What next after Intermediate?

I've completed intermediate and now looking for further studies, I'm not interested in regular courses, so please suggest what career options I have. -Pravallika, Hyderabad.

Good to hear that you do not want to become another me too type. There are plenty of courses available in the market. Apart from regular engineering, medicine, one can do LLB and also other computer related courses with cyber laws as specialisation. As we know, Ayurveda, the perfect science or knowledge of life is believed to be the oldest treatment method which evolved around 600 BC in India and nowadays Ayurvedic treatment is gaining much more importance.

The number of pharmaceutical companies manufacturing Ayurvedic medicines is increasing and the medicines are getting popular even in other countries. Most people prefer to do professional courses such as engineering, medicine, design, pharmacy, agriculture/ fisheries, business administration, computer/ IT or choose an academic degree in arts, science, commerce or humanities and branch out to a profession after graduation or post graduation. Other options are fine arts, fashion designing, journalism/mass communication, multimedia, hospitality, tourism, etc.

I'm pursuing MBA final year with marketing/HR specialisation and want to do internship in relevant stream. Please suggest. - Latha, Hyderabad.

The pre-placement activity should start from second year to prepare for the internship. Internship in a startup is always better to understand how things actually work in real life. By doing so, you can also check your interests / strengths. Rit Educational & Health Care Services, Hyderabad is looking for interns who have done/pursuing MBA HR/marketing or MA/M.Sc. psychology for a period of three months. You can check this link http://bit.ly/12koqWS to apply. There is a possibility of you being hired in the same organisation if you perform better.

Very often I get calls from recruiters at various consultancy firms and ask me to provide my details. How to identify the call/email is genuine or not and suggest me ways to overcome a) wasting my time, b) divulging confidential information to wrong people and c) developing false hopes. - Riteesha, Kondapur.

Basically, there are two types of recruiters, firstly those who get into business because it does not require much investment and they want to earn by closing deals at the earliest. They really do not care what others think about how they're doing it and secondly those who are building relationships with their clients and jobseekers. These recruiters want to make a difference by contributing to their professional community. You do not find them in rush mode, as it's time taking process.

Read the below pointers to find out who falls into second category:
S Ask those recruiters some thoughtful questions about the vacancy he or she is calling you about. Instead of asking salary and designation, take a lead if you find it is the right one which is of your interest. If he/she is a good recruiter then they will share enough information and thereby facilitate you to take a better decision.

If it's not relevant to you, they may request you to mention contact details of other friends who are suitable for the job profile they are recruiting. Secondly, ask him/her about their job, how long they are into this business... what positions they have filled so far... The first category recruiters are not interested to reveal their details.

The second category recruiters will proudly share some of their experiences with you. The other aspect is timelines, whether the recruiters respect your time, return your call, and give proper answer to your call. The second category recruiters won't just ask for your resume. They do remote assessment through social media and other innovative tools.

Based on their research, they would be suggesting you whether you fit the company, the department, the job, etc. Talking to everyone is not his/her business, but finding the right talent and fill the vacancy in stipulated time is his/her business. A good recruiter may not have enough time to contact them unless they happen to have expertise in the exact assignment he/she is currently working on.

I've completed B.Sc. Microbiology and I want to become a Scientist, so please suggest what I should pursue further.-Kiranmayi, Nalgonda

I should appreciate you for your career plan. Instead of going for mere PG, you opted to become a Scientist. PG without Ph.D. is futile… Chemical research is advancing in India, with emerging world class capabilities in Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology at several Indian Centers of excellence. Do your PG first in the selected area. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) UGC, etc. conduct entrance tests for recruiting into various departments of the government.

University Grants Commission (UGC) conducts National Eligibility Test (NET) to determine eligibility for lectureship and for award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) for Indian nationals in order to ensure minimum standards for the entrants in the teaching profession and research. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) conducts the CSIR-UGC NET for other Science subjects, namely, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and Earth Atmospheric Ocean & Planetary Sciences jointly with the UGC.

The tests are conducted twice a year. For candidates who desire to pursue research, the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) is available for five years subject to fulfillment of certain conditions. UGC has allocated a number of fellowships to the universities for the candidates who qualify the test for JRF. The JRFs are awarded to meritorious candidates.

JRFs are available only to those candidates who opt for it in their application forms. For more details visit: www.ugc.ac.inand

By:kamal Pabba