Career counselling: questions and answers

Q1). I am a student of MBBS second year. I want to know what should I do after MBBS? I want to do CSS after it. Will it be right? Will it be possible to continue both fields? Please tell me the future of both fields in detail. (Sehrish Iqbal – Islamabad)

Ans: Since you are a 2nd year MBBS student, I would like you to concentrate on your studies and first complete your MBBS and get yourself register as a doctor. Following this if you wish to join the civil service or come into public sector job you can look at doing a CSS exam. If you wish to go abroad for further studies whether to America or UK you should decide once you are a qualified doctor. My suggestion at this stage is to work hard and pass all your professional examination so that you have a full MBBS degree to make you eligible for applying for a CSS exam. 

Q2). Sir, I am doing BS Biochemistry and I have decided to do my research work in Clinical Biochemistry. I wanted to ask what career prospects I can have with this kind of research. Also, then in what field should I choose for MPhil? (Zehra Mumtaz – Islamabad)

Ans: Biochemistry is a very strong and emerging subject area with huge opportunities for research. It is important for you to decide whether you want to do your MPhil from Pakistan or abroad? In Pakistan you will need to search some good universities and look at the Department of Biochemistry before you choose the final university. There are many areas that you can continue your research either at MPhil level or PhD level. Some of these areas could include Endocrinology and Metabolism, Core Bio analysis and Toxicology, Core Developmental Biochemistry.

Q3). I want to do MS in Pathology as this area is quite in demand. My CGPA is undergraduate degree is 3.60. Please let me know what is the scope of Pathology? (Zahid Munnawar – Hyderabad)

Ans: Pathology is a very in-demand subject area, however, you will have to be careful in choosing the right specialization with a combination of the subjects that include Molecular Biology, Micro Biology, Bio Chemistry and Clinical Bio Chemistry when choosing your post graduate course. There are quite a few universities that offer courses leading to the above you may also find many scholarships abroad in these areas.  

Q1). My son has completed BBA (honor) Finance and ACCA. Do you advise to do MBA (Finance) or something else? (Rafi Fazal - Lahore)

Ans: The first thing your son should do is to gain some experience whether through paid employment or an unpaid internship to get real time experience. My suggestion would be to look at pick chartered accountants or companies engaged in making financial feasibilities and budgets that also involves risk assessment and evaluation. Having worked for a few years in the commerce he can then look towards doing an MBA.

(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).