Career counselling: Questions and answers

Q1: My nephew is doing Business and Commerce degree from Australia and he is in last semester. In future, he wants to do Master in Professional Accounting from abroad. Kindly suggest if this is right decision? (Abbas, Lahore) A: Once your nephew completes his Bachelors degree in Business and Commerce, he can look at doing a masters programme in Professional Accounting from Australia. Almost all universities in Australia, including Daikin, Monash, QC offer a 1.5 years of master degree in Professional Accounting. This would be more advisable than any other country because he stands a better chance of applying for a PR and his Australian qualifications should help him to find a job and integrate well in the work environment of Australian system.

Q2: My younger brother has recently done his FSc. He does not want to study further; so I want him to do any business so that he may survive his life in good way. Please share any suggestions? (Ashfaq Khattak, Peshawar)

A: I am afraid I’m not in a position to advise your brother on doing a business at such a young age when he has recently completed his FSc only. My suggestion would be to let him complete a Bachelors degree in Business Studies so that he understands the basic theories and policies involved in business and furthermore, he will become slightly more mature and confident and the risk of losing money would also be reduced.

Q3: My son has done his PhD, in Physics (Photonics) from Stockholm University, Sweden. What field do you suggest for his employment in Pakistan apart from teaching? He was offered a job by LUMS but he declined the offer on the pretext that he will have to teach from the very beginning, whereas he has done his advance research in Sweden, Germany and Spain which will all go down the drain. He is also eligible for Swedish citizenship as per Swedish law. Please advice whether he should come back or stay there. (Akram, Shakargarh)

A: Photonics is a very specialised area and there are very little chances for your son to engage in a research or industrial project related to Photonics in Pakistan. He, however, can find opportunities in teaching in a good university such as NUST, LUMS which as you said he’s already getting. Since he is eligible for Swedish citizenship, I think he should move his application there and look at Germany, where research in Photonics is said to be expanding every day. The Centre for Photonic Research is located at Friedrich Schiller University, in Jena, Germany. He should explore his options getting into research at this centre.

Q4: I did BSc Electronics Engineering from UET, Taxila. In my 2nd year, I realised that this field is not for me as I wasn't able to understand it. But, I didn't leave it. Now, I am graduate but still confused. No interest in my field and can't figure out what to do now. Kindly help. (Hafiz Muhammad Fahad, Lahore)

A: Electronics Engineering degree is a very strong and progressive degree in itself. If Electronics is not something that you are interested, you can top up your bachelors degree with either a project management degree or look at doing a masters in Computers, perhaps Internet Security, Big Data or you can even look at a degree in Communication. CPEC should provide you to explore opportunities of a career relating to your masters programme as suggested above so there is nothing to lose and I would suggest being positive without being depressed and move forward. Remember that only hard work and commitment lead to success.

(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).