For many of us, we choose courses that ultimately lead up to the career that we want to step into upon graduation. With the working world getting more and more competitive, we want to be the best at what we do, where we do it. Malaysia is a place that is filled with job opportunities for those who have graduated university, even those who are not local.

If you’re thinking of staying in Malaysia to work, there are a couple of fields where workers are in high demand. This line of thought might even influence what course you decide to do as well! Let us tell you what careers are in high demand so that you can make the best decision now, for your future.

Accounting

With Malaysia wanting to reach developed nation status by the year 2020, it is estimated that we will need about 60,000 accountants. To make sense of how many accountants are needed, Malaysia only had a little over half that amount in 2017, which mean we need just about 30,000 accountants! Whether it’s working for the ‘Big Four’ or for smaller companies, accountants are in dire need everywhere around Malaysia.

There are many ways to study accountancy in Malaysia. Besides doing an obvious Degree in Accounting (which will usually be coupled with finance or business), you can also choose to take professional papers like the Certified Accounting Technician CAT, which leads up to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) papers, which is taken and accepted worldwide.

Accountant entry-level salary - RM2,100 (USD500)

ICT

The field of Information and Communication Technology is one which is booming considering the technological advances of Malaysia as it tries to step into becoming more of a developed nation. For the 11th Malaysia Plan, which is the government’s plan for 2016-2020, things like data sharing through the cloud and making government services available online is given emphasis on. There are even plans to utilise ICT in the education system.

Under the umbrella of ICT are different degrees like computer science, computer engineering and even gaming technology. It’s up to you to decide which part of ICT you’re interested in exactly.

ICT entry-level salary- RM2,600 (USD630)

Occupational safety and health

This job is certainly one that your parents wouldn’t have talked about, but it should be! A health and safety officer would be one who ensures the safety of workers who are usually working in dangerous places like construction or building sites.

This job is in high demand in Malaysia as there are many mega projects that are going on but not enough health and safety officers to go around- in fact, at least 9000 are needed all around the country. There are currently just under 6000 registered officers, and less than half of that number are active.

Rest assured that by choosing this course, there will be job opportunities wide open for you in Malaysia as health and safety officers are much needed.

Health and safety officer entry-level salary- RM3000 (USD720)

Engineering

There are so many kinds of engineering you can choose to delve into- civil engineering, software engineering, chemical engineering, electrical & electronic engineering… the list goes on! Malaysia is in dire need of engineers- around 200,000 are needed by the year 2020 to fulfil the need in all the sectors listed above and beyond. As of 2017, we only had 70,000.

To choose an engineering course, one would have to take science and math subjects in high school as they are usually requirements to get enrolled into the course.

Engineering entry-level salary- RM2400 (USD580)

Medicine

One of the oldest professions, medicine and its practitioners have been around for decades. Because it is so hard to be a doctor, what with needing to study for so long and having to do a long housemanship after, many people are opting for other careers, resulting in only 7000 specialist doctors in all of Malaysia.

Before you can choose to specialise when you’re doing your Master’s degree, your Bachelor’s degree will take you five years to complete, so you have plenty of time to learn the ropes of every field and figure out what you’re most passionate about.

However, with medicine being a field where someone’s life is at your literal fingertips, don’t expect the course to be a walk in the park. However, for those who are passionate about the field, it is well worth it.

Medicine entry-level salary- RM3500 (USD850)

Education

Education in Malaysia can be split into so many different fields, such as preschool, primary or secondary school, but what is needed in Malaysia are university-level educators. Now, to be a lecturer, many universities require a Master’s degree or a PhD to teach a subject.

Of course, if you’re not thinking of lecturing, there are also opportunities for you to teach young children or even special-needs children.

Education entry-level salary- RM2400 (USD580)

There you have it, some of the many critical occupations that are needed for Malaysia. However, if you’re passionate about something that isn’t on the list, just go for it anyway! Don’t be afraid to pick something you like over what you ‘should’ do, and who knows, you might find a way to work in those fields in Malaysia after you’re done studying too!

Thinking of studying one of these fields, or other ones, in Malaysia? Click here so we can help you out!