Q: I am a 23 year old CIMA Passed finalist. Also I am a final year Biological Science undergraduate.
I am hoping to start Institute of Charted Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) examinations in the coming months. I like to work in financial sector . Upto now I don't have any working experience.

If I start ICASL exams, in your opinion what sort of a company (Is it audit firm or non audit organization) should I work?

I would be very thankful if you can suggest any other examinations that you feel suitable for a person like me.

S.C Kumarasiri - Via Email
Answer: My advice to you is to focus on three personal priorities:
" First you need to get your vision board in place, for example do you want to be a specialist and end up as a CFO or be a balanced individual and head a company as a CEO or even consider setting up your own company, each decision would have its own road map of competency and qualifications. For example if you are looking at CEO you need to get vital experience and then add on a MBA
"Secondly you need to get vital experience in your CV, therefore you need to find a middle ground organization that would help you to optimize both your Bio and CIMA qualification, again this depends on what you select above, I have friend who started as factory manager and moved on to be a CEO with Bio background.

" Thirdly I see a hidden agenda of you wanting to move out of the country and therefore the add on qualification, if that's what you are looking at , then you need to get in to the one of the big five audit firms and build on your specialization Remember in today's market place, "it's all about scoring and not just bragging about practicing"

Q: I am a 16 year old student who sat for the G.C.E O/L in 2007 and I wish to go in the Commerce stream especially in the field of Banking. So can youplease help me in choosing a proper plan for my career? What can I do before doing the A/L? I also have a plan of doing a computer course now, is it OK?

Sanojaa Thiyagarajah
Via E-Mail

A: As I always say, its good to put your Vision board in perspective, then you know exactly what you want out of your investment .Most would just get in to a study programme without the passion ,and therefore be less sustainable and would drop out. Yes commerce is a good stream to get into, but my advice to you is not to be fixated on a particular career such as banking for the moment, you could consider three optional routes such as marketing, finance or banking, yes its good to get into a computer course, but it should not be a cosmetic exercise, try to assess what you want from it and how you could integrate this knowledge to your future. Meanwhile enjoy your college time and try to add on some sports or extra curricular activities , which will bring about a balance, I meet a lot of people with IQ , but sadly no EQ or emotional intelligence.

Q: I'm a 21 year old Female. I would like to become a Beauty Therapist. I'm just after A/L. What are the job opportunities available locally and overseas? Can you tell me a recognized place to study these courses and the cost in Sri Lanka?

H.M. Sujana - Via Email
A: There are many courses in beauty therapy and many different categories under beauty therapy. for example I have a friend who qualified in the UK and set up a SPA, again I say many , but most of them are not recognized ,or you may not be able to use this qualification to upgrade or move on to another country. As a policy I would not give names of the many places available, a simple web search will give you the details, However City and Guilds would be good place to start searching for information. As for job opportunities most of the places that offer the qualification would give the necessary exposure, if you are good at it then, sky is the limit.

Leading Marketer and reputed lecturer M. Failan Saleem answers your queries on career and education guidance every week.All you have to do is to write your question to the point and briefly on the coupon below and mail it to:
Career Guru,
Education Times,
Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.
No. 48, Park Street, Colombo 2
to reach us on or before every Thursday.
Please note to attach a coupon with every question. If a question has been asked earlier please indicate date of publication with the new query.