Thread by @zaidomar18

Pensyarah kerap dianggap sbg the quintessential golongan keje makan gaji. Hanya lecturing, research, supervise students.. gaji masuk. Tp tahukah anda sebenarnya golongan pensyarah antara paling aktif buat side hustle for extra income? And no not jual Tupperware or drive Grab.
🧵

Let me spill the tea on how we lecturers earn our side income.

A caveat - ramai je lecturers yg tak buat the stuff below and live happily within their means. And those yang buat pun, it's not so much about the money, but the opportunity for career development,...

..the passion to contribute, and the independence afforded to lecturers to manage our own time. Surprisingly I see little of this culture in other job sectors (I might be wrong though).

Anyway, here we go!

1. Research Grant
Ni paling basic kot. Geran samada drp govt, industri atau international bodies can vary a lot for a lecturer, with average maybe RM50k a year. Ofkos jumlah ni bukanlah masuk poket sendiri tp utk bayar research assistant, beli supplies, kos jurnal, data etc.

But sometimes, the grant also allows us to buy a computer. And provides funding to travel to conferences and meetings. Ini bukanlah extra income per se tapi ia tetap membantu menampung perbelanjaan. Dapat hadir renowned events sambil melawat negeri orang, all expenses covered.

2. Part-time Teaching
Ni ikut inisiatif pensyarah sendiri utk mencari peluang. Ada bbrp kolej swasta yg mmg pakai part-time lecturers sbb ia lebih cost-effective. Paling famous OUM dan Wawasan kot.

Kami di UTM pula agak bertuah sbb ada UTMSPACE during weekends, di mana silibus dan sistem mmg sama dgn program perdana. Tiap sem berebut jugak la nak mengajar subjek tambahan SPACE, sbb elaun boleh tahan (RM6-8k per sem). Dulu lg syok, boleh travel ke kelas2 SPACE dan dpt elaun.

3. Consultancy
Ni agak similar dgn research grant in a sense we're helping to solve a practical problem, bezanya consultancy ni kita beri khidmat atas kepakaran kita dan dibayar terus. Kira mcm service provider-client relationship lah.

Khidmat ni ada pelbagai jenis based on various disciplines, ada yg buat short course, training & workshop, ada buat testing & measurement, ada buat proofreading (technical content, not just language), ada yg develop system, ada develop modul. Bayaran tu boleh runding terus..

..you're paid what you're worth. Since it is so, maka expectation and deliverables pun tinggi juga lah. Ikut pengalaman, ada rakan2 saya yg dpt consultant fees RM10k per project.

4. Pakar Rujuk
Bab ni reserved utk yg benar2 layak je kot, kira otai dlm bidang mereka. National and international level recognition. So you don't look for jobs, but jobs will find you. Ada pensyarah/profesor dilantik sbg ahli lembaga pengarah, panel kebangsaan, jawatankuasa.

Most ada provide elaun (at least elaun travelling). Selain tu kerja2 spt thesis examiner dan expert panel member juga dibayar lumayan oleh pihak universiti dan badan luar.

5. Community & Societal Engagement
This is my favourite part. Lecturers sebenarnya ada byk freedom to explore and contribute to society. Mmg 10% of our annual KPI is dedicated to khidmat masyarakat. Paling popular adalah penglibatan dlm professional societies,..

..cth dlm engineering ada IEEE, IEM, IChemE etc. Some roles, positions and activities come with a small compensation for their efforts. Saya juga suka explore beyond that, and have since found my calling in #ScienceCommunication bersama British Council dan YSN-ASM.

Alhmdlh byk juga dijemput beri talks and workshops on science outreach seluruh negara, with honorarium provided. I enjoyed wonderful other perks too!

6. Competitions & Awards
Ada juga peluang masuk innovation expo mcm Seoul SIIF and ITEX, with handsome prize money kalau ada rezeki menang. Also, skills-based comps mcm hackathons dan FameLab which I've been involved in since 2015. Prize money? Back then it was RM3k.

7. Publishing Incentives
Selain tu, most univs juga sediakan galakan & insentif penerbitan bg tujuan increase cummulative research footprint dan naikkan ranking univ. Pensyarah yg berjaya publish dlm jurnal ISI, diberi honorarium RM1-3k per article.

Begitulah life kami sbg lecturer. Agak meriah dan varied juga kan - you can make as much as you're willing to hustle & commit. Nak life yg more laidback pun takde masalah.  Yg penting sume kerja2 di atas iA tak mengganggu tugas hakiki pensyarah - mengajar kuliah dan SV students.