I am keen on taking up a job in the leather industry. Could you please tell me about the scope for designers in this field?
A sector with great potential, India's leather industry is the fourth largest export earner in the country.
After doing my MBA from a medium-rung Bschool, I could not get a decent job so I have been working with a call centre for the last six months. But I feel I am in a dead-end job. Somebody suggested that I should shift to a business consultancy BPO. Is this a good choice?
Being virtually chained to a chair for eight to 10 hours dealing with annoyed customers can be a very taxing job. This is one of the main reasons for the high attrition rates in the call centre industry.
To get round this problem many Indian BPO companies are trying to break away from the mould of being ‘just another low cost destination’ where costs are the only consideration for outsourcing work.
By moving up the value chain, these companies offer high-end services like business consultancy, in turn, giving people like you the opportunity to take up more challenging tasks.
The scope of consulting can range from process specific consulting to vertical specific consulting like process mapping, process transfer, optimisation and upgradation.
As an offshore business consultant you will work with clients to understand their needs, formulate business specifications and translate them into functional applications. This is no back-end, repetitive job and there are no canned scripts. You will have to think on your feet working out problems like how to enhance speed, security, analyse competition, cost management etc.
Another related niche area is Business Research Outsourcing. It is estimated that about 2,000 to 3,000 professionals drawn from the field of engineering, MBAs from Tier-1-3 B-schools, CAs, postgraduates in maths, stats, finance and economics are currently engaged in business research.
Don't worry; even if you have graduated from a medium rung B-school this will not hamper your progress. For example, recruitment at the highly sought after McKinsey Knowledge Centre is not restricted to the creamiest layers of top B-Schools.
Apart from the international exposure, the icing on the cake is that you take home a 20-30% fatter paycheque at the end of the day.
Some other agencies that have captive research centres in India are Bain & Co, Frost & Sullivan and the Everest Group while third-party providers like Evalueserve, Genpact (formerly GECIS) WNS, Pipal Research, Office Tiger, Copal Partners also offer research services to clients.
Computer and Geography
I am a student of class XII. My favourite subject is computer and geography. What are the good opportunities that I can get in these subjects? Please advise.
Geographical information System (GIS) is a high-tech computer-based system capable of capturing, assembling, storing, manipulating and displaying location ally-defined geographically referenced data. GIS is used for digital map making, site selection, finding the best route, solving environmental problems, exploring natural resources, urban planning and solutions for other problems.
Application of GIS in India has matured with GIS software being used in various mission critical national projects including those pertaining to the environment, forestry, land records, and utilities.
Map and satellite information sources can be combined in models that simulate the interactions of complex natural systems. GIS allows planners to calculate the emergency response time in the event of a natural disaster like the floods in Bihar. It also helps the police track down criminals.
The Department of Space, National Informatics Centre, State Forest Departments, the Survey of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Geological Survey of India and educational institutions like IITs, IIMs, Universities and their affiliated colleges use GIS software.
GIS is becoming indispensable in business. Recently, corporate giants have made significant investments in this technology. For instance, Reliance Digital World deploys GIS as a strategic IT tool in their network planning and execution. Besides utilising its potential in operations and maintenance, they are extensively using GIS in various projects including Infocom, Retail outlets, Hydrocarbon exploration and Gas pipeline execution.
Remote Sensing is yet another related area of specialisation you could consider at the postgraduate level.
MBA after BTech
My son is doing third year engineering. He wants to do MBA after BTech, but we can't bear the high expense. He got 73% in the first year and 78% in second year. Please tell me how much it will cost in Delhi University or Lucknow University.
I would advice your son to work for a couple of years before going for an MBA. Besides gaining valuable work experience that is an asset for pursuing a good MBA, it will also help him earn and save some money to pay for his MBA programme. Not that lack of funds should be a problem for getting into the IIMs or FMS or LU.
While private B-schools do not offer financial aid IIMs have a policy of not denying any deserving candidate admission due to lack of funds. However, it is still easy to get financial aid for doing an MBA, especially if you are going to any of the top AICTE-approved B-schools. Banks are willing to give student loans to aspiring MBAs. The loan has to be repayed only after your son starts working. Considering that your son will be going to a top B-school, finding a high paying job should not be difficult at all.
The fee payable at the time of admission to FMS, Delhi University (www.fms.edu) is Rs 9,950 and similarly for Lucknow University (www.lkouniv.ac.in/dept_buss_admin.htm), the fees are very modest as compared to other Bschools. The exact figures are listed on their respective websites.
Operations Management
I am taking the CAT this year. I know about specialisations like marketing, finance and HR. But what exactly is Operations Management about? Who should be going in for it?
Operations management is concerned with production related activities such as job routing, scheduling, quality control, production planning, inventory and control. It also involves other areas of the organisation such as accounting procedures, computer systems and other functional areas and systems through which work in the organisation is planned and performed.
Besides a strong grounding in technical and statistical skills, it also helps to possess good interpersonal skills. Job openings are mostly concentrated in manufacturing organisations.
Other careers related to medicine
Are there any other careers related to medicine that I could look at - just in case I don't make it to MBBS or BDS?
Certainly, there are plenty of other interesting career options beyond the traditional, which you could consider.
you can share the same disussion on other boards too such as www.shareallwords.com and others
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