What to Study after STPM & How to Choose the Right Degree Course

What to Ask the Best Education Advisor About What to Study at Top Private Universities in Malaysia after STPM?

Written by EduSpiral Consultant Services For more information contact 01111408838

After STPM, there are many different degree programmes at top private universities and colleges in Malaysia for you to choose from and sometimes it can be confusing. Students in Malaysia who are not sure of what to study after STPM can contact EduSpiral Consultant Services to help guide you to choose the right course and university in Malaysia

Choosing the right course to study in Malaysia after high school is one of the most important decisions you can make in your life. This can be a confusing and difficult time if you are unprepared. With the wide variety of courses available to a student, the time after STPM can be a confusing one if not guided properly by an experienced and knowledgeable education counselor.

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Choosing the Best Degree Course in Malaysia to Study after STPM

Choosing a course to study after STPM is not a science, it is a process

in finding out who you are and what you are good at. An experienced Education Advisor would be invaluable in assisting you to choose the right course. Students in Malaysia need to talk to the right education counselors so that you get the right information to help you in making this life-changing decision.

Ask the right Education Counselors in Malaysia to help you. Would you ask a Doctor on how to repair your car? Or would you ask a mechanic for medical advise? Although this sounds ridiculous, but many students do listen to advise from young and inexperienced counselors from universities, colleges or agents’ offices.  Talking to an experienced education advisor would help you to navigate through this confusing time of choosing the best course that fits you.

Experienced education counselors are able to analyse your interests, personality and exam results

to help you make a list of possible courses for consideration. EduSpiral Consultant Services staff have more than 15 years experience in counseling students. Having worked in the private education industry, we have in-depth knowledge of each private university and college in what they are good at.

EduSpiral Consultant Services has worked with our partner universities and colleges for many years while the counselors at the private universities or agents’ offices change every few years therefore they would not have the in-depth knowledge of the courses and the university that they are working at.

Why Study in Private Universities after STPM?

Students after STPM actually don’t really have a choice in choosing their course should they decide to go for public universities or IPTA. The government will decide which course and university that you will enter. To choose what you want to study, students would need to go for private universities.

In a 2015 report by the Malaysian Insider, graduates, who have completed their studies in six months, are among the current 400,000 unemployed individuals in the country shared by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar. He added that according to statistics, 161,000 graduates, aged between 20 and 24 years, had yet to find a job.

51% of unemployed fresh graduates in Malaysia are from public universities or IPTA.

Bad work attitudes coupled with poor communication skills topped by unrealistic pay demands are the three biggest grouses employers have in turning down fresh graduates, Southeast Asia’s top online recruitment firm Jobstreet has found.

More than half of 571 human resource managers polled by Jobstreet in a November 2011 study said they were unable to hire the graduates due to the job seekers’ poor communication skills, notably their lack of command in using English — which remains the business lingua franca worldwide.

The university environment is very important in shaping the skills in a graduate. Choosing a university where most students communicate in Mandarin would not help you to improve your English language skills which is used widely in the business world. Other skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, innovation and leadership skills are equally needed to be successful in your career.

Help! I don’t know what course to choose to study at university- what do I do?

Students after STPM actually don’t really have a choice in choosing their course should they decide to go for public universities or IPTA. The government will decide which course and university that you will enter. To choose what you want to study, students would need to go for private universities.

It is important to choose the right course to study – you don’t want to waste your time and money on a course you don’t want to do (or end up dropping out of). To help you decide which course is right for you, make a list of courses that are of interest to you.

Is it a subject you have already studied? For example, maybe you loved the English subject and you read novels for pleasure in your own time. You can consider Teaching English as a Second Language, journalism or Mass Communication. In addition, you don’t have to do a journalism degree to become a journalist – many degrees are considered!

Maybe you’ve always been interested in computers and the internet at home, and enjoyed maths at school, so are considering a degree in computer science, a course subject you probably won’t have studied before. Experienced education counselors are able to analyse your interests, personality and exam results to help you make a list of possible courses for consideration.

Looking at your results in STPM as well as the SPM could help you to decide which course you would be good at. If you are good in Maths & Physics then you can consider Engineering courses. Having good results in Chemistry, Biology & Maths, you can think of a career in Food Science, Pharmacy or Medicine. Talking to an experienced education advisor in Malaysia would help you to navigate through this confusing time of choosing the best course that fits you.

Many students in Malaysia after STPM make the mistake of just listening to advise without verifying whether the information given is true or not. In addition, just because you have heard or seen a lot of advertisements by a particular university, doesn’t mean that it is the best in that course.

Many of the course counselors at the universities are paid by the universities to get you to register there, so their main motivation is to get you to register, not to help you make the right choice.

You should also ask yourself if you would still be interested in that subject for a further three or four years – enough to motivate yourself to work and research independently? Remember, you are going to work in this career for the next 50 years after graduation, therefore, you should have a high interest in the course.

The course that you choose should also have a job demand for you after you graduate. Choosing a course that you are passionate about without job demand and you may end up being jobless. Look for statistics and research to support whether there is a job demand for your future career in Malaysia or Singapore. Here at EduSpiral Consultant Services, we do our research on the job demand for the careers in Malaysia, Salary Reports, and universities so that we can advise our students based on facts and evidence.

Now why would you want to talk to EduSpiral Consultant Services when you can contact the private universities directly? Well, EduSpiral Consultant Services staff have more than 15 years experience in counseling students. Having worked in the private education industry, we have in-depth knowledge of each private university and college in what they are good at. We have worked with our partner universities and colleges for many years while the counselors at the private universities or agents’ offices change every few years therefore they would not have the in-depth knowledge of the courses and the university that they are working at.

What am I good at? What am I not good at?

An undergraduate degree course in Malaysia lasts three to five years – that’s a long time to spend studying something which you don’t enjoy, especially at a more intense level! First of all ask yourself what you have enjoyed studying at secondary school in Malaysia.

Your STPM and the SPM results will show what you are actually good at. Having good results in Maths, you can consider Actuarial Science, Accounting, Computing or Finance courses. Having narrowed down to these courses, you can go for the right degree programme at a private university in Malaysia or college in Singapore.

Alternatively you can also think about subjects you definitely don’t want to study at university level and which you can’t wait to say goodbye to. Crossing these off will make your list of options smaller and less overwhelming.

Your parents and friends would also be able to give you an idea of what you are good at. Looking at your hobbies and interests would help to narrow down the list. Your hobby in drawing could open the possibility of choosing design courses.

What are my interests?

If you can’t think of an academic subject which you’re especially strong at or one which you would want to pursue at university-level, think about your non-academic interests outside of school. It’s likely that you’re much more passionate about these but you’ve never even thought you could study a course related to these (or pursue a career in this area).

Your hobbies, interests and which clubs & societies that you have joined in secondary school would give you some idea of what you are good at. These, together with your actual results would contribute to your decision-making process in choosing the right course of study.

New courses are being created all the time to prepare and develop talent for growing industries, such as animation or computer game design. Projects, events and knowledge related to these interests can all contribute to show that you’re passionate about this area and eligible to study on a course which can prepare you for a related career.

In other cases there may be several routes to your dream career, some of which may allow you to study something different before transferring or. Talk to those who are already working in this area to see how they got to where they are now, including what they studied (or even what they wish they had studied).

What do I want to do for my career in Malaysia?

You may have a clear idea of what you want to do for a career which makes choosing a course to study easier, particularly if you want to become a doctor or lawyer. You can search our articles section to see if we’ve already written about your dream graduate career and how you can achieve this.

When making a decision about your career, it is important to take into consideration the average salary. Starting salaries in Malaysia is about RM2800 to RM3000 for most careers while starting salaries in Singapore is about SGD2714. Although starting salaries is generally the same level for everyone, what you do in the following years of your job will determine how much higher you would get.

Therefore, it is also important to choose the right university that would equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to move up in your career. Many students make the mistake of choosing the cheapest university for their studies and then later realise that they cannot get the promotion or salary increment because they did not get the skills needed. English is one of these skills that most students do not take seriously about its importance for promotion and salary increments in future jobs.

Think about it, if you are unable to write a report or email in proper English or do a presentation smoothly, how would you be able to become a manager or CEO eventually?

Best Education Pathway After STPM in Malaysia

Students after STPM who did not achieve the necessary results for entry into the degree programmes can consider going into the Diploma course in Malaysia or Singapore. You would use your SPM results to enter the Diploma course.

The Diploma pathway in Malaysia for students after SPM is 2 or 2.5 years and then enter into Year 2 of the Degree programme.

Completing a degree at top private colleges in Singapore is the fastest pathway after SPM. Students will take 7 to 12 months to complete a Diploma and then enter into the Degree programme for another 2 years. Students who choose to study at top private colleges in Singapore can complete the degree in less than 3 years after their SPM. Therefore, for those who failed their STPM in Malaysia, studying the diploma in Singapore is the best way to obtaining a degree in less than 3 years thus saving them the time that they had lost.

There are many types of diploma and Pre-University courses in Malaysia & Singapore as well as hundreds of undergraduate majors to choose from. But knowing the right one for you is the most difficult decision. If you read this guide from start to finish, you’ll know the best courses in Malaysia that would suit you.

If you are not sure what to study, do ask a trained counselor and always make decisions based on evidence and facts. The decisions that you make now, can change your life forever.

You can contact us for a free career test to help you understand yourself better so that you are able to make the right decision.

How to Choose the Right Course to Study after STPM in Malaysia?

It can be confusing to choose the right course after STPM . You should carefully think about what are the options available to you. To choose the best course that fits you, you need to consider the following:

• Look at your results – what are your best & worst subjects, and which subjects are your favourite?
• What are your interests & hobbies?
• What is your passion?
• Job demand for the career of choice. There is no point in choosing a course out of passion and then graduate to find out that you cannot get a job in that field.
• Salary of the career of choice
• Discuss the budget for your studies with your parents. There is no point in choosing a course like Pharmacy or Medicine, if you cannot afford it.

Choosing the Best Course to Study after STPM in Malaysia

Choosing the right course to study in Malaysia or Singapore after your A-Levels or Pre-University is one of the most important decisions you can make in your life. This can be a confusing and difficult time if you are unprepared.

With the wide variety of courses available to a student, the time after STPM can be a confusing one if not guided properly by an experienced and knowledgeable education counselor.

It can be confusing for students to choose the right major for their undergraduate degree studies in Malaysia or Singapore.

Preparations should have been made even before this time but fear not it is still not too late if you have not decided on a career path. It is important for you to research carefully the career that you intend to pursue.

After your STPM in Malaysia, you do not have time to really decide on which course to study for your degree. What you studied in your STPM would also determine what you can study for your degree. If you had taken Arts subjects for your STPM, you cannot choose to study science-related degree programmes.

Choosing the Best Course at Private Universities to Study after STPM in Malaysia

Students after STPM who plan to study in Public Universities or IPTA would give their choice of courses and universities but ultimately, the Ministry of Education would choose for them. You do not really have a choice of what to study or where.

To choose what you want to study, STPM students can consider private universities in Malaysia or private colleges in Singapore.

After completing your STPM programme you will need to choose what to study in your degree at private universities in Malaysia or Singapore. You do not have the time to choose which degree course. The time that you took during your STPM  should have been used to decide what to study at degree level.

Your results in STPM as well as the SPM would give you an idea of what you are actually good at. Furthermore, you would need to look at the entry requirements into the degree programmes as well. If you do not meet the entry requirements, then there is no point to consider taking that particular course.