This is an interesting news that I saw in the Star today. Why a country as small as us need 8 flying schools producing 300-400 pilots a year ? Again, this is only possible in this Bolehland! Do you also know that there are 9 universities offering Aeronautical Engineering course in Malaysia, each producing about 100 graduates? Where are they going to find their jobs? We are not an aeroplane/rocket producing nation?
Well, it has happened to nurses and now pilots and soon, it will be doctors who will be in unemployment list! Many still don’t agree with me when I said it is going to happen, but just wait and see, it will happen.
Graduate pilots hit hard by job shortage
EXCLUSIVE
By RACHAEL KAM, FLORENCE A. SAMY and TEH ENG HOCK
newsdesk@thestar.com.my
//
ABOUT 500 pilots earned their wings and aimed for the sky – only to see their dreams come crashing. The reality is that there are few openings and the job shortage has hit them hard.
Most of these pilots, who graduated from the eight flying schools in the country, have been without a job for between one and two years.
Other developments:
> While the schools produced between 300 and 400 pilots annually in the last five years, their total intake for a year can reach up to 800.
> The biggest airline operator – Malaysia Airlines — only takes in about 100 pilots or so and its priority is its own trainee pilots.
> The problem of surplus pilots will be further compounded when more join the group this year.
> Don’t be idle, take courses to keep flying skills intact, Department of Civil Aviation flight operations director Capt Datuk Yahaya Abdul Rahman tells fresh pilots.
Pagalavan's Avatar 
Ya, saw that in the Star.
Dr, what is your prediction. When the unemployment crisis will happen in medical field?
I heard from my pengarah hospital that they will start screening of Drs starting 2012. I am not sure what he meant by screening? either among the drs who already start working or going to work?
Do you have any ideas on the screening issue, Dr
I predict it will happen by 2015. After that, doctors will end up jobless. Of course the gov will give preference for those with JPA/MARA sponsorship and local public uni grads. The rest will be jobless. I am not sure what screening he is talking about, probably the Medical Licensing Exam for foreign graduates which will be introduced soon, probably by next year.
Yup, I agree … have been saying it for a while now myself. When the proverbial shit hits the fan, the jobs will only be guaranteed for those subsidised (local public uni) or sponsored (MARA, JPA, etc) by the govt. Everyone else will be on their own. Many of these soon-to-be-jobless grads will be graduates from Indonesia, Russia, Eastern Europe, India and the Middle East – essentially countries where you cannot or would not want to work. The rest will be from local private unis. The door to Australia or UK will be closed because they need to pass an exam AND have done housemanship (which will not be possible cos they never got a job in the first place). The USMLE remains an option – but I dare say only 5% of those soon-to-be-jobless will be able to pass the USMLE.
Hai Dr Pagalavan, thanks for sharing your invaluable thoughts here. I am really glad to read your blog.
BTW, I need some advises. Currently, I just finished my housemanship by June last year. And working as MO in one district hospital in Selangor. Supposed to complete my compulsory service by end 2012. But I confused on where should I head on next. I have family commitment (1 daughter+1 soon-to-be) and quite a few loans to settle. I love teaching, but I am not good in socializing. After go through HO and MO, I find myself not in clinical anymore but I feel sad to let my hard-earned MD degree go into waste. I have growing interest in bussiness and money, but my strength are more in fairness/kindness/generosity (U may say I can be good listener). But I see going into lecturer is a gloomy road to take. May you give me some advises? Your help is very much appreciated. 🙂
Dr Pag please feel free to add your thoughts. As someone with a strong interest in teaching as well, it had nothing to do with socialising. Of course, u work with others in a dept just like you do in the clinical side. Depending on the type of teacher you want to be, you may or may not need to do a clinical postgrad. The latter will give you more options in the future. To be taken seriously as a teacher, you shld do a postgrad dip or masters in medical/clinical/health education (different unis call it different names) with or without a clinical postgrad. By the way, being a teacher does not necessarily mean being a research-type academic. To do the latter, you need a clinical postgrad and PhD. Hope this helps a little. Good luck in whichever path u take.
If you are interested in business and money then you may not be able to do be totally fair/kind and generous! That is business! Unless you are very successfull and subsequently want to help people in one way or another. As Nav has said, you need not be good in solializing in order to teach. However I feel that in order for you to become a good doctor, you need to be a very sociable person. It seem that you are not interested in clinical medicine, thus if you want to become a lecturer, you need to look at preclinical field or medical law! In Malaysia, in order for you to become a lecturer in medical faculty, you need postgraduate degree. Postgraduate diploma in medical education is still underdeveloped in Malaysia compared to ther countries such as Australia etc. In Australia even a nurse can go into Medical education and become a Profesor but they don’t usually teach clinical science to the students.
Medical Law is another field that may be in demand in the future. At the moment, if I am not mistaken, UIA/UKM do offer the course. But of course, there is no business or money here. The other option is to become a GP(business, money, generous, kind and can be fair) but many GPs are struggling nowadays.
Nav – Wow. Thanks for your advises. At least some of my doubts has answered. So, I need to do master to be a lecturer. I am thinking of becoming preclinical lecturer, becoz I feel satisfied with making other people happy by answering their questions. So, my job next is to find out how to apply for such program. Hm what abot tutor? How somebody become tutor?
Dr Pagalavan – Thanks a lot for your advises. As you said, I am also thinking that I may not good in bussiness venture. I knew it! 🙂
I want my life to upgrade into better position time by time. So, GP is not really one of the option for the moment. Medical Law is new to me. How is their works? Is it like lawyer, defending and arguing? If it is, then I am really suck in that case. Hehe. I am too kind to accuse somebody.
At least now I got some bird view of how my career would go on next. I think I suit best by being preclinical lecturer.
Thanks a lot. 🙂
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