The Counsellor

Teaching gateway

I did my MSc Botany several years back and helped my father run his shop. As I am interested in teaching, I'm wondering whether I should try for lectureship by taking the NET. Is there an age limit? I am 28. Or like everyone else should I do an MBA?
   

Rakesh Sharma

The CSIR NET is held in all major Science subjects, viz Chemical Sciences; Earth Atmospheric Ocean & Planetary Sciences; Life Sciences; Mathematical Sciences and Physical Sciences. It is conducted jointly with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi.
   Sadly, although close to 2,000 fellowships (1965 JRFs for June 08 NET) are offered to science students, relatively few candidates take the NET (although the number is slowly rising).
   Lured by lucrative corporate jobs many of our brightest students head for management classrooms instead of research labs. Result?
   A dwindling number of PhDs in the country despite the ever-increasing undergrad enrolments.
   And, the waning interest in research translates into the acute faculty crunch faced by most universities today.
   The consequences can be serious - we will remain a non-inventive society with slower prospects of growth. Such a small number of patent applications filed each year.
   While the age limit for JRF (NET) is 28 years (relaxed up to five years for SC/ST/OBC, physically handicapped/visually handicapped and female applicants), there is no upper age limit for LS (NET). And incidentally, the JRF is now a decent Rs 14,000 (plus contingency funding). Those applying for LS (NET) can also avail of the JRF by enrolling for research projects that take in research fellows. So, do give it a shot.
   So, if you haven't done so already, you can apply online on www.csirhrdg.res.in. Fortuitously, the date for applying online has been extended to September 11, 2008.
   Make sure the hard copy of your completed application form reaches the CSIR Exam Unit by September 16 (September 18 for remote areas).

Bigger picture

My sister is severely afflicted with Polio that makes even moving out of home very difficult. She is doing her MA through correspondence and has decent communication skills. Although she gives a couple of tuitions to small children, she is unable to earn enough to be self-sufficient. Is there anything she can do to supplement her income?
 

  Jitin infosys

There is plenty. Fulfilling a long standing industry demand for lowering operating costs and bringing in more people, including women and the physically challenged into the work force, the government has given a go-ahead to agents working at call centres among other service providers, to work from home. This will help fight attrition and traffic blues, lower costs, and allow many more people to join the work force.
   The kind of processes that companies will permit to be operated from home like tele marketing, ad-booking etc need to be identified and the security issues and dynamics need to be worked out.
   Also, a fair amount of content creation and preproduction work for publishing houses is being outsourced to India. Your sister should contact such firms to explore possibilities. Similarly, I know of quite a few people (subject specialists like psychologists, teachers, nutritionists, consultants) doing online counselling from the comfort of their home - either independently or through dedicated voice/web-based service providers.
   These are just a few examples. With a bit of scouting (and you can help her with it), she can perhaps find a lot of similar options that match her interest and temperament

 

 

 

Cost effective

Please tell me if there are any scholarships for pursuing an MBA or PGDBM through distance learning? I am very keen to do an MBA but cannot afford to pay a heavy fee as I am currently unemployed and looking after my ailing father.
  

 Ritesh Desi

 
What you are doing is admirable. And as one good deed deserves another, here’s one scholarship offer you can check out for starters.
   The All India Management Association (AIMA) offers 30 scholarships for underprivileged students who clear the Management Aptitude Test (MAT), and qualify for AIMA's Postgraduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) or Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology & Management (PGDITM) through the distance-learning mode.
   The total cost of the PGDM and PGDITM programmes, comprising of four modules, is Rs 76,000 and Rs 1.20 lakh respectively. The cost is divided into equal parts per module. AIMA would initially offer the scholarships to eligible students in the first module and then extend it on the basis of their academic performance. The number of scholarships is likely to increase from the next session in January.
   These scholarships would be offered to students whose parents earn less than Rs 2 lakh perannum to enable them to obtain a professional postgraduate qualification.

 

Bigger picture


I am a student of class XII (PCB). I have always wanted to go into medicine but everyone is dissuading me saying that while it takes very long to become a doctor on one hand, there are plenty of doctors in the market anyway. What is the correct picture?
   

Karan Singh

Accepted that compared to several other careers, the study of medicine does take a somewhat longer time, but as far as the supply of doctors in the market goes, I'll let the statistics speak.
   Did you, for instance, know that although India produces the largest number of doctors and nurses in the world, our healthcare sector will be short of 45,000 docs on a yearly basis by 2012 and 3.5 lakh nurses for primary and secondary care by 2015.
   We need at least one million doctors to meet an acceptable population to doctor ratio of 1000: 1.
   If not remedied, the shortage will lead to further deterioration of quality services offered in healthcare sector which could contribute 6.05% of our GDP and has the potential to employ around nine million people by 2012. Want another argument? Presently, we do only 80,000 heart surgeries (against the requirement of 2.5 million) each year; same for other procedures. four-and-a-half lakh of the total six lakh heart surgeries in the world are done in the US.

 

Research options


I am a civil engineer working in a large construction firm. I would be very interested in doing a course in project management. Are any courses available in this field through distance learning?
  

 Mayank Pandey

Generally project management is taught as a part of the production and operation management module in MBA programmes. However, here are some specific programmes offered through the distance mode, which you could consider. Do study their offerings and course structure carefully, to ensure that they meet your specific requirements.
   Alagappa University, Directorate of Distance Education, Karaikudi (www.alagappauniversity.ac.in)
   Offers two courses: MBA in Project Mgt (Dist) ; Advance Diploma in Project Mgt (1-year, Dist)
   National Institute of Construction Management & Research (NICMAR), School of Distance Education, Pune (www.nicmar.org) offers PG Programme in Project Mgt (2-year, Dist)
   University of Hyderabad, Centre for Distance
Education, Hyderabad (www.uohyd.ernet.in) offers a PG Diploma in Planning & Project Mgt (Dist).
   ICFAI University (www.icfai.org) also offers a PG Diploma in Project Mgt (Dist)
   IGNOU (with Centre for Excellence in Project Mgt & Project Mgt Assoc) has recently announced a PG Programme in Project Mgt details: www.ignou.ac.in)
   HughesNet in collab with IIT Delhi offers a three-month continuing education programme on Project Mgt for working professionals..
   Alternatively, you could also consider acquiring the QPMP (Qualified Project Management Professional) Certification offered by Project Management Associates. Details:
www.pma-india.org