Don't get lured by claims of high success rate

Study in India

Dear Sir,

I am currently pursuing my BSc in interior design and décor. Please apprise me of the career opportunities in this field.

Tooba

Dear Tooba,

It is wiser to first understand the career opportunities before entering into any course. However since you have already selected your degree course, do check out your creative talent, your understanding of space, colours and dimensions, and your instinct in designing or redesigning interiors, furniture and fixtures. Once you finish your degree it will help if you seek an entry level job with a reputed firm of architects or interior designers, gain experience, and then decide whether to study and specialise further or launch off into an independent practice. Interior designers who can execute projects using their own workers are more successful than those who only do the design work.

Dear Sir,

I am a second year BCom student. I wish to write the Civil Services Exam. Should I start my preparation now itself or after the completion of my degree?

Vinay R

Dear Vinay,

Civil Services exams are highly competitive with only a few top rankers finally getting selected. It is not the most intelligent who succeed, but those who start preparing systematically well in advance, who list out the requirements and sharpen their skills in each of them. You can start off by expanding your general knowledge and current affairs, sharpening your communication skills (for personality test), and selecting the right optional subjects. Also read up the previous years’ question papers. Eventually you can decide whether you would like to take coaching.

Dear Sir,

My daughter wants to do Aerospace Engineering. Please suggest government colleges in Bengaluru. What should her score be in JEE?

Hema

Dear Hema,

Government engineering colleges in Bengaluru select students through CET and not JEE, and to the best of my knowledge, none of them offer Aerospace Engineering. She will either have to study in a private college, or alternatively study a basic stream of engineering from a good college at the degree level, and then aim for specialising in aerospace at the master's level, either in India or abroad. Ensure that she has understood the field and the skills required and the working environment in the aerospace sector and is not just aiming for it from a glamour angle.

Dear Sir,

I am preparing for SSC CGL. Please suggest some good coaching centres in Bengaluru.

Suprith

Dear Suprith,

Coaching centres should be selected based on your area so that you don’t have to waste time commuting. Visit the available centres, talk to the teachers and current students and check out how good they are. Look for centres that are well established and which have faculty who have been teaching since many years. Do not get lured by claims of high success rate and number of “toppers” they have produced.