Lecturer, Physics
Education
Teach courses pertaining to the laws of matter and energy. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Picture the job
Where you'd usually workA lecture hall
- Mostly indoors
- Sitting for most of the day
- Dealing with customers or the public
- Regular working hours
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
Physics lecturers in Malaysia teach at university science faculties and also serve large numbers of engineering and pre-university students (Matriculation, Asasi, foundation). Pure physics degree programmes are relatively small here, so a lot of the teaching load is service courses for other programmes.
- How people get into it here
- SPM → STPM/Matriculation/Foundation/Diploma → Bachelor's in Physics or Applied Physics → 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
Entry straight after SPM
2
SPM + sijil / short TVET course
3
Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)
4
Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)
Typical entry
Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route
How to get here
Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.
Matriculation
One or two years, heavily subsidised with allowance. Competitive, quota-based entry.
Asasi / Foundation
One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.
IPG (Teacher Training)
Explore KPM's teacher-training route. Check current funding and apply through KPM's PISMP portal, not UPUOnline.
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.
Quick answers
How do you become a Lecturer, Physics in Malaysia?
SPM → STPM/Matriculation/Foundation/Diploma → Bachelor's in Physics or Applied Physics → 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, Physics?
Related fields of study: Education and Science. SPM subjects that help most: Additional Mathematics, Mathematics, Physics and English.
How much does a Lecturer, Physics 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.
Also known as
What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.
Subjects that matter here
The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.
What you'd need to know
The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.
- Mathematics96%
Additional MathematicsMathematics
- Physics90%
Physics
- Education and Training88%
- English Language84%
English
- Computers and Electronics78%
Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies
- Chemistry68%
Chemistry
Tools you'd use
Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.
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
- Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
- Leading or coordinating othersVery high
- Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
- Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
- Noisy environmentAlmost never
- Time spent sittingMost of the time
Where this job is heading
Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.
- Review articles to determine their suitability for publication.
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.
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.
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.
What beginner adverts asked for
We read 8 internship and fresh-graduate adverts in related fields (August 2026). A small sample from one job site, not every vacancy.
5 of 8 were internships
Minimum CGPA asked
3.00 to 3.00
Stated in 2 adverts. Others did not state one.
Languages named
Bahasa Malaysia
An empty line means the adverts did not say, not that employers have no requirement. Check each employer's own advert before you plan around it.
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: Physics 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