Recently, the world was shocked over the death of 39 migrants at the back of a lorry in Essex, England. The victims were believed to be mostly Vietnamese and died of suffocation while being trapped in the metal container. It is believed that they had travelled thousands of kilometres from their homeland in search of better job opportunities but were preyed on by greedy human traffickers.

Humans are known to go to great extremes in search of a better life. Most Chinese and Indians in Malaysia are descendents of migrants from China and India who left in search of a better future. Many risked lives and limbs in doing so.

Contrast this with the current state in Malaysia. Young people are becoming more picky about the jobs they take up. Some fresh graduates feel that it is demeaning for them to take up blue-collar work and they rather live off their parents than being gainfully employed.

The container where the migrants were found dead.

 

But thankfully, not all are averse to taking up jobs that are “beneath” them. According to a recent report in a local English daily, an engineering graduate were among those employed as a road sweeper and drain cleaner in Penang. While he felt awkward at first, he’s now gotten used to this and his take home pay is higher than that of a fresh graduate.

Just because one has been trained in a particular field doesn’t mean that one cannot venture beyond that. I was legally trained but ended up as an entrepreneur. Venturing outside our comfort zones means being able to look at things from a fresh perspective. For starters, fresh graduates should not be so choosy when it comes to finding jobs. It may be their best career move ever.