A post undergraduate strategy for Pakistani students
It’s usually a difficult phase for most undergraduate students after successfully completing their degree. It’s a phase where your fantasies meet reality — where you face the real world and it’s the time for you to get out of your comfort zone that you’ve probably developed during your studies at the university. You probably have already defined or are already on the way to the next phase or just like me, you’re figuring out what to do and how to do it. I would like to share my personal experiences and few lessons hoping that it could be useful for someone who has completed their undergraduate degree and feeling the frustration.
The biggest issue that students have after completing their degrees, is that they plan for the next one or two years (and my approach was the same), and they think it’s enough. However, they do not plan and underestimate what they can be in 5 to 10 years. If you want to go big and high; be farsighted.
It’s OK if you don’t have clear idea about what you’re going to do. And sometimes you have long-term goals but lacking the short-term goals. Sometimes you are confused between the choices and sometimes you have recently figured out that the goal you had, is not good enough for you and you want to do something else or you want more. All of this is normal after your graduation so don’t worry about it. But the key is in managing your stress and not letting it wear you down.
So, here are the few things you could consider. First of all, stop listening to people who are not qualified enough to give you career advice— they usually want you to settle for less because that’s all they know. They could be in your family or in your social circle. People in Pakistan usually always have an advice for everyone when they don’t have anything else in the world to do. Stop listening if they don’t understand you or if they are affecting your focus on your goals.
“do not waste your time hoping that some uncle of yours who is a friend of another uncle who knows someone in an XYZ company, will give you a job OR you have a cousin or friend or brother who is studying abroad on scholarship will send you a scholarship letter. Nothing comes easy in life and rightly so.”
Find yourself a job — it doesn’t necessarily have to relate to your degree. Any job that you can do. There are numerous advantages of that. A job will make you financially independent and less under pressure from family. It will help you coming out of your comfort zone and you probably need an escape to focus on your goals too. It will help you with exposure and see the realities closely. It will make you resilient. It will humble you down and help you focus better. It will help you with soft skills that you will need the most in your life. For instance, if you have degree in electrical engineering or economics and you see a job where they need someone for something that you think you can do. For instance, content writing or CSR or web design etc. If you can’t find a job, maybe it’s even better to start learning a new skill, e.g., web development, programming language, or data science. Learning these tools will put your on better ranks compared to others and maybe you can start something of your own, a startup company. Make sure to not lose the sight of your goals when you’re doing such a job. Keep yourself focused and keep working towards your next plan.
If your next plan is higher studies or finding a good job in your field; keep applying and keep trying. One important thing that you should consider here is, DO NOT waste your time hoping that some uncle of yours who is a friend with another uncle who knows someone in an xyz company will give you a job OR you have a cousin or friend or brother who is studying abroad on scholarship will send you a scholarship letter. Nothing comes easy in life and rightly so. It would be unfair and these shortcuts might actually work if your goals are limited. People can only help and guide you if you want to help yourself. It’s all up to you. It’s only you who can do something for yourself. Keep trying without relying! Hard work always pays off. If you think someone can write a CV for you or write a motivation letter for, you’re already cheating with yourself. It’s alright if you write it completely nonsense but at least you will know how to make it better. I had written my first CV almost 12 years ago and I still am learning to make it better. Write your own motivation letter; close your eyes and without even worrying about the format of letter or anything, write why do you want to do what you want to do. Write your own story without worrying about grammar or any other mistakes. You don’t even have to write it in English — write in the language that you know better and worry about other things later.
if you’re applying for scholarships abroad, please make sure that you fully understand the application process and follow proper application guidelines. Contacting potential advisors may not always be the right way.
Just like for anything in your life, perseverance is the key. Be patient through this process. You might be getting what you want but believe me you are learning what you need. Stop complaining about hurdles or minor inconveniences. Embrace the mistakes that you make and learn from them. I had to wait for almost 2 years after my undergraduate degree to secure a scholarship abroad. I didn’t have 3 GPA. I contacted with potential PhD advisors (I might have sent more than 300 emails), sent numerous applications to universities but I was determined that this is what I want and I had my reasons. Now I could have complained that no one is responding to my emails or start doubting myself but I kept refining my CV, my email cover letters and my motivational letters. I tailored each one of them specifically for the potential advisor I am sending email to, or according to the specific program I am applying for. However, if you’re applying for scholarships abroad, please make sure that you fully understand the application process and follow proper guidelines. Contacting potential advisors may not always be the right way. Anyhow, for me the whole process was frustrating and its OK if you occasionally have doubts but wake up tomorrow and start over! I know my friends who didn’t have the same goal as mine but they were going through the same frustration. A friend of mine wanted to leave engineering background and enter in public administration. It took him almost the same time to start his journey and it took him 8–9 years to secure a job that he’d be satisfied with.
To summarize this, I would suggest you to trust the process and trust yourself and keep trying. Don’t waste your time in complaining and be patient. You will eventually be where you should be. We learn from our failures. Always aim for high and never settle for less. And if you do this, the doors of opportunities and learning that you have never imagined or seen before will open for you. Be the people this world needs.
Good luck!
