I have finished my bachelor's degree in chemical engineering lately. Due to my high grades, my uni offers me a fast track PhD program. The semester will starts somewhen in October if I accept the offer. But, there is one thing I am very concern or worried about.

Is it really difficult to find a job after getting a PhD degree? Because my lecturer told me that most of the companies will look for fresh graduates with bachelor's degree rather than PhD graduates. Im also dont have any working experience. I heard the main reason they dont wanna hire PhD graduates is because of the minimum salary is higher under Akta Kerja (or Akta Buruh, Im not sure)? And they cant give lower salary as the minimum salary is fixed too under that Akta?

Btw, let's say I studied for PhD. Can I just find a job using my bachelor degree with its payscale without using my PhD degree? Or I cant because of that Akta?

Ask yourself this,

1. Why do you want to pursue PhD?
2. What career path are you considering to pursue in the future?

- Was it because you are interested in a particular subject and prefer to research further and become an expert on it?
- Or, was it you want to earn a higher income starting off as a fresh grad (with a PhD) instead as a fresh grad (with a bachelor).

in a practical specialised field, a PhD would be beneficial. Can always look for jobs outside of Malaysia. that's just my opinion though.

the entry pay can be higher but, some of them rise up the ladder faster because of their performance rather than degrees.

Having a PhD doesn't automatically make you a better candidate, unless the field specifically requires it.

But those are far and few in between.

u normally do PhD if you want to become a lecturer or be in the academic or research field otherwise, yes, you'll be overqualified for most jobs, especially in Malaysia. with your good grades, you could try applying for jobs and see what jobs you can land.

i know a few acquaintances with PhDs in the science/engineering field getting jobs in the manufacturing industry instead of academia.

If you yourself are capable and outstanding, don't worry about others not getting a job.

Join gov with phd, ur salary bracket high a bit.

if join as a ipta lecturer, straight gred 52/54 min. salary.

I thought chem engineering degree does not have very high demand in msia to start with

You should know better then us.
Like you can maybe do a PhD in a field that is pretty much in demand and will not be out of fashion in a few years time.
Or you want to be a high paying lecturer.

By the fact that you are asking means you better not do it.

phD usually takes 5 years. From the way you asked, it's better you start working instead. Unless you are passionate about doing research etc.

in my opinion, it is depending on what you want.
If you have finished PHD, it is better to be lecturer as I don't think much industries in malaysia appreciate PHD by offering higher salary.

most industries are looking into experience / skill . There are few industries that requires PHD specifically.

Do it only for pure interest and self motivation.
Otherwise dont waste your time and a huge chunk of your most productive years on a PhD.

Get into the workforce and start making money !

Unless you are entering academia, government agency or research-based organization, no advantage of doing PhD.

Better spend the time & money to work, get income and working experience.

I'd advise you to start working first after graduation. If needed, you can take up a part-time master's degree (by coursework, mixed mode, or research) while you're working.

& some companies will sponsor your Ph.D. studies if they need you to have the qualification. You can always do your Ph.D. in the future. There's no rush to complete it in your twenties, unless you wanna work in the academia or R&D companies.

This post has been edited by Ralna: May 4 2023, 10:43 PM

Depending what is your major. If you're from computer science background, it's more recommended to pursue professional certification

phd for msia job is plus but not a must. it dont granty anything

rnd dont look at phd or not.

another waste is pursue mba or dba. its also a junk qualification

This post has been edited by soules83: May 17 2023, 12:21 PM

Can explain why it's a junk qualification?

You need to know how to leverage on your degree (either phd or MBA or anything). If your postgrad education doesn't help you in transitioning to new field, promotion, pay raise, securing a job, then to me it is a waste regardless whether its MBA or PhD or whatever. Good luck.

For Masters, it's slowly becoming a differentiating factor, as I have seen an increased of job applicants with Masters, some even Double Masters. So if you do want to stand out more, good to pursue it.

maybe you should answer this first-> how mba can help a company?

What is this? I asked you a question based your remark. As simple as that. How MBA can help a company should be answered by you since you said MBA is junk.

most job come with this -> bachelor OR master. not a differentiation factors

TS opportunity given to you for you to save a couple of years.
if you can afford it then why not.

PhD if you are really talented in your field will open doors for you especially overseas.
keyword - talented

If you think objectively, why would an employer rather hire a B.eng than a PHD? The answer is because PHD is overqualified for that specific role. Not all but most. If you think about it, companies will need to invest time and money to train the Fresh PHD staff and since he/she is overqualified, they are easily sway to another direction, thus wasting the time for the company to train them or even pay them. Also ultimately an employee gets paid however much an employer can afford or think that employee is worth. If there’s a mismatch, one side will give way. For an example, if the employer thinks that investing in a B.eng is more worthwhile in the long term compared to a phd holder even if they both accept the same pay. This is why many PHD holder got stuck and end up in research.

So who would hired a PhD grade? My guess is that specific industries to the PHD and in your case perhaps the likes of mnc like shell, slumberj or even Petronas. Why not? They too like PHD holders among them. They value expertise and knowledge.

Now why would you want a PHD? It does carry value. For an example if you’re competing with someone else whether in a company or two private companies competing, if you are the customer side, would you be more confident with a report that has a doctorate signatory at bottom or just a regular person with all other things considered. It does carry weight. Whether it’s worth the extra 5 years of lost working experience and income (and possibly expenses) worth the sacrifice or not. Worst case is the 5 years did not yield a phd for a variety of reasons.

Agree. But end of the day, when everything else is equal when it comes to 2 candidates, (behind closed door) we will pick the one with higher qualification. You get something more for the same price .

This post has been edited by gnc88: May 19 2023, 02:02 PM

from hiring manager pov, skill match is more important than master.

good point....but my question is why the customer need to know whether is report is written by a phd or a ba?

yes! but your phd must be recognized by oversea. and its not cheap

If you asked this question, you have a reason for asking it. Looks like i stepped your tails. oops!

just my 2 cents. you can put more weight in considering phd if you match the criteria below:
1. if your family does not need your support to go out to work.... Then you can consider phd.
2. you like to study and phd is a self satisfactory path you eventually or at least you have this dream to achieve it in future
3. you consider working in research or academic field... please proceed with phd

by far the best and thoughtful answer so far

No, you did not step on my tail. You made a sweeping statement by stating that doing a MBA is junk thereby I asked you for clarification here.

Oh. but you sounds like you are on fire. this kind of people doesnt worth my time fork out information. there are plenty of news you can read on application decline in MBA. mba value is drop even in oversea for the past 3 yrs. You have your answer and i dont think i want to argue with u.

This post has been edited by soules83: May 21 2023, 01:12 PM

I am asking you why you said MBA is junk. I did not ask you to randomly picked some news to justify your sweeping statement here. Nobody is is arguing with you.

its not random, read more.

Are you saying that all the news that you have had read all said MBA is junk? Show the links to the news that you have so called read to justify your claim.

So....you want me to feed you? If you are mba, you should have mine inputs and thats enough for you to expand those search. Apply you mba skill, and stop asking ppl to feed you.

Just go if u have opportunity.

depend.

1. You want to build Career. Leave Uni ASAP. ( unless you want to work in UNI after study )


The more you "stuck" in academic, the more you "disconnect" with the Market.

You don't have to feed me. TS asked a legit question and you came in and said MBA is junk. That's your sweeping statement and until now you still can't proof anything about your sources claiming MBA is junk. All you did was go round and round throwing questions back at me without having the ability to answer my questions about your claim that MBA is junk.

It’s not that the customer need to know if it’s written by a phd or a degree holder. The PHD holder will want to make it clear that she/he is a phd holder of a field relevant to the report

It’s just like saying for all things equal (price, experience, facilities, service, etc), I imagine most people will want a specialist surgeon to operate on them rather than a GP even if the GP can do it. It’s a matter of perception.

For sure it does not work for all industries, I am in the engineering industry and for sure a PhD holder report carry heavier weight and if we (me as a non PhD holder) write completely opposite conclusion of a report, the customer will likely side on the PhD holder’s report. Even if I’m significantly more experienced than him/her. It’s perception. That a higher education entity has certified that he/she came out of university as a specialist of the field. I have no issue, if they chose her/his report and proven wrong, I will have my chance to prove my report and if come true, it will strengthen my case in the future. It is what is is, I don’t blame the customer because given the same choice, I might do the same if I don’t have sufficient evidence to back either one report.

hmm....ok thats make sense if you are in consultancy service or business. In fact, nowadays a lot of oversea univ pushing their lecturers to take up consultancy business case to make them relevant. but those are rare jobs with little opportunity, most company are sensitive to univ lecturers bcoz of confidential operations information. For engineering jobs, I dont see any customer or 3rd party vendor provide reports on project or deliverable with highlights they are phd and etc. we only care about the written content of the reports. But with one exception, certificate bcoz of iso requirements. but those are certificates not phd or mba.

This post has been edited by soules83: May 27 2023, 04:55 PM