Career counselling: questions and answers

Q1: Dear Mr Abidi, you are a specialist in education counselling. Therefore, I thought I should get your advice as to which of the institutions/ colleges are best for Engineering in Karachi? I recently passed Matric and achieved 90% marks. (Zarnab Rahman Qureshi, Karachi)

Ans: Dear Student, there is a large number of institutions in Karachi and a very good number of engineering colleges. I don’t know what kind of college you are thinking of and it also depends on where you live in such a big city of Karachi. I think you should visit the institutions yourself. I suggest you should check DHA Degree College for Women, Govt Islamia College Jamshed Town, or Govt College for Women, Gulberg. I hope the above information will help you in making a good decision.

Q2: Dear sir, I attended one of your seminars on foreign scholarships and some of the websites I have visited that you mentioned in your presentation. But unfortunately, I can’t apply for these scholarships during my bachelor’s degree like Commonwealth, Chevening and Fulbright. Right now I’m studying my final semester and hope that you can suggest some good scholarships for MS or MPhil. (Shiza Tanvir, Lahore)

Ans: Dear Shiza, please note that scholarships are of different types, values and categories. You may be able to avail full scholarships, partial or for maintenance etc. I would advise that once you pass your bachelor's you should send your transcripts/ grades. One of my colleagues from the scholarship division will then be able to evaluate and assess your documents and then only we can give your proper guidelines and suggestions for scholarships according to your academic results and will also explain the criteria.

Q3: Dear sir, I am doing ICS and I’m in my 2nd year. Please guide me on what I should do after completion of my ICS? (Taufeeq Wahaab, Sargodha)

Ans: Dear Taufeeq, I don’t know what percentage you are expecting in your ICS final exam as you didn’t mention anything about it. However, the following are good options: BS Artificial Intelligence, BS Information Technology, BS Computational Physics, Robotics, Embedded Systems & Control Engineering.

Q4: Respected Mr Abidi, I passed my SSC (Matric), with 91% marks while I secured 80% marks in my FSC (Pre-Medical). Now in my BBA, my CGPA is 3.52. I’m right now in my 7th semester with a major in finance. I’m doing it from Punjab University but I am not clear, rather confused whether I should do a Master’s in Business Administration (Finance) or Master’s in some other subject? Furthermore, please also guide me for the career scope? I’m willing to do freelance work/business related to finance. Therefore, I need your suggestions for some relevant degree. (Fehmeeda Zakariya, Sahiwal)

Ans: Dear student, your results clearly show that you worked hard and now your CGPA is also good. Finance is a very important subject area within the business and management domain. I tell you that it offers huge opportunities for career development both in Stocks and Trading and Financial Management. Both public and private sector financial institutions normally look for experts in financial management especially those with knowledge of Financial Risks, Econometrics and Actuarial Science. This is why I would suggest that you should do an MSc in Finance & Accounting, Financial Risk Management or Finance and Economics. You can do any of these which is available in your home town institution. I’m sure choosing one of these will give you better future career opportunities.

(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).