Career Course

The last decade has seen a plethora of choices emerge on the career front. Traditional careers like engineering and medicine are getting phased out or redesigned to suit the new market demand. The information age has seen a rise in exciting and unconventional careers such as event management, TV anchoring, choreography, wildlife photography, wine tasting, pet grooming, podiatrist, fitness expert, forensic expert, etc. More the merrier might be the adage but the large numbers of options have also left students confused about their career course. Students now turn to career counsellors to know their aptitude. While aptitude tests have their own relevance, education experts advise students to choose wisely and not get carried away by the lure of money or popular trends; as trends can be cyclic. The bottom line for students is to know their own aptitude and choose a career, which will bring them happiness in the long run. The March 2012 issue of One India One People talks about the emerging career trends and tries to address some of the issues concerning careers.

In the lead article, ‘A plethora of choices’, Swati Salunkhe, Managing Director of Growth Centre (I) Pvt. Ltd; a Career Counselling firm in Mumbai, analyses the career trends and spells out the key factors that students should consider before making a choice. She says, ‘From wine taster to image consultant and graphic designer to yoga instructor, Indians have a host of avenues to choose from. New courses are being constantly evolved and traditional careers are either getting phased out or being redesigned to meet market demand.’

Choose wisely, is what Pratibha Jain, international education consultant and founder of Eduabroad Consulting, Mumbai, advises to students who are on a threshold of choosing a career, as it will determine several years of happiness, fulfillment and achievement.

How relevant are aptitude tests, – is what students and parents want to know. Sajma Aravind, Project Coordinator at The Promise Foundation (Counsellor and Career Guidance specialist), Bangalore, says, every person has a range of abilities and strengths that go beyond what can be captured by an aptitude test. So students must think and consider other factors too before opting for a particular career.

The sheen of an MBA degree seems to be waning. Is it because we are focusing more on the perks of an MBA degree such as the salary and social status rather than expertise and values an MBA should be able to provide to an organisation. In ‘Upscaling the MBA’, Priya Vasudevan, Deputy General Manager - Learning and Development with ACG Worldwide, offers some basic tenets that can help upscale the MBAs and bring back the shine to the degree.

Anshika Swaroop, a student of Journalism at Harkisan Mehta Foundation Institute of Journalism, Mumbai, tells us about some lesser known but interesting careers that the defence services offer to those who love to don the uniform and want to serve the country.

The fields of media and entertainment offer a host of avenues for those who are creative, have good communication skills, presence of mind and ready to work hard. Disha Khemchandani, also a student of Journalism at Harkisan Mehta Foundation Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication, Mumbai, explores the options for students who want to pursue a career in this field.

Sourcing the right candidate and nurturing them can create a valuable talent pool for any organisation. While the interviewee is expected to be prepared so that he is successful, the interviewer should also possess the requisite interview skills, writes Jolly J Mathews, who recently retired from Novartis India Limited where he headed the Training Function. He currently heads – The Pedagogue, a Human Strategies Organisation that offers services in Training Consultancy, Life Coaching and allied H R projects.

With new career vistas opening up in the last decade, students are spoilt for choice. However, aptitude and passion are the key drivers of a career choice. And high salaries and perks are just the cherry on top. OIOP has featured stories of a few professionals who chose unconventional careers and are enjoying every moment of their work. Mayank Vahia, Professor, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai; Santosh Raut, Forensic Expert, Scientist and Investigator at IFS INDIA, Forensic Dept., Pune; Revendra Tir, independent Research Associate; Dr. Govind Singh Bisht, Podiatrist (Footcare Specialist)  practising in Delhi and Preeti and Sanjeev Kumar, Pet groomers  give insights into their professions.

Know India Better features Visakhapatnam, the second largest city of Andhra Pradesh, locally known as Vizag. Virgin beaches, blue-green sea, green-capped hills, breathtaking valleys, lush green parks, million-year-old caves, ancient Buddhist sites, a natural harbour, the only submarine museum in Asia and a lot more places to explore, makes Vizag a tourist paradise. 

The text and photos are by Rangan Datta, a mathematics teacher, who is also an avid travel writer.

Face to Face - Anshika Swaroop interviews Capt. Suresh Vanjari, an engineer who served in the Indian Army from 1963-1968 and runs an Academy in Chembur to train young boys and girls for the armed forces and other entrance exams. He talks about motivating students and preparing them for a flourishing career in defence.

Great Indians

Air Chief Marshal P C Lal DFC (1916-1982) – He was a manager and leader par excellence. To him goes the credit for the grand performance of IAF in 1974 War.

B. G. Deshmukh (1929-2011) – Bhalchandra Gopal Deshmukh was a model civil servant – polite, firm, fearless, clean and stern, who maintained the dignity of the administration. He was among those who zealously guarded certain values.

Indira Goswami (1942-2011) – Compassion was her second name. It showed not only in her love for her people and land but in her writing too. Indira Goswami’s life, her works and her courage to speak against oppression, had made her a feminist icon in Assam.

Also read our regular columns on culture, vedic mathematics, environment, patriotism and current issues. 

To order copies, call Nagesh Bangera at 022-2353 44 00 or email to oiopsub@fouressindia.com or oiop@vsnl.net