It's good to plan ahead

Dear Sir,

I am a Class 12 student (CBSE). I have an interest in coding and programming, but have taken Biology as my optional subject. To be honest, I want to enter a field where I can earn money easily. Hence, I am planning to take up Computer Science. Please let me know the application process and any other procedure that I need to follow.

Atharva

Dear Atharva,

It is long proven that big money comes in any field that you are good at and can work hard in and this is becoming more visible in the current global economy. So select your course and career based on where your aptitude and skills lie. Having taken up Biology in +2 is not a disadvantage if you wish to get into programming.

Since you are confident, aim for good institutions like IITs, NITs, IIITs, BITs etc for a degree course in computer science programming. There is no guarantee how the job profile will be ten years from now, but if you are adaptable and keep upgrading yourself, you will be able to move on to newer avenues as and when they appear.

Dear Sir,

I am studying in Class 9. My annual exam starts next week and I am not strong in Maths. Though I score well in other subjects, I score poorly in Maths. Please guide.

A Student

Dear Student,

It must be very distressing for you to find that you are performing so badly in one subject despite the fact that you are overall good in academics. By now your exams must be over and let us hope you have done well to at least clear Class 9.

You can get an assessment done whether you have 'dyscalculia', which is a minor disorder due to which calculations become difficult.

If so, you will be entitled to exemption from Math in your Board exam. The assessment is done at NIMHANS and other institutions. The second option is that you can shift to a school that offers ICSE or NIOS syllabus which allows you to drop Maths.
In that case, you will be able to select any career other than engineering and technology.

Dear Sir,

I am working as assistant professor in an engineering college. Recently, I heard about a course called Data Science. Can you please suggest whether the course would be helpful for my career. Though I enjoy teaching, I would like to switch to the business field. Please guide.

Asha

Dear Asha,

Data Science and Data Analytics is growing as a promising field offering good career opportunities. As a student of Math you will be able to learn faster. Postgraduate courses are offered by many institutions.

Some reputed ones are St Joseph's College, NMIMS University, Gems B-School, Reva University, Manipal ProLearn, Amrita School of Business. If you first wish to get a feel of the field, you can enrol for a short-term or part-time course offered by private institutes.

Dear Sir,

I am a student of Class 12 (PCMB). I wish to pursue BSc and MSc in Psychology. Could you let me know some of the best colleges to study the subject and the cut-off percentage? Also mention the exams I need to take up, if any, for this.

Sneha

Dear Sneha,

It is good that you have a love for Psychology, since working with human behaviour is a very fulfilling and meaningful career. Though psychologists may not earn as much as IT professionals, there is a steady increase in earning, particularly if you are good at your work and if you find the right specialisation.

Since you still have time, find out all details of the field and its branches, and whether you like to work with children, special needs people, the elderly, people with mental illness, employees etc. At this stage you can just plan for your undergraduate degree, and narrow down on higher studies when you come to final year.

Explore various colleges in whichever city you wish to study. In Bengaluru, there are many options including Mount Carmel College, Jyoti Nivas College, CMR University, Maharani Lakshmi Ammanni College for Women, Indian Institute of Psychology & Research, etc. Similarly you can explore in Pune also where you will find many good colleges, and then you can select.

Dear Sir,

I am currently studying in Class 9. I'm thinking about which stream to take up after Class 10. As I am interested in Law and Medical Science, I'm confused which stream I should take. Please guide.

A Student

Dear Student,

It's good that you are planning your career well in advance. You should find out all aspects of studies required in both law and medicine, the subjects you need to be good in, the personality traits, and how life will be in your chosen profession.

If despite your efforts you are unable to select by the time you complete Class 10, and if you are good in science subjects, you may take up science at +2 level and explore deeper. By the time you complete Class 11 or PUC I, you should take a decision and accordingly prepare for NEET for medicine or CLAT for law. Since rules and procedures keep changing, you can find out the details at that stage.

Dear Sir,

I'm a first year MSc Microbiology student. We have to take up an internship in the fourth semester. Could you shed light on the institutes that I could work at? I'm interested in cancer research, food technology and pharmaceutical sciences.

A Student

Dear Student,

You are showing interest in three varied fields, and so it will help if you can prioritise which suits you best. Accordingly, you can do your internship and get a deeper insight into that field. For example, if you select cancer research you can apply for internship in institutions like Karunashraya, Indian Cancer Society, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology and others. Spending a few weeks there will reinforce to you whether you would like to take it up as a full-time profession, and what are the additional skills you need on completion of your MSc.

Dear Sir,

I have completed MCom and BEd. As I cannot travel for work, could you please advice what work I can do from home or if can I take up some correspondence course?

Sougandhini

Dear Sougandhini,

First explore what type of work interests you and you have the aptitude for. From home, one can do documentation, translation, medical transcription, and many others. Also there are many distance learning courses being offered by Open Universities. The most popular one is Indira Gandhi National Open University (www.ignou.org).

There are also possibilities of your taking tuition on-line for foreign students as a tutor online. You can contact the organisations that facilitate this activity. Some of them are www.myprivatetutor.com, www.vedantu.com, www.growingstars.com
and www.tutorwaves.com.