03-05-2025
#NSTviral: Top SPM scorers should skip medicine 'if they seek high salary', says surgeon in TikTok post
KUALA LUMPUR: A Penang doctor has warned Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) top scorers not to pursue medicine if their goal is to earn a high income.
In a TikTok post that has since gone viral, surgeon Dr Abdul Gafoor Mubarak said that doctors would face limited career prospects in the future as the field becomes saturated.
"To those who scored straight As, do not pursue medicine this year. Why? In a few years, the number of doctors in Malaysia will be high.
"Prospects of getting a job will be tougher, and the opportunity to specialise will be more difficult.
"Not being a specialist usually means you won't earn much," he said in a TikTok post.
He said medicine was a good choice when he was younger, as opportunities were vast, sharing that his class had only eight students.
He advised the top scorers to pursue fields in Artificial Intelligence (AI), analytics, accounting, actuarial sciences, and finance management if their goal was to earn a high income.
The post has since garnered over 179,000 views on TikTok.
"My advice is consistent with the times.
"For now, and for the next 10 years, the prospects for medicine aren't looking good. Maybe it will change," he lamented in the comments section after the post sparked discourse among netizens.
Nonetheless, he encouraged those who were passionate to pursue their dreams.
However, user @ecah_lapa opined differently."My Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) teacher always encouraged us to take medicine because Malaysia doesn't have enough specialists. If there are many (doctors) in the future, it's possible to specialise overseas; it's not that difficult. Medicine is important in Malaysia," the user said.
Nonetheless, user @sanidehas said that being a doctor was a noble profession and would help people both in the real world and the afterlife.
