Philosophy
Opportunities shine in thinker’s stable
Gauri Chhabra

"The unexamined life is not worth living" — Socrates

To live life fully, we all need to view it inside out and seek answers to questions such as: What is ultimately real? What is the nature and extent of our knowledge? What is the source and nature of our moral obligations? It is philosophy that would lead us to the deeper realms of life and make us dive into topics such as justice, credibility, mind, beauty, truth, language, existence, and knowledge.

Contrary to the popular belief that a degree in philosophy is not the ticket to a high profile career, after the financial Tsunami witnessed the world over, it seems to be the only field that would help us solve problems that materialism has failed to answer. Besides, Philosophy also strikes a cord with fields as varied as nursing, counseling, journalism etc.

Getting in

Those who have completed Plus II with a minimum of 50 per cent score in any stream of study can apply for a three-year degree course with a subject combination including philosophy, besides opting for a diploma course in philosophy and reasoning. After that you can move on to a post graduation — M.A Philosophy — a two-year degree, the criteria for which is an undergraduate degree in any discipline.

The selection of candidates for courses in philosophy is done on the basis of the marks scored in the qualifying exam or on the basis of entrance exams conducted by universities. The selection criteria may vary according to the university selected for study. Some of the areas for PG degree are:

M.A. (Gandhian Philosophy)

M.A. (Philosophy)

M.A. (Philosophy, Culture & Tourism

M.A. (Saiva Siddhanta Philosophy)

Postgraduates in Philosophy can apply for M.Phil. (Philosophy) and M.Phil. (Saiva Siddhanta Philosophy) as well as PhD programmes in the related area.

Career pathways

Since philosophy covers many areas of human experience, including the study of reality, existence, logic, and moral and social issues, as a philosophy graduate you can pursue a career in business, education, government, and the non-profit sector. Some of the specific areas are:

Technical writing: Technical writing is a field that comes up as an offshoot of your philosophy degree. After majoring in philosophy, you can become a technical writer and explain in plain English technical and scientific ideas. For example, you can put together instruction manuals for electronic products such as computers or digital cameras. This career is not limited to the aforementioned example. You can also work for insurance companies or the government agency, explaining complex ideas and procedures into consumable, comprehensible language.

Counseling: As a counselor, you can help an individual deal with an issue or conflict that has become too complex and handle situations when people render their life meaningless or feel trapped in a cycle and their family members or friends can no longer help them. You can help people give vent to hidden biases surface and dig into an individual’s unconscious for answers.

Software design: Another offbeat career that you may take up is software design. Though it may mean training in technical and mathematical abilities, as a philosophy major, you can easily attain and ascend in these skills. In fact, many computer companies look for philosophy majors or minors when hiring programmers and tech support individuals. The philosophical part of software design comes in when logic is applied to object-oriented programming.

Management: You can also choose to enter business school and obtain an MBA after getting a degree in philosophy. This route works well because philosophers have the analytic skills to do well at business related tasks. Alternatively, without going to business school, you may find that you have a penchant for the business world. Look into entrepreneurship, managerial positions, and positions that allow you to shine with the skills you learned as a philosophy major.

Journalism: Very few people actually think of taking this route. Because philosophers have so much skill with writing after the enormous amount of writing they have to do, one great job for philosophy majors is working as a journalist. If your focus was on political philosophy, you will be quite adept at analysing the speeches of politicians for the local or national paper. You might want to tone down your enthusiasm for a great argument. Journalists are supposed to strive for impartiality. Alternatively, you may find work as an editorial consultant, writer or editor for publishing houses. This can be a great avenue as well. If you’re interested in taking on either of these career paths, you might want to work for your university newspaper or a local paper on an intern basis. That way, you can take clips with you when you graduate to support your strong academic background.

Corporate communication: As a philosophy major, you will no doubt have much experience presenting and evaluating arguments. This makes you a great candidate for work in public relations, administration, communication, advertising, and integrated marketing communications as a whole. Make sure that you play up your debate, critical thinking, attention-to detail, and analytical skills as these are desirable traits for such positions and they give you a cutting edge over the competition over other candidates.

With any major you choose, you should pick a subject that you enjoy. If you enjoy ethics, you may want to serve on an ethics board for a company. If you enjoyed logic, then computer science may be the field for you.

In all, you should love what you do and do what you love! Make your vocation your avocation.

— The writer is a Ludhiana-based career consultant

Risk Management
Safeguarding business interests
Shalini Chakravorty

The current economic scenario and the volatile nature of markets is making more and more companies focus on risk management services and hire risk mitigation professionals to ensure the smooth running of business operations. Since risk management professionals play a key role in equipping business entities with tools to combat threat situations and guard their business from all kinds of risks, they are on the same plane as business developers.

Scope

It is generally believed that risk only includes financial risks. Physical risks posed by law and order issues, increasing crime and terrorist activities, natural hazards, epidemics, social disputes and many other such could also come in the way of business operations. These necessitate serious understanding and strategising.

India’s economy is making its presence felt in the world market and the country is also a pasture for foreign direct investments. Risk managers come on the scene when these investors seek their help for elaborate risk assessments and regularly guide them with updated risk scenarios.

Major players in the banking and financial services sector, telecom lately real estate firms are looking into investing seriously on risk managers, increasing the demand for such professionals by at least 30-40 per cent.

According to 2011 data released by the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Risk Consultancy market is worth approximately $30 billion (Rs 1.6 lakh crore) globally. In India, the data reflected that the volume of risk managers has taken an almost three-fold leap over the past two years.

Firms in the Banking Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector and telecom industry have been taking a stringent approach towards risk management of late due to tighter compliance norms required by their regulators.

The customer requirements of these companies have also increased, giving a direct boost to demand for such risk managers by about 40 per cent.

A flurry of corporate scams and frauds that India has witnessed recently, especially soon after the recession (2008-2009), has highlighted the significance of risk management, not necessarily from the financial standpoint but also from the view of quality of the work force employed. Due diligence, internal audits, background checks, including employment, education and legal are instances of the aspects that are necessary in a company / business entity other than financial reviews. Recently, global companies like Reebok and OnMobile Global have been under investigation by government authorities for alleged financial misconduct. Mobile value-added services firm OnMobileGlobal admitted there were weaknesses in its processes. Similarly, global sportswear major Adidas also recently admitted there were some 'commercial irregularities' at the Indian unit of Reebok. British bank Barclays Plc is also embroiled in an interest rate rigging scandal.

The work

Risk managers are involved right from the planning and strategy stage through the final closure of the transaction, pointing out and explaining risks with recommendations and solutions at every stage. They manage complex situations in opaque, dangerous or unfamiliar markets and advise client organisation about the potential risks, if any, to its business (es), profitability or existence after identifying and assessing threats posed by uncertain environments. Based on their findings they then advise their client about means to avoid, reduce or transfer risks.

The importance of risk mitigation could be understood from the frequency of queries from joint venture companies, private equity firms, multi-national and global companies to risk managers seeking assistance since the companies lack local knowledge and expertise. It is only with the guidance of risk mitigation consultants that the decision of movement of employees and the opening up of new businesses is made. Risk managers are also responsible for managing the risks of employees, customers, reputation, assets and interests of stakeholders.

Job scape

They may work in a variety of sectors and may specialise in a number of areas, including enterprise risk, corporate governance, regulatory and operational risk, business continuity, information and security risk, technology risk, and market and credit risk.

Career profile

A risk manager could either be a generalist with a CA degree or a specialist, who could be sales and marketing graduate, lawyers, MBA or even a research and development professional. Though companies hire risk managers for overall risk assessment, some firms may have such managers for specific areas such as supply chain.

Since risk managers extract/collect intelligence from various sources, also on condition of anonymity, a conservative approach is essential and forms the basis of the job ethics. Investment banks, law firms, MNCs, private equity firms, and so on comprise their clientele and they are essentially bound by internationally recognised professional standards of total confidentiality, which they assure to their clients.

Risk management has become a high priority agenda for CEOs and has acquired a 'corporate imperative' status. This is evident from the fact that even non-financial companies have begun to embrace the concept of appointing Chief Risk Officers (CROs). CROs are expected to rigorously question the assumptions underlying the business strategy and validate the same using benchmarking data, competitive data and sector analysis. Risk managers help CROs (or people in equivalent positions) to develop, deploy and maintain a practical, holistic risk management approach that can help them through immediate, long-term, and evolving risks.

— The writer is Country Manager, Hill n Associates

Career Hotline
NCFM exam info
Pervin Malhotra

Pervin Malhotra

Q. I am a student of B.Com. I want to inquire about NCFM exam which is held by the National Stock Exchange of India. Can you please tell me about the procedure, requirements and scope of this exam?

— Ekta Parnami

A. The National Stock Exchange offers NSE Certification in Financial Markets (NCFM) to test and certify people in specialised areas like derivatives, debt markets, depository operations etc, for manning the terminals at stock exchanges or working with banks and mutual fund companies in the financial market. There are 15 modules.

Eligibility: Plus II and familiarity with computers.

The online test comprising 60-70 questions can be taken year-round at any of the accredited test centres in six cities.

The certification is valid for three years (five years for some) after which you have to re-appear in the test to continue as a broker.

Log on to www.nse-india.com for details.

NCFM modules are widely recognised in India as a necessary criterion for employment in the financial and capital markets.

Web-based e-learning courses for professionals, retail investors and students designed by NSE.IT, a wholly owned subsidiary of NSE, can be accessed on www.finvarsity.com

The Certification is granted upon clearing the requisite online test. Fees vary: Rs 500 - 2,500.

NSE, Technical Analysis Certification

NSE Certified Market Professional (CMP) imparts comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge of the Stock, Commodity and Forex markets to help you become a market professional.

The curriculum, also leads to certifications (NCFM) in Capital Market (Dealer) Module, Derivatives Market (Dealer) Module, Commodities Market Module, NISM-Series I Currency Derivatives Module conducted by the National Stock Exchange to equip students with an excellent head start in the job market.

Duration: Hours: 240 hours

What’s the scope in agriculture management?

Q. I have completed my BSc (Agri). I am thinking of going in for an MBA in Agri Management? What is the scope of this field?

— Ritesh Marwah

A. Agri-management is all about the systematic utilisation of the available agricultural and related resources like water, labour etc to maximise production. The curriculum of most of these programmes covers all the functional areas of management with a focus on applications in the agricultural, food, rural and allied sectors.

At IIM-A for instance, the ABM programme covers courses in commodity futures and derivatives, implications of WTO, logistics, export and food quality management.

Incidentally, this Programme was ranked as World No #1 amongst the Top Best Master Programmes in the World in Global Masters Ranking in Agribusiness & Food Industry Mgt.

Agri-business management programmes prepare you for a managerial and entrepreneurial career in enterprises serving or dependent on agriculture and allied sectors related to agriculture, food, agri-business, rural and allied sectors.

These enterprises may be engaged in activities in various segments of the agricultural value chain such as:

Production and marketing of inputs (seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, farm machinery and equipment, livestock feed, irrigation, and credit);

Production, procurement, processing & marketing of output: e.g. agriculture (crops, livestock, fisheries, forestry, agro-forestry, horticulture, dairying) marketing, agro/food processing;

Agriculture-related services: such as export and import, rural banking, financing agri-products, insurance, logistics, water management, R& D, and rural energy.

Increasingly companies, including the MNCs, are realising that the future lies in agri-marketing. To make Indian agriculture globally competitive, it’s important to shift the focus from deficit to surplus management.

How can I form an NGO?

Q. I am likely to retire from a PSU job in the coming year. I am associated with Insurance Industry (LIC). There are a number of policies for the weaker section of society and these can be offered through NGOs. Will you please tell me the procedure for forming an NGO whose sole purpose will be to offer insurance to people from the weaker sections of society.

— Dev Raj

A. It’s a great idea! However, to start your own NGO, the first thing you need is a competent team — like-minded people who have interest in the same activity.

Your NGO should have a legal status i.e. it should be registered as a Society or a Trust or a Company under Sec. 25)

Once you’ve decided to set up the NGO, visit the Charity Commissioner/Asst Charity Commissioner’s office and prepare your bylaws in accordance with the performa.

The procedure is as follows:

a) Conduct a meeting to declare the objective of the proposed NGO and the names of the president, vice-president, treasurer, advisor, member etc.

b) Pass a resolution to form the NGO and all members must sign on it with the date and proposed name of NGO.

c) Once that’s done, obtain the form from the Charity Commissioner/Asst Charity Commissioner’s Office.

According to the Performa, you must complete the following documents:

1) Power of Attorney in the name of president/secretary

2) Consent letter of all members/trustees

3) Resolution

4) Bylaws of the NGO as Performa (Draft an MOA)

5) NOC from the premises owner of the address at which NGO to be registered

6) Declaration of all movable and immovable assets of NGO on Rs 20 non-judicial stamp paper

7) Other document as required

After that, apply to the same office under Registration of Societies Act 1860 and Public Trust Act of your state.

You should receive your registration certificate within one month (in the case of Society and two months in the case a of Trust) along with the registration number.

If you want tax exemption, you must apply to the Income Tax department under Section 80(G) as soon as you get your registration number.

For Foreign Funding, you need to apply for FCRA

Once the procedure is completed, you need to take care of the other important aspects of running the NGO i.e. Fundraising, Marketing, Strategy Mgt, Monitoring & Evaluation and Accounting.

Email your queries to careers@tribunemail.com

Scholarship roundup

Archaeology fellowship in Jordan: The American Centre of Oriental Research offers Kenneth W. Russell Fellowship for international students to pursue graduate programme in archaeology in Jordan 2013-2014 The fellowship will be awarded to assist a graduate student of any nationality other than Jordanian to participate in an ACOR approved archaeological excavation or research project in Jordan.

Eligibility: For the 2013-2014 funding cycle only non-Jordanian graduate students are eligible. Students whose expenses are being borne largely or entirely by the project are ineligible. Applicants must be enrolled graduate students at the time of application.

Details: The Fellowship provides support in the amount of $1,800. The fellowship must be used during the period between May 1, 2013 and April 30, 2014. The fellowship is to assist in partial payment of essential expenses for graduate students. Students whose expenses are being borne largely or entirely by the project are ineligible. This award may be combined with an ACOR research fellowship to provide for residence at the ACOR center in Amman or an ACOR travel fellowship if this grant is used for research. Applicants must be enrolled graduate students at the time of application.

Notification: Applicants will be notified by April 15, 2013.

How to apply: By post.

Deadline: February 1, 2013.

Check out: www.acorjordan.org

Thrust for environment studies

The Sindicatum Climate Change Foundation (SCCF) is funding scholarships for Indian and international students to pursue master’s programmes at TERI University. The scholarships are offered by the foundation as part of its “Redfort” project each year.

Study Subject(s): Climate Science and Policy, Environmental Studies and Resource Management, Geoinformatics, Economics, Renewable Energy Engineering and Management and Sustainable Development Practice.

Eligibility: Eligibility criterion for each programme differs and it is mentioned under respective programme details at university website.

Details: For Indian students: The scholarship would entitle the selected candidates to a 100 per cent fee waiver. In addition, scholarship holders would be entitled to a book grant of Rs 15,000 per year which will be given in two installments.

For foreign students: The selected foreign students would be entitled to get complete waiver of tuitions fees and allied fees, a book grant of Rs. 15,000 (will be given in two installments), living expenses at Rs 25,000 per month, which will be paid at the beginning of each month during their period of study and reimbursement of air fare to New Delhi and back from their place of residence (Subject to a maximum of Rs. 60,000).

Number of award(s): 4 (2 students from India and 2 from abroad).

Selection criteria: Selection is based on a merit (rank in the entrance examination for Indian students, and previous academic records for international students) cum means criteria. In addition, all applicants are required to submit an essay indicating their career aspirations and goals. This will be considered in the selection process. Continuation of the scholarship in the second and subsequent semesters will depend on successful completion of the courses during the preceding semester and maintaining the requisite grade point average as per the rules and regulations of the university.

How to Apply: By post.

Deadline: April 25, 2013.

Check out: www.teriuniversity.ac.in

Opportunity for management students

Southampton Management School at UK’s University of Southampton is offering two scholarships of worth £5000 each to Indian students for the full-time AMBA accredited MBA programme starting September 2013.

Eligibility: Applicants who wish to apply for the scholarships are required to have at least four years of work experience and be at least 26 years old.

English language requirements are at IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any component, or equivalent and candidates must be academically excellent.

Deadline: January 30, 2013.

Check out: www.southampton.ac.uk/management/postgraduate/taught_courses/ master_of_business_ administration_full_time.page?

Testing times: Choice of exam mode for JEE (MAINS)
Take the online route with caution

Students appearing for the JEE (Main) exam now have the option of taking the test online. This has lead to confusion over the more apt mode of taking the exam among the aspirants. Both the formats have their plus and minus points and students should choose the mode according to their own skills and aptitude rather than due to peer pressure. As far as the difficulty level of the test paper is concerned there is not going to be any difference in the two modes. However, students opting for the online test will surely get a few days more to prepare as the online test will be held after the offline test. But this time gap is going to benefit only those students who follow a planned preparation routine. Here are some points which can help the students to make an informed decision:

• JEE Main online exam is scheduled from April 8 to 30, 2013. So an aspirant can opt for exam date as per his/her choice. Consequently, he/she will also get the choice of shift if exam is in two shifts. Whilst offline exam will held on April 7, 2013 strictly. So, here, if the student chooses the online mode, there is a flexibility being provided to the students.
• The exam will be computer based and not internet based. During examination, a candidate can review or change his answer any time. Moreover, he can also mark any answer for review at a later stage.
• Also, there will be a panel on the screen of computer which shows all questions in different colour scheme indicating which questions are answered/ answered/marked for review. So the chances of confusion are almost nil.
• For the students to accustom themselves for real-time computer based exam of JEE, there has been made available AIEEE mock test http://cbse.nic.in/AIEEMockSetup2.exe on JEE Main official website so that candidates can familiar with look and feel of online exam in simulated environment. Another mock test will also be available on the site in the first/second week of Jan 2013.
• The students need not worry about the speed of internet connection. The entrance will conduct on LAN (Local Area Network) so it is fast enough to answer in online exam. After the exam schedule, JEE question paper will be mailed to each and every candidate. So, they have a copy of the question paper even if they are not opting for an offline exam.

Preparation tips

• Know exactly what will be covered and what kinds of questions will be asked. Practice tests will be your best source of information.
• Begin your study-review preparation far in advance of the test.
• Take all comprehension checks, progress tests, and practice tests. For each question missed, find the relevant information in your text and read to locate the correct answer. Make a note in the margin using a different colour of ink to call attention to this information. You need to correct your thinking, and this will require extra attention.
• Mark your textbook and online reading printouts to identify key information so it can be easily found.
• Reserve time before taking the exam for a last, once-through review.
• Make sure your environment is distraction, interruption free. Alert others that you need the designated amount of time to complete your test and cannot be interrupted.

— With inputs from Aakash Chaudhry, Director Aakash Educational Service Ltd.

Field in focus: human resource management
HR: The dark horse
D.S. Cheema

With finance and marketing hogging the attention of B-school aspirants, HR has not been getting its due. This versatile option can open doors to a lucrative career in almost any sector

Shutterstock

Change and flux are the two defining tangents of the corporate world at present. It is for all to see that one third of the Fortune 500 companies of 1990s, considered high performing then, weren’t even there at the turn of the century. The point is that old order will not work in the present times and HR can play a critical role in fostering and managing diversity and change.

Globalisation that is taking place at breathtaking pace is bound to have its impact in the way HR systems are designed and implemented. But unfortunately, the role that HR can play in shaping the destiny of business organisations has not been understood in the correct perspective by the corporate world, especially in the Indian context. In most of the companies HR professionals are still not getting their due.

Institute watch Indian Institute of Management (all seven locations) University Business School, Panjab University, Chandigarh XLRI Jamshedpur; Xavier’s Institute of Management, Bhubneshwar; Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad and Mohali; Jamana lal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University MDI, Gurgaon SP Jain Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune.

The bias against HR starts right from the beginning — when students have to choose this specialisation in MBA. Though most B-schools keep coming out with many innovative and specialised courses such as MBA in Hospitality and Tourism, Sports Management, Pharmaceuticals, IT, Knowledge Management etc, but students are wary of the credibility, reputation and job-potential of courses other than the three tried and tested specialisations i.e. Finance, Marketing and HR. Out of these three top preferences, Finance takes the lead, Marketing is the second and HR is mostly the poor third. No doubt MBA (Finance) and MBA (Marketing) generate a high level of corporate interest as these two choices can lead to many job profiles like Bankers, Cash/Credit Managers, Management Consultants in Finance, Treasure and Finance Officer, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) etc and Marketing Manager, Market Research Analyst, Area/ Regional Manager Marketing/Sales, Brand Manager, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and so on.

What students, parents and teachers fail to appreciate is that while Finance and Marketing offer jobs in specialised sectors, HR offers jobs in almost all sectors. It also has the advantage of offering jobs in boom or through gloom and is virtually recession-proof.

It is one of the most difficult and trickiest jobs in the corporate world — an acid test of a manager.

MBA (HR) from a good B-school offers a good career prospects in international market. It is estimated that only 10 per cent students offer HR as a choice and those who choose this generally get good pay packages. Recently, Xavier’s Labour Research Institute (XLRI), Pune, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon, reported 100 per cent placement in HR field. Of course, choice for HR depends upon one’s personality, skill- set, career goals and many other factors.

Job profile

All organisations comprise human beings and where ever humans work their recruitment, selection, training, compensation and retirement etc have to be planned. This is taken care of by the old fashioned personnel management or present day functions like Human Resources System (HRS), Human Resources Management (HRM), Human Resources Planning (HRP), Human Resources Development (HRD), Human Resources Information System (HRIS), Human Resources Technology (HRT) etc. Some of the job titles of HR professionals are:

nHR Managers at different levels depending upon the size and functions of the organisation. Such titles are VP/AVP (HR), GM /AGM/DGM Corporate (HR), Senior Manger, Manager, Assistant Manager, Executive (HR) and so on. Specialised positions related to HR in different organisations

nTeaching faculty in various type of government and other colleges/institutions. Some of the positions may require clearing competitive examinations.

HR Consultants

Courses

Courses are available at different levels:

Post Graduate level

• MA (HRM)
• MSc (Behavioural Sciences Management)
• MSc (Industrial Psychology)
• MSc/MTech/MA(Knowledge Management

Need to rethink role

Since human resources are the root cause of anything happening in any organisation, it must become a part of the overall business strategy rather than being restricted to certain functions of personnel management. In fact, it needs to be incorporated in the very design of an organisation.

In their book, First Break ALL Rules: What the world’s greatest managers do differently, M Buckingham and C Coffman, urge the managers to break at least four rules which are currently at the basis of their functioning. These are:

• Do not hire for qualifications, experience or intelligence. The authors recommend that people should be hired because they possess certain talent which can be nurtured. Do not lay down processes, but set clear predefined outcomes for the talented ones
• Reject the conventional wisdom that people can be fixed. Don’t motivate them to overcome their weaknesses, rather help them work on their strengths.
• Find the right fit for the talented ones. Give the employees the roles they are most comfortable in.

Courses to pursue after GATE

GATE is considered to be a ticket to premier institutes in the country. Here are some of the master’s programmes offered in the prestigious IITs and IISc that students can get into after getting the required GATE score.

VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration)

Courses offered: ME/MTech

Eligibility: BE/BTech in Electronics and Communication Engineering, BE/BTech in Electrical Engineering

Where to pursue: IISc, Bangalore, IIT Mumbai, Kanpur, Chennai, Kharagpur, Delhi, Roorkee

GATE performance prerequisite: An All India Rank (AIR) of less than 800 to get admission into at least one of the above institutes

Companies that recruit: Intel, Texas Instruments, AMD, Cypress Semiconductors, Analog Devices etc

Average Salary: Rs 10-12 lakh per annum

Communication Technology

Courses offered: ME/MTech/MS

Eligibility: BE/BTech in Electronics and Communication Engineering

Where to pursue: IISc, Bangalore, IIT Mumbai, Kanpur, Chennai, Kharagpur, Delhi, Roorkee

GATE performance prerequisite: An All India Rank (AIR) of less than 1200 get admission into at least one of the above institutes

Companies that recruit: Siemens, Intel Mobile Communications, Qualcomm etc

Average Salary: Rs 8- 10 lakh per annum

Control Engineering

Courses offered: ME/MTech/MS

Eligibility: BE/B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering, BE/BTech in Electrical Engineering, BE/BTech in Instrumentation Engineering

Where to pursue: IISc Bangalore, IIT Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Roorkee

GATE performance prerequisite: An All India Rank (AIR) of less than 1400 get admission into at least one of the above institutes

Companies that recruit: NVIDIA, Philips, Samsung etc

Average Salary: Rs 8-10 lakh per annum

Mechanical Design Engineering

Courses offered: ME/MTech/MS

Eligibility: BE/BTech in Mechanical Engineering,

Where to pursue: IIT Mumbai; Kanpur, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Roorkee

GATE performance prerequisite: An All India Rank (AIR) of less than 1000 get admission into at least one of the above institutes

Companies that recruit: General Motors, Bosch, Philips etc

Average Salary: Rs 6- 8 lakh per annum

Thermal Science and Engineering

Courses offered: ME/MTech/MS

Eligibility: BE/B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering,

Where to Pursue: IIT Mumbai, Kanpur, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Roorkee

GATE Performance Prerequisite: An All India Rank (AIR) of less than 1000 get admission into at least one of the above institutes

Companies that recruit: Cummins, General Motors, Tata Motors etc

Average Salary: Rs 6-9 lakh per annum

Manufacturing Science and Engineering

Courses offered: ME/MTech/MS

Eligibility: BE/BTech in Mechanical Engineering, BE/BTech in Production/Manufacturing Engineering, BE/BTech in Industrial Engineering

Where to pursue: IIT Mumbai, Kanpur, Chennai, Kharagpur Delhi, Guwahati, Roorkee

GATE performance prerequisite: An All India Rank (AIR) of less than 1500 get admission into atleast one of the above institutes

Companies that recruit: Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp, Hyundai etc

Average Salary: Rs 6-8 lakh per annum

In addition to the above listed programs, there some niche programs also available, which can be exciting alternatives. These are

System Science and Automation

Courses offered: ME

Eligibility: BE/BTech in any discipline

Where to pursue: IISc Bangalore

GATE performance prerequisite: An All India Rank (AIR) of less than 25

Companies that recruit: Google, IBM etc

Average Salary: Rs 9- 12 lakh per annum

Energy Systems Engineering

Courses offered: MTech

Eligibility: BE/BTech in Electrical Engineering

Where to Pursue: IIT Mumbai

GATE Performance Prerequisite: An All India Rank (AIR) of less than 400

Companies that recruit: GE Energy, Suzlon, General Motors etc

Average Salary: Rs 7- 9 lakh per annum

— With inputs from Abhijeet Chaudhuri, Director, GATEFORUM

Course cruising

PGDM admissions

International School of Business & Media, Gurgaon has announced admission to 2-year Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) Programme in Marketing, Finance, Insurance & Risk Management and Human Resource.

Eligibility: Bachelor degree in any discipline from a recognised university with minimum 50% marks in aggregate. Candidates appearing for final year bachelor's degree examinations can also apply, provided they complete all degree requirements by September 30, 2013.Scores of entrance test of CAT / XAT / MAT / ATMA / JET will be considered.

How to apply: Forms for the courses can be procured both from college campus or downloaded from the the website. For more details visit website.

Deadline: February 10, 2013

Website: www.isbm.ac.in, admissions@isbm.ac.in

Banking and finance courses

TKWs Institute of Banking and Finance (affiliated to Gulbarga University) invites applications for its full-time PG Diploma in Banking & Finance.

Eligibility: Graduate or Equivalent in any discipline.

Duration: One year.

How to apply: The admission brochure may be obtained from the institute against payment of Rs 500 by sending a demand draft drawn in favour of "TKW Skill Development Pvt Ltd" payable at Delhi. The application forms can also be downloaded from our website: http://www.tkwsibf.org.

Address: R551, Shankar Road, New Rajender Nagar, New Delhi-110060. Ph: 64522127, 45155533

Selection criteria: Banking Aptitude Test & Interview

Email: banking@tkws.co.in,

Deadline: December 24, 2012.

Check out: www.tkwsibf.org

TERI opens Nordic Centre in Finland

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) launched its fourth European centre - the Nordic office at Joensuu campus of the University of Eastern Finland last week. The Office will promote collaborative activities with organisations in the Nordic region on issues related to sustainable forestry, bio-economy, and renewable energy. While TERI's research on climate change and related issues is on a global scale, TERI Nordic will focus on the challenges of the boreal and arctic areas, but will also take a global approach to issues related to sustainable forestry, bio-economy, and renewable energy.

The fourth international office to be opened in Europe, TERI Nordic at Joensuu will provide immense potential and opportunities for cooperation and collaboration with various organisations and companies in the Nordic region.

Smart strategy: art of networking
People quotient that pays

Zubin Malhotra shares tips on how networking can be an effective tool to get the job of your dreams

Despite all that’s been written (and spoken) about networking, few of us really understand what it exactly is. At best, we believe it’s just another job-seeking tool. Not surprising since networking isn’t taught at any school, college or B-school for that matter.

But networking is much more than a mere job-seeking routine; it’s a life-long career enhancement tool.

For some people networking skills come naturally, but for the rest of us, calling up contacts, interacting with them and then following up, are the skills that we have to develop. It’s a fact that some of the best jobs aren’t listed anywhere except in the minds of CEOs and HR managers. So how do you apply for these jobs that are simply not advertised anywhere? The trick lies in networking.

Most of us are panic striken when asked to “get out there and network” to secure a job or a better opening.

Rules of the game Think about networking as a sport, as a personal challenge and as a game to be enjoyed. Try to follow these simple rules when you network and enjoy your job search. Make it convenient and easy for friends to lend you a helping hand. Make this activity a pleasure for them, not a pain. Inform your network how much their help means to you and what openings you are looking for. It helps to be direct as it benefits both you as well as those who are trying to help you. Don’t let your contacts forget you. Follow up continuously, by calling them, and keep them posted on your progress. Use a positive approach. Everyone likes people who are upbeat and positive. Follow up every lead. Contact everyone whom you are referred to and convey your appreciation. Even after you land up your desired job, keep on networking. It is a skill that improves with practice, and will reap dividends in the long run. And remember, you probably know a lot more people than you think: Social and other contacts, family (immediate and extended), friends, former colleagues, neighbours, clients and customers. Tap all these sources - you never know which one will work!

If not exactly paralysed by the prospect, we struggle with it, make a few contacts with friends, socialise at clubs, but end up relying mostly on other skills that we are more comfortable with. We sit quietly applying online to companies instead of facing the discomfort of learning a critical new technique. In short, we never make it past the initial phase.

But a few brave ones move beyond the fear to develop their job-search network, but remain uncomfortable while they are out there making contacts. They realise that the benefits of networking are not only professional; they value their contacts, many of whom have turned into lifelong friends and acquaintances. They are convinced that networking is as essential as any other communication skill, and unconsciously integrate it in their daily routine. Just like while driving a car, you reach a point where you are on ‘auto-pilot’. You don’t even think about it any longer.

Remember, every contact you make is more than just a potential job interview; it’s a seed to a future relationship. Because, often, the immediate and perhaps only goal is to find a job, inexperienced networkers often view contacts inside companies as valuable.

In actuality, job leads can come from just about any direction, many of them surprising.

Great networkers implicitly understand that investing time and energy in building personal relationships with the right people pays dividends. In fact, most people at the top one per cent of their fields — whether in science or finance, value this dynamic tool as crucial to their success. After all, they had themselves used the power of networking to get to their present position!

Networking is not a mystery. There are laws of networking. Laws that govern how it works — irrespective of the people involved.

• There are only six degrees of separation between you and anybody else. Within six steps you can connect with anyone else on this planet! If you don’t believe it, check the studies that have been done this in the field. Or better still get on Facebook and LinkedIn and see for yourself!
• The best time to build a network is before you need it. Start Now!
• Do your homework. Never pick up the phone or plan an introduction before knowing as much as possible about your contact.

— The writer is a career counsellor at Career Guidance India

Happiness @ work
Gems of ancient wisdom
Workable solutions

Each one of us may be facing multiple problems at the workplace, but remember that the boss is not the Almighty who can solve each and every problem that his workers have. Impossible complaints like “the sky is falling” and solutions like “the grapes are sour” cannot make the situation any better.

On the death of her husband Satyavan, Savitri, daughter of King Asvapati of Madra, had an impossible wish — to get his life restored. As she knew Yama, the god of death, wouldn’t comply, she tricked him into blessing her with 100 sons. “How can I have sons without my husband?” she asked Yama, forcing him to revive Satyavan.

As King Dhritrashtra loved his son Duryodhana blindly, the boy kept pestering him with an impossible wish — get rid of the Pandava cousins. But this was easier said than done. His blind father Dhritrashtra was only a caretaker king in the absence of King Pandu; the eldest Pandava prince Yudhisthira had been declared heir-apparent; and the Pandavas enjoyed the people’s support.

Wily Shakuni, Duryodhana’s maternal uncle, rendered the problem workable. Shakuni first made the blind king send the Pandavas to Varanavata to die in the wax palace inferno and later, to a 13-year exile, courtesy a game of dice.

In the sixth century BC, the Shakya council was in a fix. King Prasenjita, the mighty ruler of Koshal, wanted to marry a Shakya maiden. As the Shakyas cared too much about purity of blood, they couldn’t say yes, but as they were vassals of Prasenjita, they couldn’t say no either. To clear the impasse, the wise Mahanama decided to give Vasabhakshatriya, his beautiful daughter born of a maid, in marriage to the Koshal king.

Hemu, son of a grocer in small town Rewari, dreamt of meeting Sultan Islam Shah. So he saved large stocks of grain — by refusing regular customers — to supply to the Sultan’s forces. On supplying grain to the army for the first time, Hemu was invited by the army officer in charge of stores to visit Agra. There, Hemu — by promising the Sultan to get all the grain he needed in a famine-stricken region — became the superintendent of bazaars. Hemu later ascended the throne of Delhi for a brief period as King Vikramaditya.

Subhas Chandra Bose felt he needed a guru but didn’t know how to go about it. He visited many pilgrim centres but to no avail. With his friends, he formed a ‘Nursing Brotherhood’ to serve neglected patients. Then, he met Mahatma Gandhi who suggested a meeting with Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das. Finally, Subhas met his guru.

Just surrender unto Me, Krishna (Gita 18.66) simply said to Arjuna.

Simplified problems are easy to solve and simple solutions are easier to implement.

— Sai R. Vaidyanathan

The writer can be contacted at svaidyanathan@tribunemail.com

Demand for doctorate

Global MNCs are increasingly hiring candidates with PhDs for their captive operations in India, experts have said.

With the Indian operations moving up the value chain i.e. from back office work to specialised Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), global companies are looking to tap specialised manpower including PhDs, they added.

“The whole thing started with banking and financial services industry, but now it is there with retail, healthcare as well. Accordingly, opportunities for the recruitment of well qualified people such as PhDs has also increased,” said Aditya Narayana Mishra, Randstad India, President Staffing and Director Marketing.

MNCs setting up their captive centres in India indicate that the quality of work in India is on the rise, said experts. A number of retail and consumer companies, healthcare companies and engineering firms are going to be benefited through GICs, said industry officials.

Earlier, processes such as statistical modelling and analysis were being carried out at the companies’ headquarters abroad, but now increasingly this kind of research work is happening in India, Mishra said.

“Look at the number of patents that the back offices of MNCs are generating from India. The world has started to recognise the quality (of talent) that India produces,” he added.

According to industry experts, earlier people used to pursue PhDs to be in academics, but as more and more number of multinational companies (MNCs) are seeking post-doctoral experienced talent and are approaching IITs for their R&D centres, these courses are being increasingly viewed as an opportunity to earn better and join the corporate sector.

Global In-House centres (GIC) have played a key role in the IT-BPO sectors phenomenal growth story, establishing ‘proof of concept’ and branding India as a global sourcing destination, according to Nasscom.

There were around 750 IT-BPO MNCs captive centres in India in FY2010, 28 per cent of them with multiple locations and employed almost 4 lakh people. GIC contribute over one-fifth of the country’s IT-BPO export revenues as well as employees. — PTI

Much ado about work hours

A majority of all full-time employees struggle to balance work-home life and want less work — up to eight fewer hours a week, according to the fifth Australian Work and Life Index. Almost a quarter of full-time working women find work frequently interferes with family or other commitments, while two thirds feel they are always under chronic time pressure and more than half take work home, it revealed.

Overall, employees in education, accommodation, food services and retail fare worst, while those in media, mining and transport have the best balance.

The report paints a picture of a workforce putting in longer hours, under tighter deadlines, dissatisfied with working conditions but rarely requesting relief from employers. Produced by UniSA’s Centre for Work+Life, the 2012 report gives Australian workers a work-life index score of 43 out of 100.

Report author and centre director Professor Barbara Pocock said the report showed while women had long been disproportionately affected by the dual demands of work and domestic roles it was “not getting easier”.

“It raises questions about productivity and how we maintain a workforce among an ageing population. How do we create workloads which are reasonable (and) which can be conducted within reasonable hours?” she noted.

The average full-time employee wants 7.2 hours less work per week, while women in full-time jobs want 8.7 hours less.

Organisational psychologist for PKF chartered accountants, Scott Way, said longer working hours was “compounded by job intensity” but many workers were reluctant to ask for more flexible working arrangements.

Deakin University job stress and wellbeing expert Associate Professor Andrew Noblet said long working hours or high-stress jobs could affect physical and mental health, relationships with family and friends, job performance and workplace safety. — Agencies

Cubicle trends

Stinking colleagues biggest office nuisance

A survey has found that colleagues smelling of sweat are number one irritants and the ones not given to washing hands after visiting the loo the second most disturbing nuisance in offices.

The study was conducted by a Dutch online survey into work hygiene by jobs website NationaleVacaturebank.nl, De Telegraaf daily reported.

Third on the nuisance list are the ones with bad breath, fourth is making sounds while eating and fifth, sniffing and blowing your nose too loudly.

Office hygiene was also found wanting, the survey showed, with over half the 1,100 respondents saying they never cleaned their desk. Also, four out of 10 have seen a mouse scurrying about at the work site and almost one in 10 have witnessed cockroaches.

Lying in CVs common

A fifth of job hunters lie in their CV to get a new job, researchers say. According to the survey of 25,000 persons, almost 20 per cent would lie in their CV if it meant that they could impress a future boss. “Obviously, these figures are shocking, but with as many as 80 persons chasing the same job it’s hardly surprising that some jobseekers are prepared to bend the rules a little to enter the world of work,” the Telegraph quoted Tony Wilmot, founder of Staffbay, which conducted the survey, as saying. “It’s pleasing to see that 80 pc of the jobseekers we surveyed are honest, but what is very apparent from these results is the need for those seeking work to differentiate themselves.

“Simple paper CVs just don’t make you stand out from the crowd these days; what employers want to do is find out more about job applicants before they call them in for an interview, and they simply can’t do this by flicking through a paper CV,” he added.

Dream jobs

Becoming a professional or Olympic athlete has topped the list of childhood dream jobs for men, while most women wanted to be teachers when they grew up, according to a new survey. The survey of more than 8,000 professionals around the world found that other jobs men and women in today’s work force dreamt about as kids included airplane and helicopter pilots, scientists, lawyers, astronauts, veterinarians, writers, doctors or nurses.

While not everyone gets there, the research found that more than 30 per cent of employees either currently have their childhood dream job or work in a career related to it, BusinessNewsDaily reported. Of those who don’t have their dream job, 36 per cent of those surveyed still fantasise about obtaining it, the survey by professional network LinkedIn found.

Some of the factors for not chasing their childhood dream jobs included the jobs being too difficult or expensive to pursue or wanting a career that was more profitable. When it comes to what they consider a dream job now, the employees surveyed said the most important characteristic is taking pleasure in their work. Other things today’s employees consider an essential part of a any dream job include being able to help others, earning a high salary and having a flexible work schedule.