University work

1. I have interviewedanelder,aged66,and a workingfreshgraduate,aged24,and compared
themintermsof careerdecisionmakingprocesses,careerinfluences, andglobal andlocal labour
marketchanges.These twointervieweesare bothrecentMalaysian migrantswhoare skilled
permanentresidentsinAustralia.However,the differences betweenthemare many.The main
difference isthatwhile the elder,whomIwill call MrE, is a fatherwhosupportsa familylivingin
Melbourne,the graduate,whomIwill call Mr B, isa youngstudent studyingindependentlyin
Brisbane,althoughhisfamilyis alsoinMelbourne.Furthermore, MrE had to passthrougha
generallydifficultrange of circumstancesinhiscareerpath, while MrB had gone throughhiscareer
path withlittle difficulty.
Mr E has a verylongandinterestingstory. MrE wasa babyboomer,bornin KualaLumpur,
Malaysiain1945. In the periodof hischildhood, he livedinatime before the influenceof British
democracy inMalaysia,where fewpeopleownedcars, where few menhadaneducationabove the
secondary level, andwhere veryfewwomenwere educated.Hisfatherwasabutcherinthe Silent
generation,while his uneducatedmotherstayedathome andtookcare of domesticduties. He had
thirteenbrothersandsisters. Atthe age of 21, hisfatherpassedaway. The unfortunate
circumstance causedhimto experience ashortage of finance tocontinue hisuniversityeducation.
He wasplanningtoquitschool and go to workuntil hismotherencouragedhimtocontinue studying
on a studentloan,sothat he couldensure the family’ssurvival andcreate betterprospectsforhis
siblings. He alsostartedgivingprivate tuitiontomake endsmeet. MrE’smother,although
uneducated,handedhimthe responsibilityof ensuringthe family’sfuture prospectssince theirmain
source of income disappeared.Thisexperience causedhimtohighlyvalueeducation, if we consider
Savickas’proposition,“thatindividualsconstructtheircareersbasedonthe meaningtheyimpose
upontheirexperiences. (McMahonandTatham 6)”
Thishighesteemof educationof Mr E’s part informsaseriesof otherdecisionshe makes,
such as duringthe stage when hischildrenare secondaryschoolers.He sendsthemtoAustralia to
studyin internationallyrecognised highlearninginstitutions. The passingawayof Mr E’sfatheralso
causedhimto be resilient,independent,adaptable,anda goodproblemsolver.Hisresilience and
independenceisprovedwhenthe secondsonwasdiagnosedwithabraintumourinearly2011,
where he hadto compromise onhisworkand make time for dutieslike deliveringthe secondsonto
hospital forhischemotherapiesandradiotherapies.Likewise,hisadaptabilityandproblemsolving
skillsisprovedwhenMr.E decidedtostopwork andmigrate to Australiawithhisentire family.The
migrationwascausedbytwo factors.Firstly,he wasunhappywiththe doctorsinMalaysia.There
was one incidentwhereadoctor workinginMalaysiamisdiagnosedhissecondson’slimping

2. symptoms.Thisupsethimconsideringthatafter5 years,hissecondsonhad beendiagnosedwitha
braintumourby the doctors inAustralia.Secondly,hisfirstsonwashavingproblemswithliving
independently.
In the case of Mr B, born 1987, hisfatherwas an academicinthe IT department.Hismother
isalso an academicwhoteachespre-universitystudents.Unlike MrE’s parents,Mr B’s parents
receivededucationinhigherlearninginstitutions.Whilehisfather’sinterestwasphysics,his
mother’sinterestwaschemistry.MrB, however,wasinterestedinbiology. Denyingthathisparents
influencedhiscareerpath,he hasjuststarteddoinghis doctorate in Brisbane andmightconsider
workinginacademiaafterwards. MrB, in contrast, had more freedominconstructinghisown
career.Thisis provenashe describeshiscareerchoice inaveryconstructivistway. Mr B says that he
prefers workinginresearchaftergettinghisdoctorate.He imaginesworkinginindustriesfora
biotechcompany,unlikehisparents.
Mr B. had a door of opportunitytodoctorate inresearchinGriffithUniversity,Brisbane.
Duringthat time,he hadto decide whetherhe couldlive independently.He decidedtogosince it
wouldtrainhimto live independentlyaswell.ThisdemonstratesthatMr.B is adaptable tochanges
and isalsointerestedinhisownself-developmentasmuchas hisparentsare.Furthermore,Mr B is
aware of the manyskillshe haslearntfromthe OverseasChristianFellowshipClub(OCF),whichwas
affiliatedtoMonashUniversitycampusesinAustralia. He saysthatit gave hima “space outside his
studies”,demonstratingthathe knew how tobalance workandleisure.MrB hadmany skillspicked
up fromthe experienceof servingthe Christianclub,includingtime andeventmanagement,
leadership,relational andproblemsolving skills.
There are manychangesinthe labourmarket,both globallyandlocally,whichcausedmany
Malaysianmigrantslike Mr E and Mr B to workor studyinAustralia.Firstly, Since Australiahadan
underpopulatedworkforce,andwiththe fearof the bigtilt,theywelcomedmigrantslikeMrB and
hiswife whocan contribute tothe workforce andthe Australianeconomy (Salt).Secondly,the
statutoryretirementage inAustraliais65,whereasitis55 inMalaysia.Thismightbe a contributing
factor as to whythe parents of bothfamilieschose tomigrate toAustralia,sothattheystill can
contribute tofamily’soverall finance intheiroldage. Thirdly,the global financial crisisthatinvolved
an increase inglobal unemploymentrate mighthave contributedtothe cause of parentssending
theirchildrentostudy overseas.Thisisunderscoredbythe fact youthin the SouthEast Asianregion
are 4.7 timesmore likelytobe unemployedthanadults (International LabourOffice x).Althoughthe
parentsof both families didnotintendtoseekbetterworkprospectsin Australia,theywouldstill
have a higherchance of employmentthantheir SouthEastAsiancounterparts. Because both of

3. themare Malaysian-bornChinese,theirmultilingual abilitiesandtheirfairproficiencyinEnglish
givesthema significantadvantage.Forinstance, forthe fourquarterstoFebruary2011, while
Malaysiahas a lowunemployabilityrate of approximately3.5%,Vietnamhas anunemployability
rate of approximately6.7%(AustralianGovernment2).
There are manyreasonsa Malaysianwill migrate toAustraliaforworkor study.There isa
general understandingthatMalaysians,especiallythe babyboomers,dothisbecause theyvalue
education.While the Malaysianbabyboomersare happythattheirsonsand daughters can freely
choose theircareerpathways,theymightprefertosettle downandfocusonbuildingtheir
Children’scareers,insteadof theirown.
References:
AustralianGovernment,Australian LabourMarketUpdate(April2011). Departmentof Education,
EmploymentandWorkplace Relations,April 2011. Web.9 Aug.2011. <
http://www.deewr.gov.au/Employment/ResearchStatistics/Documents/ALMU_April2011.pdf>
ILO (InternationalLabourOffice), GlobalEmploymentTrends2011: The challenge of a jobsrecovery.
International LabourOrganization,2011. Web.9 Aug.2011. [ISBN 978-92-2-124546-9]
McMahon, Mary, and PeterTatham. CareerMore than justa job. CICA (CareerIndustryCouncil of
Australia),2008. Web.9 Aug.2011. [ISBN 978-0-9758070-2-6]
Salt,Bernard. Baby boomto baby bust. The Australian,28 May 2011. Web.9 Aug.2011. <
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/baby-boom-to-baby-bust/story-fn59niix-
1226064006938>