“Your Career Advisor” is responding this week to:

• Where to go for a Dar El Oloum graduate? (e)
• Where can I study space sciences? (d)
• Does one really stand a chance to work in a UN agency? (b)

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: Where to go for a Dar El Oloum graduate?
I am a 21 year old university student, currently studying a Dar El Oloum Faculty, in the Arabic language section. I am not interested to become a teacher, as most graduates of my faculty end up doing. What kind of jobs can I pursue ?

I also like drawing very much, where can I study to develop my skills in this field ?

Rasha (El Menya)

Replying:

Dear Ms. Rasha

You message did not give a number of details in a number of areas, such as what is it you like to do and what sort of person you are. Are you an outgoing person, who likes to deal with people or more of the analytical person, who likes to analyze and solve problems. You may also be an intellectual with good writing skills etc… All these question, relate to answering what field you could be working in, since not all types of people fit in every type of jobs. For instance a teacher, a secretary, a customer service representative, a sales person… would most likely have different characters more tuned to the types of jobs they are performing.
Having said that, let us remind you of an important rule, often repeated by skill-link.com, a university graduate should not feel the only way forward in his/her professional life should be in the same domain as his university degree. We have witnessed several cases where medical graduates became excellent graphics designers, engineers became successful financial and investment professionals and agriculture graduates excelling in the tourism and travel sector. So in other words, you should of course first consider fields that are close to your studies then seek what you like to do. Only a limited number of jobs will be excluded from your list (those requiring specialized studies such as becoming a lawyer or a dentist or a construction engineer).
As per the above, we cannot really describe to you all the fields you can pursue until we know more about your character and what you like. However, when considering your degree, and leaving teaching aside, if your Arabic is really good and you have above average writing and communication skills you may wish to consider:

• Joining the editorial team (writer, correspondent) of a newspaper, magazine, news channel or even an internet content provider (such as MSN Arabia, Moheet.com, Masrawy.com etc…)
• An editing / checking role in a publication (newspaper, magazine, TV etc…)

Since you like drawing, you may want to fine tune that to graphics design, hence providing illustrations for advertising companies and publishers (printed or online). This could be an interesting career for your. If interested you will need to take courses in Adobe Photoshop. Depending on your competency in English, you may also wish to consider distance learning through the internet; a first place you may wish to check would be the Art Institute Online www.aionline.edu

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

Q2: Where can I study space sciences?
I am probably the youngest person to send a question to "Your Career Advisor"; I am currently in my final year in school (Thanaweya Aama); enrolled in the maths section. Last year my grades were 95%, but I do not like engineering ! Where can I study space sciences ? does it exist in Egypt ? and if it doesn`t, is it possible to study abroad but of course I need a scholarship.

A. I. A. (Monoufeya, Egypt)

Replying:

Dear Mr. A.

It is very smart and wise from you to know what you do not like and not just follow the trend. So engineering is out… however, degrees in space sciences includes astronomy, planetary sciences, and space physics. You would therefore be studying lots of geology, geophysics, geothermics, planetary & orbit dynamics and physics…. More of sciences studies, but not that far from engineering J !!! In a number of US universities it is a sub specialization of a degree in Geology. Some other universities offer an Astronomy (Falak) degree within their department of Physics. In Cairo University's Faculty of Science, there is an Astronomy & Meteorology Department. Supposedly Ain Shams University's Faculty of Science also has a Physics and Astronomy Department.

You should also be aware that there are degrees in Aerospace Engineering, it is a masters you can obtain after graduating from the Faculty of Engineering.

By the way do you know there is an Arab Union for Astronomy & Space Science (AUASS) ? It is located in Amman, Jordan (P.O.Box 141568, Amman 11814 Jordan )

The closest organizations that works in such areas in Egypt are:

• the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (Hay'at El Esteshaar Aan Boa'd)
• the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics; in Helwan

If someone like Dr. Farouk El Baz, is a role model for you in this field, you may be interested to know his formal responsibilities; these are: Research Professor and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, Boston MA, U.S.A. He is Adjunct Professor of Geology at the Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University. He is also a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Geological Society of America Foundation in Colorado (USA).

Can we advise you to pursue such studies ? well if you really have to, but we warn you relevant career opportunities will be very limited, unless you will excel at university and take academic teaching as a profession.

With regards to studying abroad, as we all know, university fees and living expenses are very expensive, even more with the latest exchange rate of the Egyptian Pound. So as you said, a scholarship is the right way to pursue studies abroad. You should know, that scholarships for a foreigner for an under graduate degree are extremely difficult. In Egypt, only the Sawiris Foundation, offers such scholarships once a year. The selection is very tough and only three or four outstanding young Egyptians are chosen every year. For graduate degrees (masters, Ph.D. etc…) it is relatively easier. There are a number of scholarships available to Egyptians, such as the British Council Chevening scholarships, the Ford Foundation scholarships, the Sawiris Foundation scholarships etc… Even some foreign universities may be inclined to finance your graduate studies in light of an excellent academic record in your undergraduate studies, good English and IT skills etc…

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

Q3: Does one really stand a chance to work in a UN agency?
I am a frequent visitor to skill-link.com, I think your efforts to provide updated and useful content every week is extraordinary… no other web site in Egypt or for that matter newspaper or magazine provides such information on jobs, scholarships, salaries, career advice etc…

My question to you is: do you think as an Egyptian university graduate with a few years of work experience one really has some chance to work in the UN or one of its numerous organizations and agencies ? I see skill-link.com frequently displaying such vacancies.

S. M. A. (Nasr City, Cairo)

Replying:

Dear Mr. A.

We cannot claim not to be delighted by your kind words and your appreciation of the effort we put to provide our tens of thousands of visitors with up to date, useful and interesting content addressing employment, skill development and the working life in general. Thank you.

Now to your question, we are often surprised by the fact that a large number of Arab graduates are not aware of the opportunities of working for the United Nations (UN) and its agencies, particularly outside their countries of residence. The "Interest Zone" frequently receives messages inquiring as to why it displays job vacancies for international organizations ? and what are the chances to get a job there ?

As per their charter, these international organizations must recruit (at all levels) from different nationalities of their member countries. The UN has 191 member country, other agencies (such as the World Health Organization, the UNDP, the UNRWA, the ILO etc… ) vary in their memberships. The organizations often have vacancies to fill at their headquarters (in New York, Geneva, Paris, Vienna, Rome etc..) or at branch offices around the world. In some cases where the Arabic language is required, Arabs would have an added advantage.

Let us remember not every one working for the UN or affiliates will be a Kofi Anan or a Baradi… the holders of top jobs are usually elected by the member states. However, like any other organization, junior, middle and senior management level professionals are required to perform a wide range of tasks: IT, finance, administration, HR, public relations, engineering etc… So lots of opportunities.

Usually, such organizations will not be recruiting fresh graduates, they would require some experience. Therefore professionals in various fields could find interesting and well paying jobs in the UN and its various bodies. Holding a graduate degree (such as a Masters) and being fluent in more than one language, have proven very useful when applying to such jobs. These entities have also elaborate recruiting and screening procedures, most would require filling specific forms downloadable from their websites.

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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