Agricultural economist
Can you tell me something about the work of an agricultural economist? What are the career prospects in this field?
Satish Kaushal
Achieving food security has been the overriding goal of our agricultural policy. To achieve this goal, we need not only agricultural scientists but also agricultural economists who can apply the principles of economics to ensure greater productivity in agriculture. The growth in this sector being a result of greater liberalisation and investment,the demand for agricultural economists is on the rise.
Besides land appraisal, crop grading, marketing and sales, an agricultural economist is involved with farm management, co-operative management, farm utilities, custom services, wholesale and retail marketing of agricultural products, priority setting for research, how much to invest, assessment of returns on investment ie all those activities that ensure that agricultural productivity grows at a planned rate of growth.
Job prospects in this field are promising. There are openings in cooperatives, banking and insurance sector, private firms in the agricultural sector, foreign embassies, NGOs and other donor agencies,ministry of agriculture, Indian Economic Service as also in the field of research and teaching.
Although you can specialise in agricultural economics while doing your MA economics, separate MSc courses in agricultural economics are also offered at the following universities:
Course: MSc agricultural economics (farm management/agricultural marketing) Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh, www.amu.nic.in
Course: Master of agricultural economics and business management Eligibility: BA (economics)/BCom with 55% Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu,
Course: MSc in agriculture (economics) University of Agricultural Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, www.uasbng.kar.nic.in
Course: MSc (agricultural marketing/economics/Extn) Eligibility: BSc (agriculture/horticulture/agriculture marketing and Co-op), sericulture/forestry), CGPA 2.25 out of 4
Nuclear medicine
I am a medical graduate and wish to pursue a career in the field of nuclear medicine. Can you provide me with details on courses in this field?
M. S. Sehrawat
As yet, there are not many courses available in either nuclear or aviation medicine. The Radiation Medicine Centre of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai offers two programmes to equip professionals for working in Nuclear Medicine Centres, the first programme may suit you best.
Both courses are offered under the aegis of the Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai (a deemed university). These full-time programmes include lectures, demonstrations, practicals, theory exams, apprentice programmes and clinics. Selection is based on an all India Common Entrance Test (CET) and interview.
Diploma in radiation medicine (two-year)
Eligibility: MBBS with internship from a recognised university. Postgraduate medical qualificationholders and sponsored candidates can also apply. Common entrance test including 100 multiple-choice questions of the III MBBS level (Fields: anatomy, physiol, biochem, pathol, internal medicine, cardiology, pediatrics, oncology, infectious diseases, neurology, nephrology, endocrinology and recent advances in medicine.)
Non-Sponsored candidates will receive a stipend of Rs 7,000 permonth in the first year and Rs 7,250 per-month in the second year.
Diploma in medical radioisotope techniques (one-year) Eligibility: BSc (60% aggregate) in chemistry, physics, life sciences, biophysics, BSc in nuclear medicine technology or BSc (medical radiological technology). MSc degreeholders can also apply. Sponsored candidates with 55% aggregate in BSc can also apply. The common entrance test covers 100 multiple choice questions on science subjects of class XII. Only 50 candidates in order of merit will be called for an Interview. Non-sponsored candidates will receive a stipend of Rs 4,000 per month. The fee is Rs 4,000 and limited hostel accommodation is available. The age limit is 40 years as on May 1, 2008, relaxed by three years for OBCs and by five years for SC/ST and sponsored candidates. The syllabus for both programmes can be downloaded from the HBNI website
There are 10 seats in each programme. The application deadline is March 15, 2008. HBNI also offers a diploma in radiological physics. Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Raibareli Road, Lucknow 226014, www.sgpgi.ac.in , also offers MSc in nuclear medicine of twoyears’ duration with eligibility of an MBBS.
Job hunt
After completing my MA (Hindi), I have been applying for jobs advertised in newspapers for the last four months but haven't received any response as yet. What should I do?
Janaki Verma
As you have not mentioned your area of specialisation or the field in which you are looking for employment, let me give you some general pointers. Instead of applying to any and every advertisement, I suggest you identify the field and even more importantly the companies you are targeting in that field. Often purely academic or general courses of study need to be complemented with additional professional training.
Most large organisations have details of vacancies on their website. You can also find job vacancies on: recruitment and employment agencies websites or newspapers' websites like
You may also be able to download the application form and apply online. Most jobsites allow you to search for the types of vacancies you are interested in.You can specify the type of job, the level, the salary and the location too. Some sites even notify you when suitable vacancies are posted on their site.
Today, online recruitment eclipses all other recruitment channels in the country including direct approaches, newspaper advertising and 'word of mouth' as the preferred way to find jobs. Statistics show that 78% respondents were satisfied with the outcome of the online recruitment process, compared with 54% who were satisfied with the traditional channels.
A recent study sought the view of more than 1.15 lakh people in 33 countries, including 3,000 in India. 40% of Indians said that they found their most recent jobs on-line, 22% found a job through being directly approached by an employer, 13% via 'word of mouth', 9% from newspaper advertisements, 8% by directly approaching an employer, and 8% through other methods.
Besides, popular jobsites like www.naukri.com or www.monster.com , there are also some industry-specific jobsites like IT etc. Some of them even offer to spruce up your resume (for a fee of course).
Sunil Sharma
Moderator
Dil Se Desi Group
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