Pursue your dreams

Looking beyond Engineering and Medicine

It would be no exaggeration to say it is hard to find a Telugu family without an engineer or a doctor by modern day standards. The frenzied obsession towards the engineering and medical streams in twin Telugu States is now reaching dangerous proportions.

The societies are slowly reaching to a point of no return where engineering and medical degrees have become a default choice. Hence no wonder, both parents and students are caught unawares of life beyond the main stream engineering and medical courses. They are kind of caught up in a quagmire.

This single-minded fixation of the average Telugu family is in turn triggering the mushrooming of coaching centers which are eventually capitalising on their aspirations. While a yearning desire to master these fields of science isn’t inimitable by any chance, an overwhelming derange to solely hinge onto them might surely be unpropitious.

This article is a humble attempt to draw attention of prospective students and parents to career options beyond the mainstream engineering and medical courses. After 10th, both students and parents suddenly face the daunting challenge of making the best career option choice. At this conjecture, an objective analysis of the available, affordable options and their prospects become aspects of primordial importance. Steering the dynamic energies of the youth and channelising their creativity should be taken into consideration before making a choice.

Additionally, latest advances in science and technology and their concomitant outcomes on the society in terms of manpower requirement should be properly assessed. Unlike the 19th and 20th centuries where manufacturing sector boom greatly propelled world economies, 21st century is believed to be dominated by service sector. While deep seated craze and the societal pressure would eternally ensure a formidable production of engineers and doctors in huge numbers, several off-cuff options that work inter-alia with these fields should be chosen.

Advances in sciences and growing awareness in hygiene perceptibly increased the life expectancy of the populations, world over. Health sector is now faced with an insurmountable task of taking care of burgeoning aging population. The field of health care operations, management and emergency services is now slowly evolving as a lucrative career option.

Hence a professional degree or alternatively a diploma in the following fields might be useful. These include-Nursing, Pharmacy, Anesthesia Technician, Cardiac Care Technician, Cathlab Technician, Clinical Optometry, Dental Hygiene, Dental Technician, Medical Imaging and Technology, Medical X-Ray Technology, Occupational Therapist, Operation Theatre Technology (OTT), Physiotherapy, Radiotherapy Technology, Rehabilitation Therapy, Blood Transfusion Technology, Medical Transcription, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Medical administration (Bachelors and Masters level), Hospital Management. Alternative medicine like Homeopathy, Ayurveda and Naturopathy are now finding acceptance in general public and thus have prospective opportunities in this contemporary time.

Renewable Energy is another prime field, which is on the top of agenda of several developing countries. It is an interdisciplinary science offering courses suited for the life sciences and physical sciences background. This diversifies into two streams -- one focusing on the conservation, wildlife management and environmental aspects; another on environmental technology bestowing the skills to design, manufacture, install, operate, and maintain renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Courses like BSc, MSc, PhD, B Tech, Post Graduate Degrees in environmental science and management are now having immense opportunities.

Indian government is now extensively focusing on tourism industry. Recently, five special zones of tourism were identified under the Incredible India campaign too. Prospects in Travel, Tourism, Hospitality, and Allied Industry are exceedingly high and are expected to generate 29.6 million jobs by 2026. Further, a steady increase in the income levels of middleclass lead to a surge in domestic and foreign tourism.

This steady rise in tourism industry galvanised growth in aviation sector (India has become third largest aviation market), Hotel & Restaurant sector, Cruise industry, State, and local tourism operators. Universities in India are now offering various ranges of certificate and diploma courses to meet the requirements of the tourism industry. Any individual who has passed 12th class or completed graduation in any stream can look forward to making it big in this sector.

Courses include - training in soft skills, personnel management, certificate in tourism, certificate in travel, tourist guide courses, bachelor of tourism studies, MBA Tourism Management. Hotel management institutes made a head start in this direction by training and grooming aspiring youth to cater the growing needs of fledging tourism industry in India. Individuals in positions like General Managers, Resident Managers, Executive Housekeepers, Front Office Managers, and Conventional Managers are becoming increasingly successful in their careers.

Other allied industries that are simultaneously progressing owing to a boom in tourism industry are Specialty tourism, by pandering to high-end tourists from the West. These include a personalised grooming salons, and spas which are becoming avenues of growth for beauticians and fitness trainers.

A range of avenues await students desiring to pursue humanities. These are advertising, BA Criminology, Fine Arts, Foreign languages, Home Science, Interior Design, Journalism, Political sciences, and psychology. Indeed, Bachelor of Fine Arts is now becoming launch pad for creative artists who are trying their hands at animation, filmmaking, photography and scriptwriting. Being a rapidly growing economy India has amazing opportunities for students in field of commerce.

While most of these courses are widely known, several Indian Universities are now offering new courses to meet increasing demand of flourishing corporate sector. Prominent among them - Chartered Accountant, Cost Management Accountant, Company Secretary, B Com Taxation and Tax Procedure, B Com Bank Management, BBA/BBM, Bachelors in Financial Markets, Bachelors in Management Studies, Bachelors in Accounting and Finance, Certified Stock Broker and Investment Analysts, Certified Financial Analyst, Certified Financial Planner, Certified Investment Banker.

Among the management courses - Business Management, Human Resource Management and Logistics & Management offer guaranteed jobs. Besides, students from Economics and Commerce background in undergrad can take up law courses offered by top-notch Indian Universities.

Apart from pursuing graduation in pure sciences like Chemistry, Physics, Botany, Zoology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Biotechnology; science students now have a tremendous range of options like the Dietician & Nutritionist, Home Science, Agriculture Science, Horticulture, Fisheries, Forestry, Veterinary Sciences, Sericulture, Oceanography, Meteorology, Anthropology, Forensic Science, Computational Biology, Food Technology, Dairy Technology, Fashion Designing, and Multimedia, etc.

Alternatively, students with Mathematics and Physics stream who are inherently creative and bubbling with revolutionary experimentation may try to get into National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Recently conferred as Institute of National Importance, the institute offers a wide range of courses like Animation Film Design, Ceramic & Glass Design, Exhibition Design, Film and Video Communication, Furniture Design, Graphic Design, Product Design, Textile Design.
Indian Universities are now offering panoply of careers.

It is time to break-free from the idealistic career option of yesteryears. World over, enthusiastic, and aspiring students are scripting new histories by passionately pursuing the fields of their interest.

By: Ramaharitha Pusarla
With inputs from BP Padala, a noted educationalist in Hyderabad.