Explore Careers, Choose Course

What do you know about yourself?

Many students are clueless what to do after secondary school.

You’ll receive all sorts of advice, whether it’s from family, friends, or acquaintances.

Some seem helpful, while some are too generic to be able to benefit you.

So what can you do then?

Follow this method as we guide you to choose the right course to study after SPM.

One way to understand yourself better is to take personality tests.

These give you a good idea of what you are capable of and what career suits you best.

So where do you begin?

We recommend that you try any of these 3 personality tests:

• Big Five: It examines personalities by looking at openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, each on a continuous scale. This test is particularly useful to better understand yourself and how to get along with others as well.
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: This test is based on Isabel Briggs Myers’ and Carl Jung’s personality type theory. Through this test you will be able to identify your personality type that is made up of 1 preferred quality from 4 categories.
• Holland Code: The Holland Code, also known as the RIASEC, uses six areas of interest—building, thinking, creating, helping, persuading, and organising, to determine future careers and fields of study that are likely to satisfy you.

Now that you know your personality type and the career that is more likely to satisfy you, let’s look at how to choose the right course.

In early 2022 we conducted a survey on 31,000 SPM 2021 students. 

We looked at what they wanted to study and came up with a top 10 list.

Top 10 Preferred Fields of Study for SPM 2021 Students

• Medicine and Allied Health Sciences
• Business
• Accounting and Finance
• Computing and IT
• Engineering
• Language and Social Studies
• Law
• Communication and Media Studies
• Science and Mathematics
• Education

Careers Associated with the Top 10 Fields of Study

Medicine and Allied Health Sciences: The more common careers are doctors, nurses, biomedical scientists, and researchers.

Business: The more popular careers are entrepreneurs, marketing managers, sales managers, and management consultants.

Accounting and Finance: The common careers are accountants, auditors, financial advisors, finance managers, and controllers.

Computing and IT: The top careers are programmer, web developer, software engineer, systems analyst, and data analyst.

Engineering: Popular careers in engineering are civil engineer, mechanical engineer, chemical engineer, electrical engineer and electronics engineer.

Language and Social Studies: Common careers include teacher, translator, interpreter, psychologist, sociologist, political scientist, and social worker.

Law: Aside from being a lawyer, some of the common careers in law are paralegal, legal executive, judge, mediator, and counsel.

Communication and Media Studies: Common careers are PR executives, journalist, broadcaster, editor, and film/video editors.

Education: Common careers are teacher, training & Development executive, HR specialist, and school administrators.

At this point you should pause and take one of the personality tests.

But which can help you identify the career that will suit you best?

Out of the 3 we have introduced earlier, the Holland Code gives you a better insight into what careers you are most suitable for.

Once you’ve completed the quiz you will be given a 3-letter code. Each letter indicates an ideal vocational personality type.

For instance, if you have the letter S at the beginning of your code, you are likely to have a dominant “Helper” personality type.

A “Helper” type tends to like working and communicating with people. Careers associated with this include teacher, counsellor, and nurse.

For the career paths that you have shortlisted, find someone who is currently working in the field that you want and speak with them.

Ask them about their experience in university, job search and the first year on the job. If at all possible, shadow them at work so that you get a clear idea of what you’ll be doing if you choose the same career.

Now that you know what sort of careers potentially suit you best, it’s time to match that with the field of study along with the courses that you are considering.

Based on the Holland Code (“Conventional”), you know that you are suitable for careers that deal with numbers and details with a set procedure and routine. 

Some of the degree courses that involve you working with numbers and details in a set procedure or routine include Accounting, Actuarial Science, and Data Science.

Here’s a general guide on the top 10 fields of study and its corresponding Holland Code:

• Medicine and Allied Health Sciences: Realistic, Investigative, Social, and Conventional
• Business: Enterprising and Conventional
• Accounting and Finance: Conventional
• Computing and IT: Realistic and Investigative
• Engineering: Realistic and Investigative
• Language and Social Studies: Artistic and Social
• Law: Realistic, Investigative, Social, and Enterprising 
• Communication and Media Studies: Realistic, Artistic, Social, and Enterprising
• Science and Mathematics: Realistic and Investigative
• Education: Artistic and Social

Do note that the combination of letters will give you more career options so be sure to read through your results to better understand it.

Now that you know the courses that you are considering, it’s time to do in-depth research on your shortlisted courses.

Read our in-depth course guides

We have prepared comprehensive guides on popular courses, so that students like you can learn more about what each course entails e.g.

• Course overview
• Study pathways to degree
• General entry requirements
• Universities to consider
• Potential career paths

The course guides are listed in full below:

Business & Commerce

• Accounting
• Actuarial Science
• Business Management
• Business Studies
• Economics
• Finance
• Hospitality Management

Health Sciences

• Biomedical Science
• Dentistry
• Medicine
• Nursing
• Pharmacy

Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM)

• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Information Technology
• Software Engineering

Creative Industry

• Game Design
• Graphic and Multimedia Design
• Mass Communication

Law & Liberal Arts

• Early Childhood Education
• Law
• Psychology
• TESL

Built Environment

• Architecture
• Interior Design
• Quantity Surveying

If the courses that you’re interested in are not listed above or you still have any doubts, do not hesitate to drop us a message. Our counsellors will gladly schedule an online meeting with you to answer your enquiries.

Browse the courses on unienrol.com

Just head on to unienrol.com and use the navigation search menu to find the courses that you are interested in.

By browsing through the course listing and the course detail pages, you will get a sense of:

• Universities and colleges. Some institutions may not offer the courses that you want. Do you have to move across towns or states for your studies?
• Tuition fees. Easily check the course fees across 100+ universities in Malaysia and abroad. Are most universities within your budget? If not, then you need to have better awareness of the applicable PTPTN and scholarships.
• Entry requirements. Top-tier or foreign universities likely have higher academic requirements for entry. Are you confident that you can achieve the grades necessary?
• Course syllabus. You should have an idea of the different topics that will be taught for your desired course. Note that this differs by institutions. Is the course content align with your expectations and interest?

Once the above consideration factors are clear, hopefully you have a better gauge of which courses are more feasible and suitable than others.