Half of Malaysians work in jobs unrelated to their degrees

A quarter unwilling to hire someone without a university degree

What you study at university is unlikely to be what you end up doing as a career, with latest YouGov research showing that half (51%) of Malaysian graduates work in jobs unrelated to their degrees. The remaining half (49%) work in jobs related to their degrees.

This isn’t the same across all degrees, however. Those who studied information and communication technology are more likely to end up working in a related field, compared with those who studied business, administration and law. Three in five (58%) of those who studied information and communication technology ended up working in jobs relevant to their degree, as opposed to just two in five of those who did business (39%), administration and law.

Other factors also seem to affect whether someone moves into a job linked to their degree. Those who studied abroad (18%) are more likely than those who studied locally (82%) (56% vs. 48%) to work in jobs related to their degree. Older Malaysians (aged 45 to 54) are also more likely than their younger compatriots (aged 25 to 34) to work in jobs relevant to their degree (59% vs. 47%).

Overall, six in ten (62%) Malaysians find their degrees ‘very useful’. A third (35%) find them somewhat useful, and the remaining 4% find them useless.

When choosing a degree half (49%) were influenced by their parents when selecting their field of study. The rest were influenced by their friends (32%), by themselves (28%) or by their teachers (25%).

The vast majority (97%) of graduates agree that having a university degree is important. Assuming the position of an employer, a quarter (23%) would be unwilling to hire someone without a university degree. Two in five (40%) would be willing, and the remaining third (37%) thinks it makes no difference.

Jake Gammon, Head of Omnibus APAC at YouGov Omnibus commented: “For those currently figuring out which field of study to go in to, it could be comforting to know that it might be unrelated to one’s future career. No matter what field of study, almost all graduates agree a university degree is important, and a significant percentage would be unwilling to hire someone without one.”

***Results based on 692 Malaysian graduates surveyed by YouGov Omnibus