Career counselling; questions and answers

Q1: Dear Mr Abidi, as I regularly read your columns I thought it would be a good idea to share my problem and get a firsthand knowledge or guideline from you. Although I am in 6th semester of my BS Information Technology but I think my interest is still not developed in this field. My elder brother advised me recently to do CSS. He advised me this as in his opinion my general knowledge is better and I am also interested in doing this but my English language proficiency is not that good. This is why I am confused and need your guidance and I will appreciate if you guide me which subjects I should prepare for CSS and how to get my English language better. (Tayyab Khaleel - Lahore)

Ans: Please note that an undergraduate (Bachelor’s degree) recognised by HEC is the minimum requirement for CSS exam. I know you would complete your BS Information Technology (BS IT) next year. Once you get it successfully passed, you can attempt CSS exam. Main subjects / key areas that you should work on in depth would be politics, current affairs, international relations, general knowledge and English literature. Moreover, you must enhance your English proficiency especially in reading and writing. For this purpose you should take extra classes for English wherever you can find these and a regular reading material and daily practice should include watching English news channels etc. This will surely help you in improving your English proficiency.

Q2: I recently did MSc Mathematics but now I am confused about my future professional career. I am not sure which career/ department I should choose because now I feel that I no more have interest in Mathematics. I request your suggestions / guidance. (Shereen Sofia, – Karachi)

Ans: I am very much surprised to learn that while you have spent 16 years on getting qualification of Mathematics and how all of sudden you have lost interest at this stage. The relevant subject which I can suggest can be finance as you are good at numbers and statistics. I very strongly believe that you can do well if pursuing a degree in finance or financial management. This will give you more career opportunities in financial organisations / institutions in future and I assure you that you would be more successful in this way.

Q3: Sir, I got 65% in my FSc Pre-Medical first year. I am a bit confused in choosing between Law, Pharm-D or Bachelors in English. Please advise. (Mutayyab Ali Khan-Peshawar)

Ans: It is hard to comment or advise until I see your transcripts and know your reasons for choosing English, Law or Pharmacy. All these subjects are widely apart in terms of their relevancy. Therefore, your interest in each subject will be the key decision factor. I can suggest a third option on the basis of your Intermediate in Pre-Medical and that is you should do a degree in Biological Sciences or Biomedical sciences. These subjects have much more career opportunities.

Q4: My brother has completed BBA (4-yr honors degree) Finance and ACCA. Do you think doing an MBA (Finance) would be a good idea for him or something else? (Jamshed Kareem - Kamoke)

Ans: I suggest your brother gain some experience even if it is an unpaid internship or paid work to get practical experience. My advice to your brother would be to consider chartered accountants or institutions/ organisations are involved in making financial feasibilities or budgets. Such organisations/ firms are also involved in risk assessment and evaluation. Once your brother gets a few years work experience in commerce; he can then consider doing a Masters in Business Administration.

(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).