Career counselling: Questions and answers

Q1: Dear Mr Abidi, I am a Pakistani student of Bachelor of Business & Commerce at Australian university. After this degree, I wish to do a Master in Professional Accounting from Australia. I passed O and A level plus a few papers of ACCA. I also have a HND in Business and Management from the UK. (Arjumand Rashid, Lahore)

Ans: Dear Arjumand, it seems you have already done a degree from an Australian university. The best option will be to send them your full CV and seek their advice. You may be eligible for certain exemptions and only they can tell you to go about doing your professional qualification or opt for a particular master’s programme.

Q2: Dear Sir, I have done BE Electronics from Iqra University, Islamabad, with CGPA 2.67. Can you please tell me which subject I should choose for doing an MSc and from which institution? How can I get a scholarship for foreign study? (Engr Hafiz Turrab Saeed Qadri, Islamabad)

Ans: Dear Turrab, I would strongly recommend that you look at doing your Postgraduate in Telecommunications or Control Systems with this CGPA you are looking towards Eastern European Countries such as Hungry, Latvia and Sweden. All offer very affordable fees and living conditions and the medium of teaching is English. Following your graduation you have promising chances of getting a work permit if you do well.

Q3: Dear Mr Abidi, I have done my FSc from Chanab College, Islamabad, with 718/1100 marks i.e. 65 percent. I have got some interest in biology and I want to do a BS in Biology or something similar. I wanted to know in which field I should go or which one is best for me? Also I wanted to know which university is best for these subjects. (Shanzay Memon, Karachi)

Ans: Dear Shanzay, keeping in view your academic qualification and interest, I suggest you should choose from one of Biology’s emerging sub specialisms including Biochemistry, Medical Microbiology etc. I think UK would be a better destination.

Q4: Dear Sir, I’m currently completing my BS Hons in Biology and I’m looking towards doing a postgraduate degree. Can you please advise me on an emerging sub-specialisation? (Muhammad Anwaar ul Haque Bosan, Multan).

Ans: Dear Mr Bosan, there are several specialisms that you can opt for after completing your BS Hons in Biological Sciences. However, the two most prominent and emerging areas would be molecular Biology or Genetics. Both of these courses can be combined with Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Pathology which you can then look at doing a further PhD and your research.

(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 a recipient of the most coveted civil award Tamgha-e-Imtiaz).