• Am I stuck ?... get me out of my depression
• Should I return to Egypt ?
• Where can I learn about human resources management ?
• Should I go for a mini MBA or a SMC ?
• What else do I need to learn, to join a petroleum company ?
• After 1 year at home, what should I do ?
• I got my diploma, now what ?
• An experienced accountant , what is my salary range and expected benefits ?
• Am I over qualified ? Why do I scare employers off ?
• Where can I study physiotherapy in Cairo ?
 

All reasonable questions related to careers, skill development or employment related issues – sent to advisor@skill-link.com - would be addressed in this section every week.

Q1: Am I stuck ?... get me out of my depression

 I a female graduate, with a B.Sc. in Accounting obtained around ten years ago. I have been working for the past few years as an Administrative Assistant in an international organization in Cairo. After such a period I found myself  not interested any more to work as a support staff and I felt like I have  more to give if I work a more delivery job. I have some colleagues around me who are working as delivery staff and I feel that I could be more happier if I joined them .

 I started to work on my career development: preparing my MBA, taking some courses in report writing , project management etc.. but in my organization promotion is very rare. I tried to send to other projects but got no responses. It appears to me that the employers seek employees who have experience which I do not have in different fields. How can I get out of this administrative circle and go for a more delivery job ? I am very depressed to work as an administrative assistant, specially I have learnt from the places that I worked in that the bosses look to you an average and ordinary employee, they give more attention to the delivery staff rather  than the secretarial and administrative employees. 

R. A. (Cairo)

 Replying:

 Dear Ms. A.

 First, let us clarify what you mean by 'delivery' jobs, some of our readers may think you mean 'fast food delivery' J which of course is not the case. What you mean is more front line jobs such as production, sales, customer service etc… 

Now, back to your message, in short it is a dilemma. Your are facing the combination of two factors, working in a support role of administrative assistant (regardless of the actual title) and being employed by an international organization (non for profit, not commercial oriented and rather bureaucratic). Do not get us wrong, we do not mean this is a bad job… lots of people would die for it, what we mean if you do not feel satisfied anymore, considering your years of experience and your employment exposure, it is hard to move out changing both the sector and the job function (it is not impossible, but difficult to change both at once). Most likely you are also well paid, higher than similar roles elsewhere… but you did not provide details regarding this point. 

Hence, you may wish to ease out gradually, for instance searching for opportunities in another NGO, but closer to business (such an Economic Research Center, a business association or chamber of commerce, the Commercial Office of an Embassy) and get a slightly different role, such as operations, membership affairs, research etc… You may have to sacrifice part of your income in such a move. We also believe that – since you stated your are completing an MBA – once you have it, it will be an opportunity to make a change, or convince potential employers of that logical move. A different approach, would be to look for a small foreign company (or branch) in Egypt, where they are too small to justify having an Accounting Manager, a Personnel Manager and an Administration Manager, but due to their size, would rather have a mature person perform all of these functions… and they will know that due to such a combination of roles and the small size of the business, they can not expect a very experience person to be hired. This could also be a way out.

 We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q2: Should I return to Egypt ?

After a long journey throughout the globe, finally it's coming to an end with my thesis writing process for my MBA-Finance/Financial Engineering degree. And now I am facing the question of should I stay abroad enjoying the healthier business environment and career development OR coming back to Cairo and try my luck in searching for a career in Finance (or Financial Engineering if there is any)? I have been away for a while now and neither I have clues about the current development in the investment and financial markets in Egypt nor the existence of the Financial Engineering opportunities.

Deep in my heart I want to go back to Cairo, but I don't want to risk my career with the uncertainty. So, what you can tell me about that?

A. M. (outside Egypt - undisclosed)

Replying:

Dear Mr. M.

It is unfortunate you did not provide us with background information about yourself (what sort of experience you have, where you have been working, where you are studying etc…). Such information would have helped us provide more objective advice. For instance we do not know if you have worked in the capital markets sector before or not (and if yes where and for how long).

In general, the financial markets sector in Egypt in 2005 is doing much better than the previous 5 years… the stock market is more active, the prices indices look healthy, privatization is picking up and overall more transactions are taking place. No one can predict how long will that last of course…. With regards to employment opportunities, demand is very strong on finance / investment professionals at all levels… from junior research analysts to corporate finance consultants and private equity investment directors. We have not seen such a strong demand since the late 90s. The Gulf is also witnessing similar trends, and a number of experienced Egyptians have relocated to places such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar…

Again, we do not know you exact situation…. If you have worked for some years at a reputable financial institution in the US or the UK, and are about to get your Masters then it could be wise to try Egypt. If you haven't – worked in reputable financial institutions – then it is advisable you try to do so… if you can find such a job.. then so be it.. invest a few years in it (assume you can get such a job) it will be a big plus on your CV for 20 years to come… if you cannot find such a job then the 'Egyptian' option would remain viable….

With regards to financial engineering, obviously you are aware that the financial markets here are less sophisticated than Europe and North America… so option pricing, hedging etc… are not really in use… we are more oriented towards 'vanilla' products.. barely making our first steps in mortgage and swaps… a more equity than debt oriented market. So, do not maintain high expectations on that front.

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck
 

Q3: Where can I learn about human resources management ?

First, thank you For listening....

I would really appreciate your guidance, in directing me to the most accredited degree in the Human Resources field. I tried searching for the most "financially" suitable degree. I thought trying the CACE (the Center of Adult & Continuous Education at the American University in Cairo), they have an HR certificate, but after reviewing the contents of each course, I found they're just an intro to the H R area, and I think for me to change my whole career, I need much stronger degree. Don't you think so ?

At present I am working as a Customer Service Representative in a contact center company. I graduated with a BA of Arts (Psychology), but I am really interested in having some academic background in H R because I love to take that path as a career.

Therefore, please give me some hints about what the best degree is, especially if it helps in finding a job outside Egypt.

A. M. (Cairo)

Replying:

Dear Ms. M.

It is good that you have a field you seem to be really interested in, human resources (HR) in your case. Knowledge and skills in that field are mainly gained through practice and experience, however a good starting base to provide you with the fundamentals and the framework of HR and its best practices will definitely be of added value. Let us also not ignore your university studies, 'psychology', which has to do with human beings.. another added value to an HR professional. Now back to HR skills acquisition, in our opinion the most comprehensive degree – or rather certification – you can obtain in this field would be the "Professional In Human Resources (PHR)" certification and then the "Senior Professional In Human Resources Certification (SPHR)" both awarded by the Human Resources Certification Institute in the US. Preparation courses and certification exams are held in numerous countries around the world, including Egypt. We believe both the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo (AMCHAM) and the American University in Cairo (AUC) both offer preparation courses and arrange for sitting for the exam.

While the above will not make you an experienced professional, it will provide you with the necessary background, more importantly, it will help you when hunting for an entry level HR job, since it will help convince potential employers you are really interested in that field, and you have acquired some useful information. On a final note on this subject, while certification is good, do not ignore reading… the internet avails a wealth of information – mostly free of charge – on human resources management (magazines, academic papers, events etc…) which you should benefit from…. Spend some time searching on the net and aim at dedicating a few hours a week reading such material. You may also want to invest in buying one or two books on the subject. Reading is important – regardless of the fact that you will be tested / sitting for an exam or not.

Regarding job opportunities outside Egypt, you should be aware that it is not just a degree that makes the difference, it is your experience, your character, your soft skills (communication, presentations, appearance etc…) that really counts. However, an internationally recognized certification (such as the ones we recommended) will definitely not hurt.

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q4: Should I go for a mini MBA or a SMC ?

I am recently graduated Pharmacist (1 Year) with almost one year experience working as a Medical Representative.

Seeking to enhance my skills by having formal studies in marketing, I am currently considering choosing between the SMC (Sales and Marketing Certificate ) offered by the American University in Cairo or a Mini MBA offered by Knowledge Academy ... So what do you advise me ? and do you have an information about the Mini MBA ?

A. F. (Egypt)

Replying:

Dear Mr. F.

Since your university studies where in a scientific field (Pharmacy), additional studies in a business field such as marketing, sales or other will be of added value to you. Actually, you benefit will be more than a Commerce graduate, since you were never exposed to such subjects before.

First you must decide on what skill areas you want to develop… in light of your current job and as you stated your preference it is "sales and marketing", hence you should focus on this. Forget for now the MBA, mini or not. By the way the mini MBA is basically a shorter version of the topics a regular MBA program student will study… as to Knowledge Academy, it is just a regular training center with nothing special to offer and no particular name recognition you would be that proud to include in your CV.

The American University in Cairo, or rather its Center of Adult & Continuous Education (CACE) is one of the options for a certificate in sales and marketing. You could also consider the International Marketing and Management Institute (IMI), which offers a number of relevant courses in the fields of sales and marketing. They are located in 32 Radwan Ibn El Tabib Street , Giza (tel: 573-0855), their website is: www.imiegypt.com . You may also be interested to know that the British Council in Cairo (Agouza), holds exams for the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), a prestigious UK certification. Similarly, the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo (Soliman Abaza Street, Mohandessin) also regularly offers a variety of courses in the areas of sales, marketing, customer service, advertising, winning customers loyalty etc… check them out.

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q5: What else do I need to learn, to join a petroleum company ?

I think this is the first message you get from a pre graduate person yet I really need your advice. I am a student at the faculty of engineering, studying chemical engineering. I try all the time to improve myself and pave my way to success. I should be graduating in two years, yet I have a real problem, which is that I am totally clueless about what I need to learn. My English is good and I am considering passing the TOEFL exam sometime during the next two years, I am also very good in using computers, internet, office applications and I am learning a chemical engineering design program named 'chemcad'.

So what else do I need ? specially that I dream about working in a petroleum company.

M. S. (Alexandria)

Replying:

Dear Mr. S.

Thank you for your message, and no, you are not the first university student that seeks the opinion of "Your Career Advisor", we have questions by first and second year college students. If you visit the archives of "Your Career Advisor", you may find a wealth of career related information.

Now back to your question, what is it you have to learn ? obviously you have a good base of English (however it can always improve, through practice, reading, writing and attending business English courses), and you seem to know enough about computers. The key areas you may definitely want to improve on would be dealing with people and becoming familiar with real work environment. This of course will only come through part time jobs or summer internships. We understand these are not easy to obtain in Egypt, however they would definitely add value if available.

Additionally, since the petroleum sector seems to attract you, do not just rely on the technical aspects of the industry…. Educate yourself about the industry, the key players, Egypt's oil & gas industry etc… this could be acquired by following the media, finding articles and news on the internet etc… the more you know (make it a regular habit)… the more your knowledge will expand and you will be more confident in identifying opportunities and during future job interviews. By also knowing more about the industry and the key players in Egypt, you will have smarter cover letters when applying to them – without waiting for them to announce vacancies.

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q6: After 1 year at home, what should I do ?

I am 23 years old, I graduated from the faculty of commerce (English section ), majoring in accounting. I enrolled in a stock market and brokerage course at the AUC, which I completed in 2004.

My questions are:-
1. I am starting to worry because I have been staying at home for one whole year without any experience in my field of studies. I like to work in accounting or finance but most of the companies are seeking to hire men or they prefer AUC graduates more than us. Actually, I do not know what to do …. and when I started to apply for administrative assistant positions, most of the managers started to advise me not to and that I cannot add it to my CV . I don not know what to do .

2. I would like to know more about Oracle Financials and SAP and which is more useful than the other .

M. M. (Cairo)

Replying:

Dear Ms. M.

After a year from graduation, your #1 priority should be to get a job. While accounting may seem more interesting to you…. The time to be selective is over, start somewhere, gain work experience and while there, you may want to resume your search. The longer you remain unemployed the lesser your chances become to find a suitable opportunity. You did not clearly explain what the 'managers' you referred to advised you to do… but we strongly recommend you find a job, quickly.

It is not true that companies prefer AUC graduates to work as accountants, we come across many companies that could not care less about this… specially in accounting. As to preferring males over females for junior jobs, such as entry level positions in accounting, well the fact is that there are thousands of young female graduates working in audit firms and other travel, commercial, telecom and industrial entities as accountants. However you may appreciate the position of those employers that opt for male recruits, because out of experience they find out that after investing in training young females and by the time that can contribute, they get married then pregnant then are busy with one or more babies. Hence they are away from work for several months if not years. While you may find this position not fair, some find it practical.

As for your second question, Oracle Financials and SAP are software packages – called enterprise resources programs or ERP – that automate and integrate all the functions of an organization (such as production, inventory, sales, accounting etc…). It is not clear from your message what you mean by 'more useful'. However, you should note that SAP is more elaborate yet much more expensive than Oracle Financials.. hence Oracle Financials is widely used in Egypt (compared to SAP). Egypt has a lot more skilled professionals in the configuration, implementation and support of Oracle Financials than SAP.

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q7: I got my diploma, now what ?

I am a 29 year old female with a total professional experience of 7 Years, a graduate of Tourism and Hotels and I have been working in a multinational company for the last five years. In the past year I completed the HR Diploma from the AUC.

My job responsibilities vary from the usual administrative work and HR, specially that we don't have a large number of employees.

Considering all the above mentioned information, I have several questions:

1-The range of the salary for my post (Assistant Regional HR & Admin. Manager)

2- What are the potential ways for me to develop my skills specially that i was considering to do an MPA or may be any other specific studies to gain a degree in the HR field.

3- When is the right time to move on and change my job, specially that I feel that it's enough for me to do administrative work for almost 5 years.

4- What is the suggested post for me to hold as an HR professional, if I change my current job.

M. B. (Cairo)

Replying:

Dear Ms. B.

Your message has more questions than background information. Which does not make it easy to provide you with objective answers. For instance, you did not really describe what your job consists of ? and what sort of HR tasks do you perform if any.. "Assistant" is rather vague, job titles with "Assistant" in them vary greatly from one place to the other. These questions are important to identify any potential HR roles you may assume (ie. is it entry level, mid level etc….). Such information would also allow us to address your first question about the salary range. Without knowing the size of the company you are working in (how small ? 10 people or 50 people ?) and the exact nature of your duties, any figure we provide you with should be a speculation…. Also what does "Regional" mean in your job title ? does it include responsibility for offices in other countries within our region or not ?.

An average monthly income for the position you mentioned, not knowing all the additional details would range from LE 2,500 to LE 5,000.

As to your second question, regarding the MPA (master of public administration) we do not see how it relates to your job or other roles you are interested in. An MPA is useful for people working in / or aspiring to be in government, public policy roles, aid projects targeting NGOs etc… not tourism and not human resources. If you are really keen on human resources related skills, we believe your Diploma is enough (you may wish to add to it an international certification in HR such as the "Professional In Human Resources (PHR)" certification and then the "Senior Professional In Human Resources Certification (SPHR)" both awarded by the Human Resources Certification Institute in the US).

When is the right time to move ? In your case it is any time … or now… as long as you can find a suitable opportunity… there is no point or requirement for waiting … for reasons other than identifying the right opportunity.

It is difficult to suggest the role you can assume in HR, since we do not know enough about what experience you have in HR, other than the Diploma you obtained. Most likely it could be a junior HR role in a large organization… if you can find one or a higher profile role … becoming "in charge of HR" in a smaller or average size organization that does not have an elaborate HR function and hence not seeking someone with significant experience and track record in the human resources field. Obviously your move will be relatively easier if you can leverage your 'tourism sector' experience by targeting entities that have some relation to it.

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q8: As an experienced accountant, what is my salary range and expected benefits?

I am a 26 years old female graduate from Helwan University's Faculty of Commerce (2000). I also completed a post graduate diploma in financial accounting in 2003.

I worked for 3 years as an accountant in an advertising agency, my responsibilities consisted of:
• Follow up monthly cost & revenues analysis.
• Preparing financial statements (Monthly -Annually).
• Maintain and update cost & revenues ledgers and records.
• Data entry using a house made program (Al Motammem).
• Preparing monthly Sales tax statement
• Preparing suppliers quarterly withholding statement
• Preparing sales invoices for the clients
• Preparing monthly bank transaction statement & entries.
• Responsible for cashier duties when required
• Preparing monthly double entry for revenues & cost
• Preparing any necessary reports
• Follow up on credit accounts.
All the above activities require comprehensive use of computer programs.

I would like to know the average salary for that position and what other benefits I could get for my qualifications.

N. (Cairo)

Replying:

Dear Ms. N.

Thank you for describing your duties… we assume you would be performing them reporting to a manager or supervisor (such as Finance Manager or Chief Accountant etc..). We also assume that in your position you are not supervising more junior staff members.

The information you did not provide us with has to do with the size of the company, what type of entity it is (a local company, a joint venture, the branch of a multinational advertising company etc…), and whether your work is all in Arabic, or requires English.

While missing the above information, we believe – in light of what we already know – that the average monthly gross salary for your position as described should range between LE 700 and LE 1,000 (the wide range is dues to the information we are lacking).

As to benefits, small companies would typically not provide any benefits… larger ones may have some sort of medical insurance.

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q9: Am I over qualified ? Why do I scare employers off ?

I'm a Merchant Marine Captain which is a good income job. However, I have been planning to stop sailing and try to find a job ashore (related to my profession) and in order to be competitive I went back to my academy and succeeded to get a specialized 1 Year diploma in Fleet Operations and Management , and later enrolled in a master degree in the same major. In spite of all the experience and education; I was told in many interviews that I'm overqualified !!, the interviewers were always scared from my past salary and from my ability to be flexible when dealing with staff with different background.

K. K. (Egypt)

Replying:

Dear Mr. K.

This is tricky, we would have assumed that with your experience, maturity, exposure to various cultures, constant travel and the added knowledge acquired by obtaining a diploma followed by a masters degree in your same field, you would be a suitable candidate for a management position in the areas of transportation, logistics, fleet operations etc…

It is also obvious that you reach the interview stage, in other words potential employers are interested enough to meet you. The question is, what happens after that ? Obviously you do not start by requesting a high salary… but let them make an offer… it should be common sense to them that for an onshore job, you will not expect the same as when you are constantly traveling. With regards to over qualification.. you are obviously over qualified for junior jobs… but we do not think you would be for a middle management position in the shipping / transportation field. Lots of retired navy generals (and these are more senior than you) find jobs in that sector…

Unless there are other reasons … could it be a character issue ? for instance they think you are too rigid and need to be more flexible… we cannot really tell since we have not met you in person…

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide more help to you, what we would recommend would be that you establish a list of all potential companies that could use your services (in Cairo, Alexandria etc…) and approach them systematically… you may also want to add selected Arab states to that list. Additionally, try and get some informal feedback from some of those that interviewed you as to why 'in their opinion' no job opportunities materialized with them...

Good Luck

Q10: Where can I study physiotherapy in Cairo ?

I am seeking advice on where I can study physiotherapy in English or German language in Cairo, Egypt. I am 25 years old, female, half German half Egyptian. I don’t read, write or speak Arabic. I studied for almost one year physiotherapy in Germany.

Y.E. (Cairo)

Replying:

Dear Ms. E.

Since your question was very unusual and specialized, we referred it to a medical professional who is German / Egyptian. She has studied and trained in both Germany and Egypt. Her reply is as follows:

"….studying physiotherapy in order to be a certified physiotherapist in Egypt is -unlike Germany- a university degree. The duration of the study is 4 years at Egyptian governmental universities that are not acknowledged anywhere else in the world. On the other hand an Egyptian thanaweya or an "Abitur" is a prerequisite to join such courses. If You manage to finish your courses in Germany you would find much better paid and appreciated jobs than those you get with a degree from Egypt."

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck
 

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