Job Vacancies And Jobs Search In Malaysia : Allyhunt

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be an accountant. Then, one fateful day, in a moment of insanity, I decided that I would venture into science because I wanted to be different.

And so, skip a few years and taa-dah! I am a biomedical graduate with a Masters in medical microbiology, and a forte in genetic engineering. I’m different! Whoopee! Um…now what?

I think that the dilemma most science graduates face here is that we can’t find jobs that require our specialized skills. Well, at least not as easily as an accountant. And being so laboratory orientated, we often don’t know what’s going on in the outside world, where the opportunities are, and how much we are worth.

Sometimes, we are perceived as being picky about jobs because we don’t want to do things we aren’t trained in. And sometimes, when we decide to leave the bulk of our training behind, people shake their heads and say ‘Education wasted.’

Situations like these take me back to that moment of insanity, tempting me to rip my hair out (but I won’t because it’s unflattering and painful) for choosing the road less traveled just to be different! It’s then when the first sign of madness emerges and I start talking to myself. ‘Look, interesting jobs are not going to plop onto your lap, okay? You’re a scientist! Think like one! Begin with the obvious and troubleshoot from there…’

Hence, I turn to adverts only to find vacant sales positions which I absolutely fear. You see, I stink at sales! I’d die! Friends with experience in sales argue that nobody has ever died from sales. But they’re wrong. I could.

To avoid death, I resorted to asking acquaintances in certain scientific companies if they knew of vacancies (other than sales). I was pleasantly surprised when many responded with different opportunities, including sales! As an exaggeration, I’d like to say that I applied for 900 jobs, went for 400 interviews and finally got one offer which was in sales and I died.

But that didn’t happen.

The point I am trying to make is not that I have a science related job but that as scientists, we cannot depend on conventional methods to look for opportunities. We cannot use an accountant’s contacts and methods if we hope to be molecular biologists. We cannot measure success in science by using the yardstick for accountancy. It’s like tennis and badminton. The objectives are similar but the approach is different. (Also, one is more glamorous than the other!)

I realize now that nobody has ever said that science promised me an easy life. It’s education all the way. I will never be trained enough, I will never know enough. But I can be resilient enough to face challenges ahead, and flexible enough to take on different fields of science that are relevant to the country’s needs and contribute whatever little way I can to nation building. So, see? Education not wasted!

Finally, just in case you are curious, I did get a job! Science based! Woohoo!

(the above was written by Melissa Chan, who is currently with a supplier of laboratory consumables, scientific and analytical equipment and biomedical control products based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor)

Like Melissa, do you have qualifications that you think perhaps are rare and perceived as not so marketable but somehow your endurance paid off in the end?