Career counselling: answers and questions

Q1: I have completed MSc (Hons) Development Economics. Please guide me should I apply for PhD now or I should do some short computer course? Kindly suggest me which courses will be beneficial for me? (Farrukh Zafar - Karachi)

Ans: I will advise you to find an internship in case that you are finding difficult to get a job. Sometimes internships without a salary help you engage with the work environment and help to develop contacts that ultimately connect you to a job opportunity. An internship is also a good way to gain relevant experience. Internships are available in Pakistan and internationally for which you need to browse Internet regularly.

Q2: I am student of MBBS and want to do CSS because I am not interested to do clinical neither FCPS. I will do CSS either I would apply for PhD. You are requested to guide me further. (Naila Iftikhar - Lahore)

Ans: I strongly feel that you should complete your MBBS, house job and then do a bit of practice to gain hands-on experience before shifting towards CSS or a PhD degree. Please understand that you have spent many years in completing a degree and you deserve to benefit from the hard work that you have done before opting to look at ventures like CSS etc.

Q3: I am an electrical engineer and working in a leading oil and gas company as trainee engineer. The core of this industry is petroleum engineering and I want to work as a petroleum engineer. Please suggest me that if I do Masters in this area then will I fit somewhere good in this field? (Ali Farhan - Lahore)

Ans: There are a number of courses that will give you more options within the Oil and Gas Industry and you can certainly do Masters in any of these fields. However, if you gain more than three years of experience and do a good IELTS of 6.5 or above then you could look at doing an MBA in Oil and Gas offered by different international universities which will open up huge prospects for you in future.

Q4: I am a student of FSc (Pre-medical) group and I got 91 percent marks but couldn't perform in entrance test. I can easily afford to take admission in private medical college (MMDC, Multan). On the other hand, there is also a chance for me to repeat the entrance test. I am confused what to do whether I should take admission in private sector or I should repeat. You are requested to guide me the right path. (Fahad Akhter- Multan) 

Ans: If you are confident by repeating the entrance test you will make it then you may wait. However, all HEC and PMDC approved MBBS courses are similar and if you do well in your first professional year you may request for a migration which is based on either mutual agreement between two private universities or due to vacancies in public sector universities in year two where students leave to opt out of the course. In both cases do not waste time.  

(Syed Azhar Husnain Abidi is a renowned educationist in Pakistan, with more than 20 years of experience as a 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).