Pick Your Career Carefully
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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?
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There is a third option, one which you can learn about here: https://wanderingpro.medium.com/switch-to-freelancing-as-a-pakistani-28c9588c405
