Choosing the Right Career for You?

[Herer]

Choosing the Right Career for You?

 

Develop Your Skills First!

By Iqra Khalid

 

In this age of information, it can be a difficult and sometimes disappointing journey to find a successful career. For Muslim professionals, the journey could be even more difficult because of a cultural gap that exists between a Muslim society and the professional world. Where that gap is rapidly closing, it will not merge into the western professional world unless Muslims are willing to push for this merger.

 

False Stereotypes!

 

Many North American Muslim families urge their children to go into very specific professional fields. These are mainly the sciences, such as medicine and engineering, business studies, such as accounting and administration, and technological studies. Very few Muslim youth go into the arts and humanities and make a career out of it.

 

There is a widespread myth among youth that career choices in arts and humanities are not financially rewarding. These professions have a lower social rank than careers in science, business and Information technology. However, this is not the case and there are statistics to prove it.

 

The Canadian government lists the average salary of professionals and tradesmen within the country. On average, a social worker makes the same hourly wages as a civil engineer. Journalists pull in a competent wage, competing with that of architects. It is important to note that it is unimportant which profession you choose; what is important is that you utilize your skills successfully, and get all there is to obtain within that field of study.

 

Thoughts of Young Muslims

 

Zebunnisa Mirza, an assistant director for the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, insists that it is important for Muslim youth to move out of their normal career choices, and enter into ’different’ fields such as media, and journalism, so that they can portray Muslims in a positive light.

 

She went on to say:

 

We are the most vulnerable to racism right now, and I think it is our responsibility as Muslims to teach others what being a Muslim is really about. If you alienate yourself, it is that much easier for others to turn away from you. If you make the extra effort to let people see how friendly, approachable and ’normal’ you are, you will end up changing their view of Muslims altogether.

 

Expanding your career choices can be a way of doing that. Mirza confirms that there are no boundaries when it comes to developing skills, regardless of your religion; in fact, these boundaries are created by Muslims themselves.

 

Mirza added:

 

After having picked the most suitable career for yourself, it is important to build on a set of skills to ensure that you are hired within that field of choice. There are several cases in which top students graduated from universities with honors who do not find a job because they lacked the experience to match their intellect.

 

She said that developing your skills by taking part in extracurricular activities is a very important step towards obtaining that career. Many non-profit organizations around the world offer volunteer opportunities to youth who wish to build on a set of skills to suit their education. For example, studying event management in theory provides you with a basic understanding, but you will not become a good event manager without having managed actual events. There are non-profit organizations that can give you the opportunity to develop the necessary skills, which you can use once you begin to receive compensation for those skills. Furthermore, taking part in such activities on a volunteer basis can help you decide whether you are truly cut out for the career choice you are making.

 

Tauseef Malik, vice president of the Pakistani Student Association at York University and an undergraduate student in law was hoping to get into law school; however, having managed events and programs on campus and around the community, he now feels that project management is what he should be doing for a living.

 

On the flip side, Yumi Hotta was the financial director for York University’s student Alumni Program. She was excellent in her role. In the two years of her directorship with this organization, she learned that she had indeed made the correct career choice by studying finance. She not only got the theoretical component of the field, but also mastered its implementation by volunteering in the field while studying.

 

The Importance of Communication Skills

 

Good communication skills go a long way in developing and utilizing any set of skills. An executive at the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals says that while the Muslim youth are fluent in a number of languages, we lack the confidence to utilize our communication abilities to help us get a job. No one will know that you possess a certain skill unless you are able to communicate that convincingly. Because English is the global language, being fluent in it and being able to speak it confidently is definitely an asset towards utilizing your skills. Improving confidence in the language can be reinforced by taking public speaking courses, or making presentations instead of writing essays when the choice is given to you by your professor.

 

Zebunnisa Mirza gave some heartfelt words of advice for the Muslim youth.

 

Study hard and work hard! Don't take the short cut! Try to meet with as many people in your industry as possible. Network with them and learn from them. Make sure you have goals. They do not have to be specific and measurable as some people say, but make sure you have a direction in sight that you are working towards.