Hi guys, I’m a Malaysian student planning to study in Australia who’s in a huge dilemma. My parents are not super rich but they can afford to send me abroad to further my undergrad studies. I’m just wondering what everyones opinion is on studying an undergraduate degree in Australia and then getting a work visa to work there. Would the money (300-400k) be better off spent in investments or would going overseas enrich my life and career in the long term?

I hope I can get some opinions/advice from u guys

This is my first time posting and asking for advice. Pls let me know if I should be posting elsewhere. Thanks in advance guys

the experience, priceless....but, again, really depends on your financial

What is the course u want to major in?

Do you intend to return to work here?
If yes, pls don't waste their money
Better you take that money to buy a property instead

Can try Sweden or Germany, their education is free and some universities conduct language in English. Only cost of living you bear urself lor.

Is Australia worth it ? Well depends on which course u taking. If you taking the common ones like accounting n engineering, you have to be the best of the best and very competitive (if u r planning to migrate). Right now it’s hard to find employment in Oz. ESP for migrants. You have to pick those courses that Australia demand highly.

But anyways if you been overseas the experience is well worth, can tell the grandkids next time.

I know a joker
His parents sent him to expensive home school in msia
Then after graduate went overseas to study in Australia
Even then that university is just an average university
Then he come back to become a real estate agent
*facepalm*

U have to provide more info like:
What course u r going to take?
Does the cost 300-400k includes cost of living?
How u fared in Pre-U?
How this expenditure is going to affect your parents' retirement?


This post has been edited by MGM: Jul 30 2019, 08:43 AM

I also know someone who graduated from Nottingham Malaysia after spending 200K, work a few years as an Engineer, got hitched, then GF pulled him in to work as fulltime Insurance & MLM agent under her.

Well depends la
If he can make tonnes of money selling insurance
That is fine

Unlike my real estate friend
He has loads of free time
The job is relaxing la
But sales is so so only
He doing ok lah
But why study overseas just to end up in this biz ?
He some more tell me
Most of his koliks are retired unkers no need uni education
He went to expensive home school dunno mandarin not so good in BM
His own dialect also sucks
How to excel in this biz lah ???
Language is very important in real estate biz

Whether going overseas is the right path for you depends on what you intend to pursue and what your goals are. If you're planning to spend the money to go abroad, do make sure that you're spending it on a degree that is likely to offer you a high chance of employment coming out of school - the best at this time are computer science, finance, math & statistics (data science) for high earning in-demand careers right out of undergrad.

Once you've chosen a useful area of study, the second thing to make sure of is that you can work in the overseas location where you're studying during the time that you are student there. It will be essential that you get local work experience via internships or student work placements while you are completing your degree. Without this experience it might be very hard to find a job after graduation, and you're unlikely to maximize your parents' investment if you have to go back to Malaysia and start your career under the Malaysian pay scale

I know that you mentioned Australia in your post, but if you're a superstar student do try shooting for elite colleges in the US, the UK, and Canada. In my experience the average quality of top graduates from those countries (particularly Tier 1 US schools) tends to be higher than the average Australian graduate (although there are definitely some good Aussie professionals out there too) and your projected earnings from starting out in each of those countries will likely be higher as well.

Although a good amount of your time in school should be spent studying to make sure that your GPA is high, it will be important for you to be social as well. Join clubs where you can show leadership and meet new friends and professionals in your field - those are contacts that can help you later. Generally, try and find a few hours a week to be social. Remember that hiring managers and teams are made up of people and they want to work with people they'll like, so you're doing yourself a big favour if you come across as likeable and charismatic during the interview process - this is easier said than done and difficult to fake, so building your social skills throughout your undergrad journey will be helpful. Asian culture tends to heavily stress academics and downplay social skills, and that frequently results in graduates that have great resumes but struggle in interviews because they come across as woody or robotic...

Anyway if you think you can do that all the stuff above, I'd say definitely do go overseas to study because the experience you gain from doing college right and starting a career in a high-income country will probably change your life for the better. If not, maybe just study domestically, get some professional experience for a couple of years in a big office in Malaysia, and then once you get disillusioned with corporate life and have built some professional skills, use the money your parents saved by not sending you overseas to start your own business

personally, i would only spend that kind of money on education when i know what i really want. 1. major 2. university. dont go overseas for the sake of "overseas". for example, i wanna study meds, i want to go to trinity college because its one of the best in meds and to be my best practicing meds in the future. then its justified to spend. but if youre just thinking australia? any college would do. i would say save it.

This post has been edited by ukauka2020: Jul 30 2019, 12:09 PM

Some strawberry kids nowadays due to peer pressure want study overseas
Come back, get same pay as local grad
Don't waste your parents money like that

Better do something else with huge sum of money
Ie investment or buy property

Exactly

Is studying Law in Australia useful?

I studied there for a good 8 years. It was good as I went to a local high school, and uni didnt have many asians. Really picked up on international exposure and their way of learning.

Fast forward to today, popular unis in Australia are just crawling with asians (except maybe brisbane) to the point its just an asian exposure (chinese, SEA etc). Tbh, the experience is not worth 3-400k.

A good alternative place you might want to consider is Ireland. I know family who were introverts back here came back a different exuberant person.

A safe bet is probably buying a property over a quality education. But after 30 years, maybe your property value will at most triple or quadruple. Quality education is somewhat a long term bet. Played right and the returns are astronomical. Many Malaysians don't appreciate this, but we stand a real good fighting chance in the elite world. english proficient, asian hardworking ethic, easy going to list a few.

This post has been edited by kingz113: Jul 30 2019, 02:49 PM

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This post has been edited by pmaxv: Dec 31 2019, 01:58 AM

Been there done that overated. If u want cut the cost down either umyr parent migrate to aus so u get cheap education rate or study local u in mal 2 yr first ( subject u need check with oversea uni see which local subject they will give u credit so u dont need ti retake it, those rubbish sub like moral la agama dah dont waste time take) then trasfer to aus to finish it.
But uni is not a must to succeed in life , i got plenty aus uni friend grad then jobless then came back mal.....if u cannot get pr yr money is wasted for sure

My sibling went to UK to study-- rm800,000.

In the end--came back to Malaysia and applying for rm3k/mo jobs as a freshgrad.

He was unable to get a job in the UK

Worth it?

Too many variables. Is your sibling naturally gifted in his studies? Is he in a high demand course? Is his line of study having an excess supply of graduates? UK undergoing Brexit certainly affects job prospects as well.

For 800k, if all your sibling got was a run off the mill degree at a crappo uni, then hell no not worth it at all. If it's a good uni and good degree, then not being able to secure a job appears to be a candidate issue. I got 2 degrees for about 100k and it's a bargain for what I got (90% scholarship with no bond). Also was already working in a big 4 corporate when I completed my final sem.

Coming back here and getting a fresh graduate salary means nothing as well. Management trainee pays around that amount, but if he learnt anything useful from his uni days, this wage will triple or quadruple in no time at all.

Overseas education is crucial imo if only you are exposed to western culture and are challenged to adapt to their way of learning (Socratic learning and expression of opinion).

I came back here and was fundamentally baffled at how low quality uni grads here are. Alot of smart cookies but could only regurgitate what was in the textbook. Pretty sure we already have a computer for that.

This depends a lot on your options (what else would you do instead) and whether you have a specific plan for what you want to do with your law degree. There's a general perception that a law degree is a golden ticket to a great salary but that isn't necessarily true anymore.

I'm not too sure about the Australian market, but I'm assuming it's similar to North America where there are quite a few law graduates unable to find jobs as lawyers post graduation (not widely known?). Your area of specialization will matter a lot to your outcome as will your grades and ability to network.

Before committing to anything do your research to make sure that you'll probably be able to secure worthwhile employment as a lawyer in Australia after graduation (demand for your specialization, ability/legality of gaining Australian work experience while in school, likelihood of finishing at least in the top ~20% of your class). If you're able to do that, then studying law in Australia will be useful to you...if you don't think you'll be able to do that, then from a financial standpoint it might not be a good use of time/funds.