[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Hi Guys,

...My sister has just completed her 10th board exams and we are currently evaluating all career options. I was looking for some information on pursuing medical studies and was hoping to get that here ...
So the usual deal is to study Physics, Chemistry and Biology for 2 years post 10th in a college and appear for undergraduate exam...

I would suggest that she takes up Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Maths. That should give her room for more options. If she takes up only Biology, then if not MBBS, career options get limited. Sure, there are newer Biotechnology fields coming up, but those don't quite carry the aura the medical profession does.

Every field has its merits and demerits. Medical profession is no different. If pursued with passion, it is still one of the most satisfying professions there are!

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

I would suggest that she takes up Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Maths. That should give her room for more options. If she takes up only Biology, then if not MBBS, career options get limited.

Appreciate your reply! I guess I need to evaluate the possibility of studying so many subjects. Thinking of asking the coaching class people only if this is possible.

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

May I suggest something ? I am not a doctor, but in my line of work I meet a lot of doctors . These people are called occupational health doctors or factory medical officers .

After MBBS , they specialize in a course called AFIH (associate fellowship of industrial health ) . Once completed they get to work with big manufacturing industries of various sectors including automobile , chemical , aerospace and many other pvt / public sectors .

Thanks for this! This indeed looks like another option which can be explored!

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Do not mind it at all! In fact she is the one who told us that she would like to pursue medical studies. She says she wants to become a doctor and likes to study Biology! I am doing all this research because prior to this, I had no idea about how things work in the medical field.

Agree to your idea that there are almost infinite number of career options. That is where the issue comes up - when you have too many choices! Sometimes even I wonder that how can someone choose a career path just after passing out 10th standard - hell I am 25 years old now and I am still not sure what I want to do in my life ahead. Anyways you have to make a decision now so

All good as long as she's part of the process end-to-end. I'm older than you are, and totally agree about still thinking whether I'm doing the right thing, but that's not necessarily bad or a disadvantage. There have been some notable late bloomers who changed the world when they finally nailed down what they wanted to do.

The important point is to continue building your knowledge-base, but stay flexible to account for future career/scenario needs, or even just changing your mind down the line. Continuing with a mistake is worse than making one.

Medicine is a vast profession in itself, and as some members advised earlier, there are lots of choices within the field. Good luck in finding the right fit

[Deep Blue]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Hi Guys,

My sister has just completed her 10th board exams and we are currently evaluating all career options. I was looking for some information on pursuing medical studies and was hoping to get that here (as I do not have many friends/relatives in this profession) – consulting a counselor is also there Advice, suggestions, criticism welcome!

I came up on this a bit late, but would like to add my two cents. I will sound discriminatory or sexist, but have seen it happen to few of my family friends and cousins in the medical and dental fields. There is lot of pressure on girls to marry after they finish MBBS in India. Once they are into the family way, it becomes that much more difficult to sit and study for PG entrance exams. So I have seen people remaining at MBBS/BDS levels, some not practising, and many settling for PG in pre and paraclinical branches like Physiology, pathology etc. Not that these branches do not have any scope( In fact they can have rewarding teaching and research careers ) but many students would have joined MBBS with dreams of paediatrics, cardiology etc.
Post MBBS, she can also do post graduation abroad, in US, UK, Australia etc. There will be struggle but not impossible. PG residents are paid much better in these countries that they need not depend on their parents.

[kedar3223]

Guys i desperately need some advice.

Through fault of my own I am falling short of the minimum 75% attendance required to answer my semester exams. As a result i would be getting a block for ~8 months. Now instead of banging head against a wall, I've decided to make some good use of the time at hand. I am a 2nd year computer engineering student. What do you suggest is a good thing to do? I will obviously be keeping in touch with my syllabus, but apart from this any other skills related to programming that i can pick up to help my career? Which programming language apart from c++ is suggested? People in software industry please help.

Thank you.

[madhav14]

Hi Guys,

Since my childhood, cars have always been my passion and first love. I've spent my entire childhood and college life seeing the Top Gear show and following Team-BHP. I always wanted to be a motor journalist just like the famous JEREMY CLARKSON who is my personal favorite for his wittiness and sarcastic, yet fantastic presentations.

Currently I've done my MBA in Marketing & I'm working in a corporate in a managerial position. But, every time I see myself doing this job, I feel like running away to London and sit in front of the BBC office till they gave me that job.

Can anyone here (may be mods must know better) please advice me on this industry, the opportunities and barriers, and the way to go etc.?

I have decent technical & industry knowledge which came from following our community regularly, good driving skills, a very good cinematography team and that deep passion running through my blood. But, I'm not able to figure out how to enter this line of career.

I'm not expecting any millions of dollars out of this job. I just want to fulfill my passion. So any one help?

[Samurai]

I can't believe how a perfect system for medical/dental/engineering seat distribution got messed up in Karnataka.

CET MESS: From A Once Foolproof System To A Process Mired In Graft

1993: When the M Veerappa Moily government in Karnataka introduced the Common Entrance Test (CET), it was hailed the most transparent and foolproof admission system in the country for professional colleges. It was a single entrance test with centralised counselling. Such was the transparency there was no scope for any manipulation once the seat matrix was finalised. Not a single seat would go unaccounted for. Seat surrendering and selection was done at the CET cell and in full view of students.
Source

First of all, the above news itself is bit messed up. The CET was introduced by Ramakrishna Hegde's Janata party government in 1984, and not Veerappa Moily's Congress government in 1993. Can't expect anything better from TOI reporters.

I know that because I wrote CET in 1986 and I remember I was in the third batch. Until CET happened, getting professional college seats in India was more of a voodoo or blackmagic than a standard process. By the time I wrote CET, it was streamlined so well, I managed to get a merit seat in the 4th list in a transparent way. It would have been unthinkable few years prior to that.

Now the process is so screwed up, when my niece explained me the current jigsaw puzzle, my eyes glazed over. Unlike me, she has to write multiple exams. Truly, this is one system that was perfected and then screwed up in just 3 decades.

[bluevolt]

Don't know if this is the right thread about what I am posting next but closely related. Mods may please move the post to any other suitable thread if it exists.

I am pursuing MCA from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi now in final year looking for a job with our placement 'season' going on. I even got into two companies - first was offering me a position of Business Analyst but I didn't join due to their unusual service agreement which included submission of my original certificates for the entire bond period. Second company was offering me a position of ASP.NET web developer to which I again didn't join as it was a very under paid job. I also keep getting calls from companies offering technical writing positions to which I am interested due to my blogging hobby and all but then again I don't know if technical writing job has a good future scope or not.

Now half of my class is placed as c#, java programmers and many call me stupid to decline those offers and blah blah.

Point is that including above issues I never felt excited when I got confirmations from those two job offers. And I couldn't clear the companies I dreamt of working. It's not that I hate coding or so but I am not getting into the right kind of company and don't want to settle for less.

Except core IT, I have huge interest in Management. I always wanted to do MBA after graduation but got into post graduation in computer science. Now I think I should do an MBA after MCA but then again many people think I sound stupid as doing MBA after MCA is not a good idea according to many. I know I am bringing 'people's thinking' here which I should not be. Conventionally by now I should have been placed like some of my friends and enjoying the remaining semester preparing for end terms final exams and hanging out with their girl friends which I don't have. So I want your guidance so that when I visit this thread in future I could decide whether I should vote for conventional or unconventional job

Sometimes I feel if I do an MBA then by the time I complete the course, my age will be just 3-4 years short before I hit into 30 year+ junta category and till that point most of my friends will have two years of industry experience and must have got good hike also and I would be starting as a fresher then! But I must say I have great interest in MBA/Management. That's why I was interested in joining IT Industry as Business Analyst instead of a conventional programmer but most good companies hire Business Analyst who have B.Tech + MBA or 3-4 years of programming experience with good comm skills. I do have good comm skills but no MBA degree and experience.

Lots of things going on in my mind and unable to decide what should be done next. Should I keep preparing for placements and grab a job offer till the official campus placement season goes on till April next year or should I start preparing for my state university MBA entrance from January after final exams as I missed filling CAT form and join 2015-2017 batch MBA course.

Experts and experience BHPians please throw some light and help me get out of this dilemma.

Literally being indecisive and all I am unable to focus anywhere.

[shifu]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Experts and experience BHPians please throw some light and help me get out of this dilemma.

Literally being indecisive and all I am unable to focus anywhere.

I am not an expert, but I have about a decade of experience in IT. Here are my 2 cents:

You haven't mentioned why you'd like to do an MBA and how it'll help you achieve what you really like to do. But if your heart is all set to do an MBA, then that is what you must do. Don't worry about 'others' experience and hike for 2 years, it won't make much of a difference in the long run.

BUT (there is always a 'but' ), in my experience I have observed that doing an MBA after couple of years of experience makes a big difference. I guess your work experience helps you connect what you are learning with reality. Probably this is why quite a few universities insist on work experience. The downside to this approach is that you might be close to 30, and with more responsibilites (personal and professional) than what you have right now. Taking a break from work and doing an MBA then is a difficult decision. If you have clear vision of what you'd like to achieve and if you are convinced that doing an MBA will help you achieve it, then it might not be so difficult. (This is from personal experience. I was in a similar boat in 2004 after my B Tech. Opted for a career in IT and couldn't take a break until now. Finally I have got a goal in mind, and I have applied to a couple of universities for a distance MBA that I think will help me achieve that goal).

So, to summarize my rant:

* Identify why you'd like to do MBA. A big question that requires a lot of patience, and introspection. If you have an answer and you are yourself convinced that an MBA will help you achieve it, go for it. Shortlist the universities that'll help you achieve it and start preparing for it.

* If, like me, you are unable to get a clear answer to the above question, take up a job that interests you right now. You mentioned that you were offered a BA position and that is what interests you. But you didn't like the terms of employment. Maybe you can look for a different employer with a similar job profile. After working for a couple of years, you would have some decent work experience under your belt, and hopefully the clarity of thought required for the first question.

[Samurai]

Shifu is right, don't fall for the usual "doing MBA right after graduation" trap. Delay the MBA as much as possible, even a decade is ok. You will get maximum value out of MBA when you do it late, say 6-10 years of experience. I did it my mid 30s and gained immensely from it.

The idea that you have to finish all your academics before starting the career is an outdated concept. Right now you have no idea why you want to do MBA, it will become clear in few years. If it doesn't, then MBA is not for you.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by shifu

You haven't mentioned why you'd like to do an MBA .

Originally Posted by Samurai

Right now you have no idea why you want to do MBA, it will become clear in few years. If it doesn't, then MBA is not for you.

Why MBA? Well, I see myself good in dealing with people, communicating with friends, can give decent presentations, like to have a job which offers travelling instead of seating in a cubicle coding according to customer's requirement, also love to lead people and organize events as well. I manage things quite well. All in all I want to be a manager who instructs people rather than being working under a manager.

Another reason which pushes me to do an MBA is that I am not yet able to get into a good company/job offer and I don't want to settle for something mediocre. that's why i think it would be a nice idea to get an additional qualification which I always dreamt of!

I don't know if the above mentioned reasons are mature enough for an MBA.

Age factor is what sometimes resist me from doing MBA. I just turned 24 now and my the time I finish MBA I will be 26+ and will be entering industry as a fresher. And obviously there are lots of others social pressures as well like getting married, settling down etc.

But there is another catch in this. What if I could not get a good enough rank to enter a decent B-School! Then I would have to settle for whatever job I may get that time. Quite a situation.

[amit_purohit20]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Experts and experience BHPians please throw some light and help me get out of this dilemma.

Literally being indecisive and all I am unable to focus anywhere.

My advice would be to get into a job which is very close although not perfect to what your heart beats for. Take experience and parallely study in nights and clear exams and get into the top 10-15 MBA colleges and do a Full-time MBA.

You can even think of trying twice to get to a good college. Crux lies in getting admission to a Very good College which have good campus and pay packets offered are good. A better start in earlier years is always good.

I will give you one example of my colleague (B.E Mechanical) who was earning 4.5 lakhs/annum, got into a Full time MBA among top 10 and now started earning 15.5 lakhs/annum. This is what i call a exponential growth within two years. Off-course this guy did take a short experience of close to 1.5-2 years job experience while he was trying hard to qualify for best MBA colleges.

If you do not qualify to get into good colleges go on taking experience and do a Executive MBA/ Part time MBA at a later date after some good years of experience. Off-course Part time MBA will not pay you much in terms of professional growth and fat pay packets.

Not Doing MBA from top notch colleges and just doing one after just passing engineering is sometimes seen as a sign of weakness in technical skills.

Many people who do not have good technical skills or were not fortunate to get into good Engineering companies opt for MBA from mediocre institues. This is the general perception and its seen as an attempt to coverup the lack of good engineering skills.But if the same person gets into a top notch MBA college he is considered one of the bright guys.

So take your pick. Inaction and remaining in a state of confusion is a big threat to students who have just graduated out of college.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Why MBA? Well, I see myself good in dealing with people, communicating with friends, can give decent presentations, like to have a job which offers travelling instead of seating in a cubicle coding according to customer's requirement, also love to lead people and organize events as well. I manage things quite well. All in all I want to be a manager who instructs people rather than being working under a manager.

Another reason which pushes me to do an MBA is that I am not yet able to get into a good company/job offer and I don't want to settle for something mediocre. that's why i think it would be a nice idea to get an additional qualification which I always dreamt of!

I don't know if the above mentioned reasons are mature enough for an MBA.

None of these are valid reasons for doing MBA. You can do all the above without MBA, and most do.

MBA is very mature course. One should pass the MBA course knowledge through the filter of their work experience. Only then one will know to interpret and absorb that knowledge properly.

Pointing my old post:

Originally Posted by Samurai

And I am very against the idea of MBA without work experience. In my opinion it almost destroys your ethics. One needs the maturity and experience that comes from few years of working before you take on MBA. It is really bad that in India most colleges accept MBA students without experience. I am not really inviting a debate here, that's the opinion I formed during my MBA studies. Later I found that my opinion was shared by many when I read this book: Amazon.com: Snapshots from Hell: Books: Peter Robinson

[ampere]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Why MBA? Well, I see myself good in dealing with people, communicating with friends, can give decent presentations, like to have a job which offers travelling instead of seating in a cubicle coding according to customer's requirement, also love to lead people and organize events as well. I manage things quite well. All in all I want to be a manager who instructs people rather than being working under a manager.

Another reason which pushes me to do an MBA is that I am not yet able to get into a good company/job offer and I don't want to settle for something mediocre. that's why i think it would be a nice idea to get an additional qualification which I always dreamt of!
I don't know if the above mentioned reasons are mature enough for an MBA.

It does not look like a sound reason to me. Also some times getting an extra qualifications (Esp an MBA) can be a negative too. As others have mentioned MBA is best done when you have seen the industry.

You may ask, why then many give CAT right at the beginning. Ideally I would prefer some time in the industry before an MBA. Even in IT you have not specified what was it that you were looking for? A good company is not an answer. Good work is; and that can be possible at any place. (Money or no-money). Of course its good to have all, but you will need to decide, if you dont get all, what is the most important that you want.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Why MBA? Well, I see myself good in dealing with people, communicating with friends, can give decent presentations, like to have a job which offers travelling instead of seating in a cubicle coding according to customer's requirement, also love to lead people and organize events as well. I manage things quite well. All in all I want to be a manager who instructs people rather than being working under a manager.

Another reason which pushes me to do an MBA is that I am not yet able to get into a good company/job offer and I don't want to settle for something mediocre. that's why i think it would be a nice idea to get an additional qualification which I always dreamt of!

I don't know if the above mentioned reasons are mature enough for an MBA.

.

Sorry, but none of these are good enough reasons. Not for wanting an MBA, and definitely not good for clearing any decent interview round.

As someone who's done an MBA as a fresher, and has seen people around doing it the correct way, you effectively lose at least 2-3 years of career growth.

Unless you have worked, you can never know what you need to learn in this. And when you don't know that, it's just another couple of years of your bachelor's, just ragdoing yourself to clear papers.
It's better to explore jobs before your MBA, as it can effectively wipe off jumps from your resume. If you start exploring what you want to do after your MBA, you're finished.