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Career Hotline Q I have completed my graduation this year. I’m keen on pursuing a career in Event Management. Can you please tell me about the entry requirements? — Ritu Kathpalia A Combined with the entertainment industry, event management is one of the fastest growing industries and is currently worth Rs 1500 crore The event could be — a musical night, a fashion show, a corporate seminar, an exhibition, a conference, a sports event, a product or brand launch, a wedding or birthday bash. Moreover, the growth of the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) segment, forecasts a bright future for all those who choose to make a career in event management. Besides the numerous event management firms, most advertising and PR agencies have a separate EM cell. Some of the high-profile corporate houses also have their own in-house event wing. Besides loads of creativity, you essentially require the following to succeed in this field: excellent communication, networking, organisational, logistical, marketing and presentation skills, many of which you will acquire on the job. Few Indian universities offer courses in event management either at the undergraduate or postgraduate-level. While a degree in marketing or sales, or even public relations, advertising or Mass comm would give you a leg-up, you could also check out the following. The courses typically cover topics such as event team leadership, event law, event accountancy, public relations, sponsorship, event marketing, logistics, etc. Freelance coordinators and artists are recruited as and when required. On completion of your course you can earn between Rs 1.5 lakh- 2.5 lakhs per annum. Depending on the assignment Freshers are also sometimes paid on a daily basis drawing paid Rs 500-1000 a day with grub and at times clothes thrown in. Although you’ll be made to run around, this is an ideal opportunity to learn the ropes. Make your career soar Q I am very keen to become a commercial pilot. — Dipak Sharma A With Indian carriers going international and acquiring 200 new aircraft and several new airlines starting operations, aviation is has become one of the most “happening” sectors of the economy. Post the 9/11 slump experienced pilots can once again give wings to their careers as they are in great demand particularly by private carriers operating A320s. However, there is no dearth of trained pilots available with nearly 1000 unemployed and underemployed commercial license holders. The prohibitory endorsement cost for A320s ranging between Rs 23-25 lakh per pilot is proving to be a roadblock as private carriers are unwilling to hire inexperienced pilots. Private carriers are on the look out for experienced pilots to fill the sudden spike in demand. A number of A320s are expected to take to the skies with Air Deccan, Kingfisher, GoAir, Paramount Airways and IndoGo (which recently stunned the world by placing an order for 100 A 320 aircraft) joining the fray. With an average of four pilots per aircraft, this adds up to a requirement of about 130 pilots this year itself. Commercial pilots can alternatively explore the option of joining the Indian Navy which is for the first time enlisting CPL holders in its aviation division. Pilots are being recruited under the short service commission of 10 years, which can be extended, to 14. The rising cost of fuel has made pilot training a pretty expensive affair. Although commercial pilots are paid very handsomely, you must be prepared for the exorbitant cost of training — Rs 2 lakh for a PPL and anywhere between Rs. 8-15 lakh for a CPL, depending on whether you train in India or abroad. Also, pilots need to be hundred percent fit at every stage. Not only must they clear an exacting medical examination at the time of entry, but also every 6-12 months throughout their flying career. The typical career ladder starts at the co-pilot rung, then to Commander and finally Test Pilot. Related jobs are those of flight dispatcher, operations manager or ground handling officer. For the complete list of DGCA approved flying schools, log on to: www.dgca.nic.in. Additional info: DGCA allows pilots to fly till the age of 60 while Indian Airlines retires them at 58. Many private carriers are hiring these ‘retired’ pilots as they still have two years of flying age left. Indian Airlines has 490 pilots (who are unwilling to jump ship due to good perks and job security) Jet has 426 and Sahara 225 pilots on their fleet of Boeing and turbo prop engines. Log into world of web writing Q I am a Class XII student. I want to be a web content writer. Kindly suggest how do I proceed. — Arun Khetrapal A The basic qualification for a web content writer is good communication skills and proficiency in English. Knowledge of online publishing skills like HTML, and other web development tools like JAVA is recommended. The work involves developing, inputting, updating, and maintaining online and inline content, co-ordinating with freelancers and outsourcing content development. You will also assist senior writers and editors with research, channel development etc. You could move onto the position of a Senior Content Writer/Editor/Sr Editor 3-5 years down the line. At this level you will research develop and write editorial content for portals/websites which may also include newsletters/direct mailers, besides overseeing/revising the content to meet deadlines. A few general guidelines for all budding web writers: Remember, writing on the web is somewhat different from writing for print. It’s best to present the information in easy-to-digest chunks that allow browsers to dive straight in and locate what they require. Keeping the limitations of the medium in mind, tailor your content to hold the reader’s attention by keeping it short and writing as you speak. As compared to the halcyon days of the dotcom boom, the number of jobs following the dotcom bust have reduced somewhat. In defence of doctoring Q I have recently completed MBBS degree and would like to join the Indian Army. Can you please tell me about the selection procedure for recruiting doctors in the Indian Army? — Dr. Kuljeet Singh A Civilian doctors who have passed the MBBS exam (although a PG degree is preferred) are recruited as Medical Officers (MOs) in the Army Medical Corps in the Short Service Commission (SSC). Women MOs are also recruited. The age limit for grant of SSC is 45 years. You must have a permanent registration from your State Medical Council or the MCI. Selection is on the basis of an interview and selected candidates are inducted in the rank of Captain. Incidentally, the notification has been published in all leading national dalies. Last date for sending filled application is 20 January 2005. For further information, contact: The Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services, DG-1A, M/o Defence, ‘M’ Block, New Delhi 110001 or log on to their website
www.indianarmy.nic.in. Be in the run for Informatics Olympiad Q Can you give me some details about the Indian National Olympiad in Informatics conducted by the CBSE? However, I am from the ICSE board and was wondering if I will be allowed to participate? — Santok Singh A The CBSE is organising the fourth Indian National Olympiad in Informatics in collaboration with the Indian Association for Research in Computing Science, Mumbai, for short-listing students with exceptional aptitude in algorithms and computer programming skills. The examination will be held in two stages. Stage one is a written exam to assess the aptitude of students, their logical competence problem-solving skills and critical thinking. Qualifiers of the first stage will appear in the second stage exams that are tentatively scheduled in the second week of May 2006. While no computer programming skills are required in the first round of written tests, the level of difficulty increases with the subsequent rounds. So, for the second round be prepared for answering some tough questions on three programming languages namely C, C++ and Pascal. Four selected students will be will be called for intensive training to represent India at the International Olympiad for Informatics, which will be held in Mexico in August, 2006. The first qualifier round of INOI-2006, the Zonal Informatics Olympiad (ZIO-2006) is scheduled for January 28, 2006. The competition is open for all students of classes VIII to XII from any board and will be held at 30 centres across the country and abroad. Send the application in prescribed format with the examination fee of Rs 60 favouring the Secretary, CBSE, NIO A/C Delhi to the coordinator on or before January 10, 2006. For details log onto:
www.cbse.nic.in Write course Q I am interested in creative writing and would like to know about some courses that I can take. Can you please let me know about any institute that conducts correspondence course? — Balvinder Kaur A Writers may write in a burst of inspiration-but even the best writers are concerned with technique, with how to achieve the effects they want. The first step is deciding the genre you’d like to specialise in i.e. poetry, fiction, non-fiction, script writing etc. A keen sense of observation and the ability to weave words together to convey a central idea is a creative writer’s forte. While the artistic fraternity zealously protects ‘creative freedom’ one must keep in mind the demands of publishing houses or the commercial and legal constraints of electronic media etc. There are many things that go into successful creative writing — Ideation and researching the topic, writing the synopsis, preparing the first draft, overcoming writers block, editing the manuscript, choice of title, selling the idea to the publishing house, overcoming rejection etc. And contrary to all that spiel about “born” writers, I’m firmly convinced that writing is a craft that can be learnt. Once you have grasped the fundamentals of plot, structure, character, voice, dialogue, and description, you will be on a surer footing. And for this, a course in creative writing would be useful. Creative writing covers all areas of non-journalistic and technical writing. It is a broad term that covers the following genres: fiction writing, non-fiction writing, screenwriting, scriptwriting, memoir writing, novel writing, poetry writing, playwriting, children’s books, TV serial writing, humour writing, mystery writing, romance writing, writing lyrics, science fiction writing, travel writing, feature writing, writing book reviews, interviews, film or art criticism and business communication. On the other hand, courses in journalism focus on the techniques of reporting and writing for the media (print as well as electronic). However, if you want to make creative writing your forte, you could choose any of the following courses which are offered through distance learning:
— Pervin Malhotra Please send in your query, preferably on a postcard, along with your full name, complete address and academic qualifications to: Editor, Jobs and Careers, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030, or at
careers@tribunemail.com |
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