This is the second part of a series on the prospects of engineering graduates in Bangladesh.
You can read the first part here, and the second part here.
Tech-related jobs are labor-intensive and require specialized knowledge. Training in this area is often not adequate in Bangladesh. This is why in major companies, most development-related jobs end up in the hands of foreigners. This reality check often drives engineering graduates towards shifting careers.
While shifting careers, a graduate finds himself considering options such as:
- BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service)
- Career Change (usually opting for an MBA)
- Self-Employment (Entrepreneurship, business)
BCS
In the parliamentary democracy of Bangladesh, the ministers are in charge of administration, and the civil service officers (BCS cadres) are entrusted to execute their decisions. Since our independence, BCS has been a lucrative career opportunity for students from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Parents in Bangladesh often encourage their children to apply for BCS because it is hard for fresh engineering graduates to land jobs, especially well-paying ones.
Pros
A promising career
Being BCS cadres, the government offers very prominent career posts. A meritorious student may want to be a BCS cadre in order to gain social position, respect, authority, security, and happiness.
The 41st BCS Exam saw nearly five lakh applications, which is the highest in history so far.
Higher salary at entry level
The starting salary for BCS cadres is relatively high (slightly higher than the pay-scale of private-sector jobs).
In 2015, the government approved a new pay scale for its employees where the salary saw a 100% surge.
The new highest basic pay is Tk 78,000 while the minimum basic is Tk 8,250, so any officer joining the government service through the BCS examination now gets a basic pay of Tk 22,000, in addition to other allowance and medical reimbursements.
Allowance benefits
BCS cadres enjoy various allowances on a monthly and yearly basis. These include home rent allowance, car facilities and travel allowance, interest-free loan facilities, festival allowance, medical allowance, and education assistance allowance for the kids.
Cons
Tough exam procedure
BCS has notoriously long examinations and recruitment procedures. Also, having several lakh applicants for a limited number of seats, BCS can rightfully be called the most competitive exam in the country.
Waste of academic knowledge
Except for some technical cadre posts (doctor and engineer), there is little to no scope for applying your academic degrees in general cadre posts. Due to the limitation in infrastructure, opportunities for work are also limited.
More competition
Students opting for the general line of BCS usually begin preparing for it from the university level, something that engineering students often can’t afford owing to their strict academic requirements and lack of free time in class routine. This may leave engineers at a disadvantage where they are forced to cram a huge amount of information in a very short time.
Career change
A good chunk of young engineers shift to business after graduation, usually going for an MBA. Universities like the Institute of Business Administration, Dhaka University (IBA-DU); the School of Business, North South University etc. are often the most targeted ones.
Pros
Developing an understanding of business
A Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) helps engineers understand the various aspects of a business environment and learn to solve problems holistically with different teams.
Climbing up the corporate ladder
The corporate world welcomes skilled engineers with an MBA degree with open arms. An engineering background with a combination of a management degree is a great mix of technical knowledge and managerial skills which is the key to climbing the corporate ladder quickly. Concepts of finance, marketing and communication, human resource management, time management, enterprise management, and such are important for those who want to take up managerial roles going forward.
Commanding higher salaries
Managerial skills learned from an MBA degree combined with the technical expertise gained from an engineering background can contribute to a higher pay scale. Your job prospects will increase multifold, and you would stand a better chance to work with international companies and big national brands as well.
Developing a personality
During an MBA program, students learn soft skills such as communication skills, leadership qualities, team spirit, organizational skills, presentation skills, and many more. These help in the overall development of a professional and are often referred to as ‘Personality Development’.
Becoming entrepreneurs
For the ones who have a product idea or a business idea, an MBA program can help them set up their business from scratch. Engineers are usually highly sound when it comes to technology, and MBA will prepare engineers polishing their business acumen in order to make them more successful entrepreneurs.
Cons
Not all MBAs will boost your career
MBA after engineering is worth it if you are pursuing the right course from the right institution. An MBA degree does not always give a major boost to one’s career. It is not mandatory to pursue an MBA to rise to the top of the ladder.
Competitive examination procedure
Very few students can secure admission in the top MBA institutes in the country. It requires not only extensive hard work but also costs the candidate a huge sum of money to pay the fees.
Takes a good chunk of time
Finishing an MBA can take 2-3 years depending on the specialization. That is, 2-3 years more of dedication before you can meaningfully contribute to the workforce.
Self-employment (Entrepreneurship, business)
There are some students who go on to create something on their own. More and more Bangladeshi youths are embracing the idea of establishing their own enterprise after earning an undergraduate degree.
Pros
You have access to resources from your college/university
Recent college graduates can leverage their alumni groups and relationships with professors when they start their businesses.
It’s a good way to learn fast
Many things can be learned by wearing the many hats of an entrepreneur, financer, accountant, marketer, and manager. Entrepreneurship can give a person practical knowledge about the business world and teach them how things work.
Less likely to face long-term failure
According to experts, those who start a business in their 20s have a higher capacity to take risks. They also have more time on their hands, meaning that their mistakes will be penalized less.
Even if the business fails, the lessons learned can be applied to the next venture.
Without the responsibilities of a family and a mortgage, there’s little riding on the business’s failure.
Cons
No guaranteed paycheck
Although there is flexibility of self-employment in entrepreneurship, there is also the missed certainty of a fixed paycheck. In the early years of self-enterprise, you might find it worrisome that you do not have a stable income shop.
Isolation and insecurity
Those who choose entrepreneurship post-college may feel isolated from friends who are enjoying the comforts of a 9-to-5 job with a steady paycheck.
Although there’s a growing number of business school graduates starting companies, 20-something entrepreneurs are still a minority.
Financing can be a challenge
Getting access to capital is a challenge many small-business owners face. This problem multiplies if you’re just a graduate and have no stable income source. You’ll most likely already have employees who expect a paycheck by the end of the month, and the services you take would most likely be from undergraduate students looking to work for free in hopes of exposure.
Engineering graduates often feel demotivated to the point that many end up shifting career paths. While shifting on your own accord is fine, if you are driven out of it, that is certainly problematic. Furthermore, the world is moving towards artificial intelligence and the internet of things, and that necessitates the presence of engineers in all possible fields. You can choose to stay in the field and weather the storm of unemployment, or leave for greener pastures. It’s important that, whatever your choice, it’s the right choice for you, and not something that you feel compelled to do.