Career counselling; questions and answers

Q1: Sir, I have recently passed MSc Mass Communication and I have already done BEd too. Now I got admission to MEd and doing internship of two months at state TV. I have written articles in print media. I want to do a government job. My mother advised me to adopt teaching profession; that’s why I also have done BEd and now doing MEd. I want to have a good professional career. Your advice for a better subject will be valuable for me. (Kainat, Karachi)A: I think you have a well-rounded education profile which connects and covers media and education (teaching) careers. If you are interested in pursuing a career in public sector then there are well-defined procedures and the most important is doing CSS through which you can select both the education sector as well as the information ministry. However, you can also apply for teaching jobs through provincial education departments when they advertise for such positions from time to time. Before you decide to do masters in education I would recommend you spend some time in teaching students at secondary school level to gain some experience and to understand the ethics of teaching which will also give you some idea and understanding of the job. At this point you would also have completed your internship and you can compare both to make a decision.
Q2: Sir, I watch your programme at Geo TV. I have done IT Diploma in Hypertext Pre-processor (PHP) computer language. Due to some reason, I could not get admission to master degree class. Many people said IT field degree /diploma doesn’t have any worth because skills are very important in IT field. I am very confused. Please guide me what to do. Amir, Gujranwala
A: Perhaps your statement about being a skillful person or an IT wizard is justified. However, until or unless you have a formal qualification in the shape of diploma or degree, you may not be able to find a career or pursue further education in Pakistan or abroad. Having said that it does not stop you

setting up your own shop/ office to provide IT services in which you feel you have great expertise for example PHP computer language/ web development/ SEO or and IT hardware services.
Q3: I read your column for education career in which you guide students. I’m a student of BS final year and going to pass out in December 2017. After this I want to do relevant MPhil/MS from a foreign institution on scholarship. I’m one of the top students of my department with CGPA 3.63. I also have research background and I’m planning to do IELTS in January 2018. Please guide me how to avail scholarship. Hamna Khan (Hyderabad)
A: I think you are on the right track; biotechnology is a great and emerging field and you may have several options for doing your post-graduation in this area whether through a taught degree or by research. Yes, you may be able to get scholarship opportunities if you have the following combination: CGP of 3.6++, IELTS of no less than 6.5 ( no less than 6.0 in each band). The countries you should look at may include UK, Germany, Sweden, etc. However, the amount of scholarship may vary from country to country, so you need to plan your available finances and in case you need to combine the both you would need some funding to be raised through your own resources as well.
Q4: My daughter has done matric with 91.81% marks and doing FSc Pre-Engineering. She is planning to get admission in Software Engineering. Can she do this without having studies in Computer/ICS? Please advise what she must do to get admission to UET.
(Zulqarnain Qureshi, Lahore)A: All Pre-Engineering students who are at Mathematics and Physics may be able to learn and understand major engineering disciplines which include software or hardware computer engineering. I, therefore, do not see any problem for your daughter to get into a Bachelor’s degree programme in engineering at UET. She has secured a very high percentage in her matric which is a clear indication that she will secure good percentage in FSc and hence shall pass the UET entrance examination to qualify her for engineering degrees at UET at which point she can select the most suitable area.
(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).