Chevening 2018/19 - CAREER PLAN QUESTION - Business Analytics and the Digital Economy

CAREER PLAN QUESTION

Hi fellow friends, below is my response to the career plan question. I'm not sure if I should be more specific with my plan, or it's already alright. I would appreciate your feedback and comments!

Prompt:

Chevening is looking for individuals who have a clear post-study career plan. Please outline your immediate plans upon returning home and your longer term career goals. You may wish to consider how these relate to what the UK government is doing in your country. (minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)

My Response:

As a Business Analytics graduate, it is natural for me to transition into a data-heavy and highly analytical role. My immediate plan is to become a management consultant or a data scientist. I will have an excellent path to advance the digitalisation of the Malaysian economy, to harmonise bilateral trade relations between the UK and Malaysia and to create an inclusive economy by guiding smaller enterprises to benefit from data analytics in the country.

After graduating, I will apply for a position in consultancies like McKinsey and BCG in Malaysia. As a management consultant, I will help to solve complex issues that are critical for the client's survival and prosperity. Specifically, I want to assist key public and private institutions in digitalising their operations and extracting benefits from data analytics. By working alongside senior leaders, I will be able to nurture an executive mindset and ultimately to effect systemic outcomes. Through this career, I will develop the right skills, influence and authority in leading the national digital transformation.

As a contingency plan, I am considering a data scientist position in a major company in Malaysia. This immediately puts me into a specialist role in the digital economy. My core objectives will be to advise decision-makers by providing data-driven insights and to develop profitable data-based products. With enough technical and management experience, I will lead analytics projects in the industry I work in. Alternatively, I am able to join a management consultancy later as an expert consultant. Both career paths (management consultant and data scientist) are perfectly aligned with my professional aspirations.

Recently, the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and the UK's Department for International Trade signed a Memorandum of Agreement to work together in charting new grounds in the digital economy arena. As a forward-looking nation, Malaysia strives to become a big data and analytics hub in the SEA region. A close collaboration between the UK and Malaysian institutions will accelerate that vision tremendously. Through the Chevening programme, I will engage with the community to find more opportunities in promoting investments within my profession that will benefit both nations.

My long term plan is to support the national agenda on establishing an inclusive economy by the year 2050. To accelerate this development, I will usher a widespread adoption of data analytics among small and medium businesses (SMB) across the country. As SMBs tend to lack the capital and expertise in launching advanced analytic capabilities, I will need to provide solutions that are scalable and cost effective. Due to rapid developments in cloud technologies, this vision becomes attainable as implementation becomes cheaper and accessible for smaller enterprises. I view this as an opportunity to reduce economic inequity by leveling the competitive field within Malaysia and beyond.

To conclude, my career choice will eventually map to the national effort in creating an inclusive economy in Malaysia. As the economy expands digitally and equitably, I foresee more active trade engagements between the UK and Malaysia, thus benefiting both societies.

Hello Ameer,
In my opinion, you have to have a clear postgraduate career plan as the prompt suggests, but from your first paragraph you seem that you are not. You said that you want to be a management consultant or a data scientist which is for me is that you are uncertain about your career choice. When you are attempting writing about this prompt you must have a clear plan what you have to do. you have first to talk about it and then outline your short-term and long-term career plans and relate that to what UK is now doing in you country.

Mohd, the only part of this essay that needs to be better developed is the part about the UK supported project in your country. While the Chevening network can help you achieve the goals that you set for yourself in relation to the project, the main requirement for this is that you actually try to help promote the project in your country. So you may want to consider volunteering, joining, or seeking employment in the UK agency in charge of promoting this project. The overall essay is great. It is interesting and hits all of the marks. If you can improve the UK reference, the essay will become stronger. While your long term plan is impressive, you should also indicate your mid range, 5 year plan as well. The 2050 plan sounds more like something that will require additional studies on your part so you may want to refer to rejoining Chevening in the future as a doctorate student since they do offer fellowship scholarships. That just might be a nice touch to close the essay on as well.

Try to add your link with UK working in your country. also add your short term goals.

Thanks for the feedback guys! Really appreciate it :)

@kareem10
Oddly enough, I'm actually clear about those two choices. My statistical training had shaped my mentality to always have a backup plan, regardless how well thought out my primary plan is. It's just to hedge the probabilistic nature of life :). The two choices are almost equal in terms of my utility expectations. Anyways, I agree it's actually quite difficult to completely communicate this deliberation in the essay without sacrificing word counts and other elements of the essay. I shall take your advice into consideration. Thanks!

@Holt
Hi Holt. Thank you for the observation and comment. I wholeheartedly agree with you as I too felt that the UK part could have been more developed; I just wasn't sure how. You've been such a help to me and a lot of other people. God bless!

@nespakje3780
Yep I'll make clearer in my next attempt. Thanks for your feedback!