“Your Career Advisor” is responding this week to:

• I need advice on the next IT skill I should acquire?

• How can I shift from pathology to pharmaceutical marketing?

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 need advice on the next IT skill I should acquire?

I am a computer engineer, I have some skills in C and C++ under dos and windows, and object oriented programming; and I know well about hardware and interfacing. I am currently planning to learn Java in the near future.

So my question to you is the following: Is C and C++ still popular and wanted? Should I take that step to Java? Or increase my knowledge in C and C++?

M. T. A. (unspecified)

Replying:

Dear Mr. A.

It is unfortunate you did not provide us with more detailed information about your work experience, your studies and where you would like your career to lead you to. However, in light of the little you provided us with, we would tend to recommend you broaden your skill base, therefore also acquiring Java skills. Internet related development in the Arab region, and around the globe is on a growth curve, and lots of organizations are adding front-end web based applications to interface with their more traditional application systems. So, what you are considering sounds like a positive step.

C and C++ languages are still needed, however you ought to increase your competence in them through hands on experience, it is the only way in our opinion. You may also consider adding some database management experience to your skill portfolio (Oracle, SQL etc…). Without it, your contribution to projects or software development initiatives will be relatively more limited.

As you seek to professionally advance, you should look beyond the technology tools and consider some of the other skills in the IT area, such as software quality, project management, systems security etc… these are all ranking high on the priority lists of reputable software houses, IT consulting firms and companies with large IT departments.

You might be interested in the results of a recent survey by the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), published a few weeks ago. It identifies the IT skills that are most badly needed in Canada. While you may not be particularly interested in Canada, there are a lot of arguments to support that findings apply to many more advanced countries. Here are the main skills identified in shortage:

· SQL Server
· Microsoft Exchange
· XML
· Oracle Database
· Java Server Pages

In the United Kingdom, the Government's Immigration Directorate, has published a list of IT skills in shortage for fast path work permit processing, the June 2002 list includes:

Network Specialist:
Microsoft NT; Windows2000; any UNIX network systems

Analyst Programmer; Database Specialist; Software Engineer:

• Active Server Pages/Activex
• Coolgen
• SQL Server
• XML
• DHTML
• Broadvision E-Commerce Tools
• All customer relationship Management (CRM) and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) - especially Siebel, Clarify and Oracle CRM.

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

Q2: How can I shift from pathology to pharmaceutical marketing?

I am a 30 years old graduate of Tanta University's Faculty of Medicine (Clinical Pathology). I have a laboratory in which I have been working for about 4 years now. While I am currently studying for my Masters degree, I am interested in changing this job and working in marketing for a pharmaceutical company.

What do you advise me to do, what courses to attend and how to apply?

Ahmed. (Egypt)

Replying:

Dear Dr. Ahmed

It is not clear to us, why you want to stop working in your own analysis laboratory? unless it is for financial reasons…. You should carefully consider the motives of your move, and trading being your own boss (self employed) with that of an employee in a large company.

Anyway, one of the sectors that has not stopped actively hiring is the pharmaceutical sector. They also appreciate graduates of medicine because they have a good understanding of the products they are to sell or promote. So there is no problem on that front.

With regards to training, you sound well qualified on the medical front, you may just want to brush up on your pharmacology books and the register of commercial names of various medications. Enrolling in one or two course of sales and marketing will help you quickly develop the basic skills required for a professional selling or promoting any product. It will also demonstrate to potential employers you are serious about the career shift.

A final word, to not fall in the common Egyptian trap of confusing sales and marketing. A lot of people go around carrying a title (and business cards) with the marketing word while what they are doing is really sales. The easy rule to differentiate between them is if you end goal is to get an order from a client to purchase certain products, then it is definitely selling. On the other hand if you are just working on creating awareness of a certain products (in conferences, visits, mail campaigns) then it is marketing. The difference should be clear in your mind before you approach potential employers.

As to how you would find a suitable job, there is no easy answer J; you should of course be registered on skill-link.com; follow vacancy ads in the newspapers and apply directly to the various companies you are interested in. Knowing friends or colleagues that are already working for such companies would be very useful since they can provide you with insight, tips and more importantly introduce you to the right person.

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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