Yes I worked after my diploma thinking that "diploma is enough for me, I don't need to further study anymore", but the real world prove me wrong (sort of, but do bear in mind most of my diploma coursemates who never go for degree are doing great in their job now, so I think it's people problem).
I did not aim to be a lecturer, it's just seems like being a lecturer is the only resort when you get a phd, in Malaysia. There's near zero company out there which is really looking for a phd holder, because they require more of experience than academic qualification. Plus, the companies do not have enough resource to support their own employees to conduct research, so normally they will look for MOU/MOA with universities to conduct the research for them, with some agreeable payment and resource.
I don't have teaching experience in front of a class, but I do have a lot of 'teaching' experience among my coursemates...lol

This is a 'soalan cepu emas' whenever I asked about 'PhD vs Work' to my prof/lecturers/etc:"What do you want to do/be later?" The pattern of answer is: If engineer - degree is enough; If lecturer - you need phd nowadays; If you want to proceed phd - set your mind to become lecturer...

I would like to recommend you this comic: http://www.phdcomics.com/, just to give you some idea what's the postgraduate/phd life is...
I second that.

For seanwc101 - That's why I was in the same struggle/dilemma too after graduate from Degree. Even if I go out now with a Degree's cert, I still have to fight with fresh grad who is younger than me or the same age group who has much more working experience than I am.

Not sure about that. Hopefully some lecturers can answer that.

I do agree that postgrad is mostly needed in ipta/ipts in this country. So If you planning to work in this country, you'll probably become a lecturer? Seems like no choice. Or you want to work abroad which has more choices for phd holder?

Thanks for the link. Now I know the real meaning of PhD...

yes, you are totally right..even if doing post phd also still need a lot of instruments to do research.

For the salary wise - IPTA has a standard rate, but I heard my uni (universiti malaysia perlis)'s salary is slightly higher than other IPTA. IPTS depends on the institute itself, different IPTS has different rate (my lecturer told me this)

Future prospect, honestly I gonna see where my fate/jodoh will bring me LOL. But mostly probably will go academic, there's no other way that I see.

It depends on the topic your're working on and the scope, and also the research funding.

In HRM field phd will only lessen your chance to get a job in the private sector

The easiest job or maybe i should say the only job: for you after u get your phd is lecturer

Seems like u have to problem in getting your phd since your heart is already set to it. You have no goals or ambitions about your future then might as well set lecturer as your ambition

Ya, in this field, I think masters degree is more than enough if I want to get a corporate job. I've no problem with PhD but I'm clueless what I supposed to do after that. If I'm firm with my ambition to be a lecturer, no doubt I will continue phd without hesitation. I'm not into teaching because I've problem performing in front of people and I'm not the type that very good in explaining something to other people.

---

Added on August 23, 2011, 2:29 pmIn Unimap, we can apply lecturer post with masters degree or need phd qualification? Just wanted to know.

This post has been edited by seanwc101: Aug 23 2011, 02:29 PM

In order to be more marketable after PhD is that you have to get a Quality PhD.

If you intend to work in academic, try to publish as many paper in top rated journal. In this day and age it will give you an edge in applying for academic position.

If you want to go into industry, then try to get patent/copyright registered during your PhD study. The better your patent/copyright then you will get more chances into industry.

For social sciences then you need to make yourself more visible by introducing theorems/ideas into the right forums/journals/etc. If any company buy into the idea that you're propagating (original ideas that also give you PhD) you will get a chance into the corporate sector.

If you're run of the mill PhD then you will find very hard to get a decent job with a PhD kind of pay. Also getting a degree in Malaysia admittedly will not give you extra points when competing with other PhD holders getting their degree from a first world country.

Mind elaborate on the quality PhD issues there? Any recommendations on the quality PhD that has to do with biosciences? What is the career prospects for bioscience PhD holder?

Know any quality and reliable sites to do research on this issue, please share generously here.

Thank you.

Hi Dreamer,
I got no idea about your engineering field, but if you are in my field, doing postgrad is a must.
There is no where a degree holder can perform troubleshooting without having enough experiences in the lab.
Even the application specialist in our country required master and preferably PhD holders, in my field.

FYI, in your language, most of my work is dealing with programming a gene without debugger, inside a new chassis (bacteria host), using Quaternary system (DNA: A,T,G,C).

Sure you can do that? Come to my lab.


Totally agree. As an engineer to study a microarray system, and then teach me how to use it.

Sean,
If I were you, and if I got a chance to do a PhD, I just do it without hesitation. Having a PhD means you are more well trained in handling complex issues. In fact, postgrad studies trains you management as well: datelines, progress report, grant management, grant "digging" and keep yourself updated with latest literature.

If a company tells you that you are lacking of working experience, they definitely want to "push down" your salary.
I used to attend a sales-job interview, and the HR interviewer who got no idea about my studies, repeatedly told me I do not have working experiences for the "N"th times.
I can't stand it, I asked her "how do you define working experience? If you are saying 'working', I do had experiences doing some other things like hotel receptionist. IF you are talking about relevant working experiences, I wish to know what sort of skills you are referring. I am confident to say I know your company's product very well because I am in this field for a long time, and I done much evaluation on similar product as well. Does that counts, if not, then what?" She kept silence.

---

Added on August 23, 2011, 4:57 pmFor biosciences, a Quality PhD: If you got at least 4 publications in tier 1 journal, you are considered one of the "Pro" in your field. Try to publish a "Nature" or "Science" journal.

@TS: read this: http://www.nature.com/news/specials/phdfuture/index.html


This post has been edited by adrian1984: Aug 23 2011, 04:57 PM

Thanks for the info, adrian.

I see that you are a Proteomic and Molecular Biotechnologist. So I assume that what you studied has got to do with bioscience. From the way you say it, I presumed that you are a phd holder right now. May I know which university you went for further studies?

What you said above is very true. From a conference I attended by biotechcorp a year before, the experts there were saying its difficult for bioscience degree holders to secure a decent job that has got to do with bioscience as they have yet to master the revelant skills needed for the profession. The most relevant is only lab assistant.

I myself am a biotechnology undergraduate in one of the IPTA entering 2nd year soon. Any recommendation for education institutions if one wants to do further studies in these fields? Which study fields that are in demand in the market now.

Lastly, what can a student of this field do to increase his employability and value? Which platform can one go to do research about recent news in this industry?

Your reply is deeply appreciated.

Thank you

It depends on the post vacancies, and it should be applied to all uni too. Of course, PhD will be an added advantage.

I'm aware about the advantages of publications in top rated journal. I've just submitted my first manuscript to an international journal, not a top rated journal though. I plan to get another paper published in a better journal in near future.

I'll only able to study in IPTA, judging from my financial power. If I wanted to do phd overseas, one method is to become a lecturer first with master's degree (some new uni accept lecturer with this qualification), then apply for study leave to do phd in a better rank uni. That is what I noticed with lecturers nowadays. Become lecturer and then apply study leave to study overseas. I'm not sure it's easy or hard to apply though.

Unfortunately most people think PhD is not considered as a working experience or a training for future job. I've read that in some countries employers deem PhD as part of the working experience or some sort of training.

Ya, I agree they wanted to push down the salary. Another issue is some interviewers might use "overqualified" excuse as a way to reject our application. They might say like "What for we hire you with masters/phd qualification when we know bachelor degree holder can perform the job well". Another is interviewers might assume that we won't work for them in the long run because with our high qualification, we will always on the hunt of better prospects/higher salary jobs.

So did you secured that sales-job at the end? Are you a Phd candidate now?

---

Added on August 24, 2011, 12:01 amI've read in this forum that some universities only wanted min phd qualification for lecturer position.

This post has been edited by seanwc101: Aug 24 2011, 12:01 AM

You'll gain experience by studying PhD, just that your experience is in researching but not working. Which one is better is up to yourself.

And it would be stupid if you take your PhD cert and compete with degree holder with same job, since you are a qualified researcher its best you stick to research field or teaching. In either case you can quite nice pay within few years, an IPTA senior lecturer already have 4.5K salary and at least 1.4K untaxable allowance, not to mention tons of other government servant benefit.

I myself is doing PhD in UM and they already offer scholarship up to 3.5k per month. This way you can concentrate on your research without having to worry about financial problem.

This post has been edited by bashlyner: Aug 24 2011, 01:24 PM

wow scholarship rm3.5k?

from UM or MOSti 1?

Most unis will grant you PhD with 2 refereed journal articles and some university doesn't even require you to publish. Therefore your research will not get another opinion beside those at the university and thus considered as run-of-the-mill PhD (just enough to graduate).

PhD with lots of publication/patent/published work is considered better then 'normal' PhD and will give you extra points in the job application process. The number of publication vary and it will be related to the journal ranking.

Ur taking the MyBrain15 program aa mate?

Yes, some, especially APEX uni (RU aka research universities). Anyway, if you choose academic route, getting a phd is kind-of a must and sooner-or-later thing. THEN another few decades of fighting your way towards assoc. prof., prof etc...

IPTS (not sure how many, but some) hires lecturers with Master's degree, at least some of my friends are (who is not a phd yet)

---

Added on August 24, 2011, 4:40 pmMyBrain gives below 3k. Uni SLAB/SLAI usually provides that amount of money.

This post has been edited by Huey_nee: Aug 24 2011, 04:40 PM

Univeristy Malaya Brightspark program

http://brightsparks.um.edu.my/?modul=Progr...han=@_Phd_Level

This post has been edited by bashlyner: Aug 24 2011, 04:41 PM

Hi Mr bashlyner.

I browsed thru the website already. I have to say this scholarship is really appealing compared to others in the local scene. With the decent allowances and fees' exemption if one does the postgrad studies in UM, the recipient can really focus in his academical endeavor without much distractions.

May I know what field are you studying right now? What are the responsibility entailed in the contract; Do you have to supervise the works of bachelor and master degrees, conduct at least 3 seminars in the uni in a year, publish the number of research papers required by the contract and etc? You have to fulfill all these obligation altogether? What else you have to do beside the ones stipulated in the contract?

Thank you.

Most people doing PhD are under scholarship and paid in the form of stipends. Yes, the pay is really low, but many people survived it. Unless you are the type of person who waste a lot of money on meaningless entertainment, and expensive meals, I fail to see how you can't survive the living cost overseas if you are thrifty enough (which is what many of us poor students do).

---

Added on August 24, 2011, 9:19 pmI fail to see any reason why "researching" is not considered as "work experience."

Do remember that being able to finish a PhD project within 3-4 years speak a lot more about a person than anyone who does an ordinary job for the same amount of time.

In order to survive you will have to learn how to work efficiently and often under intense pressure, organise and plan your work schedule usually involving multiple projects/tasks to get the most out of a limited timeframe (while at the same time integrating and analysing tons of data pouring in from all sides). These are transferable skills, and together with your presentation skills (both written & verbal), analytical skills as well as argument synthesis learned from your PhD can be easily applied to broad areas of your life. These skills will serve you for lifetime, provided you take the opportunity get the most out of your PhD.

This post has been edited by tester: Aug 24 2011, 09:21 PM