March 6, 2004

Be it the popular Pakistani Matriculation or Inter-mediate stream or the selective British O/A Levels brand of education, parents embark on a tough and tedious exploration of career options at the threshold of their children’s subject selection.

The search for careers become all the more challenging amid such labels as limited options, financial constraints, social compulsions and tough competition. The net result is a state of confusion in which most of our average students and their concerned and calculating parents are trapped.

Dilemma of the drop-outs

Options continue to be limited when choices continue to be stereotype. Despite being dubbed by concerned drop outs as saturated, careers such as medicine, engineering, or business administration continue to be high potential fields in view of the concerned contemporary demands.

However, this scope has gone beyond common educational background and professional ability to specialized academic and career excellence. Where careers are chosen as merely status symbols or for the sake of fashion, the kind of ingenuity, innovation and invention expected of our doctors, engineers or managers remains a far cry. In this regard, our educational, social and economic standards speak for themselves.

Given a rocketing number of undergraduates aspiring to join the rat race for a handful of medical, engineering and business institutions, the obvious results have to be countless demoralized educational and social drop-outs. The face-saving ones comprehend in advance that they would not be able to brave the competition and socially announce that they are backing out because the popular MBBS, BE or MBA careers have reached their saturation point! Still they are regarded as ordinary types because they have not been able to take first rate subjects, first rate colleges, first rate careers and first rate professions without realizing that there are so many other career options. Unless we are ready to come out of our shells and start accepting the challenge of other potential career options, we shall continue to be lost in our lop-sided priorities and stay procrastinating and will be immobilized rather than achieve something worthwhile.

Selection and success criteria

Before talking about a wide-range of prospective career options, let us see as to what makes our case strong for admission to our career priorities — engineering, medicine and business. Academic record with percentage/grades, specially in the last qualifying examination, and the professional institution’s entrance test scores remain key factors in the selection criteria to enter any medical, engineering and business institute.

The key to success, whether in formal studies or for entrance tests, basically lies in following the study plan or syllabus religiously. Meticulous comprehension, weekend practice and revisions go a long way in helping students attain their career goals. A student’s life will be easier as exams approach when academic work is not accumulated and catered with consistency through untiring personal efforts and unhampered consultation with concerned teachers, colleagues, tutors and elder as and when required.

How plus points count

However, there are countless students who meet academic percentage and entrance test requirements and still are not selected due to the shortage of seats in professional colleges where admissions are given in order of merit. What may count in case of a tie among qualifying students or with the provision of any special seats are a number of plus points through which one can have an edge over the other applicants who meet the normal criteria. It all depends on how we work to attain these plus points along with academic routine and requirements.

While academic requirements and entrance test scores remain the standard criteria for admission to prominent professional institutions what may help in the event of a neck-to-neck competition or special seats provisions will be plus points such as field trips, career orientation, projects and research, published work, specialized training, seminars and workshops, computer skills, statement of purpose or letter of intent. There has to be a real initiative in clear objective, meticulous planning, comprehensive organizing and true promotion of the case like that of a thorough, appealing and winning advocate as applications need to be so persuasive that provisions for admission are created even if they are difficult to create.

Where sky is the limit

If an application to a common professional college is rejected despite one’s best meritorious or influential efforts, the sky shall continue to be the limit in related or other options. Given such conditions as aptitude, interest, self-confidence and communication skills, opportunities abound in a host of wide and varied career options: mechanical, electrical and civil engineering; medicine, pharmacy and physiotherapy; business, economics and commerce; arts, humanities and social sciences; language, linguistics and literature; physical, chemical and biological sciences; education, psychology and philanthropy; advertising, journalism or public affairs; civics, community development and environment; religion, history and geography; government, law, politics and world affairs.

For a student who has not been able to get admission in a medical college for a popular MBBS degree such related and important options may be available as dentistry, pharmacy, biochemistry, microbiology, physiotherapy, medical technology or even psychology. For a student who could not gate crash his/her way to a selective engineering college for a B.E./B.Sc.

Computer, electrical, mechanical or civil engineering may look far less competitive but potential options in B.E. Polymer or textiles engineering or a degree in Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) or such professional qualifications as that in plastics or leather technology or a higher excellence in physics can help students go a long way.

For a student who has not been able to join a socially recognized business institute and cannot afford to go to private business institutions have promising economics/commerce options of B.A./B.Com., M.A./M.Com, leading to a PhD or accountancy options like ACMA, CAT, ACCA leading to chartered accountancy.

Examples in inventiveness

Breaking away from preferred career options such as engineering, medicine or business is mostly by limitations and seldom by choice. However, study and career need to be more inventive, appealing and absorbing. When some girls were once informed about home economics, fascinating boutique and business avenues, lucrative jobs in airlines, five-star hotels and multinationals and related interaction with girls from Scandinavia, Central Europe and North America or when local men of letters were keenly made aware of the prestigious Chair of Urdu at McGill, why can’t interest and motivation be generated in other career options.

Meanwhile, teachers can make innovative and interesting relevant stories, quizzes, speeches and discussions a comprehensive part and parcel of instruction and students need to be encouraged to transform from stereotype learning to a more dynamic form. That means regular and focused learning through electronic media, e-mail and Internet; investigative research, creative writing and presentation; mutually economical and beneficial field trips; inspiring membership of concerned clubs, societies, institutes and associations home and abroad.

Height of career excellence

It remains of paramount significance that whatever one takes up academically or professionally must be according to one’s aptitude, interest and motivation and that one must strive or endeavour for highest educational and career excellence. In this regard, moral support and material rewards are aplenty if nothing is done half-heartedly and left half way. Whatever one studies, if the best and the highest is aimed at, the net result is a harmonious blend of financial rewards, social stability, career credibility and job satisfaction.

Whether it is an application for admission with financial assistance to higher studies and research in Pakistan or abroad or for that matter looking for a prestigious and lucrative position at a national, multi-national or international organization or pursuing a case for promotion in a challenging professional atmosphere, what will matter in the final analysis is a sound academic background, relevant professional training, genuine practical experience, investigative research and ingenuity, specialized projects and publications, participation in seminars, workshops and symposia, effective communication and presentation skills, persuasive statement of purpose and letter of intent.

Our budding career aspirants shall rise, whether they take up arts, humanities, social sciences, engineering, medicine or information technology, if they are trained and groomed in a way where education and learning goes beyond the boundaries of text books.

It is important that students develop communication skills and self-confidence and look for aptitude-oriented or allied study/career options rather than brood or procrastinate when they miss the bus to glamorous institutions.

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