Guys,
i'm wondering.
1. Do companies, especially MNCs hire more overseas graduates than local graduates?
2. Are overseas graduates have more high profiles position as compared to local graduates.
3. Are overseas graduates paid more?!

i dunno how to compare oversea/local le....
i find it easier if compare...gov U vs private U/Col

1) i notice more private stud in my co than local, but the number of local is still quite surprising for me....

2) dis 1 i not sure....but highest person is foreigner...

3) not really sure, but think all starter start off around the same....no one really stand out of another, unless u r comparing master stud n degree stud
it turn out depends how u contribute later if u out shine others.

I'm a foreign graduate as well from UK.. But i still get paid like local graduate... It's all depends on experiences and ur skills...

For freshies, a degree from overseas does not help you to get higher salary compared to local graduates, unless you graduated from top universities in overseas. But overseas degree can somehow help you to get a job easier, especially in MNC, if your result is 2nd class upper. For 2nd class lower, it's rather difficult for you to step in a company nowadays regardless where you graduated from.

there is no competitive advantage between fresh oversea vs fresh local graduate. Pay still the same. For malaysia, due to limited resources, what ever cat they will just grap it... some company even grap some resources from indonesia or thailand to work in malaysia.

if you graduated from top U locally or overseas ... you get higher pay than others in listed companies, MNCs

I don't agree your statement mentioning that supply is more than demand in the job market. I know some companies import talents from India, especially IT firms.

From Indonesia??? You mean skilled workers/labours or white collars? If it is white collars, I don't think so.

when i mention supply is more than demand? i said resource in malaysia is limited. Some company force to get resource from country nearby.

Yup, from indonesia, for skilled workers. U never see, doesn't mean its not the case. but its happened slowly and not in big scale.

This post has been edited by ibmsege: May 15 2008, 01:44 PM

if graduate from overseas, better dun work in Malaysia, U work for 10 years also cant get return for wat u have spend

heh I kinda agree with this.. if I graduated overseas I'd find a job there.. anyway I don't see much difference in IT field whether you grad from overseas or local.. they look for skills and experience and the technical certs you have

if you're talking about design/architecture/doctor/pharmacy then maybe it'd make a good difference

If you study in oversea, why dont try to get a job in oversea ??

U come back here, your salary is same as local fresh graduate.

Even some of the local fresh graduate can get into MNC for a starting salary of RM 3K.

Yes, local or oversea not important. It is skill and exp count first.

guys, thanks for clarifying things.

I was brought up in a family that always talk about overseas graduates earning more and getting higher position in companies. My family somehow always praises the nextdoor sons & daughters that went to overseas for their degrees.


Now that i'll be working soon, I'm very interesting in knowing whether local graduates are as competent as overseas grads.

well, if those that went overseas work hard enough... they would already secure a job overseas and not come back... working overseas earning 2x-5x what those that work locally here earn...

Family pressure is always hard to solve....

Dont always compare to others. Follow your interest, enhance and develop your skills during working.

if you are the boss, who will you hire:

candidate A: oversea graduate with second lower class or lower

candidate B: local graduate with first class

it all depends on the skills and attitude....degree cert is just another paper...

This post has been edited by MiLKTea: May 18 2008, 07:47 PM

This is another scenario:

Candidate A: overseas grad with 2nd upper class
Candidate B: local grad with 2nd upper class too

Both are freshies. Which one do you think the company will employ?

The one with value for $.
The interview discussion will be the deciding factor.

I would employ whoever speaks better, more mature and has higher EQ.

But generally that means foreign degree holders who actually went overseas for a few years.

A oversea student may not have a superior advantage over the local grads. This is true when the oversea student stick only to themselves or ppl from the same country. If you look at a lot of chinese students from china, they tend to group with fellow students who are from china, and this i can say is the same for most tarcian who came over to the uk for the 3mth degree program,

bird of a feather flocks together.... that's a common thing,

edit....
no matter where u grad or what college or uni u grad, the work attitude and character is more important than the degree.

i m living with a chinese from china who has been in the uk for 4 yrs , done his degree n masters, still is rubbish at work, even though from top uni.... london imperial college..... he also does not speak and understand english at that level of a form3 SK sudent is msia....



This post has been edited by bcktang: May 18 2008, 08:51 PM

My boyfriend is TARC graduate !

aND tarc TOP UP PRGRAMME is only for TARCIAN, they are no toehr foreign students studying at that point of time. It is their vacation.
THAT means no foreign students schoolamate in the UK university

In this case, I'll hire the one with a better communication skill and attitude.
If both are still as good in these, I'll hire the cheaper one

This topic sounds more like comparing a rich child vs a poor child (who can only afford to study locally and obtain a cheap local degree)..

To be frank, whether you are a local or "oversea" graduates.. it is not important. as long as your interviewer sees you that you have a potential growth in the company, you are hired.

Not necessarily. Some people worked their asses off while studying to pay for their fees.

That's why I always ask interviewees how they funded their degrees. If they worked while studying, and still got good results and promotions - that says a whole lot about their ability and character. And though they are fresh graduates, they come with experience.

Honestly, what's most important is the interview.

This is from personal experience, I've been hired by Japanese, Malaysian and China MNC and they don't give a damn about me graduating from UTHM.

Didn't ring any bells ei? Cause it's a small public uni which got upgraded to be on par with the full fledge local unis.

Sorry off topic..
Errr.. Where is UTHM?

Y u get pay like local student? You should get many and many thousand $$$$ +++++. this mean u no skill? What oversea Uni u study? Arsenal University? Manchester University?

This post has been edited by Xing Fang: May 19 2008, 01:30 PM

I personally finds that overseas grad fares better in experimentation & initiatives compared to local grads....maybe it's due to the syllabus difference (local uni stress on exams & grades)...as far as I know, local uni grads just like to copy & study the materials given (not an offence as I'm also a local grad myself)...when problem comes...hardly any idea to solve...but there are also good local grads at work place...so it all boils down to the person's personality & passion in work...a top grad but lazy & attitude problem...also cannot excel in work rite?

a student may grad from foreign uni / coll but still fail the interview while a local grad may pass . it all depends on individuals

Btw, how many of you graduated from local university..

I'm one for the local uni graduates

i just graduated from germany..still looking for a job..got a couple of interviews...but still looking for the better one.. and yeah..they all treated me like others..no special treatment here...

i m local uni............

If both candidates are equally good - academic results, communication skill, personality, attitude, potential and expected salary are the same, you must accept the fact that the candidate with overseas degree will be given priority.

the thinking of overseas grad is better than local is more towards them gaining experience of being independant and mixing around with people outside their usual environment...indirectly improving your social and communication skills...

sadly its not true for msians because many overseas grads go there and mix with their own kind...like a mini msia...some even come back worse than before they left...so in my opinion its too subjective...

at the end of the day when i interview someone...ill hire the one with better communication skills and positive attitude...where the degree comes from doesn't matter much...

Yes, I do agree that evaluation on contribution to the company is more important. But just look at what I wrote earlier, if both candidates are equally good in attitude, qualification and communication skill, who will you hire? Please accept the fact.

as one of the above guy said....cheapest 1....
will u pay higher if u can pay cheaper to get the same or better work done?

i once heard my father's friend who is the director of HR department in some MNC company said that, overseas grads are more confident, more gracious, more out-spoken if compared to normal typical local grads, thus they have higher chance in getting to the top position.

but again, this depends on individuals also. not all overseas grads are out-spoken..

Of course it depends on the individual. But unless you know each and every prospective employee very well, hiring is a game of odds and probabilities.

And the odds are that a foreign trained graduate will turn out more adept at speaking out, independent thinking, initiative and unstructured problem solving - compared to his local counterpart. Especially if they come from a reputable foreign university. Locally, I'm afraid, there are no reputable institutions left.

This post has been edited by seantang: May 19 2008, 07:59 PM

Its all about the first impression seriously. If you are overseas grads, you might have a better chance to get hired in your interview and get a good starting pay.
On the other hand, if you are a local grads but have a very strong skill in whatever you do, you will still outperform the one with the overseas cert. Yes, you might start a bit lower, but once the boss saw your performance, and if you perform badly, even your so called "superior-Overseas-cert" won't save you

Like someone said earlier, let's compare apples to apples. Try not to go off on a tangent and take a 'good' local vs a 'bad' foreign. Skewed comparisons work the other way as well.

If 2 candidates were absolutely identical in terms of their personal traits, just that one had a local degree and the other a foreign degree - then it's inevitable that the foreign degree holder has an advantage. It might be large or small, but it's an advantage nonetheless. And most times, when bosses can't make up their mind between 2 candidates' skills and personalities, the better recognised qualification will tip the scales. Easily justifiable within an objective assessment system.

This post has been edited by seantang: May 19 2008, 09:26 PM

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn
www.uthm.edu.my
Batu Pahat, Johor.

Well, to be honest, although I'm from small local uni, sorry to say that I think generally the foreign counterpart is better in terms of exposure.

This post has been edited by bysquashy: May 20 2008, 10:33 AM

ok...lets stick to topic....
who earn more....
foreign probably get better head start compare to local....
or it could be same level of field for some Co
Who has more potential....
kind of subjective....hardly u can know one has a lot capability which still await to be unleashed....

i would say in a mixture of foreign n local grads, potential from local can yield greater, mainly bcoz in dat env, they can more tend to worry if they can perform as good as the others, and has poorer impression to the boss

i think for MNCs, foreign student do have a slight advantage over local students. But that would depend on the foreign grad himself too, if he excels in the interview and has the right knowledge/skills, he wud get it.

the same goes for the local grads also. if he is gud enuff to be called for interview and excel in the interview, he wud also get it.
i mean, your skills, knowledge, communication and others matters to the hiring manager.

the hiring managers are not just hiring the person for fun ... they would have to judge the person good enuff bcoz he'll be working for him soon, right? further more, the manager above him will also evaluate and agree on the decision.

in terms of salary, if that guy deserves the job post i believe the salary is the same (this is if the company is MNC, especially US-based)
the reason is also because hiring/headcounts are based on budget allocated and also level/rank offered for the job post.

i believe salary is based on the person's experience, knowledge and skills needed for the job. And for fresh grads, it is also affected by the result/cgpa .
So both grads from local/foreign have good-equal chances given that they know what to target and what is their career objective

my answer for TS questions :
1. Most likely they take overseas grads. but that depends on the candidate quality too.
2. Most of the time oversea grads are more independent, can adapt faster to environment and more open to measurement equipments/simulation softwares (well exposed) <--- talking about engineering
3. Not likely, i think same salary is expected for MNC companies regardless of local/foreign grads. if u got the skills for the job, then u get the offered salary if the hiring department is still within their budget.

* i have no idea about local companies hiring protocol

This post has been edited by mmohdnor: May 20 2008, 01:16 AM

for US company, the fact is, there is no diff between local or foreign in terms of compensation and chance of getting promotion.. whether a local or a foreign graduate stand higher chance during interview, that is purely based on the interviewer judgement. there is no black and white telling that foreign has 70% quota or what ever.. that is fair enuff rite?

but be frank, i love to work with US educated boss than local graduated boss..haha! most of the US graduated boss look at your performance. Unlike the local one, always keep track of your attendence or your working hour like school teacher..

Well, sad but what you said is true. Foreign degree does seems to be a more favorable choice for bosses if they can't make up their mind between 2 candidates. Even if you ask anyone out there who are not bosses, they will tell you they will pick the one with foreign degree, if both are identical in terms of their traits, or whatever you call it

It is more to our cultural viewpoint IMHO. Malaysian tend to rate others (especially those Englishman country) higher compare to ourselves.

Many company practice Equal Opportunities Employer policy. Read it up.

What does that have to do with anything?

Equal Opportunity legislation deals with disability, ethnicity, religion, gender and age, mostly.

Education is not within the purview (unless you mean that a local degree is equivalent to a disability). There is no legislation in this world that says that employers must assess every bachelors or masters etc degree equally - regardless of which university or country issued it.

Where your school and university ranks amongst its peers, its medium of instruction, location and reputation forms a legitimate part of your overall profile, right next to your skills, personality etc. You can deny it all you want but that's god honest truth. Otherwise, we'd just list the name of the degree in our resumes. Why then, bother to specify the name of the Uni, which country it's in, the number of years spent there and that it wasn't a twinning, distance or local-foreign partner program done locally?

Ask any NUS, Tokyo U, Beijing U, HKU alumni in the past 5 years and you can see how their 'reputation' to their employers have been enhanced with their alma maters' climb up the rankings. It's an aura that envelopes them even if they are weak individually. The feeling is always "That's a good Uni. You got in and you came out in one piece with a degree. You must be doing something right".

Foreign universities has better overall education packages. The education system has provided intuitsive learning environment because if you are a overseas grad, you'll be expose to many people from different ethnics and groups. Therefore the chances of interacting with these professionals helps the invidual to develop strong communication skills and becomes more approachable. I'm from local uni and I dun get the necessary 'people' to communicate. I tend to stick to the same 'gang' while doing my studies. Hence I believe foreign grads have better opportunity when comes to securing a job. Chances of doing well in interview sessions are better than local grads.

Well it is true to certain degree. Communication skill is one of the weakness of our local grads here compare to overseas grads. It is mostly because of Malaysian culture IMHO. My lecturers who have experience in teaching overseas always told me about that, and it is not one but few others also giving the same opinion. In UK, the students are asking ALOT of questions during lectures to the point it became more like a debate between students/lecturer. In Malaysia? Lecturer talks, student listen, take notes, class end. They label our student here as "shy"

Malaysia Universities/Colleges should really concentrate on communication skill more than anything else