Career counselling; questions and answers

Syed Azhar Husnain Abidi

Q1: I am student of BS-IT and currently studying in sixth semester. But I feel that my interest is still not developed in this field. One of my friends has advised me to do CSS because he thinks that my general knowledge is good. I am also interested in doing CSS but my English is not very good. Kindly suggest me subjects for CSS and let me know how to improve my English. (Waqar Umar- Islamabad)Ans: To be eligible for CSS you need to have minimum of bachelor’s degree recognised by HEC. I understand you would complete your BS-IT in coming year from a recognised university following which you can attempt CSS. The key subject area that you need in depth information would be international relations, politics, current affairs, general knowledge and English literature. Yes, you need to enhance your English proficiency particularly in reading and writing and this means that you should take extra classes for English. A regular reading and watching English news channels would also be helpful.

Q2: I have completed MSc Mathematics and I am confused to which career/ department should I opt further as now I feel that I have lost interest in Mathematics. I need your guidance as I see no future for myself. (Zainab Latif – Karachi)

Ans: I am quite surprised to see that while you have completed 16 years of qualification in mathematics and how all of sudden you have lost interest in this subject at this point of time. The closest subject area I can suggest would be finance since you are good at numbers and statistics. I believe you should do well if pursuing a degree in finance or financial management. This will open up career opportunities in financial institutions for you.

Q3: I am in second year of FSc Pre-Medical and my marks percentage in first year was 66. I am confused to choose between Law, D-Pharm or BS English. Could you please help me out in this regard? (Adeel Khan-Multan)

Ans: It is a difficult answer for me until/unless I have seen your transcripts and hear out your reasons for choosing Law, Pharmacy or English. Each one of them is widely apart in terms of their relevancy and therefore your level of interest in each subject will be the key decision factor. I would suggest a third option based on your FSc Pre-Medical is to do a degree in biological sciences or biomedical sciences which has wider career opportunities.

Q4: My son has completed BBA (honor) Finance and ACCA. Do you advise to do MBA (Finance) or something else? (Zulfikar Mirza - Gujrat)

Ans: The first thing your son should do is to gain some experience whether through paid employment or an unpaid internship to get a hold of real time hands-on experience. My suggestion would be to look at 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 commerce he can then look towards doing an MBA.

Q5: I have done my HSSC (Pre-Medical) and for bachelor’s I am confused between two fields as I have got admissions to both the fields ie, Textile Designing and Biomedical Engineering. Sir, I would like you to guide me in this regard for a better decision. (Farwa Farooq)

Ans: The two courses that you have mentioned are good for females. However, textile designing involves a bit of creativity and knowledge about drawing, sketching etc. If you feel you have these abilities then it’s a good area. The other subject Biomedical Engineering of course is an emerging area provided you have good marks in physics, math’s and chemistry.

(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).