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Socio logic
Career Hotline
l Cosmic connection
Course chat
food
for thought
Lame excuse
Hourly employees happier
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Socio logic
There are many students who study sociology in school or college, often by default, and then wonder what they can do after that. Sociology is a fascinating subject that covers the study of human behavior and our relationship with others within an organizational or social structure and community.
Sociology ranges from the study of relationships in family units in the most primitive cultures, to the research of large bureaucratic institutions in major industrialised nations. Human behaviour is complex and greatly influenced and governed by social, religious, and legal guidelines. Sociology also studies more tangible measures of human behaviour such as class or social status, social movements, criminal deviance, and even revolution. A sociologist studies these behaviours and the influences that preserve certain behaviours and change others. It is, therefore, a broad science, covering many different disciplines of the social sciences such as anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics. Among the specialties within sociology are criminology, demography, cultural traditions, family relations, gerontology, social welfare, race relations, social status, and social change.
Wide scope
As the study of sociology covers all aspects of human experience and activity, all aspects of how human beings gather in groups, organisations, and societies are studied, and the knowledge integrated from a variety of social disciplines, including history, economics, psychology, political science and anthropology. It is, therefore, an ideal subject for students who are interested in a wide variety of subjects and academic fields. Students of sociology develop a keen eye for detail and ability for recognising trends and patterns and for spotting relationships between pieces of information. A study of the subject also programmes students to build their analytical and critical thinking skills to solve problems in their own research. Oral and written skills are developed, as one has to present information to government agencies, funding panels, or at professional conferences. Planning, organisational and management skills are required to work efficiently and to move the projects forward. It is for this reason that after a degree in sociology you are in a position to take up a wide array of careers ranging from administration and business to human resource management, market research, counseling and communication. Because of the breadth of study involved in obtaining a degree in sociology, students are often confused about career choices after graduation, or post graduation. Graduates holding a degree in sociology can explore options in business, education, law, social research, communications, as well as in social work and public administration. They can also work with research institutes, the criminal justice system, public health and welfare organisations, social service agencies, non-profit organisations, government agencies, educational institutions, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and correctional institutions.
Job prospects
Jobs range from that of research assistant, data analyst, social workers, to advertising managers and administrators. You can also work in business and industry in market research, public relations, customer service, management, advertising, human resources, and sales. Depending on the specialisation taken at the master’s level you can work in areas related to criminal behaviour or gerontology, social welfare or demography. Students of sociology often consider a career in the civil services and can sit for the UPSC exams. A professional with a degree in sociology is well prepared for administrative positions, particularly in government and public agencies that administer human services. Sociologists also take up careers in market research organisations, researching consumer trends and working with market researchers to discover new opportunities to meet the public’s needs. Sociologists can also get into qualitative market research that deals with motivations and reasons behind people buying or not buying a product or service. By reviewing market research data and understanding historic trends, sociologists can anticipate challenges when rolling out new products or building infrastructure. Some corporations and retail organisations employ sociologists to impact the social effects of major projects like plant relocations or store openings. Sociologists also help product designers understand the overall trends shaping consumer culture in order to inspire tomorrow’s hot new products. In the field of social work and with NGOs, sociologists also work with government agencies, the police department and correction and rehabilitation centres. After a master’s degree in social work you can work with detectives and law enforcement officials to anticipate and prevent criminal behaviour. If you are interested in the area of forensics and criminology, you can also take up courses in these subjects offered by several universities. Sociologists also play an important role in public administration and development organisations for examining major development projects and the social and economic effects on the local community. Counselors and therapists also study sociology in order to better understand some of the larger trends they see among patients and can focus on critical needs in the communities they work with. In addition after graduation in sociology there are a host of study and career options for which your sociology background can be useful. You can also get into business management with an MBA after a degree in sociology working in specialisations like marketing or human resource management. Journalism and mass communication is another field of work for sociology students with good written or spoken skills. Journalists with a background in sociology are valued for their ability to provide a sociological understanding of subjects in a journalistic story and effectively defuse problems in the media by responding to the public’s concerns with carefully composed solutions. With a degree or diploma in mass communication after graduation in sociology, you can also find a job as public relations or corporate communications officer for any company, international organisation or major corporation. With a graduation or post graduation in sociology, there are a whole host of careers you can look forward to, in areas such as the Civil Services, Human Rights, Law, Social work Market Research, Human Resource Management, Anthropology, Travel & Tourism, Teaching and many others. So if you have no other choice but to take up sociology, there is no need to feel despondent. With such a diverse palette to work from every student of sociology can look forward to a bright career in today’s world of work.
Getting In
Because sociology-related careers are so diverse, it is advisable to think about one’s ultimate career goals before enrolling in a degree programme. The bachelor’s degree in sociology covers subjects such as principles of sociology, social problems, statistical analysis, race and ethnicity, social deviance, social theory, sociology of business, sociology of politics, sociology of education, urban sociology, and social psychology. The master’s degree courses tend to focus on technical skills in research and analytical training, and can include specialisations such as criminology, demography, cultural traditions, family relations, gerontology, social welfare, race relations, social status, and social change.
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Career Hotline
— Snigdha Anand A. While several premier institutions offer courses at the PG level, BSc Astronomy/Astrophysics is offered at only some universities: Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad (Mah). Course: BSc Astronomy (www.bamu.net) University of Lucknow, Badshah Bagh, Lucknow (UP). Course: BSc Astronomy (www.lu.ac.in) University of Madras, Chepauk, Triplicane PO, Chennai (TN). Course: BSc Astronomy (www.unom.ac.in) Shivaji University, Vidyanagar, Kohlapur (Mah). Course: BSc (Astrophysics)(www.unishivaji.ac.in) The study of cosmic sciences — astronomy, planetary science and astrophysics — requires a sound base in mathematics and physics at the undergraduate level, so make sure you opt for either of these in college. However, if you want to pursue instrumentation or experimental astronomy, observational astronomy, which mainly deals with image processing, accommodates people from any branch of engineering or science, including biology. Since the work involves plotting and manipulating data and theoretical modelling on computers, training in IT is required. But in case you are despairing at having to defer your passion till after you have graduated, the wonderful thing about astronomy is that unlike all other scientific disciplines, it’s a field where even a school kid can contribute if s/he is passionate and curious. Moreover, I have some more good news for you. Institutes like the Inter University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pune, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore and the Nehru Planetarium, Delhi etc. regularly invite students for workshops at their planetariums. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the subject and meet the experts. You could contact them directly for further information. Incidentally, 2009 is the Year of Astronomy. It marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo training his telescope on the skies .
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Surge ahead with Urdu
Q. In 2007 I passed M A in Urdu and cleared NET (Urdu) with 63.11 per cent marks. What type of jobs can I look at?
— Riaz Ahmed An additional course in public relations, journalism, advertising or mass communication would give you the necessary professional edge. You could also look at openings abroad in countries where Urdu is widely spoken. The Middle-Eastern and some of the Western South Asian countries are where you could look at in terms of job openings, but be prepared to face stiff competition from the local applicants who might have similar qualifications and the added advantage of regional and market familiarity. If you are fluent with any language other than Urdu i.e. English or French, a translator/ interpreter's job may be worth a try. IGNOU has introduced BEd (Urdu) in collaboration with Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad
(www.manuu.ac.in)
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Enter the ‘hospitable’ terrain
Q. I am doing Class XII from the National Institute of Open Schooling. Now I am very confused about what I can do. I want to go in the hotel industry. Are there any options available — Gurvinder Khanna There are plenty of hotel management courses, including those offered by the institutes under or affiliated to the National Council of Hotel Management & Catering Technology (NCHMCT) which offers a three-year BSc degree in Hospitality and Hotel Administration. Details: www.nchmct.org Besides these, there are several other AICTE-approved courses available in the country. Check the AICTE website for a list of recognised institutes. Beware of some of the so-called degree courses offered by some private institutes being advertised, which have no AICTE approval. The Oberoi Group’s STEP (Systematic Training and Education Programme) may also be worth looking at. This three-year programme gives you an opportunity to acquire specific and specialised training and knowledge in four operations departments: Front Office operations, Housekeeping operations, Food & Beverage service operations, and Kitchen operations Alongside, you will pursue a Bachelor of Tourism degree from IGNOU. Eligibility: you just need to have completed Cass XII. No percentage is mandated. The course commences in June every year. To apply, just fill in the online form on:
www.oberoihotels.com/careers/html. The Jaypee Hotel Group also offers a similar programme.
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Right time for MBA
Q. I have been working in auto sales for the past five years. Although the money is decent, my career seems to have hit a deadend. I have been selected for a one-year executive MBA in a leading B-school. But with the economy being what it is, I’m in two minds about letting go of a steady job.
— D.P. Singh A. Surprisingly, applications from mid-career professionals heading for B-schools have gone up considerably this year. Experts feel a good MBA programme can be an excellent investment in a bad economy as the ‘opportunity cost’ of leaving work to go into education is ‘lower than normal’ now.
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New programme for aspiring teachers
Seema Hakhu Kachru Aspiring teachers in India can now take an advantage of a new programme and earn a master’s in education as well as their teaching certification on Westminster Campus, thanks to a new McDaniel Global College partnership. The partnership, with Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies in Kerala, will bring people who already have degrees in Math or the Sciences, and an interest in teaching, to McDaniel for “an accelerated and intensive” one-year version of its graduate education programme, said Henry Reiff, dean of graduate and professional studies. ”We certainly have a lot of confidence that there is a real interest in India to take advantage of this programme,” said Reiff, hoping that the students’ training will also be in demand in India. The programme was also designed with American needs in mind. Maths and Science, particularly at the secondary level, are among critical shortage areas for teachers in Maryland and the nation, and the state brings in a greater number of new teachers in those subjects than it produces each year, he said. The ways in which school districts end up filling some positions — seeking career-changers from the professional world or teachers trained abroad — “leave some big gaps in terms of teacher preparation,” Reiff said. “That’s what we’re committed to doing. “It’s clear that this need exists in Maryland and, again, in many states,” Reiff said, adding that the programme does not guarantee employment here. “The ramifications are not just about having teachers in high school, but preparing students to go to college and major in those areas,” he said. The first group of students, who could come from various fully accredited Indian universities, is expected to start at the college in January, Reiff said. Earlier this month, accepted students began a programme at Mar Athanasios College to help familiarise them with American English, and prepare them for the realities of working with US students and for a standardised test teachers must take, called the PRAXIS, Reiff said. Due to the critical need for science and maths teachers, successful completion of the programme increases the likelihood that the Indian students will be able to find teaching employment in Maryland and other states, he said. — PTI
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food
for thought
In today’s competitive and uncertain job market, after qualification and work experience, it’s a candidate’s achievements that make him/her stand apart in the crowd.
So, just like your work, your career, too, requires meticulous planning and managing. However, there is one important difference between the two. While managing your work, you can always delegate certain responsibilities to others but you cannot assign your career progress to anyone else. It is a project that you must accomplish all by yourself. Neither your company, nor your boss, nor the human resource department will look after your career in a way you yourself can. Therefore, to reach your career aspirations, you must actively manage it yourself. Here are some useful tips that you follow to move on the right track:
Maintain daily record
At the end of each day make note of at least one accomplishment mentioning its significance. You cannot expect to have tall achievements to your credit everyday but even small achievements count. The basic idea of writing down accomplishments is to get an idea of the value you add to your company. When you identify the significance of the work you do, for example, how you increased productivity, reduced costs or achieved targets, you can be ready with specific examples to be presented during performance reviews. Increasing visibility for your work among peers and superiors is the first step that puts your career on a sound footing.
polish your resume
Go on adding your latest accomplishments to the basic content in your resume. Your list of daily accomplishments helps you do this easily. You can also use data to customize your resume to match the specific requirements of any good job opening that come your way. You can choose relevant points that make you a better aspirant for the job. Citing specific examples adds weight to your credentials.
Join groups
It is in your own interest and much beneficial to join any professional body in your area of operations. Getting professional certifications elevates your expertise and at the same time helps you to move with the latest developments taking place in your domain. In this way, you also get an opportunity to associate with successful professionals in your field, seek their advice, learn about available opportunities and also understand how to face challenges and uncertainties.
Be your own coach
As you progress in your profession, you have to continuously adapt yourself to new roles. In order to become a better performer, you must make necessary changes in your behaviour, attitude and approach towards work. Even an external indication such as feedback from your boss might point towards a need for personal change. But on most occasions, you don’t know what exactly to change. In such situations, it is good if you can find a “guru” who can guide you accurately and properly. In case this is not possible, even self-coaching would be helpful. Self-coaching requires you to honestly make a list of what exactly is going wrong in situations that you know you cannot handle efficiently. For example, you identify a need to improve your style of communication. Note down what happens when you communicate. For example, if you are too short-tempered, write down the consequences of your behaviour, say your shouting at the subordinates upsets them; they are confused and mess up things further. Then create your own goals to mend your behaviour. You can’t control your anger overnight but you can keep in mind not to flare up more than once during the day.
Avoid office politics
This is imperative. Your career and happiness depend upon how efficiently you handle office politics. Career success is not at all about talent. If you want your career to be a brilliant one, never involve yourself in petty office politics. Don’t be a party to gossip and never spread rumours.
Manage workload
It is but natural that you will have to accede to the various requests of your boss and other superiors, as they are the ones who will speak up for your performance and salary hike. Also, you shouldn’t refuse them and be in their bad books as they can make or mar your career. But don’t become a “yes man” all the time. Taking more load than you can handle, will retard your progress. Do only what is feasible for you and put across your point if you are not able to manage extra load. Take up work you can handle properly and not be compelled to do it.
Eliminate setbacks
In an uncertain world events will not happen according .to your expectations. You have to accept the setbacks because these are inevitable but try not to get overpowered by them. You can maintain your self-confidence by rating your progress on a scale of 0 to 10. This way you know you have at least made some progress though you still have to cover a long distance. When you acknowledge your achievements, it provides you the motivation to move forward. To mould your career according to your wishes, you must focus on doing certain things. First of all you must know your strengths and weaknesses well. Always enhance your strengths and make concerted efforts to overcome weaknesses. But more importantly, you must have the determination necessary to move ahead in spite of big hurdles being present at every turn in your journey. If you follow these tips sincerely, you are surely to build a sound career for yourself.
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Lame excuse
The study involving 1,000 employers showed that just seven per cent of them trusted the reasons staff gives for being late.One in five respondents said long, over-complicated stories were the biggest giveaway. Almost a third said avoiding eye contact was another. A fifth of bosses said hearing the same excuse again and again made it less convincing, while 12 per cent said any excuses given on a Monday morning were even less believable. Nearly two-thirds of employers believe they were experienced enough to tell when a member of staff is lying about why they were delayed. However, female employers were found to be more trusting, with eight per cent fully believing the excuses staff give compared to just six per cent of male bosses.
“As a nation, problems within our homes certainly seem to be a common reason given for lateness,” the Daily Express quoted Mike Pickard, head of risk and underwriting at esure home insurance, which compiled the study, as saying.
“If we are to believe even half the excuses included in this study, then we anticipate a lot of calls about emergency home cover or claims for accidental damage this winter,” he
added
The researchers also uncovered 10 weakest excuses. Topping the list was being unable to shut a window. Then came a broken burglar alarm followed by sick pets, spillages and, at number five, claiming to be snowed in.
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The green touch
Here’s one place where the rural jobs scheme is scripting a green success story. Around 60,000 persons in Bihar's Tirhut division are busy looking after 12 million plants and are being paid for it.
“More than 60,000 persons, mostly the poorest of the poor, are looking after 1.2 crore plants every day in the Tirhut division comprising half a dozen districts and earning wages for it under the NREGA,” S.M. Raju, Tirhut division commissioner, informed. The NREGA is the Central Government’s flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to provide jobs to the rural poor. Raju is the man behind this successful experiment that began in August. He says he managed to engage a large number of people for planting fruit-bearing as well as other trees by linking it to their livelihood. ”I mobilised people by linking plantation with employment,” Raju said. He said sapling plantation was still going on in the division. "Our target is to grow three crore plants in the area by March next year," he said. He is already working on a plan to plant bamboo along the 280-km long Gandak project embankment from Valmikinagar to Vaishali district. “So far, more than 100,000 bamboo saplings have been planted in West Champaran district,” he said. According to him, bamboo plantation is the best way to protect embankments during floods. Raju, who has studied agriculture, said there was no shortage of funds to go ahead with the plantation drive. Impressed by Raju’s work, the National Institute of Administrative Research, run under the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, has recommended that other states emulate the practice of massive plantation of fruit trees and bamboo under the NREGA.
The institute has decided to discuss the concept at a workshop to be held at Bhubaneswar, Orissa, in the first week of January. A.S. Khullar, a professor of the institute, in a circular to the state government said families should be engaged as “van-poshaks” (plant protectors) against wages paid under the NREGA. “A researcher of the institute during his field visit found Raju’s concept linking social forestry to the NREGA an effective way to check soil erosion and encourage agro-based industry,” said an official in the Bihar rural development department.
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Hourly employees happier
People paid by the hour tend to be happier than their salaried counterparts, says a new study. “Much of our day-to-day lives are subject to various organisational practices of payment that can prime different ways of thinking, such as the monetary value of one's time,” write study authors Sanford E. DeVoe and Jeffrey Pffer of the University of Toronto and Stanford.
They found that the way in which an employee is paid is tied to their feeling of happiness. They theorise that hourly wage earners focus more attention on their pay than those who earn a salary. That concrete, consistent focus on the worth of the employee's time in each pay check influences the level of happiness the employee feels, says a Toronto university release. Researchers explored the relationship between income and happiness by focusing on the organisational arrangements that make the connection between time and money. These findings were published in the current issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
(PSPB).
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Happiness @ work Many times, most of us, like Arjuna at Kurukshetra, are confused about what to do. Go for intelligent action. Krishna explains, “Even the educated get confused while differentiating between action and inaction. Only the one, who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is truly intelligent (Gita 4.16-4.18).” He demonstrated action-in-inaction on the battlefield. Despite having a smaller army and Krishna not wielding any weapon, the Pandavas won the Mahabharata war. Without flexing any muscles and using his gray matter, charioteer Krishna fashioned the Pandava win. All the scheming Kaikeyi did to get her son Bharata on the throne boomeranged. While Bharata did not assume office, Kaikeyi got a bad name in history books, lost her husband and even her son’s respect. Her actions ended up being inactions. While a hot-headed worker may raise a storm and yet not be able to get his work done, a cool guy can be successful. The Panchatantra explains, The forest-fire leaves roots entire, Though trunks remain a shell; The flooding pool of water cool Uproots the roots as well. — Sai R. Vaidyanathan The writer can be contacted at svaidyanathan@tribunemail.com
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Fortnightly Quiz-351
1. In which year was the state of Andhra Pradesh created?
2. Which country’s cricket team occupies the top position in the ICC Test rankings? 3. Name the Indian organisation whose scientists recently decoded the human genome sequence in a record time? 4. Which renowned scooter company has decided to stop production in India? 5. In which year did the Bhopal gas tragedy take place? 6. What is the capital of Denmark? 7. To which country does the Miss World 2009 belong? 8. What is the maximum number of runs scored by an Indian in a single day in a Test match? 9. What is India’s highest-ever total in a cricket Test match? 10. What is the highest score in a T20 match? — Tarun Sharma
Winners of quiz 350: The first prize by draw of lots goes to Prince Attri, class X-A, Tagore Memorial Senior Secondary School (behind post office), Gurdaspur, Pin Code - 143521 Second: Savita Patial, class X, Govt High School, Chandpur, Palampur, Pin Code - 176061 Third: Navjot Kaur, class VIII-A, roll no 16, Delhi International School, Faridkot, Pin Code - 151203 Answers to quiz 350: 100; Pratibha Patil; Sheikh Hasina; Stem cells; Volkswagen, Toyota; Karnataka; Tirumala; South Africa; 28; Sachin Tendulkar Cash awards of Rs 400, 300 and 200 are given to the first, second and third prize winners, respectively. These are sent at the school address. Note: Kindly mention the pincode of your place to facilitate the delivery of the prize money. Answers can also be sent
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The writer is a noted career expert and director, Career Guidance India (CARING). Please send in your queries with your full name, complete address
and academic qualifications to: The Editor, Jobs and Careers, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030, or at careers
@tribunemail.com
Aspiring teachers in India can now take an advantage of a new programme and earn a master’s in education as well as their teaching certification on Westminster Campus, thanks to a new McDaniel Global College partnership.
The partnership, with Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies in Kerala, will bring people who already have degrees in Math or the Sciences, and an interest in teaching, to McDaniel for “an accelerated and intensive” one-year version of its graduate education programme, said Henry Reiff, dean of graduate and professional studies.
Happiness
@ work
You can take up the study of sociology as a subject at all levels. After Plus II with any subject stream you can take up a degree in sociology, or a specialisation of sociology or the social sciences after graduation. 
Q. I am in Class XII and wish to study astronomy. Can I study this subject at the Bachelor’s level? What are the minimum qualifications required?
A. In general terms, after a PhD in Urdu, you could either take up teaching at the college or university level or join the print or electronic media (given the large number of Urdu based channels being telecast worldwide) as a journalist, web content creator, compere, announcer, newsreader, anchorperson, scriptwriter, copywriter in an advertising agency, technical writer, public relations executive, editor, etc. Creative writing is yet another option. With the proliferation of the media, there is a growing demand for those who can communicate with style, ease and competence. 
A. The Secondary/Senior Secondary certificates obtained from NIOS have the same recognition as those issued by other boards. NIOS learners do appear and compete in various competitive exams – provided they fulfil the eligibility criteria such as age, requirements of specific subjects, minimum percentage of marks and so on.
The next time you arrive late for work, don’t start giving excuses to your boss, for a new study has found that employers don’t believe excuses for not being in on time.
