“Your Career Advisor” is responding this week to:

• I hate my current telesales job should I take the risk with a new offer?
• I want  to get into consulting or marketing, do I need an MBA?
• Should  I cut my losses and stop pursuing a career in the capital market?
• I became ORACLE certified, what is next for me? How about Germany and the USA?

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: I hate my current telesales job should I take the risk with a new offer?

I work in one of the prominent Egyptian chambers of commerce / business associations as a promoter for their services. The salary is good. The people who work with me are ok too. The problem is that my job is telesales and I hate it!

I do not like the department I work in either. It has been 3 months and I feel miserable. I am a hard worker but in that job I feel I have no energy, ambitions or satisfaction. All I do is call people and never find them and just write that down in an excel sheet. I feel I want to work in a more creative job. I got a job offer at an interior design company for the same pay, but also in the Sales Department. I do not think I am good at sales but at the same time, it will be better than my work at the chamber.

The problem is I am worried to regret making that move. The new job seems like a small business and the owner sounds a bit crazy. Compared to my current job I would be taking a risk; but I am not happy, actually I was never happy, I kept counting the months and saying time will pass.

Since this is my first job and I have no experience, do I have high expectations? Would I be making a mistake by leaving? The new job is so unorganized and I would have to learn all on my own because the salesperson is leaving and I would be filling her position. I would be required to get new accounts, so that means a lot of sales visits, and I am not so experienced? What should I do? Shall I just live with my job or accept the offer I just described?

R. A. (Egypt)

Replying:

Dear Miss. A.

You have clearly analyzed your situation; when one "hates" what he/she does it is a done thing. Of course not on the first week, but after a few months, you should have a rather objective opinion about that. Telesales (in hotels, mobile companies, credit cards or other) are known to be one of the "most unattractive jobs" for a lot of people, and therefore have one of the highest staff turnovers.

It is therefore obvious you should be seeking to change, before looking elsewhere; you need to inquire within your same organization first. They will not fire you for asking, sometimes it is better for an entity to hire from within, since they take less risks compared to hiring a total stranger. On the other hand some places would not do it, so as not to encourage your colleagues performing the same job to also ask for a transfer. You loose nothing by trying.

The job offer you have should be cautiously considered: you do not seem very comfortable with the boss, it is a small business and therefore you would be dealing with him extensively. Since you got the chance to meet the person you are replacing, it is a golden opportunity to discuss at length with her why she is leaving, how difficult it is to sell the company's products/services, how does she go about selling. Also, you may observe what sort of character and skills does she have that allow her to perform such a job and how do you compare? What we do not know is why you were offered this job in the first place? The owner must have found you promising or with the necessary skill set, did you ever wonder why?

Unless you are reasonably comfortable with the answers to the above questions, we would suggest you keep on looking for another opportunity (assuming a transfer is not feasible with your current employer). Too many moves in a short time are not recommended and probably where you are right now is a better employer name on your CV. Also, future employers would understand why you got tired of telesales.

We hope the above was of some use to you.
Good Luck

Q2: I want to get into consulting or marketing, do I need an MBA?

I am a 27 years old graduate from a Faculty of Commerce, with a major in Accounting. I have a nice job as technical support in an IT company. However my career target is to work in marketing or management consulting. Since I have no experience to get jobs in those fields I decided to get a big push in this way by obtaining an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) degree. A friend of mine living in the U.K. told me that there are many one year MBA programs available in the U.K. These would end up being for less time than money than the MBA programs available in Egypt. More importantly, it would be more impressive on my CV; besides I could get some training in the U.K.

Please tell me is it worth it? Would an MBA make up for the shortage in my consulting or marketing experience? And what would be the best MBA program in for me.

M. A. (Egypt)

Replying:

Dear Mr. A.

Obtaining an MBA is usually of added value, however one has to carefully consider it in light of the costs, effort and time demands associated with such an undertaking. In numerous cases - in our opinion - it is not justified, especially for a Commerce graduate (as opposed to someone who has a degree in Engineering, Law or Arts).

A degree from the United Kingdom would probably be of more "prestige" since in addition to the academic content (which could be similar to the one in Egypt) you will get to know life and behavior in a different society, you will improve your English, you will get to know more people and be exposed to different management / business issues discussed in a classroom. This of course is an expensive undertaking, even if you enroll in the one-year programs. Since in addition to the tuition fees, you will have to finance travelling, housing and your day-to-day expenses. It adds up to a significant sum. The UK is not an inexpensive country (actually living in the US is probably less expensive); and compared to the year 2000 with the Egyptian pound devaluation, the Sterling Pound is currently worth around LE 7.5 (compared to LE 5 in 2000). Therefore you will be spending 50% more just because of the devaluation. For example an MBA from the University of Exeter or the London Business School would cost 10,500 Sterling Pounds. The Manchester Business School's tuition is GBP 18,000.

Obtaining a scholarship to study abroad is another issue; the Chevenning Scholarship administered annually by the British Council allows a number of Egyptians to study in the UK for 1 year. There are also other scholarships announced on skill-link.com (in its Skill Development Section of the Interest Zone); these however are very competitive.

On the other hand in Egypt, you will be paying in Egyptian currency and available programs will allow you to work / keep your current job at the same time. So even if you spend more years getting your MBA, you are building your experience track record and more important, generating income.

So think twice before getting into an MBA program and think even more when considering one abroad.

Locally, the American University in Cairo, The Arab Academy, RITI (www.riti.org; in cooperation with the Maastricht School of Management from the Netherlands) and OUDA offer MBA programs. Additionally, the Faculty of Commerce of Cairo University and the J. Mack Robinson College of Business (at Georgia State University) have established a joint master of business administration degree program that awards students a MBA degree from both universities, click here for more details.

Kindly note that the market for management consulting is very limited in Egypt, it is even more hardly hit by the country's economic slow down. Marketing on the other hand is a broader field, you may want to consider leveraging your experience in IT by gradually getting into the marketing function of IT products or services. Also, with regards to education, enrolling in short courses addressing Marketing issues may be useful (and a substitute to an MBA, specially that your undergraduate degree is Commerce). The Arab German Chamber of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce, the AUC Continuous Education Service, LOGIC Training Consulting and many others offer such courses.

Do not forget reading, one of the most important sources to develop your skill base in any field. Especially that marketing (and consulting) are common sense skills (not like Law or Medicine which you must study in a classroom for long years).

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q3: Should I cut my losses and stop pursuing a career in the capital market?

A friend referred me to skill-link.com and I found it very good. You have addressed many things on my mind. But I have a very hard situation, it is as follows:

I am a 25 year accountant with about 3 years experience, since my first day at work, I found out that accounting and bookkeeping are very boring, same for banking operations or even credit. So I kept looking for be most suitable career I can have for someone with my degree. I met someone in CIBC (the brokerage arm of CIB) who directed me to the world of investment banking and corporate finance; which I found very interesting.

I tried to join CIIC (Commercial International Investment Company) or EFG Hermes. I also started finding relevant books on amazon.com about the field, and preparing an academic plan that starts with diploma in investment banking and ends with an MBA in Finance. However, throughout the last year, the Egyptian economy has made moving into such a career very hard.

Numerous professionals working in capital market sector advised me to keep away from it and save my money and time. Also having CIIC selling its activities to EFG Hermes, which is itself laying off employees is not making things easier.

So I am thinking of directing my efforts to consulting firms like KPMG; but it seems very closed and limited

Now, I need your practical advice. Should I cut loss and give up? And where to go?

M. A. (Cairo).

Replying:

Dear Mr. A.

Well you seem like a professional with a sound logic and methodical approach to things.

Before addressing your particular case, we would like to mention that every job has its own merits, and while you would find some not interesting, others may be very excited by them. At the end it is a personal choice, similar to having your favorite music, football club or restaurant.

In the mid 1990s there was an economic boom in Egypt and the capital market (brokerage, fund management, investment banking, corporate finance etc…) was flourishing. There was a limited supply of qualified or experienced professionals in the field, so hiring was easy and those with average credentials were overpaid.

Now things have changed:

• More people gained experience over the last several years, numerous professionals went for MBAs and other financial certifications (like the CFA); others with experience in London, New York or even the Gulf moved back to Egypt.
• At the same time, the capital market's activities - affected by a two-year old economic slowdown and a more recent negative political situation (September 11th and the Entifada)- have reached a very low level. The stock market turn over has drastically gone down and transactions (public offerings, privatization, mergers etc…) have dwindled. This has lead employers in that sector to reduce staff and adopt other cost cutting measures.

The CIIC partial merger with EFG Hermes and ABN AMRO's withdrawal from such activities has not helped things either. Similarly, with Andersen planning to merge with a competitor in Egypt (probably Ernst & Young, after discussions failed with PriceWaterhouseCoopers), there will no doubt be redundancies.

Both factors (mainly the second one: the economy) have rendered getting into the Capital Market employment market not terribly exciting. Of course companies will still need staff, but there will be a fierce competition for fewer positions. No body can tell when a rebound will happen, but it seems it will not be in the very near future.

No one can decide on your behalf what to do, but you should bear in mind that the time, effort and money invested so far are not wasted. Knowledge in the financial field is very useful to all those working in business. Additionally the skill set acquired is not only restricted to companies in the capital market, large corporate entities need it in house (groups like Ezz, Olympic, etc…), commercial banks, debt rating companies, insurance companies, leasing companies and other similar entities. There are also a number of investment companies (private equity investment) that need to be monitoring their investments and studying selling some or getting into new ones (such as Joint Arab Investment Corp, Gulf Arab Investment Company, Misr Exterior Financial Investment and others).

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q4: I became ORACLE certified, what is next for me? How about Germany and the USA?

I am a graduate of an Egyptian Faculty of Commerce in my mid twenties; I started working in sales and marketing role with a multinational company for a while. Then I considered moving to accounting, however I realized I liked IT, so I headed for what I enjoy doing and recognized that the database field is my choice.

Therefore I became an Oracle Database Administrator, after being trained in an Oracle Authorized Center by Oracle Certified Instructors. I also now have solid understanding in:

• Networking and early CCNA achiever of the "607 exam" from CISCO
• The Windows 2000 Advanced Server and good knowledge of Unix
• Business and accounting constraints.

I have some questions regarding the following:

As I don't have real work experience, it is hard for me to find my first job. How I can get a chance as a junior DBA in a company that can give me the best offer I can get?

Should I plan to get more certifications, as I don't have work right now, or concentrate deeply on my DBA role?

Information obtained from the Department of Labor in the United States reveal that more than 20% of DBA professionals have a Bachelor degree with a financial major. Would it affect me that I'm not graduated in computer science, and what are my chances in higher positions and my professional growth in the field and how I can improve it?

I heard about an immigration program for IT professionals to Germany, as you know its details, do you think that I might be concerned, and what I should do in regard for that?

If I'm in the United States, what are my chances to find a DBA position and if there is a State which offer more than others easier sponsorships for alien IT professionals, and whether a professional help there is needed and if you can recommend a few?

M. G. (Cairo).

Replying:

Dear Mr. G.

Well you really have moved from one area to the other, at least you seem confident of your interest in the IT field. Also, you received a certification in a useful branch / product: ORACLE. Your knowledge of networking (CISCO) and operating systems (UNIX) are a plus. The question is why do you think of yourself as a database administrator? Your university degree, previous work experience and subsequent IT training should allow you to be playing a wider IT role, DBA or not.

At this stage, you need to get back to the employment world… you have had enough training / certifications for the time being (unless you want to add something more on the side), your first - urgent - priority must be a relevant IT job. Hands on experience, as you rightfully mentioned should polish your IT certificates and turn you into a more valuable resource.

As we often mentioned, in some IT positions, we cannot deny an IT undergraduate degree is an advantage, however it many application related, business development related and support related roles it is not a must. Specially when some functional / business knowledge has to go with the technical skills (e.g. solutions implementation, application development/testing etc…). What differentiate IT professionals after a few years in the field is what they practically know (supplemented by product certification), their character/attitude (ability to work hard, resourcefulness, attention to details, self motivation, meeting dead lines etc…) and quality of work.

With regards to Germany as well as the US, what we covered in the Interest Zone of skill-link.com is not immigration to those countries, but rather special programs for issuing work permits (for a determined number of years) to IT professionals to address shortages organizations in are facing in such locations. To be illegible for such a permit, you need to first get a job offer from a company that will sponsor you there. It is not the other way around.

Thus your question pertaining to the US, more favorable states etc. all depends on who provides you with a job offer. If on the other hand, you manage to "legally" reside in the US then job hunting is easier, just check the online job boards (Monster.com, Hotjobs.com and numerous others) for vacancies. However being legally residing in the US or Canada for that matter is the challenge. Do not forget that after September 11th even visit Visas for Arab citizens became much more difficult.

In summary, getting your first IT job is the challenge! Please check some of our previous "Your Career Advisor" answers on similar issues; also you may be interested in several articles displayed on skill-link.com's Interest Zone - Career Resources section.

We hope the above was of some use to you.
Good Luck

Note from the editor: 
Employer names and inquiry sender names were withheld for confidentiality

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