Selain dari blogging, kadang-kadang saya menulis di LinkedIn terutamanya perkara yang berkenaan pekerjaan dan karier. Jadi satu hari ni, saya terpanggil untuk berkongsi pendapat saya tentang isu Graduan Pilih Kerja. Sebagai graduan 2020, saya rasa saya perlu untuk nyatakan bahawa bukanlah satu masalah yang besar kalau kita kerja di luar bidang ijazah kita.

Let's get connected on LinkedIn -> @amerridzuan

Sebagai orang baru atau Fresh Graduate di LinkedIn, satu post yang mendapat 22,314 ribu views ini adalah satu keajaiban. Selalunya view post saya adalah dalam lingkungan 100-300 sahaja berbanding pada kali ini. Selain itu, 871 reaksi telah diberikan bersama hampir 100 komen-komen bernas dan pendapat dari orang lain.

Original post adalah dalam bahasa Inggeris:

Since most of my connections are Graduates, I think I should share this particular experience.

"Are you sure you want to work outside your degree major?"

This is the top question I get upon my graduation because I was majoring in Bioinformatics which is relatively quite far from the Software Engineering field that I'm in right now. Even my extended family is still curious about this.

Friends, it means no harm for you to venture into slightly different fields. If you think your 4 years of degree will be wasted, please try to look at the positive side.

Knowledge will never be a waste.

I believe that my Biology knowledge will someday be beneficial to my current profession.

Who knows I could apply biological knowledge to next-generation technologies? Who knows we could store our huge DNA information in a single chip? And who knows biometric security can be honed by the people who comprehend both biology and technology fields?

I don't know who will need this but choosing a career path slightly different from your major is not a bad thing to happen.

We never know what the future holds. Maybe it's for the better so don't be afraid.

Secara ringkasnya, saya hanya ingin menekankan bahawa walaupun kita bekerja diluar bidang ijazah atau diploma, ilmu yang telah kita timba di universiti tidak akan pernah sia-sia. Kita tak tahu apa yang akan terjadi pada masa hadapan.

Mungkin suatu hari nanti ilmu dalam perbagai bidang atau kita panggil sebagai multidisciplinary akan memberi impak positif kepada nilai diri mahupun pembangunan ekonomi negara.

Multidisciplinary (adj): combining or involving several academic disciplines or professional specializations in an approach to a topic or problem.

Suka juga untuk saya kongsikan beberapa komen yang menarik dari rakan LinkedIn saya seperti dibawah.

Tertiary education is enough to get you through the door in finding a job, but many employers today are open to hiring graduates from vastly different fields from the job area that they are hiring.  It's an old-school mindset that you study one thing, and you must work in that same thing.  This of course applies to very specialized areas like medicine, psychology, dentistry, the law profession, etc, but certainly not all degree holders need to practice in the areas that they study.  And you are right, our area of study can be beneficial to us in the workplace in unexpected ways.  The fact that I studied law and economics helps me interpret and apply HR policies or employment law in order to provide relevant people-centric solutions to leaders with an understanding of business costs and priorities.  At the end of the day, people may judge, but they are not in our shoes.  Like they say, "Find a job that you love, and you never have to work a day in your life". - Ruzzana Rashid

I agree with your post. I have seen engineers, media practitioners, history majors, arts, psychologists, etc in banking. Not just minor but major skew from their studies yet they are now leaders. I even know a lawyer who is now an artist that paints beautiful pictures. We truly do not know what the future holds. Embrace change and venture into the unknown, Allah knows best. - Amirul Fadzil

That's right and that's the right thing to do now. To be adaptable is as important as being an expert in your subject matter. Let me share with you my own experience. I studied Electrical Engineering and became an engineering technology teacher for 12 years. Then I moved to a new school where I had to teach History because the school needs History teachers lol. Been teaching History since 2015 and I totally love the experience. - Shahzalina Ghazali

I don't care if you have a degree in psychology or social studies but if you have the skills and attitude to match, I will convince my company to hire you. - Yah-Wen Ho

Saya harap, para graduan baharu seperti saya lebih berani dah tabah menghadapi cabaran dalam dunia dan era pekerjaan sekarang. Elakkan daripada menbelenggu diri dengan sijil ijazah sahaja. Explore dan belajar apa yang kita minat. Kenal diri kita dengan lebih mendalam.

Mungkin perubahan tersebut adalah lebih baik? Semoga bejaya!