Underemployment struggle among highly educated graduates

SHAH ALAM - A total of 1.95 million highly educated graduates in the country are currently working in jobs that do not match their qualifications and skills.

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), as of the third quarter of 2024, more than one-third of the tertiary-educated population were employed in semi-skilled or low-skilled job categories.

However, the majority of the 5.74 million graduates in 2023 were working in skilled categories.

Among the graduates working in a field unrelated to their qualification was Luqman Haqimi Mohd Ali, 27, a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering (Electronics) degree holder currently working as a food delivery rider in Kuantan, Pahang.

The former Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah student said although there might be better job opportunities in other states, he chose to stay in his hometown for personal reasons.

"For the time being, I chose this gig job as a source of income due to its flexible working hours. This is because I am currently undertaking a solar technology course in Grid-Connected Photovoltaic (GCPV) System Design," he said.

Luqman added that he planned to venture into the solar energy sector upon completing his course, as there were career prospects in that field locally.

In Alor Setar, Ku Nur Izzati Ku Ahmad Nasir, 34, who holds a degree in Physical Sciences, shared that building a career did not always have to follow what you studied in university.

The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia graduate began her career journey in 2013 by exploring various opportunities related to her degree but was met with little success.

"I applied for substitute teacher positions and attended several interviews for executive roles, but luck was not on my side," she told Sinar.

Realising the limited job opportunities in pure physics, she eventually decided to start a small home business before venturing into the takaful industry as a consultant.

“Although this career path is very different from what I studied in university, I believe that my livelihood has been destined here," she said.

Izzati added that career opportunities in physics were scarce, mainly reserved for those pursuing further studies or entering research fields.

Meanwhile, in Johor Bahru, Muhamad Zikri Al Alif Zainolaman, 27, a Diploma holder in Digital Technology from Politeknik Kuala Terengganu, also found himself working as a food delivery rider after struggling to secure a job in his field since graduating four years ago.

"I once worked in a factory in Penang but had to resign. After that, I worked as a clerk in Pengerang, Johor. I resigned because the income was unstable. When there were projects, I earned a salary but when there weren’t, I didn’t. I needed a more stable job," said the Kota Bharu, Kelantan native.

Zikri added that he eventually chose to continue working full-time as a food delivery rider considering the flexibility of working hours and the income potential depending on his own effort.