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Should I Take the Nepotism Route for a Cybersecurity Job in Pakistan as a Foreigner?

Hey everyone,
I am an irish citizen. Born in Ireland to Pakistani parents - Both of them have good jobs and very progressive. I graduated with an MSc in Computing in 2020 and have been struggling to land a tech job since. Despite completing two internships and a recent Data Analytics bootcamp in London, the interview process (especially coding assessments like Leetcode) has been tough, and I’ve faced multiple rejections (Lack of experience even for entry level), ghosting from recruiters and company, and hiring freezes (Before progressing to final interview round). The job market has become even tighter since late 2022, and I’m getting fewer interviews with more competition.

Now, I’ve been offered a Security (or related role in CyberSecurity) role at my aunt’s IT company (Good tech company) in Pakistan (Lahore) and they have an office in the USA. i have to go to Pak and do 5-6 weeks of training there, followed by a fully remote position based in Ireland. I have an opportunity to move to different country in Europe or USA for client's project as I have the advantage over the locals of having an EU passport since I can travel without visa restrictions.

Although professional work environment spoken in Pakistan is English but I’m concerned about the social environment and the local people , as I don’t speak fluent Urdu (Long story, due language difficulties when I was young) and have had negative experiences with judgment from the Pakistani community (Quite toxic) in the past mainly because I don't speak urdu and other reasons. My father is encouraging me to take the opportunity for years (Just to make him happy), but I’m very hesitant because of the potential judgment from the people and also being a nepo baby.

My priority is to get a data analyst or similar job but given the struggles I’ve had in finding a tech job in Ireland and elsewhere, I’m considering whether this might be my best option, at least for now and Cybersecurity is very attractive field these days.

Any advice on whether this is a good move , or should I keep pushing for opportunities locally, even though the market is so tight right now?

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

I gather often just getting the first job can be the hardest part and once you have some experience it becomes a lot easier so, it may well be worth considering the opportunity available to get a "foot in the door" of the sector and then after 2 years or so at this company, look to move to one of those ones you are trying to get into without much luck currently?

As by then you will hopefully have enough experience and specific projects you can point to that you've worked on to demonstrate that you can actually do the job :smile: