Job vs. Business – Where does your future lie?

In one of my previous articles, I presented the lives of street vendors in the cities of Karachi and Hyderabad, Pakistan. The pictures gave a graphic description of the conditions in which lower class uneducated Pakistanis work, and what they think about unemployment and job conditions can easily be imagined. This time I decided to talk to business students at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), one of the oldest business institutes outside the USA.

The question I hit on to get the students’ views was straight and simple: Job or business? Why? On one hand, the students’ reactions indicate that even the best education cannot guarantee a bright future in the job sector. Yet on the other hand, in a third world country like Pakistan, students feel that running businesses has also become fraught with insecurity. So where do they go? What do they do? What future does work hold in Pakistan?

Let’s see the local views by some of the university students of Pakistan.

Shahzeen Ahmed: “Business needs finance and I don’t have any. So for good or bad, doing a job is my only option.” 

 

Arif Hussain: “At this critical stage of great economic imbalance, Pakistan needs job producers rather than jobseekers.” 

 

Saman Osmany and Abeer Fatima: “There’s a lot of risk in business. Spending already scarce finances and not getting anything back in return is a scary thought.” 

 

Shahzaib Shaikh: “A lot of work and low pay doesn’t sound at all exciting.” 

 

Mujtaba Rizvi: “In a country like Pakistan, there is no such thing as “business security”. Dealing with the corrupt government, their policies, and “bhatta system” of major political powers is not just worth it. Plus, the deteriorating law and order situation is discouraging. Businesses here close when riots break out and they break out every other day.” 

Mira Malik: “Business, because orange is more attractive.” 

 

Taha Amjad: “Business provides vast opportunities in diverse fields whereas a job is dependent work with fixed (and these days extremely low) pay. Your extra hard work doesn’t pay off. If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got. To get something different, do something different”. 

Areeba Rehman: “Oh, job insecurity. I will sort of have a permanent job within my own business.” 

 

Zulfiqar Ali: “After finishing my BBA, I plan on taking a CSS exam. At least, government jobs guarantee a proper lifestyle.” 

 

The entrepreneurship trend has put down roots in Pakistan in a very short space of time. I personally believe that the economy of Pakistan will flourish on the world stage as the country’s young people have started to realize the importance of setting up new businesses. The idea of providing jobs rather than seeking them is definitely a constructive one in such economic circumstances. Pakistan has precious resources like coal and natural gas in abundance; if utilized effectively, they can change the economic map of the country.