CAREER COUNSELING

SESSION: 2018-2022; GROUP ID: G-05

PROJECT SUPERVISOR
MIAN MUHAMMAD MUNIR-UD-DIN

GROUP MEMBERS
Muhammad Samiullah 2018-i-19 122 / 028995
Ruhan Ahmad 2018-i-22 125 / 028998
Muhammad Shahbaz Sarwar 2018-i-300 185 / 028984

A PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE DEGREE OF BS HONOURS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
FROM
DEPARTMENT OF THE COMPUTER SCIENCE,
GOVT. ISLAMIA GRADUATE COLLEGE, CIVIL LINES, LAHORE
AFFILIATED WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB, LAHORE
 TABLE OF CONTENT

1.
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................1
1.1 EXISTING SYSTEM...................................................................................................................1
1.2 PROPOSED SYSTEM.................................................................................................................2
1.3 PROJECT OVERVIEW STATEMENT......................................................................................3
1.4 GANTT CHART...........................................................................................................................4
2. LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................................................................5
3. METHODOLOGY................................................................................................................................7
3.1 FRONT-END TECHNOLOGIES................................................................................................8
3.2 BACK-END TECHNOLOGIES...................................................................................................9
3.3 MODULES....................................................................................................................................9
3.4 REQUIREMENTS......................................................................................................................11
4. REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................12

i
 Introduction

1. INTRODUCTION
Career Counseling is a type of advice-giving and support provided by career
counselors to their clients, to help the clients manage their journey through life,
learning, and work changes. This includes career exploration, making career
choices, managing career changes, lifelong career development, and dealing with
other career-related issues. There is no agreed definition of career counseling
worldwide, mainly due to conceptual, cultural, and verbal differences (Van and
Athanansou, 2008).
Unfortunately, there is no sound system in place for counseling and guidance in
selecting careers. As a result, students go for those subjects/courses that do not
match their mental aptitude. Not surprisingly, they become frustrated and feel like
being wasted. Career counseling is a process that will help you to know and
understand yourself and help youth in order to make career, educational, and life
decisions. Career development is more than just deciding on what education
program to choose and what job you want to get when you graduated. (Ahmad,
2021).
1.1 Existing System
There are some websites that are providing same services few of them are
CounselingX.com, careercounseling.pk, edvisehub.com.
1.1.1 CounselingX
This website provides counselors for which students have to take appointments
and then they can choose which counselor to appoint for consultancy.
Drawbacks:
 Student has to pay for services.
 Student has to wait until schedule for meeting.
 It targets only students.
 There is no live chat support.

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 Introduction
1.1.2 CareerCounseling
This website is based on test system which provides the guidance based on the
result to job seekers.
Drawbacks:
• This website provides too many questions to answers.
• They show to many careers to the job seekers.
• They only target job seekers.
• There is no live chat support.
1.1.3 Edvisehub
This system target youth who wants to study abroad. They give advice on
education and career after analyzing the student specified requirements and
professional aspiration.
Drawbacks:
• There is no live chat support.
• They only targets students who want to study abroad.
• They have counselors for consultancy.
1.2 Proposed System:
We will design career counseling website. Our aim is to provide guidance to
students and job seekers. We will provide live chat support to give answers to any
user query. We will give guidance with few questions and show possible career so
to ease users problem and save him from complexity.

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 Introduction

1.3 PROJECT OVERVIEW STATEMENT

Project Title: Career Counseling

Group Leader: Ruhan Ahmad
Project Goal: To Help People Know Their Potential and Guide Them to the Path
They are Eligible For

Project Objectives
Sr.# Objectives
1 To help the total development of youth.
2 To help in the proper choice of courses.
3 To help in the proper choice of career.
4 To motivate the youth for self-employment.
5 To help the youth in period of confusion.

Project Success Criteria: All the modules will be integrated into one platform,
attempting to demonstrate the ability of youth through testing.

Organization Address: Govt Islamia Graduate College, Civil Lines, Lahore.

Target End Users: The following are target users for Career Counseling.
 All Users
 Students
 Graduated
Project Type: Web Development
Development Technology: React Flask (Python)
MySql
Platform: Web Based Application
Project Supervisor: Mian M. Munir-ud-Din
Approved By:

Date:

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 Introduction
1.4 Gantt Chart
Task Start date End Date Duration
Gathering Requirements 13-Jan-22 28-Feb-22 46 days
Documentation 01-Mar-22 31-Mar-22 30 days
UI Design 01-Apr-22 10-Apr-22 9 days
Coding 11-Apr-22 31-May-22 50 days
Unit testing 01-Jun-22 02-Jun-22 1 day
System testing 02-Jun-22 05-Jun-22 3 days
Bug fix 06-Jun-22 08-Jun-22 2 days
Final testing 09-Jun-22 10-Jun-22 1 day
Release version 11-Jun-22 12-Jun-22 1 day

G at h er i n g r eq u i r em en t s 13-Jan-22 46
D o c u m e n t a ti o n 1-Mar-22 30

U I D esi g n 1-Apr-22 9

Coding 11-Apr-22 50

u n i t t e s ti n g 1-Jun-22 1

S y s t e m t e s ti n g 2-Jun-22 3

B u g fi x 6-Jun-22 2

F i n a l t e s ti n g 9-Jun-22 1

R el ease v er si o n 11-Jun-22 1

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 Literature Review

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The most common problem faced by the students is that they are no longer free to
pick educational programs of their personal choice. Parent force their children into
a discipline of study which may not be appropriate for the children or from which
they do not feel comfortable. Students with better grades are forced to join medical
or engineering fields (Minhas and Ahmed, 2020).
Cultural values impact the factors that help in the career choices of youth (Tao et
al., 2018).
Career guidance is a lifetime process so higher educational institutes should provide
assistance in helping each student with career search strategies, interview skills
training, and instructions on writing a resume (Litoiu and Oproiu, 2012).
Youth interested in certain occupations and jobs that they personally found satisfied
(Gokuladas, 2010; Kunnen, 2013).
Azad and Rahim gathered data by means of a questionnaire in which questions
were asked. Two lectures were given on career counseling, with one week gap
between the lectures. After that, the same questionnaire, containing some additional
questions, were again filled up by the participants. Career Counseling made a
significant statistical difference in pre-session and post-session and was very
effective for participants in choosing their preferences in life (Azad and Rahim,
2015).
According to Khan, Siraj, Hijazi, they collected the data from the students of
Bachelor (BBA ITM, BBA Hons, BCS) and Master level (MBA ITM, MBATEM,
MBA, MCS) programs of five different universities in Pakistan (two public sectors
and three well known private sectors). As a result, the majority of students are not
even aware of the purpose of these specific programs and their future careers.
Career Counseling at School Level: According to Khan, Siraj, Hijazi, there is no
concept of career counseling in Urdu medium schools. Students are not aware of
their strengths and abilities and unfortunately, their hidden abilities are not known
to them.

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 Literature Review
Decision about Career: The majority of students decide on their careers at the
university level. This means that they decide on specific study programs at the
university level. They have no idea about the specific program at the school or
college level. The results of the survey taken by Khan, Siraj, Hijazi show that 68%
of students decide on a specific career at the university level, 16.7% at the college
level, and only 14.8% at the school level. Career guidance at the school and college
level will increase the level of interest of students to enroll in specific education
program (Khan et al., 2011).
According to Kosciolek, Phillips and lizott, A trait and factor theory is implying
that everyone has a job that is ideal for them which depends upon two concepts,
traits which are individual characteristics and attributes and the second is factors
that are needed to perform well for a specific task. People like to be around others
who have similar personalities which depend upon their traits (Kosciolek, Phillips
and Lizott, 2015).

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 Methodology
3. METHODOLOGY
There are many different methods and models which are used by the people
according to their work and planning for the development of the software or
project. Here, we are going to use Water Fall Model for the development of our
Career Counseling Web-based Application because in this model requirements are
completed early in the project, enabling us to define the entire project scope, we
can create a complete schedule, and design the overall application. This model also
helps us to move more efficiently through the phases of the project.

Figure 1 Waterfall Model

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 Methodology
 Requirements (the needs for the project are collected).
 Specification (a formal document containing the requirements is constructed).
 Design (this includes all the diagram needed to be in documentation)
 Architectural (the modules for the program are specified).
 Detailed Design (the algorithms and the data structures are defined).
 Implementation (coding is completed).
 Unit Testing (the components are tested individually).
 Integration Testing (the components are combined and tested).
 Post-delivery Maintenance (corrections or enhancements are made to the code).
 Retirement (the code can no longer be maintained or is obsolete so it is
removed from service). (Figure. 1) (Sherrell, 2013).
3.1 Front-End Technologies
3.1.1 React JS
React (also known as React.js or React.JS) is a free and open-source front-
end JavaScript library for building user interfaces based on UI components. It is
maintained by Meta (formerly Facebook) and a community of individual
developers and companies. (Krill, 2014).
In this, we will code our front-end, which includes the layout of the registration
module (both login and signup), admin, student, and job dashboards,
questionnaires module, training module, books module, chat module.
3.1.2 Bootstrap
We mainly use this module for making templates for our navigation and modal
for the header in our website, image carousel, for creating containers and help us
to design components more efficient and responsive. We will use classes
provided by bootstrap v5. For using bootstrap in react web application, we need
react-bootstrap which is recreated for react framework only.
3.1.3 CSS
CSS stands for “Cascading Style Sheet”. It can drastically reduce web developer
workload (Meyer, 2006). It is designed to enable the separation of presentation
and content, including layout, colors, and fonts.

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 Methodology
As we previously wrote we will be using bootstrap for our website but at some
places, bootstrap doesn’t provide some components and we also need some
custom styling so we will be using custom CSS at some places we will make a
parallax effect for the FAQ module, and to restyle bootstrap components such as
modal to use them for desire purposes.
3.2 Back-End Technologies
3.2.1 MySQL

This will store questionnaires responses, registration data for login purposes later
on if needed or use logout form system, training module data which will include
college names in specific areas, chat messages between admin and users,
questionnaires module questions, and also stores blog module content which will
include books and articles related to career counseling.

3.2.2 Flask (Python)

Flask is a micro web framework written in Python. This will include encryption

of data before storing that into the database, authentication of the user, and all the
business logic which includes getting questions from the database and sending
them to the front-end, getting answers from the module, and storing them into the
database. All module logic is coded in the flask framework. It also receives data
from the database and shows them to the client-side.
3.3 Modules:
3.3.1 Registration System:
Our website will have a signup and login system that validates and authenticate
the current user and show them features according to their access to the system.
Admin, Job, and Student dashboards access will be managed by this module.
3.3.2 Admin Dashboard:
The admin will manage the user account and will ensure that system is updated
with new articles and relevant links and respond to the user query if any. This
will show all messages of the user to the admin in order to give a response to the
user.
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 Methodology

3.3.3 Student Dashboard:

After registration, students can log in to the system and will be able to access all
student-related features of the system, they will get questionnaires from the
system to which they will give answers then the system will give them guidance
on the path they are made for and show them the opportunity available for them.
3.3.4 Job Dashboard:
After registration, users can log in to the system and will be able to access all job-
related features of the system, this module will guide the youth in selecting jobs
according to their skills.
3.3.5 Questionnaire Module:
This module will have questions that the user needs to answer in order to get
guidance. It will allow the admin to add a wide range of questions to get personal
information from users. This will get the user’s Financial Position, Academic
progress, Location, Interests, Family Background, and whether the user is
available for migration if needed.
3.3.6 Training Material Module:
This module will provide specific information about the educational programs,
institutions that will prepare them for a career, this will show all available
institutes in the specific areas including the public and private sectors.
3.3.7 Blog Module:
This module will help the user to access the book related to career counseling in
order to get faith in them and motivate them to choose the path on their own if
needed. This module will showcase books, articles related to career counseling
that users can download or read online and will get information on how to choose
a career in their life.
3.3.8 FAQ Module:
This module will have questions that are frequently asked by the general user of
the website, this will provide an easy way to provide question and answers
functionality on the website.

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 Methodology

3.3.9 Chat Module:

This module will help the user to interact with the admins, in order to get real-
time guidance in their career path. By using this module users can also give us
their feedback and also ask us any queries related to their career choices. Admin
will also be able to guide them. This will handle the hundreds of users
simultaneously when needed.

3.4 REQUIREMENTS
3.4.1 Hardware Requirements
 Dual core processor CPU or above
 2GB RAM or above

3.4.2 Software Requirements

 Windows XP / 7 / 8 / 10 / 11
 Chrome, Firefox
 React, CSS, Bootstrap, Flask (Python)
 MySQL Database

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 Methodology

REFERENCES
1. Van, Esbroeck, R.; Athanansou, J. (2008). "1. Introduction". In Athanasou, J. &
R. Van Esbroeck. International handbook of career guidance, 1-19.
https://archive.org/details/internationalhan00atha

2. Ahmad, M., H. (2021, January 24). Importance of career counseling in life.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/778820-importance-of-career-counseling-in-
life

3. Minhas, S., & Ahmed, M. (2020). Career Counselling Approaches in Pakistani

Students. “PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION, 57(1), 203-210”.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shahid-Minhas-2/publication/354355591_
Career_Counselling_Approaches_in_Pakistani_Students/links/
61335ee92b40ec7d8be40539/Career-Counselling-Approaches-in-Pakistani-
Students.pdf

4. Tao, D., Zhang, R., Lou, E., & Lalonde, R. N. (2018). The cultural shaping of
career aspirations: Acculturation and Chinese biculturals’ career identity
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du comportement, 50(1), 29.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-13934-004

5. Litoiu, N., & Oproiu, C. G. (2012, May). The Need of Career counselling in
universities: a competencies-based approach. In International Conference of
Scientific Paper AFASES, Brasov (pp. 24-26).
http://www.afahc.ro/ro/afases/2012/socio/2.2/LITOIU_OPROIU.pdf
6. Gokuladas, V.K. (2010). "Factors that influence first‐career choice of
undergraduate engineers in software services companies: A south Indian
experience", Career Development International, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 144-165. 
https://doi.org/10.1108/13620431011040941

7. Kunnen, E. S. (2013). The effects of career choice guidance on identity

development. Education Research International, 2013.

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 Methodology
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/edri/2013/901718/

8. Azad, A., & Rahim, S. (2015). Effect of career counselling on postgraduate

education preferences of dental students. PAFMJ, 65(5), 701-705.
https://www.pafmj.org/index.php/PAFMJ/article/view/1113

9. Khan, A. Z., Khan, H. G., Siraj, A., & Hijazi, T. (2011). Importance of school
based ICT curriculum& career counseling in Pakistan. International
Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(2), 61-67.s.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Abdul-Khan
21/publication/291086526_Importance_of_School_based_ICT_Curriculu-
m_Career_Counseling_in_Pakistan.

10. Kosciulek, J. F., Phillips, B. N., & Lizotte, M. C. (2015). Trait–factor theory and
counseling process. Counseling theories and techniques for rehabilitation and
mental health professionals, 156.
https://books.google.com/books?
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career+counseling&ots=L6_40hK6To&sig=wQ0q6Tf-
CWTt7cC7WDGS6SMwcJM

11. Sherrell, L. (2013) Waterfall Model. In Runehov A.L.C., Oviedo L. (eds)

Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions. Springer, Dordrecht.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8265-8_200285

12. Krill, Paul. (May 15, 2014) React: Making faster smoother UIs for data-driven
Web apps.
https://www.infoworld.com/article/2608181/react--making-faster--smoother-uis-
for-data-driven-web-apps.html

13. Meyer A. Eric (2006) CSS: The Definitive Guide: The Definitive Guide ISBN
1449397255, 9781449397258.
books.google.com.pk/books?id=rdtCRLXAL78C

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