Written by Kenny Sia
Wanted to write about this topic for a while, but then I got carried away with work.
Recently I had to interview a round of job applicants for some positions I was hiring.
I was looking for sales consultants and an administrative assistant to join my fitness centre. These are entry-level positions good for fresh graduates, and I was looking forward to resumes from - maybe - business or hospitality grads in my inbox.
Ultimately, I didn't end up hiring any of the fresh graduates, but that's another story altogether. *remind self to blog about the atrocity of fresh grads*
But what surprised me was that in amongst the 20 over resumes that I received, a few who applied were actually Bachelor degree holders.
Not only that, they were degree holders in... Engineering.
An engineering graduate applying to a become a sales consultant at a fitness centre. Are you kidding me?
Is he gonna make a robot greeting customers at the front desk?
It sounds almost as ridiculous as a blogger opening a fitness centre.
Not that I have anything against engineering degree holders. In fact, I am one of them. Lim peh right here holds a Bachelors Degree in Electronic & Communication Engineering, with Honours.
Which is really just a fancy way of saying "Hey look, I am holding a piece of paper that I spent 5 years in university working on, but acherly I donch really know what it was all about!" :D
I got a theory with regards to students, in particular MALAYSIAN students, who study engineering at universities.
Kenny Sia's Theorem On Malaysian Engineering Students: "99% of Malaysian students who do engineering at university do it because their friends/parents/government ask them to, not because they really want to."
I'm serious. If I could have a dollar every time I see an engineering graduate getting a job in something COMPLETELY unrelated to what he studies, I'd be so rich I could buy a fake $5-billion dollar boat made of gold and dinosaur bone.
I know it's true. I am one of them.
My parents spent hundreds and thousands of dollars sending me to an overseas university, and I end up writing a blog and running a gym.
What a waste of time. What a waste of money.
I'm surprised my parents hadn't disowned me after I wasted so much of their money on my university education.
It's quite sad to think that the best thing I did in uni was joining the university gym. If I only knew which career path I'd take, I would never have picked electronic engineering. I would do something more related to what I am doing right now - like a commerce or hospitality degree. Why the hell did I choose to study engineering in the first place?
I blame it all on society pressures.
What to do? I was fresh out of high school when I was forced to make a decision on what course to do at university.
I was 17. How the hell do I know what I want to do for the rest of my life? I never had the chance to see the world nor explore my interests. Yet at 17 I was put in front of a university brochure and forced to make a AUD$100,000 decision.
My parents being parents are more than happy to comply. In Malaysia, there's no such thing as a "gap year" like in Western countries, where kids after high school take a year off to do travel or volunteer work as a means to discover their interests, before continuing on their university education.
In Malaysia, kids must go STRAIGHT to college or university after they finish high school. Never mind the fact that most universities/colleges are privatised money-guzzling business entities now. In Malaysia, if kids don't go STRAIGHT to university, they must be delinquents and therefore failure in life.
So what do I do?
I chose the so-called "safest" career option - engineering.
Why? Because back in the 1990s, Mahathir encouraged everybody to study technology.
Why? Because we got MULTIMEDIA SUPER CORRIDOR. And CYBERJAYA. And MULTIMEDIA SUPER TUALAMPA. And apparently everyone who study engineering will make a lot of money.
Bullshit.
Tell me which one of Malaysia's richest men have an electronic engineering degree?
When you think about it, it is so sad. University is so expensive, so important as a pathway in a person's career development. Yet so many of us rush into deciding on what course to pick when we really have no idea what we want to do straight after we finish high school.
In the end, all we're really doing is going to university for the sake of going to university.
By the time we find out how much we hate the course we're doing, it's too late.
Next time when I have kids, I'm gonna force them to take a gap year travelling or volunteering to find out where their true passion lies before they enrol into University. After all, if they are gonna be spending my money on their university education, they may as well do it right.
Don't want them to end up like me - studying so hard for a piece of paper that I never ended up using. Parents, please don't rush your kids to go university for the sake of going to university. If they decide wrong course at University, die lah.
Might as well go Uneverstudy.
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4 Comments
I'm a guilty internet addict who had wasted the past 3 months waiting for my SPM results that will be released in...3 days. I'm new to this blog (which is awesomely helpful btw) Correct me if this is the inappropriate place for me to share my worries.
ReplyDeleteRecently my parents have become more concerned about my future education (they're usually so calm & accepting) and began to offer advises on the course I should take ranging from the ones my two elder brothers took (Computer Software Engineering & Business Accounting) to Hospitality Management and so on.
However, I'm a pure science stream student with a desire to pursue the medical field which I keep bottled up most of the time since my family could never afford the mental amount of fees. (Non-bumi here, so this is based on the assumption that I'll not be entering IPTAs) I did drop a few hints...they were not well received. As such I dodge my parents' well-meaning queries so that we will discuss it only after I get my SPM results. I'm thinking that if my results are unremarkable I will set my sights on less competitive fields. BUT, on the odds that I get a stellar result I hope to get the opportunity to pursue my ambition. But its a long road with much twists turns & confusions (and according to some forums on the net medicine is no longer a bright future in Malaysia) I wonder I should make my decision right now. Should I give up on the uncertain dream of becoming a doctor or is it worth it to take time off (say a gap year) to check if my interests are in order? I know I have a long way to go (pre-u and so) but I want to make myself a clear goal so that it'll be easier for me to decide on where to start, where to go. I always imagine that SPM is just the beginning..
Greetings. If you have such deep passion of pursuing in medical field, you should proceed and of course you still have long way to go in twists turns, obstacles, defiance and confusions. that's part of life without it..it is paradise.
DeleteAbout the some forums on the net medicine is no longer a bright future in Malaysia. well, it is not bright future to begin with. this is not about the job. its all about saving other people's life although the doctor just making a light work but has to do also, that is why there's the problem of efficient quality. to make things clear we need quality not quantity.
You know what you want which is to becoming a doctor. but if it still worries you take a time off who knows it may helps you for better future.
Ah, peer pressure. It's hard to go against the norm in today's society.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you, many of my Engineering friends are mostly doing it because of their parents, and because it's considered as the 'normal' and 'cool' thing to do. We need to get our priorities straight. It's not about aiming for what's cool or earning big bucks. It's whether or not we enjoy what we're studying. Why bother studying something that puts you to sleep faster than a cough syrup? Studying should be as entertaining as it is informative :) Thanks for this!
Very inspiring me. I admitted Kennysia is a blogger that can write motivational articles in humourous/ sarcatism ways
ReplyDeletemost of people I met ( who is younger than me) telling me that they didnt know where to go after SPM/ STPM. I tell them, why don't you go survey by yourself?
From this articles, i came up with "listing what are you want to choose" programme. LOL sound like retard, but after they listing what they want to be, I can advice them what and where they SHOULD go after SPM/STPM..
My advice is
*Don't afraid to choose. At the end, You will know it hehe