Career counselling: questions and answers

Q1: My son Haaziq Khan is studying FSc final year in Pakistan Scout Cadet College Betraasi, Mansehra. He is continuous student of PSCC Mansehra from seventh standard to FSc. I want him to be a commissioned officer in Pakistan Army. I need your best advice. Please recommend a good college or university for him. (Gulbaz Khan, Mansehra)

Ans: Dear Mr Khan, your son is in the right place. If he is progressing well in his FSc, he may enter the Armed Forces through the ISSB selection board for a further training at PMA, Kakul. On completion of his training at PMA Kakul he will be commissioned as a second Lieutenant. However, if you wish him to become an engineer or a doctor, then he can still join the Army and he may do so with advance appointment such as Captain, for this, he needs to complete a degree programme and some of the good universities could be NUST, UET, UET Peshawar etc. I’m not sure whether he is a pre-medical or a pre-engineering student and therefore you can follow my above advice accordingly.

Q2: Sir, I am a fresh graduate Electrical Engineer and want to start a career in media but do not know how to apply and where to start. Can you please guide me sir. Thank you. (Razi Ullah Chattha, Sialkot)

Ans: Mr Razi Ullah, media is a huge domain and there are opportunities even for electrical engineers to join large media houses due to the rapidly changing technology and the use of equipment such as drone cameras and latest broadcasting equipment. However, if you are looking to join media as a journalist or an anchor then you must evaluate yourself and see if you have the required skills to become successful in media. Media is divided into two basic domains the electronic and the print and you will have to do some research to find out which one is best for you. I hope this information will help you to understand how to change your career or adapt your current engineering degree to the best.

Q3: Sir, my son Zain-ul-Abedeen is a nonmedical student in Intermediate. He is very good at Maths. Now he is in second year. We are really concerned about his future. Don't know what field we should choose for him. He has secured 422 marks in first year. He is interested in Software Engineering but as he has no base of Computer Science. I heard that he will have difficulties in practical field. Please give us information about fields which will well suit our son and advise us what to do for him to make his future secure. We are waiting for your reply. (Sabeeha Zulfiqar, Taunsa Shareef, District Dera Ghazi Khan)

Ans: Software Engineering is a huge and emerging subject area and someone with an FSc and good Maths should not have any difficulties in understanding Computing Science or the development of Software etc. After FSc your son will be going for a four-year honors degree either in Computing Science or Software Engineering and the first two years of both degree programmes provide the basic understanding and are based on foundation modules after which he should not have any problem in understanding and becoming an expert as a computer scientist or a developer.

However, since he’s good at Maths and he is completing his FSc in Pre-Engineering he may look at other possible options such as Electrical Engineering or Electronics and Communication Engineering or Mechatronics all of these have career opportunities in Pakistan and abroad.

Q4: Dear sir, I just did my FSc Pre-Engineering from Okara and secured 74% while in past I scored 84% marks in Matric. After the FSc, I gave the IELTS exam and scored 6.5 overall with no band less than 6. I want to pursue my higher education in International Relations or Global Studies because my interest is in international affairs, politics and diplomatic relations; is it good choice. I am going to Australia in March for this course. Please guide me from your best knowledge and experience. Thank You. Regards. (Qamar Lashar, Okara)

Ans: Since you have done everything right so far and you are all set to go to Australia, I would like to wish you all the best in your studies. IR and International Studies particularly international politics are emerging subject areas and has huge demand but you would need to choose a niche or a specialisation for your postgraduate studies and then apply to International organisations to find a relevant career. I’m sure you would be able to do so as I see you are a good planner and can organise yourself well.

(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).