Don’t End Up Unemployed: 5 New Careers That Can Make You Big Bucks

Guest post by Lu Wee (Share your insight with 52,000+ Malaysian students)

When I was in my final year of A levels, my mother told me, “Lu Wee, you should take chemical engineering. I read in the newspapers a week ago that chemical engineers are the top three highest paid in Malaysia.”

It was the year 2007 and the oil and gas (O&G) industry was booming and my mother was right.

Big oil companies lined themselves up in college campuses after each semester to recruit the best graduates. Chemical engineering graduates were especially sought after because they were many vacant process engineer roles.

After I enrolled and became a student chemical engineer, I witnessed my seniors get hired and enjoy a luxurious lifestyle as process engineers with companies like Petronas and Shell.

I dreamt of having the same offers in the future.

Little did I know my career prospects would be very different from my seniors’.

Fast forward today, high paying graduate O&G jobs are no longer the norm. By the end of 2015, oil price had dropped so low that Shell Malaysia announced it would cut 1,300 jobs in the next two years. A few months later, Petronas announced its laying off of 1,000 workers.

As a young adult preparing to enter the workforce, what options do you have left when ‘golden rice bowls’ like these disappear?

The 5 New Careers That Can Make You Big Bucks

Today I want to show you five new and in demand jobs that you might not have considered yet. The best thing about these jobs is you do not even need to enroll in a degree program to learn the skills needed.

In fact, the people who are most skillful in these jobs often learn everything they need to know online.

This means that even if you are a high school student, you can start picking up the skills necessary for you to get a high paying job.

What are these jobs?

Let’s find out.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) Specialist

What you do:

You help businesses move up their websites up in Google’s search engine rankings.

Why your job is important:

The higher a business’s website can rank, the more easily their customers can find them through search engines and buy from them.

How to get started:

Google ‘SEO for Beginners’ and ‘Neil Patel Search Engine Optimisation Guide’ to get an idea of what SEO is about and what you need to do to help improve a website’s rankings.

Content Marketer

What you do:

You create content like articles, videos and graphics that bring people to a business’s website or social media pages.

Why your job is important:

When customers are exposed to a business’s through its website or social media pages, they are more likely to buy from that business.

How to get started:

Google ‘Content Marketing for Beginners’ and ‘Neil Patel Content Marketing Guide’ to learn how to produce content which drives traffic to a website.

Web Developer

What you do:

You help businesses design and build programs for businesses that want to solve their customer's’ problems.

Why your job is important:

Good programs that can solve customer problems effectively often become a sustainable source of long-term income for a business.

How to get started:

Google ‘Learn Enough Ruby on Rails’ to get one of the best free guides on developing programs using Ruby on Rails programming language.

Email Marketing Specialist

What you do:

You create emails that help a business build trust with their customers.

Why your job is important:

Customer’s are more likely to buy from businesses that have built a long term relationship with them. Good email campaigns can often help a business generate a large portion of its income.

How to get started:

Google ‘Email marketing for beginners’ to learn how to create emails that translate into sales.

Web Analytics Specialist

What you do:

You help a business analyse the behavior of its website visitors.

Why your job is important:

By knowing what visitors are doing on their website a business can make changes to their website to help them generate more sales.

How to get started:

Google ‘Google Analytics for beginners’ to learn how to use Google Analytics to understand what people are doing on a website.

Conclusion

The ‘good jobs’ of yesteryear are slowly reducing in number.

In order for you to secure an in-demand job, you need to learn new skills such as search engine optimisation, email marketing and web analytics.

The good news is that you can learn all the skills you need to become good at these jobs online.

By mastering these skills and helping businesses get customers, you will almost be guaranteed a job even before you graduate from school.

Lu Wee is the Chief Editor of The Entrepreneur Campfire, a website featuring interviews with Southeast Asian entrepreneurs as well as business how-to articles. Lu Wee graduated with First Class Honors in Chemical Engineering from Curtin University Sarawak in 2011. After working in engineering for four years, she quit to pursue her interest in entrepreneurship, retail and journalism.

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Malaysia Budget 2017 Highlights on Education, Employability & Entrepreneurship

Below are the main highlights of Malaysia Budget 2017 for students (preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary), teachers (civil servants) and fresh graduates (especially those interested in becoming an entrepreneur or to venture into the digital economy) in Malaysia.

GENERATE INCOME FOR THE RAKYAT

• Expand MySuria Programme for 1,600 houses natiowide (RM 45 million)
• Expand Mobilepreneur Programme for 3,000 participants (RM 30 million)
• Implement Agropreneur Programme for 3,000 young entrepreneurs (RM 100 million)
• Intensify eUsahawan dan eRezeki programmes for 300,000 participants (RM 100 million)
• Encourage B 40 (BR1M recipients) to generate additional income by becoming ride-sharing drivers such as UBER – For those who do not own vehicles, down payment could be paid using BR1M & rebate up to RM 4,000 for the purchase of Proton Iriz

1 MALAYSIA PEOPLE’S AID (BR1M) (RM 6.8 billion)

• Single Individual: RM2,000 and below: RM450 (2016: RM400)

ENHANCE TVET PROGRAMMES (RM 4.6 billion)

• Transform 9 IPG campus into Polytechnics & Vocational Colleges, including one for TVET trainers (RM 400 million)
• Upgrade teaching equipment in TVET institutions (RM 270 million)
• Skills Development Fund Corporation (RM 360 million)
• Extend the double tax deduction for Structured Internship Programme until year of assessment 2019 for students pursuing degree, diploma as well as Level 3 and above, under TVET programmes
• Provide matching grants to TVET institutions which successfully obtained assistance in the form of equipment from industries

HUMAN CAPITAL

• Enhance graduate employability – Extend 1 Malaysia Training Scheme (SL1M) for 20, 000 graduates (RM 50 million)
• Establish Malaysian Bureau of Labour Statistics

LIFESTYLE TAX RELIEF

• Tax relief up to RM 2,500 yearly effective year of assessment 2017 (combined as lifestyle tax reliefs) for purchase of :
• Reading materials, computers, sports equipment, printed newspapers, Smartphones & tablets, Internet subscription and gymnasium membership fees

NATIONAL BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY (NBOS) (RM 140 million)

• Provide Job Centres in every UTC for job matching
• Implement NBOS initiatives: 1Malaysia English, Coding in schools, Volunteering for International Professional, Global Entrepreneurship Community 2

DIGITAL ECONOMY

• MDEC to implement digital programmes such as e-commerce ecosystem, Digital Maker Movement (RM162 million)
• Introduction of new location categories as Malaysia Digital Hub to enjoy the benefits of MSC Bill of Guarantees, including tax incentives as well as introduction of Digital Free Zones.
• Offer a more competitive price for broadbands (higher speed at the same price)
• Increase ethernet broadband speed in public universities to maximum 100 Gbps 
• Widen the coverage and enhance the quality of broadband up to 20 Mbps throughout the nation (RM1 billion)

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

• Declare 2017 as Startup & SME Promotion Year.
• Implement programmes under SME Master Plan (RM75 million)
• Extend all schemes under Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan (SJPP) to 2025
• Provide 2% rebate on interest rates charged to exports - oriented SME borrowers under SJPP scheme (limited to a total accumulated funding of RM1 billion)
• WCGS fund for startups (RM200 million)
• Introduce a new pass category, namely Foreign Knowledge Tech Entrepreneurs to encourage investment in high technology startups.
• To invigorate creative industries & film production (RM80 million)
• Film in Malaysia Incentive, Arts and Culture Revitalisation Agenda, FINAS Content Creation Hub in Santubong Sarawak, and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Artist Committee

EARLY CHILDHOOD AND PRESCHOOL EDUCATION

• Continue the Additional Food Assistance and Per Capita Grant to children in TABIKA and TASKA (RM 140 million)
• Improve daily nutritional food packages to include 250ml of milk, raisins and eggs benefitting nearly 280,000 children (RM 60 million)
• Improve access to preschool education in government schools for free benefitting 200,000 children (RM 132 million)

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

• Reconstruct 120 destitute schools (30 in Sabah & 30 in Sarawak) using Industrial Building System (IBS) and upgrade 1,800 science laboratories (RM 570 million)
• Complete construction of 227 schools, including 8 new schools (RM 478 million)
• Strengthen English Language proficiency programmes such as Cambridge English, Dual Language and Highly Immersive programmes (RM 90 million)
• MCMC to provide tablets to 430,000 teachers to lessen their workload (RM 340 million)
• Schooling Assistance Programme of RM 100 each to students from families earning below RM 3 , 000 benefitting 3 . 5 million students ( RM 350 million )
• Provide Hostel Meal Assistance Programme to 365,000 students (RM 1.1 billion)
• Continue 1 Malaysia Supplementary Food Programme for primary school students (RM 300 million)
• Provide Additional Assistance for Payment of School Fees ; Textbook Assistance and Per capita Grant Assistance (RM 1.1 billion)
• Provide matching grants of up to RM 50 for accumulated savings in SSPN-i to Year 1 students in fully - assisted Government schools.
• Provide Special Needs Student Allowance of RM 150 monthly to 67,000 students & replace buses or coasters for 21 special education schools (RM 107 million)
• Maintenance of National Schools, National - type Chinese Schools, National-type Tamil Schools, Religious Schools, Fully-residential schools, Government-aided religious schools, registered Sekolah Pondok and MRSM (RM 600 million)

EMPOWERING HIGHER EDUCATION

• Provide allocation for 20 public universities (RM7.4 billion), among others:
• 4 university hospitals (RM 1.4 billion)
• Empower 5 research universities (RM 300 million)
• Research fund for higher education institutions (RM 100 million)
• Replace book vouchers with student debit cards worth RM250 to purchase books, stationeries, computer devices and internet access benefitting 1.3 million students (RM300 million)
• Continue providing scholarships (RM4.3 billion) through Public Service Department (RM1.6 million), MARA (RM2 billion), MoHE (RM250 million), MoH (RM208 million), MoE (RM194 million), MoHR (RM28 million), and KBS (RM21 million).

• Discounts to encourage repayments of PTPTN loans effective 22 October 2016 till December 2017.
• 15 % discount on the outstanding debt for full settlement;
• 10 % discount for payment of at least 50 % of the outstanding debt made in a single payment; and
• 10 % discount for repayment through salary deduction or direct debit in accordance with the repayment schedule.

CHINESE AND INDIAN COMMUNITY

• Loans for Chinese Communities through:
• KOJADI (RM 50 million)
• Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Foundation (RM 20 million)
• 1 Malaysia Hawkers and Petty Traders Foundation (RM 20 million)
• Programmes to increase capacity and income of Indians (RM50 million)
• Business financing programme, SPUMI through TEKUN (RM50 million)
• Programmes for financing Indian entrepreneurs (RM100 million)
• Preschool programme in National - typed Tamil Schools involving 50 schools (RM10 million)

EMPOWERING ECONOMY OF BUMIPUTERA

• To enhance the viability of entrepreneurs and to expand their business capacity through SME Bank (RM 100 million)
• To implement entrepreneurship programme under AIM (RM 100 million)
• To assist TEKUN small - scaled entrepreneurs , including a new scheme, TEMANITA (RM 300 million)
• Entrepreneurship and Business Premises Financing Programme through Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB) (RM 200 million)
• MARA entrepreneurship programmes such as halal industry enterprises, youth entrepreneurship development & training (RM 120 million)
• TERAJU facilitation fund (RM 500 million)
• Exports Fund under TERAJU (RM 100 million)
• Peneraju Skil dan Iltizam, Peneraju Profesional as well as Peneraju Tunas through Bumiputera Education Steering Foundation (RM 100 million)

PRESCHOOL AND PERMATA DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

• To increase allowance for KEMAS assistants to RM500, benefitting 11,000 assistants.
• Establish the Top STEM Talents Excellence Centre at Academy of Sciences Malaysia.
• Transform IPG Raja Melewar Campus, Negeri Sembilan and Tuanku Bainun Campus, Pulau Pinang to PERMATA Pintar and Berbakat Centre.

APPRECIATE CIVIL SERVANTS

• Fully Paid Study Leave with Scholarship to the Support Group.
• Quarantine Leave up to five days for civil servants whose children are infected with infectious diseases and required to be quarantined.
• Extend the existing computer loan facility to include smartphones, with a limit of RM5,000 for every 3 years.
• Increase the limit of motorcycle loan facility up to RM10,000.
• Increase the public servants’ housing loans eligibility to RM200,000 and RM750,000.
• Complete 30,000 units of 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing (PPA1M) with selling price between RM90,000 – RM300,000.
• Extend the contract of service and contract for service officers for one year.
• Introduce grade 56 for medical and dental specialists.
• Expedite the appointment of 2,600 medical doctors, dentists and pharmacists latest by December 2016.
• Special assistance of RM500 to all civil servants and RM250 to government retirees.

Source: Malaysia Annual Budget 2017 / Bajet Malaysia 2017

YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance table Budget 2017 on the 21 October 2016 in Parliament.
pdf: The 2017 Malaysia Budget Speech / Ucapan Bajet Malaysia 2017
pdf: List Of Appendices / Senarai Lampiran
pdf: Touchpoints 2017 Malaysia Budget / Touchpoints Bajet Malaysia 2017

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Looking at Social Media as a “Volcano” of Studying Opportunities for Students

Looking at Social Media as a “Volcano” of Studying Opportunities for Students

Guest post by Jessica Freeman (Share your insight with 52,000+ Malaysian students)

According to Oxford’s dictionary, the definition of social media looks like this: “Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking”. There’s a misconception that’s flying around, making people believe that social media means just socializing through Facebook, or Instagram, or SnapChat, or whatever. But it’s not just about socializing, it’s all about the concept of sharing and connecting, without having an opportunity to see your friends in person.

Nowadays, the popularity of social networks is currently reaching its peak, especially among young people. We are totally into social media, and some of us don’t even realize it anymore.
For example, you’re looking for a tutorial on how to make pancakes. Easy tactic: go to Youtube.com, type in a question, and there you go, in a matter of seconds you see how the pancakes are made. Now, what just happened was you, reaching a piece of content which has been created by another person, and it’s meant to educate you.

Social networks are also extremely useful for students, they offer great opportunities and advantages. With the use of social media, they can now connect with their friends, make new friends, meet different nationalities, cultures, and open their eyes regarding this complex world. Now students are much more intelligent than our previous generations just because they, unconsciously accumulate information though most of the things they do online. They are educating themselves without even realizing it.

How Social Media Educates You & Also Makes You a Smarter Student

Besides the fact that there are tons of information out there, there’s another great advantage of social media. It all spreads extremely quickly because of the smart options you can use. For example, the sharing option is an amazing feature which spreads a lot of free information. The only thing you have to do is grab it, and consume it.

If you’re a student, looking to improve yourself, if you’re working and you want to acquire new skills, if you are looking to change your mindset – it’s all out there, and you can have it! You can literally educate yourself up to the point where you know more about a topic than a MBA graduate. You just have to look for what you need using social media – a source of any information you possibly need to look for, and then work.

Daniel Goleman quotes “Smart phones and social media expand our universe. We can connect with others and collect information easier and faster than ever”. That, in my opinion, is a concrete affirmation.

Nowadays, the youth, and by youth I’m talking about students, is extremely influenced by social media. Social networks have an extremely powerful influence on students, and that’s because it’s something different from the “normal education” you get in college. With social media, you can choose your own study materials, and you gain much more interest rather than having assignments you didn’t really ask for.

Did you know that 75% of all Internet users use social media? It’s a pretty impressive statistic. When we talk about social networks, we’re referring to many types of networks, many with different usages. For example, Facebook – connects people, provides a lot of shared content, educates, and helps with social needs. On the other hand, YouTube is great for learning. Whenever you want to learn something new, type in the keywords, ending with the “tutorial” or “how to” words, or even share your own thoughts through tweets.

On the other hand, social media offers a great deal of opportunities. For example, LinkedIn is the biggest professional social network that helps professionals connect and share their experience, which is something incredibly useful for the future career of any student. If you want to find like-minded individuals, or meet new people who share the same profession or career which you would like to find after college, LinkedIn is the place that can give you that. There is no need to go and meet those people, you can just as easily communicate online and exchange, share or get new, interesting thoughts and experience. You can get a great amount of opportunities like meeting millionaires, future business partners, a lot of creative people, and so on.

Conclusion

Social media is basically a “Volcano” of opportunities for you, as a student. These are education opportunities, career opportunities, and most likely, any kind of opportunities you can get. If you’re smart about it, you can use it very wisely and gain a lot of traits, benefits, and advantages over time.

Use this powerful tool in order to bring yourself to the top. If you are looking for connections, you are one click away. If you want to learn, you can. If your plan is to make a fortune, social media comes for your help. Whatever you want to do, you can use social media to succeed in your life!

Jessica Freeman is a professional journalist and a freelance content writer at the company Australian Writings. She focuses her content writing on education, career, success, and academic topics.

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SPM Tips 2016 & SPM Trial Papers (Kertas Soalan Peperiksaan Percubaan SPM 2016)

SPM 2016 Trial Papers & SPM Tips 2016

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9 Tips to Crawl through College Freshman Year

9 Tips to Crawl through College Freshman Year

Guest post by Jasmine Demeester (Share your favourite tips with 52,000+ Malaysian students)

Remember those times in high school where you were a class, president? Or the times you scored a clean sweep of A-grades? Well, that’s all that they are now – just memories of the past. Yes, those were fun times, but college is a whole different ball game when it comes to studies and culture.

We should warn you right now that this is no cake walk. Many students pull out even before the end of their first year. You need to be attentive and vigilant at all times. Any misstep and it’s game over for you. Unless you follow the instructions below, you have as much chance of making it through as an elephant crawling into a mouse hole:

1. Go To Every Orientation

You have attended one orientation, but that won’t be enough. College campuses are usually massive and there is a lot to take in. You need to know where the classes are, the gym, the library and more. That is why you need to attend as many orientations as you can.

2. Always Attend Your Classes

It is basic but it is just as important as anything else. You may have been able to bunk your classes back in high school, but never at college. Not only will you be missing out on taking important notes, but your final grade depends on it. If your absences exceed more than 25 percent, you won’t be able to sit for your finals.

3. Get To Know Your Class And Roommate(S)

If you think you are surrounding yourselves with a bunch of strangers in class, you need to be more social. Try and mingle with the group that you will be hanging with for the next four years. You don’t have to be best of friends to excel in your class. But it wouldn’t hurt to keep a few good besties around till graduation.

4. It’s Okay To Be Nervous

Thinking about the next four years that you will be spending on your own without your folks around is pretty scary. There are many thoughts going through your mind at home that you wish had never come to pass. But you knew this was coming. You wouldn’t be going to college if this wasn’t supposed to happen.

You’re not the only one that feels this way. So why not hook up with some of the other freshmen and try to get along with them? You will feel more secure when you are with people who are in the same boat as you.

5. Do Some Research Before You Go

You will get to know your way around the place at your orientation, but a little prior research wouldn’t be so bad. The research will help you see what kind of classes interests you. You can even have a deeper look into your program’s course and the schedule at that. There is also a more detailed overview of the campus online.

6. Get Over Your Homesickness

Don’t think that this is the last time you’ll be seeing your parents, siblings, and neighbors back at home. You will be going back to them once your program has come to a close. But you can still communicate with them even through social media or by mail.

Every student goes through such a hard time adjusting to a new life without their loved ones. You just have to get used to your new surroundings and accept that you need to be here for your own good. It is not an easy phase to deal with as it takes time. But in the end, everyone comes around.

7. Find The Best Place To Study

Some of the most crucial parts of our college life are about finding the right place to study. It could be your dorm room unless you have noisy next door dorm mates. The library is, of course, an ideal choice as no one utters a peep when they’re supposed to be there.

It shouldn’t matter as long as you find a place that you’re most comfortable with and away from all the noises and distractions that pull you away from your studies.

8. Do Your Own Taxes

Understand that your parents don’t have much time before they retire and are already near the end of their prime. You have to get as much of the burden on their shoulders as you can. Learn how to do your own taxes and opt for FAFSA. It will make you more financially aware of your budget.

9. Meet With Your Professors

There is a great advantage of meeting up with your professors especially if you have problems with your courses. You can always count on them to help you out whenever you run into a wall. There are office hours for which you must take note of. Don’t get left behind in your studies.

Let your college freshman year be the best year of your student life.

Jasmine Demeester works as a Career Counselor for DissertationHelpDeal.co.uk. She is always looking to help students whenever they’re in a snag.

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Get The Financial Support You Need to Fund Your Education

Get The Financial Support You Need to Fund Your Education

Guest post by Mark De Jesus (Share your favourite tips with 50,000+ Malaysian students)

The opportunity to study in a university hangs in the air but yet there are so many of us who fail to grab this opportunity. Why is that so? For starters, the high price tag of a tertiary education can be a huge turn-off for many. Add this to the growing list of expenses, which include lodging, administration fees, books, meals and so on. Getting a higher education opens doors to a promising future, so don’t allow the financial side of this to throw you off from pursuing your dream.

To help you out, here are some funding ideas in Malaysia you can look into:

Scholarship for Malaysian students

The National Higher Education Fund Corporation or Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN) is an agency under the Ministry of Education that is authorised to provide study loans to eligible students who want to pursue their tertiary education. A qualified student can avail up to RM16,000 per year for a diploma course. Admission to this scholarship is subject to the PTPTN officer’s approval upon submission of the required documents. Students are encouraged to apply for this scholarship once they passed into an approved degree course at a local or private university. You may read this article to learn more about PTPTN.

Student financial loans and grants

Student loans and grants are given to eligible students by foundations, private companies, government and non-government organisations. However, there is a difference between these two entities. Loans are usually borrowed funds and must be paid back at a specific time with added interest cost. Meanwhile, grants are awarded to students based on proof of their financial needs. Grants are non-repayable like scholarships.

Tuition fee discount

Many universities offer discount schemes of more than 50% on tuition fees for students who can maintain a particular grade every semester of an academic year. The amount of discount varies depending on the grade. In short, the higher the grade, the bigger the discount. This is a win-win situation for both the school and the student. The students will be motivated to excel while the school aids the less fortunate but bright students to study.

Student assistant jobs

Working on part-time jobs at the university is a good way to generate income while studying. There are professors who need a hand when doing research, checking test papers, and other paper works. You will just need to devote a few hours of your time for these tasks. You are not limited to work inside the campus, you can try freelancing and online jobs like writing and editing documents.

Now that you know the different options you have to fund your college education, it’s time to get acquainted with other tips that can help you score the best financial aid in Malaysia:

• Follow social media channels of institutions, companies, and organisations that can possibly provide scholarships, student loans, or grants. You will get updates when they have opened their fund for new entries, and other relevant news.
• Take a chance on referrals! Ask your friends or even tap into your social media accounts and post a status that you are looking to apply for a scholarship. A friend of a friend may refer you to something worthwhile!
• Subscribe to newsletters and mailing lists of companies that might give away scholarships to qualified students.
• Do your rounds inside the campus and browse bulletin boards for postings about scholarships, students loans, and job opportunities.
• Take note of deadlines for requirement submission. This will prevent you from cramming and you will have time to plan your schedule to meet these requirements.
• Look out in the news for any individuals who consistently give back to the community and help fund students from low-income groups to further their studies.

It will entail a lot of patience and perseverance when applying for financial assistance for tertiary education. There will be times when you will feel that luck is not on your side. You will need to prove to the individual or organisation that you are worthy of the resources they will invest on you.

When you have successfully made the cut and received the scholarship, keep your priorities straight and make studies your top priority. Remember how much effort you put in to be granted financial assistance, so don’t let this chance slip away.

Written by Mark De Jesus. For more trusted financial advice and tips, visit www.CompareHero.my!

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