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August 10, 2006
Students seem to select subjects according to the availability of classes in a particular school and are more school than career focused. Guidance for careers is offered after A levels when a student is ready to enter a Bachelor’s programme. This is a major hurdle as career planning should begin once the student completes middle school (eighth grade), writes Afroza Bhamani
The results for O levels, A levels and matriculation examinations are out and the intermediate results are just around the corner. Options were never as wide and sadly as confusing as they are today.
The irony of our country is that people defy and contradict the very essence of education, give the longest of speeches and set the policies. Here one is not referring to anyone specific but to people who claim to be an integral part of our educational system – be it a clerk from the board office or the executive who thumps on the boards while sitting in assemblies.
The world is shrinking and globalisation has brought most of us on to a single platform. Teenagers from Beijing, Karachi or New York are not much different, but what makes them different is the utilisation of the many opportunities in front of them to make his or her niche in the world of tomorrow.
Schools today are more focussed on grades. Parents, too, pressurise the child in getting good marks and thus in a way choke the creativity and skill learning in addition to limiting exposure that prepares the child for 10 years ahead, when he/ she is ready to enter the practical world.
Moreover, the ‘entrepreneurship’ that builds a nation seems to have skipped our education system. Entrepreneurship enabled the American farmer to become a ranch owner or a Danish officer in postal department to establish an international courier service.
Students seem to select subjects according to the availability of classes in a particular school and are more school than career focused. Guidance for careers is offered after A levels when a student is ready to enter a Bachelor’s programme. This is a major hurdle, as career planning should begin once the student completes middle school (eighth grade).
A simple rule when entering grade nine is to make sure that a student does not restrict himself. A humanities or commerce student cannot opt for science subjects once he has chosen Arts subjects, whereas a science student has all the options open. Sadly, the local systems do not allow these combinations and leave nothing but a matriculation in Science to be on the safe side. The ‘O’ level or the matriculation examinations are generally geared towards success, the Intermediate and the ‘A’ Level examinations are a different story altogether. Here the student is prepared for the rough and tough of the universities and undergoes a great grind. The subject selection at this level becomes an indicator of a student’s career. One has to be seriously involved in the decision making process and should leave a few options open.
Today a student should think about the availability of a job in the year he graduates instead of the present trends. It is a rapidly growing economic world where globalisation is the order of the day. It is better to do research on the job situation internationally and then make a target path to that objective. One has to be subject focused instead of following popular trends.
Career planning overview
Many high school students think that career planning is something that begins once they enter college. On the contrary, career planning is a process that can and should begin while in school, and most naturally should continue into the college years. Career planning, in fact, is an ongoing process that allows a student to rethink and re-evaluate himself and his career options as he gets introduced to new ideas and gains experience.
At the high school level, perhaps the best way of starting is to begin the process of self-exploration. Self-exploration allows one to think about his skills, abilities, interests and priorities. The career planning needs of high school students differ initially from those of college students. The high school years is the time when one becomes conscious of his aptitude. Here are activities that allow one to expose himself to different experiences that help in the decision making process.
The following are the steps involved in pre-college career planning process: -
Assess yourself: Learn about your interests and preferences by completing an inventory.
Generate options: Identify majors and general career options that relate to your interests and preferences.
Gather information: Learn more about specific major subjects, such as academic requirements and jobs related to each major. Obtain career information such as job descriptions, salary and outlook.
Make a decision: Review the decision-making process and determine the status of your decision.
Take the next step: Identify the steps you need to take to implement your academic and career plans.
In the absence of any proper guidance or career counselling avenues, students have to chalk out a study plan themselves that would lead them to a career that complements their aptitude. The best way to do this is to start probing career possibilities. Making a decision about one’s career can prove very confusing, as everyday a new discipline is introduced, therefore students should keep themselves abreast with the latest career options.
Once a student decides to take up a certain field of study, he should carry out some research to see if the subject will be interesting enough for him or land him a desirable job. When the major field of study is decided on,
the next step is to gather information on schools that offer the subject.
For graduate study, students should check the availability of scholarships, grants, loans etc, because graduate and post-graduate study is expensive and beyond the reach of most students. For those who want to support their study with student loans, it is advisable that they thoroughly research all the sources of free financial aid before going for the latter.
It is very easy to apply for all the universities of the world as soon as a student is done with his Intermediate or A levels, but it is important to remember that Pakistan has some outstanding universities as well. Wherever you go, if you are a good student you will be as successful as any other student from anywhere. It is better to go for post-graduate education abroad to broaden the horizons and achieve an all rounded personality growth.
With the world, now becoming a global village, all types of education is just an internet connection away. Go to the best universities of the world; go as mature adults, not just to learn but also to teach and share your growth and maturity.
Do I have to pay it all?
We all know education is expensive, however, there are institutions, which are willing to share the cost of higher education in the form of scholarships and grants. It is easy to search on the Internet to see what is available.
It is always safe to go through qualified institutions. A friend’s son who completed his A levels from a top Karachi institution went to England for a Bachelor’s programme.
The dejected youngster is back in Pakistan as the whole thing was a scam.
The students should check out the HEC (Higher Education Commission) website http://www.hec.gov.pk/ along with the website of World education services http://www.wes.org/ and the British Council for all updates. A few scholarships available on the HEC website are mentioned below: -
Open Scholarships
• 10 per cent Overseas Scholarships (Phase2-Batch1)
• UNESCO/L'OREAL Co-Sponsored Fellowships for Young Women in Life Sciences
• Merit Scholarship for High Technology, offered by Islamic Development Bank for academic year 2007-2008.
• Overseas Scholarship Scheme for PhD in Selected Fields
• Australia Pakistan Scholarship Programme (APSP) PhD Scholarships in Australian universities
• Fulbright Scholarship Support Programme (Master’s / PhD Scholarships, USA)
• Overseas Scholarship for MS (Engineering) In South Korean Universities /Industries
• Partial Support for PhD Studies Abroad
• International Research Support Initiative Program
• Master leading to Ph. D Scholarships for the teachers of weaker Universities
Scholarships from Foreign Countries/Institution
• Merit Scholarship for High Technology, offered by Islamic Development Bank for academic year 2007-2008.
• PhD position in Electronic Design at Linköping University, Sweden
• Islamic Development Bank Scholarships
• Scholarship Opportunities at KDI School of Public Policy and Management in Seoul, Korea
Postgraduate Research Studentships
• http://www.britishcouncil.org/sister/internationalstudents.htm.
• http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/hodgkin/background.asp.
• http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk
• http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/
• http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/
• http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/international/welcome.htm
• http://www.nerc.ac.uk/international/
• http://www.mrc.ac.uk/
• http://www.pparc.ac.uk/
• http://www.esrc.ac.uk/esrccontent/reserchfunfing/internationalhome
page.asp
• http://www.chevening.com/
• http://www.educationuk.com
• http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/ors/
• http://www.dfid.gov.uk/funding/
• http://www.britcoun.org/science-reserach.htm/
• http://www.sism-uk.com/project/sister/
• http://europa.eu.int/eracareers/
• http://www.ukro.ac.uk/pubilc/
• http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/reserch/fp6/mariecrie-actions/
• http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/inco.htm
• http://www.cost.cordis.lu/home.cfm n ––A.B.
IT careers Information Technology (IT) or the use of computing machines and software to effectively manage and enhance business and social practices will be the defining characteristic of the 21st century. A world without computers, internet and IT applications can no longer be visualised. For those interested in pursuing a career in the field of IT – following is an introduction and few words of advice.
The discipline of computer sciences (CS) till the 1980s, was dominated by engineers, scientists and specialists – who used these techniques to solve complex mathematical and scientific problems. But with the advent of low cost desktop computers, user-friendly operating systems and Internet, everyone started benefiting from it.
During the 1990s the term IT meant using computing techniques to manage and enhance business operations and activities. This idea was an instant success and has created a large number of billionaires in the process. However, the mad rush of investors to make huge amounts of money in the shortest possible time resulted in a hyper inflated stock market that finally led to the famous 2001 Dot com crash.
The common man mistook this to be the end of IT. However, technology professionals consider this to be the real beginning of IT. It is from here that computer sciences spread into many different areas other than the core capitalist corporate world. Computing applications rapidly developed in the entertainment industry (special effects and animations), game development industry, medical industry, e-government and even social networks like cyber communities. Most domain areas of life are now e-enabled. The conclusion – computers are here to stay.
What remains to be seen are the future trends and what the young professionals today need to look out for. The general trend in North America is code worded as CS+X (CS stands for basic computer sciences and X stands for any other domain discipline e.g. finance, medical, graphics etc.). The idea is that not all people will end up as computer science professionals (specialists in maintaining and evolving computing techniques and devices). This requires an engineering aptitude and a technical mindset. However, the majority of the workforce would be IT professionals – these are the people who have mastered the application of computing techniques and devices in at least one domain area. For example, a computer graphics (CG) artist or animation expert needs to be good not just with computers but also in plain sketching and modeling.
Following is a guideline towards CS/IT careers that will continue to remain in demand
Systems Administrators/Network Engineers/Network Security
These are the people responsible for managing computer networks and operating systems (the basic core over which all other applications are run). The mushrooming and popular areas are security and encryption especially since 9-11 and due to increased threat of hacking.
CISCO and Telecommunication professionals
These are highly specialised professionals responsible for managing and assisting ISP (Internet Service Providers) and wireless carriers. Its tremendous growth is already evident in Pakistan and other developing economies.
Database Administrators and Data Warehousing professionals
Application Developers/Web developers
Document Engineers/Content Managers
Computer Graphics artists and animators
Game Development/Multimedia developers
Enterprise Software implementation and support
[Oracle Financials, SAP, Globus etc.]
Degree vs. certifications
A degree in computer science prepares one for all the upcoming technology revolutions. It is a long term investment in one’s career that never becomes obsolete. A certification e.g. OCP, MCSE, CCNA etc. are at times the immediate requirement for a particular job scenario, but with the up gradation of any one of these technologies (usually within a year of two) the certification expires. Certifications are good for job starts and job switching but never a replacement for a proper computing science degree. — Zeeshan Ahmad
Ideal combinations
An ideal selection for ‘O’ level subjects, which can make selection of career options easier for students, could be as follows: -
The compulsory
English
Urdu
Mathematics
Islamiat
Pakistan Studies
The options
Physics
Economics
Add Math
Chemistry
Alternatively
Economics
Accounts
Business Studies
Physics
Other possible combinations:
Statistics
Sociology
World History
Computers n — A.B.
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