Career counselling: questions and answers

Q1: Dear Mr Abidi, I did two masters i.e., MA Social Anthropology and MA English Literature. Can you please suggest what I should do apart from teaching or research (PhD)? Any kind of diplomas or specialist subjects at master level which you think would help to secure a good job?

(Sania Zaman Khan, Peshawar)

Ans: Dear Miss Sania, after going through your academic background I can say that you have an ideal combination of subjects at master level. In my opinion, you can look for jobs at school /college levels for teaching. Moreover, you can consider doing a PhD in Anthropology which is a very emerging and popular subject area, especially for women. Furthermore, some specialist areas which I would recommend you to consider doing at the research level include poverty alleviation, development studies, gender studies, etc. These are all very high-in-demand subjects for organisations like UNDP, UNO and UNESCO etc.

Q2: Dear Sir, I’m currently a student of BBA and do not wish to do a masters in Finance after this degree. Right now my 6th semester is in process. Let me know what should I study in future and regarding any short courses? Also note that I’m not willing to do any kind of bank-related job. My GPA is 3.2. (Jaleel Nazeer, Lahore)

Ans: Dear Jaleel, as you are currently in your bachelor's degree, you have many options to consider as a specialist subject area whether in HR, Marketing or Strategic/ Information Management. As you mentioned you are not interested in doing a Finance degree; therefore, you can choose one of the above-mentioned specialist areas as a masters but it depends on which specialist subject you are more interested in. However, you must understand that doing a finance degree does not mean that you are bound or restricted to only bank-related jobs.

Q3: Dear Mr Abidi, I did a master's in English this year. I would be grateful if you can guide me on where to apply for a job after such a degree?

(Naghmana Fazal Lodhi, Multan)

Ans: Dear Naghmana, there are many options which you can choose from after a master’s in English, especially in teaching English Language. You only have to get some training material for competitive exams like TOEFL/IELTS. Thereafter, you can apply for jobs as a teacher at different academies/ schools.

Q4: Respected Sir, I wish to pursue an aircraft engineering degree from a recognised university in Dubai. Can you please let me know which one of the institutions is offering such a degree and is it recognised?

(Furqan Muzaffar, Karachi)

Ans: Dear Furqan, you didn’t mention your current qualification. However, please note that all universities or degree awarding institutions in UAE are recognised /accredited by their ministry of higher education http://www.uaecd.org/ministry-higher-education-and-scientific-research (mohesr), which you may visit for further information. I see that you have chosen a specialised subject area like aeronautical engineering or aircraft engineering. Therefore, please note that you have to have a strong grip on Math and Physics

(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).