Career counselling: questions and answers

Q1: Respected sir, I got 75% marks in FSc Pre-Engineering and a year has passed. I have planned to study more but don’t have information about institutions/ universities. I request you to please give me your expert advice about what is best for me to study onwards? (Saadia Siddique, Sargodha)

Ans: Dear Saadia, you need to make a decision on your own in the first place as to what you wish to study, whether you want to study in Pakistan or abroad. This definitely depends on your family circumstance, your financial background and your current place of residence if you choose to study at a Pakistani university. In case you wish to select a university abroad then all these things become very important before advice can be given to you. Once you give me your answers to the above question only then I can help you in finding a suitable degree and university for you.

Q2: Sir, l did Masters in Business Administration (HR) and my CGPA was 2.68. Now I want to do a job. I would appreciate it if you could please guide me as to which can be the best career for me in future? (Tasneem Ansar Qureshi, Karachi)

Ans: Dear Miss Tasneem, on the basis of your MBA with a specialisation in HR; I recommend that you choose a career within the human resource domain. While you can focus on HR you may be able to use your management skills to learn more about management decision-making, marketing, finance and other aspects of business. If unfortunately, you face problems in finding a suitable and relevant job, I suggest that you do an internship paid or unpaid and once you have a hands-on experience your career opportunities will be enhanced in future.

Q3: Respected Mr Abidi, I am studying in the 2nd semester of the Industrial Department from National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad. I have now got admission on a scholarship from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore. I would appreciate if you could help me and suggest

if I should continue

my studies in NUST.

Or do you think I should study at LUMS? (Hameedullah Janjua, Okara) Ans: Dear Mr Janjua, I know that LUMS is a high ranking university and if they are offering a scholarship to you, in my opinion this might be a difficult decision. Depending on your circumstances you can decide better. Certainly, my choice would be LUMS.

Q4: I used to read your columns in Jang Group and I am glad to see the way you guide people. I want to get guidance too. I did Masters in Human Resource Management (HRM) in 2017-2019 from University of the Punjab. After that I did teaching in an American school in UAE, but I really want to proceed in the Human Resource field. Now I'm coming back to Pakistan and need to know what I should do.? (Shandana Gull, KSA)

Ans: Dear Miss Gull, HRM is a very vast field within the business domain. It is particularly suited to the female gender if they do this with interest and passion. I am sure once you return to Pakistan and apply for a job at good multinational organizations you will at least get a startup position. If not, don't be disappointed and look for a good internship in HRM and once you get into a workplace environment you will find many opportunities to move forward and to better understand which area is best for you. Best of luck with your future plans.

(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).