Previously, I published an article titled No Money No Time No Life Versus Wanting To Survive (click here to read it) about young people facing difficulties in coping with today’s high cost of living (which will only get worst with new taxes, removal of subsidies, increasing electricity bills, etc – aka inflation).
In the above article I stated a fact that every parent knows including our Ministers but most of the young people don’t plan in advance and are enjoying their parents hard earned money UNTIL they graduate and start working, earning less than RM3K per month, then complain about this and that.
But can we really blame the young adults for being ignorant if we, as parents, do not condition them when they were kids (below 12 years old) to look into the future on how they want to live their lives? Most parents will just say to the child – must study hard and enter university; but there is much more to this!
Study Hard
Study hard – what does this mean? Sending your child to a Chinese school will definitely mean that they need to do more than study hard where they also have to suffer the entire day doing never ending homework/assignments. However, sending them to a Chinese school does not guarantee that your child will have a good paying job or career. Of course if your child can read and write in the Chinese language it is good and any additional language is a plus.
More and more parents have come to realize the above, i.e. attending Chinese Schools do not guarantee a good paying job or career, so now the trend is to send their kids to International Schools where the child will have a good life, hahaha.
As usual, most will think the more they pay for an International School Tuition Fee, the smarter their children will be. I can tell you, sending a child to a Sekolah Kebangsaan, which is practically FREE, is just as good if the child has the right attitude and determination to succeed. I can also tell you that those who took SPM can read, write and understand letters/documents written in BM.
Now, sending your child to an International School does not necessarily mean you need to pay freaking high tuition fees. My sister sent her children to a Secondary International School in PJ that cost less than RM10K per year; and two of her older children graduated with Computer Science Degrees from Canada and Australia universities whereas the youngest is currently in Japan (FREE tuition!) pursuing an Engineering Degree.
HOWEVER, I have warned my readers over and over again, if you send your child to an International School that does not offer SPM BM (there are a few which do offer SPM BM), and the child wants to be a Doctor, Pharmacist or Lawyer in Malaysia. Then there will potentially be a problem.
In order to be able to practice as a medical doctor in Malaysia, not only does one need SPM BM but they also need Sejarah!!! Below is what I got when I googled:
When I googled for Pharmacist I noted that one also needs SPM BM and Sejarah if one is to be employed by the Ministry of Health.
As for Dentist, if one needs to complete housemanship or compulsory service, then I guess one will need SPM BM and Sejarah too!
So, if your kid wants to be a doctor, or pharmacist or dentist, and you want your child to work in Malaysia to accompany you till you die and have the joy to send/pick your grandchild to/from the nursery/kindergarten/school, you better do more research before you send your child to an international school that does not offer SPM BM and also maybe equally important SPM Sejarah!
On the other hand, if you are willing to allow your child complete freedom to work and start a family overseas and earn big bucks as a doctor or dentist, by all means send your child to an International School so that your child will have a freaking relaxing childhood and graduate from a World’s Top 100 University.
A few months ago, I saw a man pushing a lady in a wheelchair and I offered to open and hold the car door as it was on a slope and the man had to hold the wheelchair. Then I asked the gentleman if his children are overseas and he said yes all his children are overseas, leaving him and his wife all alone in Malaysia. Like I said before many times, the disadvantage of sending our children overseas is that they may not return back to Malaysia!
Oh, I was speaking to a young lady recently, and she told me that she is thinking of migrating to Australia. So I asked her why? To my surprise, it was not about money but work life balance!!! And then she told me she is a doctor; then it all made sense as most doctors I know in Australia are definitely having a balanced work life. Yes, I tell you, a fresh graduate doctor in Australia working as a Resident in a hospital is having a damn relaxing life compared to the many stories we hear about young doctors working in housemanship positions in Malaysia.
A parent who studied overseas 20 years ago and working as a salaryman may not be able to afford to send his/her child overseas because (1) overseas tuition fees keep increasing yearly due to inflation, (2) salaries in Malaysia are kind of stagnant for decades, (3) our Ringgit is damn weak and (4) never bothered to plan for the funds required. Most of the T20 however have no issues sending their children to a Private Uni in Malaysia or some may even send their children to Singapore (if the kids are smart they get scholarships but Singapore is damn kiasu country and your child will face stiff competitions).
So most of the children today who study overseas come from families which are pretty loaded and studied in International Schools, because it cost a fortune to attend a foreign university, especially in the developed countries. Unless the child who is studying overseas can get a high paying job after they graduate, for example doctors have no issues getting a job in Australia. Most children will return to Malaysia because here daddy or mummy will buy them a car or they have a driver, no need to pay rental and utilities, eat for FREE when out with the parents, mamak is cheap and can stay up late and even be the small boss of daddy’s or mummy’s company…. not joking but this is a fact. These children are sent overseas so that the parents have bragging rights!!!
University
The next point is many parents want their children to graduate from a university. Once again what does this mean?
The above said article once again just reiterate what all of us know – (1) Too many graduates in Malaysia compared to limited job opportunities, (2) Fresh Graduate starting pay is freaking low (less than USD1K), (3) Many Fresh Graduates are finding it hard to survive if they are renting a room, etc.
Below are parts from the CNA article above:
A recent report by a labour market research group revealed that over 65 per cent of fresh graduates in the country earn less than RM3,000.
“Gaji Cukup Makan” in Malay translates literally to “salary enough (only for) food”, referring to a wage level that covers only basic living expenses, leaving little to no room for savings, investment or discretionary spending.
Another graduate from the Class of 2024, Howard Ng, 23, told CNA that his monthly salary of about RM3,000 is “barely enough” to cover his expenses, often leaving him stretching his budget and running a deficit just to get by.
Another graduate from INTI International University who did not want to be named also told CNA that she was “disappointed” with her starting basic salary of RM2,400 as a physiotherapist, which she said is within the range of RM2,200 to RM2,800 that her peers in the same line are getting.
Former Bank Negara governor Muhammad Ibrahim said early this month in an interview with local news outlet Sinar Harian that university graduate salaries should be closer to RM7,000 to RM8,000 a month when adjusted for a 5 per cent annual inflation rate. That is why I pointed out in Part I (link at the start) that many are working in Singapore.
The report also found that 70 per cent of fresh graduates in Malaysia are in semi-skilled or unskilled jobs. Semi-skilled roles include clerical, service, and sales positions, while low-skilled roles cover occupations in agriculture and fisheries, crafts and trades, plant and machine operators and other elementary tasks.
Earlier findings by the department found that 36.8 per cent, or almost 2 million, of Malaysia’s tertiary-educated workforce were underemployed as of the third quarter of last year.
The department noted that only 17 per cent of new jobs were considered high-skilled, the New Straits Times reported.
Sim noted that Malaysia produces 300,000 graduates every year, but with only 50,000 high-paying, skilled jobs available.
When graduate salaries are barely distinguishable from those of non-graduates, investing in higher education is no longer a guaranteed path to social mobility, it has become an economic risk,” Mohd Yusof told the New Straits Times.
Arulkumar Singaraveloo, chief executive officer of the Malaysia HR Forum, which trains human resource professionals and organisations, told CNA that employers have expressed concerns over the quality of Malaysia’s graduates.
“Over time, this (persistent underemployment) could widen inequality, push talent overseas and undermine Malaysia’s goal of becoming a high-income nation,” Arulkumar told CNA.
Besides concerns about brain drain, Arulkumar warned that persistent underemployment would also burden and pressure the government to assist these graduates or even absorb them into the “already bloated civil service”.
“A generation stuck in a cycle of underemployment, career frustration and stagnant income is not just a graduate issue, it is a national one.”
Above are just parts of CNA report, you must read the entire report AND use your brain cells to understand the contents in the paragraph above.
The report also have many people suggesting this and that on how to improve wages but I tell you, higher wages means higher inflation and also more businesses closing down. It is called Lan Pah Pah Lan.
So with the above, graduating from a university does not guarantee one a good paying job in Malaysia BUT I can tell you the right degree will, example Doctors and Pharmacist do earn above USD1K per month as a Fresh Graduate. But look at the the table below and you will understand why those who graduated overseas with a Medical Degree will stay back and work there:
So, to all parents (1) don’t just tell your child to study hard BUT that they are to study to achieve academic results to enable them to (2) enter a World Top 100 University and (3) graduate with the right degree so that they can work anywhere on earth to earn big bucks!
Having said the above, if you are a control freak (love yourself more than you love your child), then do not send your child overseas so that they stay back in Malaysia with any degree they want (want to be an astronaut also can as most graduates in Malaysia are performing unskilled or semi-skilled work according to the CNA report) and you may get to play with your grandchildren everyday until you die….. on condition you can continue to feed your child (and grandchild) for at least the initial years of their working life as Fresh Graduate pay is damn freaking low plus you may also need to buy milk for your grandchild.
And the moment you die, and the child inherits your property or assets, then he/she will be an instant millionaire………. click here to read Burning Away Fixed Deposits and Earning FREE Gold Bars with Credit Cards
This article is about Fresh Graduate salary. Over time, as one moves up in his/her career, he/she will be earning more. For example, a Specialist Doctor in Malaysia can earn hundreds of thousands of Ringgit per year. And many of my followers who are in their 30s to early 40s also earn more than RM10K per month in Malaysia. But I also have young followers working in Singapore earning more than SGD10K per month!
GenX GenY GenZ 