Career counselling: questions and answers

Q1: Dear sir, what is the importance of Aalam Faazil BA in Arabic? (Shumaail Butt, Lahore)

Ans: Thank you for your email inquiry. If you have an aptitude and interest in Islamic Studies and wish to have deeper understanding of Islamic Ideology; then this Bachelors degree will serve as a base to you. However, you should only do this if you are prepared to do further research or PhD to find a more established and recognised long-term career.

Q2: Sir, I want to have some information regarding best university providing Development Economics in Pakistan (Naqeeb-ul-Hassan, Islamabad)

Ans: Dear Fahad, thank you for your email inquiry. Regarding the programme you are asking; you didn't mention your present qualification or level of programme whether you are interested in doing bachelors or masters etc. However, following institutions offer programmes related to Development Studies, Economics or Development Economics at bachelors or masters levels: NED University, COMSATS, LUMS, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics and Lahore School of Economics etc.

All the above-mentioned institutions are very prestigious and offer quality programmes which will help you in pursuing a successful professional career. Best of luck with your studies and future plans.

Q3: Respected Mr Abidi, my youngest brother passed matric with A+ grade, after the high school education and started ICS; but he failed in two major subjects. Personally he was not happy in ICS. Afterwards he started FA, and now he is 2nd part of FA. Please guide me about his future. (Qamar Zaman Cheema, Gujrat)

Ans: I can only advise you to let your brother focus on his studies and try to get good marks in his FA. However, you didn't mention which subjects your brother is now studying in his FA. Once he successfully passes his FA then he should think and choose one of the streams which he has more interest and got good grip to take up in his future career.

Q4: I have done Mechanical Engineering degree (4yrs) recently. I want to do such a degree which gives me a good combination of engineering and management. I want to study such a degree so that I have more career prospects and options when I go for a job in industry. Do you think I should do masters in business administration or an MSc? (Khanzada Nabeel, Peshawar)

Ans: As per your background details, I would like to advise that you should gain some relevant work experience for two or three years then only you should think over which area of management you should study to add value to your degree. In my opinion, you should try Masters in Technology Management (MSc) or Project Management. I would advise you to gain practical experience after your current degree if you even get an internship without salary. This will give you chance in developing contacts and gaining professional edge over new comers who look for job without any experience.

(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).