Career Options in Pakistan

  • 2 mins read
  • Career

Career options can be overwhelming when starting out

In Pakistan, as a fresh graduate, it can be quite a challenge to pick your path

Most folks just get any job, and that is their first mistake

As a freshie, there are a lot of pros and cons to consider before picking a path — many times I see people stuck in the wrong path — too late to make a switch

Here are the two primary paths that lay ahead of you in most cases:

1 — Private Job at a Local Product or Services Company
2 — Private Job at a BPO/Multinational/Services Company

In most cases how you can differentiate between the two by revenue source

1 -> Most revenue is from local
2 -> Most revenue is not local

Simple

But what it means for you as a professional is far more complicated.

1 –
– Very good for networking opportunity
– Day shift, no need for vampirism (mostly)
– Mostly stable and low risk of layoffs
– Easy to transition between companies
– Exposure to local industry and better market reputation

2 –
– Very high starting salary in comparison
– Mostly IT/Tech facing roles — evergreen industries
– Better focus on soft skill development
– Lot of horizontal move options between departments
– Easier to enter as a support/entry role

You can flip the lines above for cons — but here are the biggest to both:

1 — Will take you years to be at a comfortable living wage
2 — No long-term stability, most companies are small agencies/BPOs

That being given, as most things in life, its a set of tradeoffs, most people would ideally want to go for more money but you will soon realize that was just a short-term fix

1 — I have seen people launch companies because of network effects
2 — I have seen people struggle to find a new job due to layoffs

What matters most to you?
— —
There is a third option, one which you can learn about here:

Switch To Freelancing: Why Consider It?