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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Career counselling; questions and answers

By Syed Azhar Husnain Abidi
November 19, 2018

Q1: I did BE in textiles in 2007 from SFDAC College of Textile Engineering affiliated with Hamdard University, Karachi. I did MSc Environmental Sciences from Federal Urdu University, Karachi. I have 11 years industrial experience in textile and HSE as well.

At the time of admission in SFDAC College, I did not pay attention on Pakistan Engineering Council registration because HEC attested our degrees and I never faced any problem in industry for job.

In 2016, HEC changed its rules that without PEC registration they would not attest engineering degrees. Due to this around 1,500 textile engineers of SFDAC College are in trouble. I want to take admission in MS environmental science but due to above situation I am confused, I need your advise should I take admission in MS/MPhil. I have a passion to share my HSE industrial knowledge as a trainer/teacher at college/university level. Please also advise. My BE valid but unregistered from PEC degree can be a hurdle to my passion. (Ishtiaq Ahmed, Karachi)

A: I don’t see any reason for you to get panicked. I feel there is still great potential for Textile Engineers in Pakistan; however, one has to be very clear on the specialty within this huge domain. While I feel environmental science could be one area there could be range of other specialisations, including Industrial and manufacturing, garments, fashion, and merchandising etc., that you can look at. You can also look at doing your postgraduate from abroad and that of course will depend on your grades and the financial outlay that you may have and your other personal circumstances etc.

Q2: I'm a regular reader of your column and a student of pre-medical. I have a lot of interest in genetics but unfortunately there is no scope of genetics in Pakistan. I am considering biochemistry, molecular biology, pathology or biochemistry as my subjects. Do they have any scope in Pakistan? What kind of jobs can I get in Pakistan if I do bachelors or masters in any of these subjects? Please guide me. (Safiya Wazir-Islamabad)

A: Dear Safiya, I was surprised to read your email identifying that genetics in your view will have little scope in Pakistan. This is not true, in fact genetics and all allied Biomedical Sciences, including the specialisms that you have mentioned all have great scope in Pakistan and in the world generally. There is a huge research going on in all the above areas that attract great funding for further opportunities.

Q3: I completed BSCS in 2016, after that I want a good job according to my degree but after 2.8 years I can’t achieve this. I need urgent base job or any success business. Kindly guide me. (Tauqeer Ahmad Nomani, Taxila Wah Cantt)

A: At times it takes a little longer than you expect to get a job. Hence you need to keep on joining and if you do not success and the best way is to take internship paid or unpaid that will help you enter orgranisation and gain experience. It may be possible that since you do not have any previous job experience or training people are reluctant to hire you and an internship or training programme will help you understand the workplace and you may be able to develop a CV with some relevant experience which will help you towards career opportunities.

Q4: I finished college this year and tried in various institutes but in the end I got admission to CS in Fast University. I have not been able to blend in so much and I also attended classes of industrial engineering in UET but that didn’t satisfy me as well. I am somewhat puzzled and need your guidance. I hope you will give me an advice to the best of your knowledge. (Faiez Maalik, Lahore)

A: I would strongly recommend that you make up your mind and be serious about anyone of the areas that you have been given admission to pursue the degree programme. It is very common that one finds difficulties in initially adjusting himself in the new environment. However, both the areas computing science or industrial engineering are interesting and exciting in addition to being emerging areas. I’m sure once you have done a semester or two you would be in a better position to understand what is going around you and you will be able to blend within your class, with your peers, and the opportunities associated with the subject that you take on.

(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).