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Chef

Stable

Hospitality & Tourism

Leads kitchen operations from commis to head chef across hotels, restaurants and central kitchens. TVET/culinary diploma is the common entry; senior chefs earn well above average as F&B and tourism grow.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Hospitality & TourismGeneral

Picture the job

Where you'd usually workA commercial kitchen

  • Mostly indoors
  • On your feet for most of the day
  • Dealing with customers or the public
  • Shifts or irregular hours

An illustration of a typical workplace, not a photo. The work-style notes come from US O*NET data, so read them as a guide.

Pay in the private market

Monthly pay from fresh grad to mid-career, from the salary guide cited on this page.

Entry

Private
RM2,000 – RM2,800

Mid-career

Private
RM4,000 – RM7,000

Government pay isn't shown: we haven't yet sourced the SSPA civil-service salary tables, and we won't estimate them.

Job demand outlook

Stable

Steady, reliable demand: a consistent number of openings.

Your readiness

How your current SPM subjects line up with this career.

Add your SPM grades to see how ready you are for this career.

Add my grades

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. Typical entry

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationAssociate's degree
The full route to this careerThe steps from school, UPU programmes and sourced costs, read against your answers.

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

TVET

Hands-on trades with strong employability: ILP, ADTEC, kolej vokasional, GiatMARA.

1–3 years

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

International Pre-U

A-Levels, AUSMAT, IB and more. The flexible premium route, local or overseas.

1–2 years
Compare routes against your results and interests

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

Quick answers

How do you become a Chef in Malaysia?

Routes after SPM that lead here include TVET, Asasi / Foundation and International Pre-U.

Can I become a Chef straight after SPM?

Yes. This career can be started with a certificate, diploma or TVET training straight after SPM, without a degree.

What should I study to become a Chef?

Related fields of study: Hospitality & Tourism. SPM subjects that help most: Agriculture, Home Science (SRT), Design & Technology (RBT) and Mechanical Engineering Studies.

How much does a Chef earn in Malaysia?

Published figures put starting pay at RM2,000 – RM2,800 a month, and RM4,000 – RM7,000 with experience (source: PayScale / SalaryExpert Malaysia, Jan 2025).

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.
  2. 2Instruct cooks or other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, or presentation of food.
  3. 3Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation.
  4. 4Order or requisition food or other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation.
  5. 5Inspect supplies, equipment, or work areas to ensure conformance to established standards.
  6. 6Check the quantity and quality of received products.
  7. 7Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
  8. 8Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients.
  9. 9Coordinate planning, budgeting, or purchasing for all the food operations within establishments such as clubs, hotels, or restaurant chains.
  10. 10Analyze recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs.
  11. 11Plan, direct, or supervise food preparation or cooking activities of multiple kitchens or restaurants in an establishment such as a restaurant chain, hospital, or hotel.
  12. 12Determine how food should be presented and create decorative food displays.
  13. 13Prepare and cook foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions.
  14. 14Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services.
  15. 15Meet with customers to discuss menus for special occasions, such as weddings, parties, or banquets.
  16. 16Recruit and hire staff, such as cooks and other kitchen workers.
  17. 17Record production or operational data on specified forms.
  18. 18Meet with sales representatives to negotiate prices or order supplies.
  19. 19Arrange for equipment purchases or repairs.
  20. 20Demonstrate new cooking techniques or equipment to staff.
  21. 21Collaborate with other personnel to plan and develop recipes or menus, taking into account such factors as seasonal availability of ingredients or the likely number of customers.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • CEC
  • Chef
  • Cook
  • Baker
  • Ex Chef
  • Cake Icer
  • Head Chef
  • Head Cook
  • Pie Maker
  • Sous Chef

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

AgricultureDraws directly on Food Production — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Home Science (SRT)Draws directly on Food Production — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Design & Technology (RBT)Draws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Mechanical Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
BusinessDraws directly on Personnel and Human Resources — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Food Production82%

    AgricultureHome Science (SRT)

  • Production and Processing81%

    Design & Technology (RBT)Mechanical Engineering Studies

  • Customer and Personal Service78%
  • Personnel and Human Resources75%

    Business

  • Administration and Management73%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Mathematics71%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

Skills to build

CommunicationOrganisationTeamwork

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicHigh
  • Leading or coordinating othersHigh
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherRarely
  • Noisy environmentEvery day
  • Time spent sittingA little

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points, not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

14%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023, already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

What beginner adverts asked for

We read 13 internship and fresh-graduate adverts in related fields (August 2026). A small sample from one job site, not every vacancy.

6 of 13 were internships

Allowance or pay, when stated

RM1,215 – RM2,663

8 of 13 adverts printed an amount: usually between RM1,215 and RM2,663 a month. Many print none.

Professional bodies named

MOH

Languages named

Bahasa Malaysia

An empty line means the adverts did not say, not that employers have no requirement. Check each employer's own advert before you plan around it.

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Chefs and Head Cooks

Source: PayScale / SalaryExpert Malaysia · as of Jan 2025

Check the salary figures yourself:PayScaleSalaryExpert

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org