Dr. Zeeshan Haider
A career is based on education, skills, vision, goals, values, and interests. A career is all about providing stability, security, financial benefits, development, growth, ownership, social engagement, and health. Jennifer Ritchie Payette said about the career “Your career is like a garden. It can hold an assortment of life’s energy that yields a bounty for you. You do not need to grow just one thing in your garden. You do not need to do just one thing in your career.”
In Pakistan, people usually take their whole life to figure out what they actually want to do in life. Often students choose careers based on others’ preferences, be it their peers, parents, media, or running trends. In the end, they remain unknown to their aims in life.
The majority of our students who are given free hand to decide their future, take no less than an intermediate degree and sometimes a bachelor’s degree, in order to find out about their dream profession. And those, who are bound to follow the orders of their parents in choosing a career, lack confidence throughout their life. Dependency on parents halts the mental growth of students.
But, unfortunately, numerous studies show that there are millions of people across the globe whose university degrees and career choices don’t match. They end up doing a job that is irrelevant to their 16-18 years of education, resulting in a lack of productivity and lesser profits. They are called underemployed. This results in depression and anxiety. Underemployed people spend unsatisfied life.
To counter this phenomenon, the world is hiring the services of career counselors. Counseling is a confidential and collaborative process in which a career counselor assists students in their educational and career decision-making. Fortunately, it is not an alien term for us in Pakistan. But there are only a little number of schools, colleges, and universities that have facilitated their students with counseling services.
I studied at the well-renowned University of Asia is at 68th QS ranking of 2023 but unfortunately, there is zero career counseling system for the students. Most students remain confused after getting free from university. During higher studies, they start seeking job opportunities along with degrees, which makes sense as it’s the demand of adulating because their parents can’t give them financial assistance throughout their educational journey. They become jackals of two trades. This also results in their poor productivity for society.
A bad thing that exists in our society is that they expect unrealistic things from educated people. Our society thinks that right after completion of one’s education, the person will be rewarded with an Aladdin Lamp and he would change the fate of society in their favor overnight. They pressurize him by asking personal questions that can disturb him psychologically. What are you doing nowadays? When will you become an officer? When are you going to take a new house? When will you buy a new Honda Atlas? These are some examples of the ridiculous and indirect impositions that can play a role in making someone feel inferior, incomplete, insufficient, and eventually low self-esteem.
CEO of Dignosco’s Atta Rehman said that “We are in the phase of establishing counseling systems in our schools, an excuse always iterated by private schools. However, there are only part-time facilities available. In a nutshell, there are no full-time counselors available in any institution in Pakistan. This has resulted in a confused generation unable to survive the competitive work landscape.
Sixty-six percent population of Pakistan belong to rural areas and village culture forces the graduates to become a powerful officer. This power-hungry life pattern urges them to go for Competitive Exams i.e. CSS and PMS. Students waste seven to eight years of their life from 21 years of their age to 30 years of age. They become a question mark in society instead of getting a Ph.D. degree. Their family members, neighbors, and relatives always ask them one question when are you going to become an Assistant Commissioner? He faces three things in this journey; first is the pressure of unemployment, second is fear of failure and unsuccessful attempts, and the third is the unwanted pressure of society. Unfortunately, these questions are asked by those people who do not even know the meaning of graduate.
If we come back to career counseling, around 1000 agents from universities across Pakistan participate in an education expo, conducted in a big city. Still, the number of students who go abroad for higher studies from Pakistan is much lower than that of neighboring countries. Annually only 6500 to 7000 Pakistanis go to the United States, while from India alone around 125,000 people go to study there. The number of students securing admission is even lower.
“Education is a subjective thing. Every year we miss 15,000 scholarships coming from Germany simply because nobody knows about them. We must streamline such opportunities. That’s what counseling does. It helps in using existing resources,” said Ata. For the last few years, many Pakistani students have been able to secure their first choice College/University with the expertise of suitable counseling.
Unfortunately, in the economic crisis of 2022-23, unsatisfied jobians and long-awaited unemployed graduates moved abroad with investments of more than 30 lac to seek a good career. This brain drain is hurting Pakistan from all spheres of development.
It is my suggestion that our government should invest in competition for scholarships, by investing in counseling, rather than offering scholarships to a few students. The counseling sessions should ideally start at the age of 14 and provided a college road map facility for two years and graduate students for 6-9 months. Our students should be motivated to break the taboos and get a consultation from experts to avail scholarships and other opportunities. This counseling may save millions of rupees for students for moving abroad.
In nutshell, Career counseling is mandatory for the development and progress of society. It must be started from home. Parenting must be an active agent in this regard. If parents would be well educated, they may help their children to score a bright career for the betterment of society and the country.
