Career counselling; questions and answers

Q1: My son got 92% marks in matriculation and now he has taken his FSc (Pre Engineering) first year’s examination. I thought it would be a good idea to get your opinion and guidance for Aeronautical Engineering and its career prospects in Pakistan or foreign country. I look forward for your precious guidance. (Qamar Afzal Raja– Rawalpindi)

Ans: In my opinion, Aeronautical Engineering is a very specific and focused subject area. It has a very limited scope in Pakistan and depends upon further specialisation within the aeronautical domain. There are employment opportunities in Middle East. However, the western countries try to avoid hiring engineers who are Muslims especially Pakistanis in aeronautical and space technology. If your son is good at Physics and Math; there are other areas that he can look at which include Electronic and Communication, Intelligent Systems Engineering, Combine Engineering, and Mechatronics.

Q2: I passed my masters in Mathematics from Lahore with 2.63 CGPA. I wish to seek your guidance as to what should I do further because I know my CGPA is very low. (Arafat Khan – Lahore)

Ans: I suggest should work extremely hard and look at doing a job to gain hands on experience for few years before thinking of doing further education. In my view you should also explore career opportunities in banking and financial sector or perhaps towards education and teaching. After having a reasonable working experience /few years of working you will be in a good position to decide what is better option for you.

Q3: Respectable Mr Abidi, I have recently done my 4-year BS Honors. I did my degree in Geology and need your expert advice as to what should I do next? Do you think I should get admission in MS or try and get job experience first? Furthermore, what are the career prospects for my subject in Pakistan and other countries? I will be thankful for your time and advice. (Yamaan Sajid – Kamoke)

Ans: You have chosen an important and in demand subject area both in Pakistan and abroad. My advice to you would be to work for few years or at least do a couple of internships in companies that are connected with geological surveys, oil exploration and geographic statistics etc. This will give you necessary knowledge and idea regarding the key areas that are important in Geology here in our country. Thereafter, you can make a decision easier what to study going forward in building your career.

Q4: Sir, I passed FSc (pre-medical) and got 615/1100. I want to do MID (Medical Imaging Doctor) here in Pakistan. I know it is a programme of five years duration and it consists of Radiology, Ultrasound, CT Scan & MRI. I have chosen an institution and this course started their two years back and the admission requirement is 50% marks in FSc. As you can see I am an average student; therefore, please suggest me what to do. (Asad Tanveer Khan- Peshawar)

Ans: In my view, it is a good idea and I tell you that MID has a huge scope in future. Once you do this, we can then find a good master’s programme for you either in the UK or Canada that would further equip you with the up to date knowledge, skills and enhance your qualifications for better career prospects. Therefore, I can give you go ahead and wish you the best of luck for your future endeavours.

(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).