Career counselling; questions and answers

Q1: My son is doing BS Material Engineering with specialisation in Nanotechnology. At the moment, he is in his first year. Kindly guide me the scope of nanotechnology in Pakistan. I want him to specialise other branch of Material Engineering i.e. manufacturing which he can switch at the start of his second year. What do you recommend, should he continue with nanotechnology or he should change? (Anwar Zafar – Karachi)Ans: Nanotechnology is a key to the success of technological advancement especially when we enter 2020. Sooner or later areas of research will be established in Pakistan which will involve the use of nanotechnology and the most positive opportunity could be through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects which would engage all kinds of technology in various projects. However, manufacturing engineering is also a very upcoming and emerging area where job opportunities exist and the choice is yours.

Q2: I am in first year of my A-Levels and my subject combination is Biology, Chemistry and Physics. I am confused about quite a few things. First, I plan on going in the field of Bio but I certainly don't want to be a doctor. I prefer Biotechnology, Genetics and similar fields. Please tell me if it's alright for me to apply in this field because I am really interested. Also, I need to know about the scope of these fields here and abroad too. Please suggest me other fields too. (Zainab Zulfikar – Sahiwal)

Ans: Biology with combination of chemistry and physics is an ideal subject mix that would lead you to any of the following degrees that are meant for 2020 and are known as emerging subject areas: Cellular biology, genetic engineering, microbiology with biochemistry and biotechnology. These are in order of priority which means cellular biology would be the best which will give you an opportunity to work alongside doctors in medical research, virology and immunology. Researchers are busy finding cure to existing viruses and diseases such as Bird flu, Swine flu, Dengue, Zika virus, Ebola, Cancer and much work has to be done so the opportunities are unlimited. If you are good at biology go ahead and you will be successful.

Q3: I have done B-Tech (Hons) Electrical and I want to take admission in MBA. But I am confuse that which specialisation should I choose with reference to my B-Tech electrical? (Munawwar Zafar – Bahawalpur)

\Ans: My suggestion to you is to find a job or internship in your area of expertise that is electrical technology or perhaps power generation, transmission, communication etc. I would suggest you to work for some years before topping up your qualification with a management degree such as MBA. This will help you build your future on a strong footing.

Q4: I am regular reader of your question answer column, my daughter is doing BS honors in English from University in Sialkot and she is in seventh semester. So far she is having CGPA 3.55. For MPhil, she wants to get admission in English. Furthermore, can you give information, are there any foreign universities which offer scholarships for doing MPhil in English. (Rashid Ishaq – Sialkot)

Ans: I am sure your daughter must have done some research for choosing a university for her MPhil. I would recommend Government College University, Lahore which has a strong English department. I can see that your daughter is performing well and if she maintains her CGPA at 3.5 and above she has a good chance of qualifying for a scholarship at a foreign university perhaps 50% or maybe 100% tuition fee. 

(Syed Azhar Husnain Abidi is a renowned educationist in Pakistan, with more than 20 years of experience as provider of education counselling services. He has represented Pakistan in over 100 national and international seminars, conferences and fora. He is the recipient of the most coveted civil award Tamgha-e-Imtiaz).