change in responsibilities, or a move elsewhere remains to be seen. What mattered was shifting from frustration to clarity and approaching the situation with intention rather than emotion.

What I Would Tell Someone In The Same Position

If you find yourself in a similar situation, it helps to pause before reacting and take a step back to look at the full picture. Looking at total compensation rather than just take home pay, and comparing it with the wider market rather than a single data point, can make the situation clearer.

What helped me most was writing things down. Listing out my responsibilities, tracking the outcomes of my work, and reviewing how my role had evolved over time gave me a more grounded view of where I stood. Spending time with market salary data also helped separate assumptions from reality.

I also began to see salary less as a judgement of my value and more as a financial outcome influenced by context, timing, and decisions made along the way. It was a perspective shift I had not considered before, but one that made it easier to think about the situation calmly.

Sometimes, all it takes is one unexpected conversation to prompt a more thoughtful and informed approach to money.

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