CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR NATURAL SCIENCE GRADUATES IN PAKISTAN: AN ANALYSIS OF ENROLLMENT TRENDS AND JOB MARKET ALIGNMENT

Abstract

Higher education is particularly sought after in Pakistan as students aim to specialize in their fields to secure better 
job opportunities. Many students enroll in colleges and universities intending to improve their employment 
prospects. However, with the rapid expansion of higher education institutions in recent decades, graduates are now 
facing new challenges in finding jobs that align with their areas of specialization. This research aims to examine the 
trends in higher education enrollment in Natural sciences and their related job opportunities in Pakistan. 
The study at hand is exploratory and survey in nature. For collecting the secondary data about the enrollment data 
registrar's office was contacted, similarly for getting information related to job opportunities two English and two 
Urdu Sunday newspapers were selected conveniently. Maximum enrollment in the Sciences was observed in the 
subject of Chemistry. Moreover, it was also found that the enrollment of females was higher as compared to males 
in the subject of Chemistry. On the other hand, a maximum number of jobs were advertised for males for the subject 
of Internet Technology which was not according to the enrollment of the students at the university level