Dear Auntie,
I am a Petroleum and Gas (PG) engineer besieged with many problems and feeling frustrated. The biggest problem is that my mentors and relatives are discouraging me by saying that the PG profession has no scope inside and outside of Pakistan. Because the world is transforming into solar energy and PG engineers are not in demand anywhere. People are suggesting that it is better to quit my PG degree and switch to another degree programme.

My second problem is that I am in love with a girl and want to marry her when I am done with my degree, but I am afraid that she will get married before I complete my PG degree.
I am eager to get a reply; kindly help me out.
In Need of Assurance

Dear No-One-Can-Do-That,
To find out more about a career in Petroleum and Gas you will need to read up on the industry. A lot of industry researchers are expecting that jobs in the PG sector will get hit because of the decline in fossil fuel reserves, but a prediction is just that … a prediction. The world is constantly changing and one technological breakthrough or new discovery can turn things around overnight in any field. Auntie’s suggestion is to read up on this and speak to people in the industry and then use your judgment to decide what to do. The bottom line is to follow your interest. If you really want to be a PG engineer, then that is the career you should pursue. However, if you are looking for assurances that you will get paid x amount of money and will always have a job, I don’t know any industry or field in the entire world that can guarantee that.

‘Should I continue the course I am enrolled in or switch?’

As for your love life, how involved are you with the girl? Are you both involved or is it one-sided? Assuming that both of you are actually in love and want to marry only each other, the responsibility of stopping her parents from looking for other candidates for marriage lies with her. If she has the confidence to pursue a relationship, then she should have the confidence to take this to the next level with you.

The bottom line is to follow your interest. If you really want to be a PG engineer, then that is the career you should pursue. However, if you are looking for assurances that you will get paid x amount of money and will always have a job, I don’t know any industry or field in the entire world that can guarantee that.

One thing to remember is that we are always, always, making choices. Not making a choice or not taking the next step is also a choice. So if she acquiesces to her parents’ wishes and marries someone of their choice without waiting for you, please understand that that is her choice as much as it is her parents’. Similarly, if she decides to inform her parents and tells them that she wants to marry you and wants to wait for you to finish your studies, that again is her choice. Both of you need to talk this out and be on the same page. If she loves you, she will wait and help you make the union happen. If she is scared and caves, then that will also be a result of her choices.
Like Auntie said, there are no assurances in this world.

Auntie will not reply privately to any query. Please send concise queries to: auntieagni@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 22nd, 2018