Career counsel: The path ahead

I am 35 years old and I want to pursue Law, as I am extremely interested in studying. Please advise me, and also let me know if I can pursue through distance education along with the institutes offering Law courses? -Ramani, Hyderabad

The eligibility for the 5-year integrated programme, B.A. LLB/B.Sc LLB/B.Com LLB/BSW LLB, is 12th pass and the maximum age limit is up to 20 years, therefore you will not be eligible for this course of Law. Nevertheless, if you are a graduate then you are eligible for the 3-year LLB course, there is no upper age limit for admission in this course. You are eligible for this course if you have pursued your graduation by distance learning or correspondence mode.

However, if you have graduated through open universities system, you would not be eligible for admission in law courses.The Bar Council accords no recognition for BL/LLB through distance mode for practicing as an advocate. If you want to practice as a lawyer you have to necessarily enroll in a recognised college or university and complete the three-year course in regular mode.

There are other alternate degrees, which will complement if you have an engineering background. National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law, Hyderabad, in collaboration with other recognised professional institutions in specialised areas offers one year PG Diplomas in Patents Law, Cyber Laws and Aviation Law and Air Transport Management.

A master's degree in Law of Financial Services and Capital Markets (two year course) was also recently introduced.The objective of these courses is to help professionals gain knowledge in various legal aspects, which they may have to deal in their sphere of work. The programmes are so designed that a student can develop the acumen to understand any legal implications involved and be able to recognise any risk factors beforehand.

Some universities offer non-professional courses of two-year duration leading to Bachelor of General Laws (BGL) or Bachelor of Academic Laws (BAL)Madurai Kamaraj University, Directorate of Distance Education, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, offers two-year Bachelor Of General Law (BGL)

Eligibility: Any degree.

In addition to this many institutes and universities offer PG diploma/Masters program in various disciplines:

Labor Law

IT Law

International Law

Tax and corporate Law, etc

Various law degrees can be pursued online or through distance programs. However, as per the guidelines of Bar Council, LLB acquired through distance mode is not valid to practice Law as lawyer/Advocate; you can work as a legal advisor. Also, the required attendance is 80% for each semester/year for each subject.

The courses of l aw and the institutes offering such courses are:

Symbiosis center for distance learning offers:

Post Graduate Diploma in Business and Corporate Law (PGDBCL) for Graduate in any discipline, from a recognized University.

Certificate Program in Cyber Law ( 6 months )

National Law School of India University, Bangalore offers

1.)Two-year master of business laws (M.B.L) programme

2.)One-year post graduate diploma courses:

a) Human Rights Law (PGDHRL)

b) Medical Law & Ethics (PGDMLE)

c) EnvironmentalLaw (PGDEL)

d) Intellectual Property Rights Law (PGDIPRL)

e) Child Rights Law (PGDCRL)

f) Consumer Law & Practice (PGDCLP)

g) Cyber Law & Cyber Forensics (PGDCLCF)

SOL, School of Law, IGNOU offers:

PG diploma in Intellectual Property rights ((PGDIPR) and PG diploma in Criminal Justice (PGDCJ) and various other courses, refer link: http://www.ignou.ac.in /ignou /aboutignou/school/sol/programmes/2

The Tamilnadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Department of Distance Education offers PG Diploma Courses in:

Business Law

Environmental Law

Labor Law

IT Law

Cyber Forensic and internet Security

Criminal Law, Criminology and Forensic

Science

Property Law

Human Rights and Duties Education, etc

NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad offers PG Diploma in:

Patent Law

Media Law

Cyber Law

International

Humanitarian Law

NLU, Jodhpur offers:

Three-year course in Master’s in Criminal Law, Criminology and Forensic Science and PG Diploma in Trade Related Laws

PG Diploma in:

Intellectual Property Law

Security Law and Management

Annamalai University offers:

Two-year course in Bachelor of General Law

Three-year course in Bachelor of Academic Laws

Three-year course in Bachelor of Business Laws

Diploma in Law of Taxation, Labor Law and Administrative Law

PG Diploma in Criminology and

Forensic Science

Madurai Kamaraj University, Distance education offers:

PG Diploma in Labour Laws and Administra tive Laws, Information and Communication Laws and Consumer Laws

Guru Nanak Dev University, distance Education offers LLB (academic)

Mbitious Institute of Professional Studies, Saket , New Delhi

Of 3-year LLB porgram, Correspondence, Under Graduate Degree (Bar Council of India approved)

Other colleges are:

Government College of Law, University of Mumbai

Faculty of Law, BHU, Varanasi

Faculty of Law, AMU, Aligarh

Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Delhi

Faculty of Law, University of Madras, Chennai

I L S Law College, Pune

The required personality traits are:

Excellent communication skills

High level of confidence

Analytical skills

Coping up skills to long hours of work and work related stress

Being updated with the latest changes in Law All the best!!

I am pursuing physics honours and I want to join ISRO. Please help. -Geeta Rani, S P Road

The organisation issues notifications from time to time every year regarding job opportunities. The minimum educational qualifications required to get these jobs are B Tech/B.E./M.Tech/PhD/MSc Physics. The degree should be a state or central government recognised and approved by AICTE NEW DELHI/AIMA KOLKATTA.

The minimum age limit is 21 years and maximum is 32 years.

You can try for Scientist/Engineering jobs in major centers like NRSC, SDSC, SAC, VSSC, ISAC, LPSC.

For the NRSC centre, you will have to first complete a masters in physics

For SAC, Scientist/Engineer – SC (Geophysics or Geology) you need to pursue MSc Geophysics. For Scientist/Engineer – SD (Geology/Geophysics) you need to do a PhD in Geophysics with a basic experience in that field.

I don’t think that for the VSSC, ISAC, and LPSC centers a specialisation in physics would be eligible as a B E/M E is required in various fields.To apply for the above post, you need to visit the concerned site of the ISRO center and then forward the online application. The initial screening is done and meritorious candidates are shortlisted from the received applications.

You need to then appear for the written tests scheduled on the date specified. This is followed by a personal interview and then both the scores are combined for the final selection.

Selection formalities are as follows:

• The selection procedure is based on a written test which is mainly based on the subject areas.
• The candidate who gets short listed in the written exam is called in for the interview.
• Candidates who have also done Masters in engineering are also eligible to apply for this vacancy even though the required basic qualification being a B.Tech degree.
  
• A master’s degree will always enhance the position and provide in more career prospects. There are various opportunities for science students to join ISRO. ISRO always provides opportunities for engineering graduates that too in technical posts. ISRO is the premier organisation in the country which provides job opportunities according to the field in which they are involved as well as a good job security and other benefits.
  

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Space Research Organisation are some of the major recruiters of M.Sc Physics graduates in the public sector. Department of atomic energy, Defence Research and Development Organisation and Indian Space Research Organisation’s Research and Development laboratories offer attractive job profiles for M.Sc Physics graduates. ISRO recruits M.Sc Physics graduates as Scientific Officer with a good pay scale.

By:shehre banu