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Lecturer, Agricultural Sciences

Education

Teach courses in the agricultural sciences. Includes teachers of agronomy, dairy sciences, fisheries management, horticultural sciences, poultry sciences, range management, and agricultural soil conservation. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

EducationAgriculture

Picture the job

Where you'd usually workA lecture hall

  • Partly outdoors
  • Sitting for most of the day

An illustration of a typical workplace, not a photo. The work-style notes come from US O*NET data, so read them as a guide.

In Malaysia

In Malaysia most agriculture lecturers work at public universities with agriculture faculties (UPM is the largest, plus UMK, UniSZA, UiTM and UMS) or at polytechnics and agricultural institutes. Teaching leans towards tropical crops such as oil palm, rubber and paddy, and many lecturers also run funded research with agencies like MARDI or MPOB.

How people get into it here
SPM → STPM/Matriculation/Foundation/Diploma → Bachelor's in Agricultural Science (or agronomy, plantation, agribusiness, aquaculture) → Master's (minimum for a DS11 public-university post) → PhD (strongly preferred; needed for Senior Lecturer and above)

Sources:pengambilancns.uitm.edu.myperlis.uitm.edu.myappsmu.ukm.myspp.gov.my

Pay in Malaysia

Government starting pay

RM3,320 – RM3,650

per month

Senior grade

RM6,210 – RM14,370

per month

Official basic pay for the government grade, before allowances. Private-sector pay can differ.

UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA) · Dec 2025

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. Typical entry

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationDoctoral degree
The full route to this careerThe steps from school, UPU programmes and sourced costs, read against your answers.

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

IPG (Teacher Training)

Explore KPM's teacher-training route. Check current funding and apply through KPM's PISMP portal, not UPUOnline.

~5 years
Compare routes against your results and interests

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

Quick answers

How do you become a Lecturer, Agricultural Sciences in Malaysia?

SPM → STPM/Matriculation/Foundation/Diploma → Bachelor's in Agricultural Science (or agronomy, plantation, agribusiness, aquaculture) → Master's (minimum for a DS11 public-university post) → PhD (strongly preferred; needed for Senior Lecturer and above).

What should I study to become a Lecturer, Agricultural Sciences?

Related fields of study: Education and Agriculture. SPM subjects that help most: Biology, Additional Science, English and Business.

How much does a Lecturer, Agricultural Sciences earn in Malaysia?

The official pay scale put starting pay at RM3,320 – RM3,650 a month, and RM6,210 – RM14,370 with experience (source: UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA), Dec 2025).

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
  2. 2Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
  3. 3Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
  4. 4Supervise laboratory sessions and field work and coordinate laboratory operations.
  5. 5Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as crop production, plant genetics, and soil chemistry.
  6. 6Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
  7. 7Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
  8. 8Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  9. 9Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
  10. 10Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
  11. 11Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  12. 12Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
  13. 13Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.
  14. 14Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  15. 15Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  16. 16Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
  17. 17Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and laboratory equipment.
  18. 18Act as advisers to student organizations.
  19. 19Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
  20. 20Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
  21. 21Participate in campus and community events.
  22. 22Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.
  23. 23Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Professor
  • Instructor
  • Faculty Member
  • Farm Instructor
  • Agronomy Teacher
  • Pomology Teacher
  • College Professor
  • Adjunct Instructor
  • Agronomy Professor
  • Farm Crops Teacher

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BiologyDraws directly on Biology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional ScienceDraws directly on Biology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
BusinessDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EconomicsDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Biology86%

    BiologyAdditional Science

  • Education and Training83%
  • English Language79%

    English

  • Administration and Management78%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Customer and Personal Service72%
  • Food Production70%

    AgricultureHome Science (SRT)

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Leading or coordinating othersHigh
  • Handling conflict situationsRarely
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never
  • Time spent sittingMost of the time
  • Time spent standingA little

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points, not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

44%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023, already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.00%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job, and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary

Source: UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA) · as of Dec 2025

Check the salary figures yourself:UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA)

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org