Law As A Profession

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Law
Becoming a lawyer is a difficult but rewarding process. There’s a lot of learning involved and your child
must be well trained. Fame and success will come to your child based on his/her ability to win cases.
The different branches of Law
Rights and duties are of several different kinds, and so, there are a wide variety of laws. In law school, law students learn a
large number of these laws, making them capable of ‘practicing’ any one of these laws. However they can also choose to
specialise in one or more of these laws. Usually, this specialization happens in the final year of law school.
The different branches of law
Your child can pursue the following branches in law:
 Corporate Law
It is corporate lawyers who plan the deals and projects of corporates to make sure that business can continue to grow. Most
of the work of corporate lawyers is highly confidential, since a leak could cause competing companies, and the share
market, to react unfairly. As a corporate lawyer, your child could be doing work relating to corporate mergers and
acquisitions, joint ventures between companies, foreign investment, project finance and so on. Your child could either
work in a corporate law firm or in the legal department of a company. A good corporate lawyer must develop inter-
personal skills and networking capabilities and of course, a solid understanding of the business world.
 Intellectual Property Law
Intellectual property law is the law that protects the creations of a person or an organisation. To be a good intellectual
property lawyer, it’s important to have a good knowledge not only of this area of law, but also of the industry you are
dealing with. In today's economy, much of a company's worth comes from the ownership of intellectual property. As an
intellectual property lawyer, you can make a career in Trademark Law, Copyright Law, Trade Secret Law or Patent Law.
 Environmental Law
Environmental laws make sure that no one damages nature. Environmental lawyers work with a variety of specialists, such
as geologists and botanists, as well as industry experts. They can practice independently in courts, work with international
organisations such as Greenpeace or the World Wildlife Fund, or work with firms in their efforts to minimize environmental
damage caused by industrial activities.
 Criminal Law
A criminal lawyer’s responsibilities lie essentially in the courts - arguing cases, examining witnesses, poring over evidence
and counseling clients. Lawyers can opt to represent the Government by becoming public prosecutors, or to defend
accused persons. There are opportunities even for those interested in international criminal law. With a sound academic
record, the correct specializations, and rich internship experiences, one can apply for positions at international criminal
courts such as the War Crimes Tribunal.
 Constitutional Laws
The nations’ most important document is the Constitution of India. It goes without saying that constitutional lawyers
usually practice in the highest courts of the land, i.e. the High Courts and the Supreme Court. A good constitutional lawyer
must also possess a good understanding of politics and government. Constitutional cases usually involve issues affecting
millions of people across the country, for instance, inter-state river water disputes, elections, and so on.
 Human Rights Law
A human rights lawyer must be an expert not just in the various human rights recognised across the world, but also
politically clever, emotionally strong and assertive. The subject of human rights law takes the student through the history
of human rights, from ancient slavery, to atrocities such as those committed by the Nazis against the Jews, modern day
crimes. Human rights law offers diverse opportunities including litigation, research and lobbying. Most organisations in the
field of human rights, usually non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or international non-governmental organisations
(INGOs) do a mixture of this kind of work ranging from issue-based research, preparation of policy papers, petitioning local
government bodies for change and even standing up in court for the rights of the underprivileged. NGOs work at a local
level, while INGOs work at a global level.
 International Law
The world’s nations have to conduct their affairs in accordance with international laws. These international laws regulate
international affairs such as war, human rights, border disputes, rights in outer space and the use of the resources of the
sea, amongst numerous other matters. With the establishment of internationally recognized legal institutions (namely the
National Law Schools) in India, international law has become an accessible career option for young Indian lawyers.
However, opportunities still lie outside the country. To develop the ideal profile to secure a position with an international
political organisation such as the United Nations (UN) or with an international court such as the International Court of
Justice (ICJ), a candidate needs to get at least a Masters degree (LLM) after the basic law degree (LLB). The best Masters
degrees in international affairs and/or international law are offered by the US or European law schools. Several of these
prestigious law schools offer scholarships for studies in the area of international laws – making these law schools reachable
for students from developing countries such as ours.
Famous Personalities
Cyril Shroff
Cyril Shroff is also considered to be India's finest corporate lawyer. A gold medalist from Govt. Law College, Mumbai as well
as a topper in the prestigious Bombay Solicitor's Exam, Cyril Shroff has been largely responsible for the meteoric rise of
Amarchand Mangaldas in the corporate world. The firm advises top Indian and foreign companies on all major corporate
issues and is responsible for ensuring the success of several of India’s largest corporate deals. A brilliant negotiator with a
great understanding of law, Cyril Shroff is a model corporate lawyer with a reputation across the world.
The different types of Lawyers

Being a litigator (a lawyer who argues cases in court) is just one of the options available to lawyers. If convincing a judge
about the case of their client is not your child’s cup of tea, they still have a great many other options, including working in
a law firm, working for a company or serving a non-governmental organisation, to name just a few.
Different types of lawyers can end up leading very different lives. The early years of work are always a revelation, and it is
common for lawyers to cross-over from one type of legal job to another. While some decisions are purely driven by better
salaries and other comforts, the bulk of these ‘transfers’ are caused by a realisation of what the person expects from the
profession and, generally, from life.
Help your child to choose the best option
Each one of the following options offers different rewards. The option your child exercises depends on what matters most
to them. Remember always that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ option when your child is choosing what sort of lawyer they
want to be: whatever drives them, whatever fuels their passion, is the ‘right’ option.
Pros and Cons
Pros
 Your child will know not just their rights, but also those of the person they are dealing with.
 Your child’s analytical skills are superbly strengthened, and they can apply these to any aspect of life.
 Their communication skills are hugely enhanced through law school and work
 Successful lawyers are often amongst the highest earning members of society.
 A chance to move into politics. Speaking the language of authority is their license to power.
 A good law school will give your child an incredibly well-rounded education.
Cons
 In litigation, your child will earn very little in their early years and there is a risk of failure.
 If they pick criminal litigation, it is possible that they will be interacting with criminals.
 Some people still perceive lawyers as people with poor ethics.
 It’s hard to get credit cards, loans and houses on rent.
 If your child is working for a traditional Indian company, then the management may give MBAs a priority over
lawyers because they feel that they are directly involved in direct revenue producing functions, and lawyers are
only seen as people who can solve disputes in a company.
How to get started
If your child is keen on becoming a lawyer, here are some things they can do right away!
Movies
 Rules of Engagement
 A Civil Action
 The Rainmaker
 The Chamber
 The Client
 A Few Good Men
 Philadelphia
Books
 To Kill a Mockingbird
 Silent Witness
 Primal Fear
 The Pelican Brief
 The Firm
 Presumed Innocent
 The Runaway Jury
 The Laws of Our Fathers
 Just Cause
TV Shows
 The Practice
 JAG
 Ally McBeal
 Murder One
 NYPD Blue
Lawyer in Court
From cross-examining witnesses in a criminal trial to arguing issues of national importance in the great courtrooms of the
Supreme Court – litigation offers a sense of power and satisfaction unmatched by other careers.
Job profile
The professional life of a litigator is spent in courts arguing different cases for different clients. As a litigator, your child
will be interacting with a lot of lawyers from law firms and companies. The kind of issues they will be arguing will vary
from organisation to organisation and their clients could range from individuals to companies to organisations. Besides the
different courts, there are also different tribunals, which are specialised courts for particular laws. There are scores of
lawyers who choose to practice only, or largely, in specific tribunals such as the ITAT (Income Tax Appellate Tribunal) or
the CEGAT (Central Excise and Gold Appellate Tribunal). To this extent, these lawyers choose to specialise and build their
reputation in these specific areas.
Mapping the skill sets of your child
To become a lawyer, your child must:
 Be a good communicator – they will have to present their client’s case to the court convincingly!
 Be able to think on your feet.
 Have powerful observation skills.
 Be a good listener.
 Be good at analysis.
 Be able to express complex thoughts and arguments in a few simple words.
 Be a good networker with the ability to make friends easily.
 Be able to comfort people in tough situations - a lawyer is often a friend and adviser as well!
 Be assertive and bold.
How to get started
If your child wants to become a litigator in court after completing law school, they can apply to a senior lawyer to work
under him or her as a junior. First, they need to decide which court they wish to practice in. Then, they will have to decide
which lawyer they would ideally like to begin their career with. As a junior, your child will have to work very hard, show
their mettle and start building their reputation. Once they outgrow their reputation as a junior and people start trusting
them with their cases, they can branch out on their own.
How you can help as a parent?
1. Help your child develop good communication skills.

2. Get them to take part in debates in their school or college.
3. Get them to start reading on a variety of subjects. Good litigators deal with a variety of subjects so their general
awareness has to be high.
4. Go to a lower or a higher court near you and watch the various proceedings there.
5. Have them talk to the lawyers.
6. Get them to read biographies of great lawyers like Books to read ‘We the People’ by Nani Palkhiwala and ‘Roses in
December’ by M.C. Chagla
Ram Jethmalani
The career of Ram Jethmalani began in courtrooms across the border. He became a lawyer at 18. Soon he started his law
firm in Karachi. Brohi was his senior by six years. His first client was a distressed landlord and Jethmalani charged him Re.1
as fees. In February 1948, riots broke out in Karachi. Ram Jethmalani and his entire family left Pakistan for security
reasons. After he landed in Bombay, he had to enroll at the Bombay University and qualify all over again. After he settled
down professionally and financially, he campaigned for Krishna Menon in a by-election in 1967. When the Emergency was
declared, he was the chairman of the Bar Association of India, the highest position in the profession. He went to Canada
and came back to India 10 months later when the emergency was lifted. While in Canada, his candidature was filed and he
won the seat in 1980. Though controversy has crossed his path throughout his career, this Rajya Sabha MP and former Union
minister, who has completed six decades as a lawyer, has never shied away from life's unpredictable verdicts.
Lawyer in a Law Firm

The law firm is the most popular organisation of lawyers in the legal world. Law firms are special because they can offer a
very wide range of services to clients (who are usually companies) – corporate advisory services (advising companies on
issues in corporate law), projects, such as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, foreign investment, environmental laws,
property related matters, debt recovery and intellectual property laws, to mention just a few. Since they have several
lawyers working together, law firms are able to offer clients such a wide vista of services.
As a young lawyer in a law firm, your child will be exposed to a lot of different areas and will learn fast! On any given day,
they could be involved in 4-5 different projects for different clients, so being a successful associate in a law firm definitely
calls for multi-tasking. Today’s law firms are elite consulting units that function as meritocracies. If your child is good, they
could become a partner, sometimes even before they hit thirty! The good law firms of the country offer good salaries and
the opportunity to acquire the status of a recognised and well-reputed lawyer at a young age.
Job profile
Most law firms model themselves as being ‘full service’, meaning that they can advise clients on all types of issues, ranging
from mergers and acquisitions, to corporate alliances, to big construction and infrastructure projects, environmental
matters etc. As a lawyer dealing in corporate affairs, your child could be doing a little bit of litigation but in this case
rarely will they be arguing. As an intellectual property lawyer, your child will deal with matters relating to intellectual
property law violations and/or protection.
The list of different stuff that law firms do is a long one. If your child desires to specialise in a particular type of law or
have a great interest in it, the option of a specialist law firm is also available. The good law schools often attract the top
law firms to their recruitment programs. Even if a law firm does not visit a campus for recruitment, law graduates can
always apply to these law firms independently. Your child can improve their profile by learning languages and selecting
final year courses that are relevant to the work done by the law firms they are applying to. Of course, a good academic
record is always a tremendous advantage.
To become a lawyer in a law firm, your child must:
 Be a team player.
 Be convivial.
 Be sincere, with a professional commitment to whatever job they are doing.
 Have strong analytical skills.
 Have good listening skills.
 Be a good writer.
 Possess good body language.
 Dress well and be presentable at all times.
 Be a good negotiator.
Pros and cons
Pros
 Great exposure to the best of the corporate world, including its leaders.
 The top law firms offer great starting salaries and solid career paths.
 An insight into what the best and biggest companies are planning and doing.
 The excitement of being involved in high profile ‘big-money’ happenings.
Cons
 Very long working hours.

 Lots of work-related stress because of tough deadlines.
 Being pigeon-holed, i.e., working in one area of law and not being able to shift if you get bored by it.
 The older, larger, law firms tend to be quite hierarchical, i.e., the partners are usually quite aloof and rarely
mingle with junior lawyers.
 Not all law firms pay well in the beginning.
 Systems of promotion and salary hikes are quite arbitrary and often decided in an autocratic way by the managing
partner.
Lawyer in a Company
Some of best known companies in India have made a concerted effort to create a pool of legal talent within the company
itself. They don’t want to have to run to a law firm or an outside lawyer every time a legal issue arises, or a critical
business decision has to be taken. So the legal department takes care of every legal need of the company. Working closely
with the business managers in the company, the corporate counsel in a legal department can gain an excellent perspective
on business needs.
Job profile
As a lawyer in a company, your child could be handling a basket of issues ranging from corporate affairs to intellectual
property rights and tax, depending on the kind of company they are working for. Just like lawyers in law firms, your child
could end up spending a lot of their time in meetings.
The leading companies usually visit the campuses of the top law schools. Your child could get picked up at the campus
itself, or they could apply for a position independently. Companies are looking for law graduates with an interest in the
industry they are in, and well-rounded personalities with an ability to communicate clearly. Good academic records count,
as in most other cases, but extra-curricular activities like debating and mooting (mock courts) count more than they usually
do with law firms.
To become a lawyer in a company, your child must:
 Be a people’s person.
 Be practical - understand and implement business needs.
 Have a good sartorial sense
 Be comfortable with frequent travel.
 Be a good negotiator.
 Be able to listen well.
 Be articulate.
Pros and cons
Pros
 Working not just with the corporate world but ‘IN’ the corporate world.
 Your child ends up doing a lot of networking, and hence will develop a wide network of contacts.
 Your child will get to see a nice mix of law and business, and how these two come together.
 They will learn a lot about the business of their company.
Cons
 In most Indian companies, the legal role is still looked upon as a ‘support function’ and not central to the business
(unlike marketing, finance etc.) As a result of this, lawyers rarely rise to senior management positions such as the
CEO or the COO. They usually rise only up to the level of Heads of Legal Departments and no further.
 The big matters concerning the company may be handed over to a law firm and your child’s role could be confined
to a middleman between the company and the law firm, i.e., basically making sure that the law firm does its job.
 Work can get repetitive and sometimes unchallenging. It is not uncommon for lawyers in companies to look at
lateral moves to law firms or to the practice after a couple of years.
Lawyer in a NGO
NGOs deal with a wide variety of issues affecting people, including the environment, human rights abuses and poverty.
NGOs can be area specific, i.e., restricted to a problem / issue in one part of the country. Work is often done in adverse
conditions, where the government is unconcerned, uncooperative or outright hostile. The law school experience also has
the effect of sensitizing students to social issues, and a large number of law students work with NGOs during college
vacations. Those who go on to build careers in these organisations are willing to forego the pay packets of the corporate
world in exchange for work that changes people’s lives.
Job profile
The workplace is more relaxed compared to companies and law firms. In most NGOs, there is no well-defined hierarchy.
People mostly work in teams, and quite often people can pick work according to interest. A lot of fieldwork is required.
Salaries at most NGOs aren’t great, but what people lose out in terms of money, they gain in terms of satisfaction.
Most law students gather the experience of work at an NGO during their years in law school itself. Several intern with these
organisations in their early years in law school, and the interested few of this lot continue this practice even in the later
years. This early exposure will gives your child a clear idea of what to expect from life and work at an NGO. To get a job
with an NGO, your child will have to apply to them directly.
To become a lawyer with an NGO, your child must be:
 Sensitive to social, economic and political issues and be aware of how they affect society at large.
 Able to interact and build relationships with people from different classes and backgrounds.
 Persuasive and persistent – your child will often go up against unhelpful or un-cooperative authorities.
 Patient - it sometimes takes time to make a difference.
 Courageous.
 Able to empathise with people and understand their needs and their problems.
 A good listener.
 Able to communicate complex thoughts in simple language.
Pros and Cons
Pros
 The job is likely to offer a lot of emotional and personal satisfaction.

 An opportunity to be the voice of the community that your child is working with or the cause they are working for.
 Respect and recognition from peers and society in general.
 Your child could end up making a lot of friends from very different walks of life.
 The chance to ‘make a difference’ to the lives of the people affected by their work.
 Relaxed and informal working environment with no rigid authoritarian hierarchies.
 A chance to travel a lot.
 A sense of freedom and purpose in life.
Cons
 The amount of money your child earns will be less compared to other careers in and around the law.
 While less money is ok in the early years, in later years, with the prospect of family looming large, it can be a
cause for concern.
 Dealing with local authorities and the government can be a frustrating experience, and your child will need a lot
of patience to get by.
 If your child doesn’t pick the right kind of organisation to work with, they could end up being disillusioned and
disinterested. The kind of people involved and the work that the organisation does is critical to check up on
before your child applies for a job.
Lawyers as Judges
Few professions on this planet command the respect that the judicial profession does, and if your child becomes a reputed
judge, they can enjoy a special place under the sun. Being a judge; particularly of the High Courts or the Supreme Court,
means being powerful, responsible and respected.
Job profile
Judges spend their days listening to a variety of cases and lawyers. Besides spending their time in courtrooms, judges also
spend time in their chambers researching laws and writing judgments. Some of the major cases that a judge may be asked
to decide may go on for days with the best lawyers arguing for both sides. Listening carefully to what each one has to say
and keeping in mind the relevant laws can be an exhausting job. Considering that many of these cases are of national
importance, the judge cannot afford to miss anything.
One can become a judge either by passing a judicial service exam after graduating from law school or after putting in
several years practicing in the courts. The advantage of the latter is that your child could be selected as a judge in a higher
court like the High Courts, while in the case of the former, they would have to start with the lowest of lower courts.
To become a judge, your child must be:
 Honest, impartial and fair in judgment.

 A good judge of character.
 Analytical.
 Passionate about justice.
 A good writer.
 Willing to keep learning - the field of law is so vast that your child will always have to keep an open mind.
 A good listener.
 Fair in their dealings with people.
Pros and Cons
Pros
 Being hugely respected everywhere your child goes.

 Listening to the best lawyers and retaining the neutrality to pick right from wrong.
 Being a part of major political, economic and social developments by passing good judgments.
 All the comforts that go with senior government jobs.
 A tremendous exposure to the political world and all arms of the government.
 Tremendous personal and emotional satisfaction.
Cons
 Your child could come under a great deal of political pressure when the issues involve matters of national
importance.
 Your child is exposed to corruption all around, and even within their own ranks. They will have to resist the
temptation to give in many times during their career.
 The salaries are little compared to what your child’s peers in the practice or in the corporate world would be
earning.
 If your child is a judge in the lower courts, they could end up being frustrated by the lack of organisation and
efficiency in the court system.
 They could be approached with bribes or threats.
 Listening carefully to cases throughout the day can be psychologically and physically exhausting, even though the
hours may not be too long.
Famous personalities
Bill Clinton
The former president of the United States is a lawyer and a Rhodes Scholar. He received his law degree from Yale
University. Known for his statesmanship and ability to resolve international disputes, Clinton is proof of the brilliant skills
that a legal education can give you!
Baba Amte
Before plunging into his crusade against leprosy, Baba Amte was a practicing lawyer. He has given dignity to thousands of
Indians afflicted by leprosy, and brought hope against exploitation to thousands of tribals.
Other Career Options:
1) CREATIVE FIELDS
2) ARMED FORCES
3) ENGINEERING
4) FINANCE
5) SERVICES
6) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
7) SOCIAL SCIENCES
8) SCIENCE
9) MEDICINE
10) MEDIA
11) MANAGEMENT
12) LAW
13) TEACHING
14) SPORTS
15) LIGUISTICS
16) COMMERCIAL PILOT
17) FASHION & DESIGN
Engineer
Engineering
Is your child interested in a career in engineering? Read more on the various jobs that your child can explore as an
engineer.
Where does your child start if they want a career in engineering? Read on to find out.
Getting Started
Your child should start their journey right in Class XI or Plus 1, by choosing the science stream, with Physics,
Chemistry and Maths. The next step is for them to get a BE (Bachelor of Engineering) or BTech (Bachelor of
Technology) degree. Another option is to acquire a diploma after their 10+2. There are several specialized diploma
courses, which are typically of 3 years’ duration, after which it is possible to get an engineering job. Many people
complete their diplomas, and then go in for an engineering degree.
Admission to top engineering colleges is based on a number of different entrance exams which your child will be
eligible to take after their 10+2. The main exams are:
•The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) that admits students to the 6 IITs, and several other top engineering colleges.
•The All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE) is conducted by the CBSE for admission to a vast number of
colleges across India, who reserves 15% of their seats for applicants who qualify through this exam.
•The state level common entrance exam is conducted by most states for admission to engineering colleges within
the respective state.
Areas in engineering your child can explore
Generally engineers do one or more of the following kinds of jobs, regardless of which branch they belonged to:
•Research engineers work on fundamental problems in engineering science. They use theory and do experiments to
understand various principles and processes.
•Development engineers take research engineers’ concepts and transform them into useful processes or prototypes
(models).
•Design engineers transfer a prototype or proven process from the developmental stage to a product or industrial
scale process.
•Production engineers select manufacturing equipment and processes for mass production. They design
manufacturing plants and worry about things like costs and safety.
•Construction engineers convert designs in the form of plans and drawings into reality. They prepare the
construction site, specify methods of construction on the basis of safety and economy and coordinate materials,
equipment and human resources.
•Operations engineers are responsible for the day-to-day control of such facilities as chemical, nuclear,
manufacturing, transportation, communication, or water treatment plants.
•Test engineers evaluate new designs and prototypes and ensure that raw materials and manufactured products meet
the stipulated specifications.
•Quality engineers focus on ensuring that products are made to desired quality.
•Sales engineers usually are involved in selling technical and industrial products to other related businesses.
•Start paying attention to your child’s maths and physics classes. What they are learning now will be the base of
everything else they will learn in their engineering course.
•Start finding out about all the different engineering entrance examinations and decide which ones you want your
child to attempt. This includes finding out about all the coaching classes available – both classroom and
correspondence, talking to seniors about which ones they found useful, and so on.
•Get your child to use their summer vacation to browse the textbooks/notes of friends who are in the same class as
they are but studying under a different Board. This way, they will be prepared for all kinds of entrance tests they
will need to take for admission into various engineering colleges.
•If you know someone who is currently pursuing a career in engineering, get your child to talk to them about their
work. All this will help your child figure out if they really want a career in engineering.
•Try and get your child to read biographies of famous engineers.
•Get on the Net and browse web sites that demystify engineering for students. Here are some recommendations to
start you off like:
http://www.surfnetkids.com/engineer.htm
http://www.iei.ie/steps/
Civil Engineer
A civil engineer’s job is perhaps more physically demanding than any other kind of engineer’s. Your child will
spend days outdoors, surveying the land when they are on a project. Most civil engineering work goes on twenty-
four hours a day and seven days a week. A smaller number of civil engineers may find themselves in design jobs
that may not involve so much outdoor work. Civil engineers who set up their own construction firms may choose to
operate out of cities, and be involved in putting up blocks of apartments, shopping malls, hospitals, hotels, and so
on.
Getting started in Civil Engineering
•If one of your relatives or friends is a civil engineer and especially if they are involved in building something, go
along with your child and pay them a visit. Live ‘on location’ to get a real taste of what the civil engineer’s life is all
about.
•If this is not possible, pop in with your child on a work-in-progress building in your neighbourhood or elsewhere in
your city. Ask for the engineer and chat with him about his work.
•Catch programmes on National Geographic and the Discovery channels that feature the world’s great buildings,
bridges, dams, and so on.
Pros and Cons of Civil Engineering as a Career
The Pros
•Your child will not be chained to a desk or a factory shop floor for eight hours a day. Civil engineering involves
plenty of outdoor work.
•A civil engineer’s work is very visible and its benefits are very apparent – once a flyover is built, for instance, it is
actually used by millions of grateful people. This can be very heartening.
•If your child is a project head, they will usually enjoy a lot of power and respect.
The Cons
•It is not a cushy life. Unlike some other branches of engineering, civil engineering involves hard physical work.
•It is not a ‘glamorous’ branch of engineering.
•It is completely male-dominated. If your child is a girl and wants to take up civil engineering, she should be
prepared to be the only one in her batch. Very few girls study this branch of engineering, which means even in a job
situation, it is very likely she will be the only female in the entire organization.
Famous Civil Engineering Projects
The Konkan Railway a marvel of Civil Engineering
The Konkan Railyway is an 800 km rail link constructed between Mumbai and Mangalore through some of the
most inhospitable and treacherous terrain in the world. This is what it meant:
•760 km of tracks had to be laid flat (in the most hilly part of South India)
•2000 bridges had to be built over some 1500 rivers
•92 tunnels (83 km in all) had to be blasted through obstinate parts of the Western Ghats
•All through this, the environment was to remain unaffected
Websites to Surf
http://civilengineer.about.com/cs/beginners/
http://www.acec-co.org/students/flash.html
Mechanical Engineer
Mechanical Engineering is perhaps the broadest of all the engineering disciplines in its range of activities and
functions. A mechanical engineer designs and builds a machine by applying various principles drawn from
mathematics and the basic sciences like physics and chemistry. Most of these principles will be taught to your child
in high school science (Newton’s Laws of Motion, for instance), but if they took up mechanical engineering, they
would study them again in greater detail in the four years of their course. A mechanical engineer is primarily
concerned with three aspects of engineering:
•Understanding materials and their physical behaviour

•Understanding thermodynamics (the conversion of heat energy to work)
•Design and manufacturing (making smart products economically)
Jobs in Mechanical Engineering
•The Designers - Mechanical engineers involved in design may devise petrol or diesel engines for automobiles, ball
bearings, pumps, compressors, conveyors, cars, trucks, buses, ships or aircraft. They may work with engineers from
other disciplines to design entire manufacturing plants. Some of them may spend their working lives simply
analysing equipment that is supposed to improve performance, in industries that have nothing to do with mechanical
engineering.
•The Manufacturing Unit - Mechanical engineers involved in manufacturing may supervise and co-ordinate the
manufacturing of all the products mentioned above, right from deciding which machines to use to manufacture the
products and what kind of materials to use in their manufacture in making the machine tools (the machines which
make the machines that manufacture the products) themselves. They also develop techniques to improve and speed
up the manufacture of these machines.
•The Research Department - Mechanical engineers involved in research figure out stuff like how to design the shape
of a submarine so that it makes the least noise, or how to design aircrafts like the Stealth, which simply do not show
up on the enemy’s radar screen.
•The Sales Department - Companies might even hire mechanical engineers in their sales department, if they are
selling the kind of technical product that only mechanical engineers can understand.
As a parent you could try the following things with your child:
•Catch this programme with your child

Junkyard Wars on the National Geographic channel. Watch brilliant mechanical engineering minds at work as two
teams race against time to put together the specified machine using only stuff they can find in a junkyard.
•Read the following books

‘Iacocca’ by Scott Manning
‘Wheels’ by Arthur Hailey
Biographies of Henry Ford
•Browse this great web site - www.discoverengineering.org

Famous Mechanical Engineers
•Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler - Responsible for the Mercedes-Benz.
•Chester F. Carlson - Invented a copying process called xerography, which later was used in the making of the
Xerox machine.
Electrical & Electronic Engineer
The most significant difference between electrical engineering and electronic engineering is that electrical
engineers generally deal with large-power applications, such as generation and distribution of power whereas
electronic engineers deal with low-power systems such as computers and communications. However, most work in
electrical engineering today requires knowledge of both electrical and electronic engineering. Although electrical
and electronic engineering are still sometimes studied as separate branches of engineering, students of each branch
need to have extensive knowledge of the other. These engineers design products that meet human needs for today
and tomorrow.
As an Electrical and Electronic Engineer, your child will have to specialize in different areas such as power
generation, transmission, and distribution; communications; and electrical equipment manufacturing, or a
subdivision of these areas — industrial robot control systems or aviation electronics, for example. They design,
develop, test and supervise the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment.
Careers your child can explore
•Designer: Electrical and Electronic Engineers involved in design could be designing anything from consumer
electronics to computer equipment to power generation and distribution systems, process control equipment and
communications devices.
•The manufacturing guys: Those involved in manufacturing could be plant engineers, power engineers, controls
engineers or information systems engineers.
•The analysts: Electrical and Electronic Engineers involved in analysis and testing could be Technical Service
Engineers or Product Testing Engineers.
•The researchers: These engineers involved in research could be involved in developing new products and
equipment based on existing technology or in truly futuristic stuff like discovering and developing brand-new
technologies.
Getting your child started
•You can start off by browsing and learning from these web sites, together with yoru child.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blelectric.htm
www.sony.net
www.pbs.org/transistor
http://library.thinkquest.org/2763/Electricity/Facts.html
http://www.electronicsworkbench.com/understandelectricity/ewb.html
•Read These Books - Made in Japan – the autobiography of Akio Morita, the founder of Sony Corporation.
•Watch the weekend science programmes on Discovery Kids with your child, especially those dealing with physics.
•Check out your local science museum along with your child. Chances are they offer vacation courses in electronics
that you might want your child to join. Even if they don’t, there are enough electronic hobby-kits available in the
market with detailed instructions on how to set up burglar alarms to transistor radios. Or get your child to join an
amateur radio (or HAM radio) club in your city to really understand how radio communication works.
•Get your child to take some lessons in electrical circuits from your electrician. There is no doubt that as far as
practical understanding and troubleshooting are concerned, there is no one to beat a qualified electrician.
Jerry Yang
In 1994, 28-year old Jerry Yang created an Internet-based online guide called Yahoo! One year later he co-founded
Yahoo! Inc. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, Yahoo has become one of the largest online navigational guide
sites in the world. Jerry Yang is also an engineer, and he holds BS and MS degrees (the American equivalent of our
BE / BTech and ME / MTech) in electrical engineering (not computer science or computer engineering) from
Stanford. His designation at work? Chief Yahoo.
Computer Science Engineer
Computer Science & Engineering is actually not one field but three. There is computer hardware engineering that
involves designing hardware – the circuitry inside a computer’s CPU that can run the software; then there is
computer software engineering that is all about writing programs that run on this hardware; finally, there is pure
computer science that is all about figuring out (with the help of mathematics) similarities in all the software and
coming up with more efficient ideas on how to solve tough problems.
If you want your child to have a career in computer engineering, they need to be:
•Seriously excited by computers and how they work, especially true if they want to pursue a career in hardware,
which involves stuff like chip design and computer architecture (integrating the hardware and software components
to form computer systems).
•Interested in electrical circuits because electrical engineering provides the basics of computer circuit design, which
is all about feeding different electrical impulses into a circuit and combining them to produce the outputs you want.
In fact, electrical engineering is so closely linked with computer hardware engineering that universities these days
offer a combined course called ECE – Electrical and Computer Engineering.
•Able to think logically and reason clearly. This is a vital skill for software engineers, because they are the guys
writing the algorithms (logical step-by-step processes) to solve problems and then translating those algorithms into
a language (C or Pascal, for instance) that a computer can understand.
•Constantly innovating. Computer engineers are always looking for ways to make circuits smaller and more
efficient, programs shorter and more elegant, and devices that are more and more user-friendly.
Jobs to explore
•A computer scientist: works on and studies the structure, operation, and application of computers and computer
systems. He might design computers, analyse algorithms, study the performance of computer systems or experiment
with new computer systems and then suggest potential applications for them.
•Software engineer: handles software, which comprises the entire set of programs, procedures, and routines
associated with the operation of a computer system. The software engineer may be involved with writing code for
and maintaining system software, application software or network software.
•Computer architect: is usually a hardware engineer who is concerned with the design of computers (the hardware)
and with computer systems (both hardware and software) and with how the two should be configured to satisfy
overall system requirements. There is very little opportunity for this kind of work in India.
•Sales department: Since mainly engineers can understand the products of a computer engineering company, they
can only tell people why their products are superior.
The Pros & Cons
Pros
•As a course, computer science and engineering is simpler than other branches of engineering.
•Your child could work from home when they don’t feel like going in to work, especially if they are software
engineers. All they would need is a laptop and a fast Internet connection.
•The money is better than what your child would make as any other kind of engineer.
•It is very easy to start a venture on their own – all they would need are a few computers linked up to the Internet, a
bunch of good brains, and an idea.
•It’s exciting to know that what your child is doing today could change the way the world functions – as early as
next year!
Cons
•A computer engineer usually brings his work home – because he can.

•His working life is a series of project completion deadlines and whole nights spent grappling with particularly
irritating problems, or taking out every kink in a program, is the norm.
•Hunching over a computer for the best part of the day, day after day, is not what the doctor recommended. Spinal
ailments like spondylitis and slipped disc, wrist problems like carpal tunnel syndrome and a variety of eye problems
are common.
Get your child to read ‘The Road Ahead and Business @ Speed of Thought by Bill Gates’
You may even want to visit the following sites:
www.siliconindia.com/digitalprofiles
www.pixar.com
www.designboom.com/eng/education/pong.html
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/computer-software-channel.htm
http://www.starwars.com/bio/industriallightmagic.html
Bill Gates
Bill Gates is may not be an engineer (he is actually a dropout from Harvard University), but he has created the
world’s largest company, he is the world’s richest man and he has provided thousands of jobs to electronic and
computer engineers all over the world. Gates began computing as a 13-year-old at the city’s Lakeside school. By the
age of 17, he had sold his first program – a timetabling system for the school, earning him $4,200. It was at
Lakeside that he met Paul Allen and the two teamed up to write the first computer language program written for a
personal computer. The PC’s maker MITS, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, liked their work and the two
friends in 1975 established Microsoft, so-called because it provided microcomputer software. The big break came in
1980 when an agreement was signed to provide the operating system that became known as MS-DOS, for IBM’s
new personal computer. A clever clause in the contract allowed Microsoft to license the operating system to other
manufacturers, spawning an industry of ‘IBM-compatible’ personal computers which depended on Microsoft’s
operating system. The rest as they say is history!
Chemical Engineer
The work of a chemical engineer can be very much like a scientist’s work if they choose to be on the research side
of chemical engineering, except that their research is all geared towards making things that the industry needs and
that the industry can sell to make a profit. Chemical engineers work in laboratories, consulting firms, engineering
firms and universities. Even the biotechnology wave is supported by the processes developed based on the
principles of chemical engineering, taking into account the specifications of biology.
If you want your child to have a career in chemical engineering, they need to:
•Enjoy chemistry and also be good at it.

•Have a wide range of interests .
•Be good at analysis and deduction.
The Pros & Cons of Chemical Engineering
Pros
•Chemical engineering is a high-profile new field and is better paid than traditional engineering streams.
•It gives your child the opportunity to be both engineer and scientist.
•A chemical engineer’s work impacts common people and daily living. That can make the one feel really important.
•If your child wants to get into the new exciting field of biotechnology and biochemical engineering, a Bachelors’
degree in chemical engineering takes them halfway there. A specialization in biotechnology at the Masters level and
they’re good to go.
Cons
•Chemical engineering in India requires one to work in chemical plants and factories that are more often than not
located in non-urban areas, where your child will have to do without the luxuries and facilities of city life.
•Work can get to be monotonous because scope for innovation in an established process is restricted.
•Setting up one’s own venture in the chemical engineering field is exciting but difficult. For most chemical
engineering ventures require a lot of infrastructure and a lot of investment.
Get your child to:
Surf
http://www.che.ufl.edu/index.asp
Read
The Polyester Prince – The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani by Hamish McDonald
Architect
Architects transform people’s needs into concepts and then develop the concepts into building images that civil
engineers can convert into buildings. Architects therefore are the bridge between the people who have needs and
those who will make the spaces that satisfy those needs — builders and contractors, plumbers, painters, carpenters,
and air conditioning mechanics. To be able to match the ‘space’ to the ‘need’, architects have to be highly creative
and sensitive. Of course, they also have to be technically knowledgeable.
Getting Started in Architecture
After your child’s 10+2 (in which they should have taken the science stream with physics, chemistry and maths),
they will have to take entrance tests for admission to an architecture college or to an engineering college with an
architecture department. In the latter case, the entrance exam is common to all branches of engineering offered by
the college. As far as admission into pure architecture colleges is concerned, your child will have to take the
aptitude test conducted by the Council of Architecture on an all-India basis. Engineering drawing is a useful subject
to take at the 10+2 level if your child is keen on architecture.
Indian Institute of Technology selects candidates through a Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). School of Planning
and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi offers degree courses in Architecture and Physical Planning. Selection is made
through an entrance examination, which includes tests on general knowledge and I.Q., along with an aptitude test.
Candidates who get their BArch degree from the SPA can work either in architecture or in planning.
The Course
The BArch course is probably the most exhaustive and definitely one of the most interesting graduate courses. The
scope of the course is so wide that it covers everything from visual arts to sketching, acoustics, illumination,
complex mathematics, colour, texture, rhythm, sociology, psychology, environmental behaviour, horticulture,
landscape architecture, structural design, climatology, electrical engineering, sanitary engineering, air conditioning,
and several other very interesting subjects. Because the course is a good mix of science and art, it is perfect for
people who are interested in both. There are various specializations open to architecture graduates both in India and
abroad – including Urban Designing, Regional Planning, Building Engineering and Management, Landscape
Architecture, Architecture concerning traffic and transport planning.
•Begin early. Your own environment — your home, your school, your locality, is a good place to start with. By
learning to ‘see’ buildings, spaces, and their relationships, your child will become sensitive to things that concern
architects.
•Travel as much as you can and expose your child to new places and new ways of living. Take a little sketchbook
along and make have your child make sketches of houses and buildings typical to that place. Notice how buildings
in different places in the country, and in the world, are different from each other and find out how those architectural
styles developed.
•If your child is in high school, have them pay attention to English, history, social studies, mathematics, physics,
foreign languages, business and computer science. Choosing engineering drawing in their 10+2 will help them get a
little headstart.
•Make an appointment with a local architect and visit his office or his projects along with your child. Most
architects will be willing to make time to discuss their work with a keen student.
•Subscribe to design and architecture magazines like Architectural Review, Architectural Record, Progressive
Architecture, Architecture + Design, and Indian Architect and Builder. Going through a year’s worth of issues will
be an education for your child in the basics of design and architecture and will also introduce them to the work of
various Indian architects and the latest developments in the field.
•Get your child to read the classic fiction on an architect’s life and work like ‘The Fountainhead’ by Ayn Rand.
Other must-reads: The Autobiography of Frank Lloyd Wright, Kindergarten Chats by Louis Sullivan, books on the
works of famous architects from all over the world like Antoni Gaudi, Le Corbusier, Charles Correa, Frank Lloyd
Wright, Balakrishna Doshi, Mies Van de Rohe, Geoffrey Bawa, and so on.
Michelangelo
The Sistine Chapel in Vatican City may not have been so famous if it hadn’t been for its magnificently painted
ceiling. It took one man named Michelangelo and his team just four years, between 1508 and 1512, to paint over
300 breathtaking figures over some 6,000 sq ft of ceiling area.
Gustave Eiffel
French engineer Gustave Eiffel designed this tower for the World’s Fair in Paris in 1889. It remained the world’s
tallest building for some forty years after it was built, and is today a graceful example of engineering beauty and
design and a symbol of Parisian style.
Merchant Navy
The merchant navy is nothing like the navy. While naval seamen sail aboard fighting vessels and defend their
country, merchant seamen sail aboard a whole variety of ‘non-combatant’ merchant vessels – ranging from small
cargo vessels to huge bulk carriers. Whole fleets of merchant ships are owned by shipping companies – both private
and government. Each of these merchant ships has to be manned by a crew, and this is where your child comes in.
Shipping companies recruit both, male and female navigational officers whose job is to navigate the ship, care for
the hull, and be responsible for the safe loading/unloading of the ship, and marine engineers whose job is to
maintain the engines and all the other complex machinery, like refrigeration, heating, air-conditioning, on board the
ship.
Eligibility Criteria
For an engineering job, your child needs to have a BE/BTech degree in mechanical or marine engineering. For a job
as a navigational officer, they need to have a BSc in nautical science. Some companies will recruit your child as
Deck Cadets immediately after they complete their 10+2 (with physics, chemistry and mathematics). A Deck Cadet
can become a navigation officer by getting a Certificate of Competency, which he will be awarded once he passes a
set of competency exams. He can take these exams after three years at sea.
Your child could also, immediately after their 10+2, take the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE), which is the entrance
exam for admission to the IITs. This exam is used as the basis for selection of candidates to the three-year BSc
course in Nautical Science offered by the TS (Training Ship) Chanakya in Mumbai and to the four-year Marine
Engineering Degree course offered by the Marine Engineering Research Institute (MERI), Calcutta. Candidates are
shortlisted and then put through interviews. If your child gets through the interviews, they will start with either their
BSc Course or ME degree course at TS Chanakya or at MERI respectively. Once your child finishes their course,
they will be taken on a merchant ship as an apprentice for two years, after which they can become a full-fledged
officer or engineer.
Getting started in the Merchant Navy

•Start by getting your child to choose the science stream for their 10+2, opting for physics, chemistry and maths as
their subjects.
•Send your child for coaching classes that will prepare them for the JEE. Many correspondence courses start at the
Class IX level itself.
•Talk to someone who is working with or has worked with the Merchant Navy about life as a merchant seaman.
There is no substitute for getting the facts straight from the horse’s mouth.
•After 10+2, if your child doesn’t want to go through the JEE route and wants to do engineering at some other
college, choose mechanical engineering. Only mechanical engineers are eligible for a job with the merchant navy.
•Engineer: A mechanical engineer who joins the merchant navy will be responsible for maintaining all the
machinery – main engine, auxiliary engines (which generate power), boilers, compressors, fuel preparation plant,
fresh water generator, air-conditioning, firefighting equipment, sanitary equipment and deck machinery on board the
ship.
•Navigational officers: The navigational officers are part of what is called the Deck Department, and they have a
variety of different tasks to do. The Captain is responsible for the crew, the cargo, the ship and its safe navigation.
The captain exercises complete control over the officers and crew on board and carries out the ship’s business at
ports of call. The First Mate (is second in command to the captain and he is assisted by the Second and Third Mates.
All these officers, besides assisting the captain, have specific duties in their charge, relating to proper navigation and
maintenance of the ship. The pilot of the ship also assists in navigation.
Other Branches of Engineering
Apart from the six main branches of engineering, there are several others offered in various Indian colleges and
universities. Here are some of the more important ones.
Aeronautical/ Aerospace Engineering
Aeronautical engineering pertains to designing, fabricating, and operating all kinds of flying machines and related
systems. It also includes all kinds of planes, both manned and unmanned, and all that make flying systems possible.
Aeronautical engineers study subjects like aerodynamics, structures, propulsion and avionics. Aerospace
engineering includes more: space-related activities like launching systems, satellites, communications, and so on.
Aeronautical and aerospace engineering are multidisciplinary and hi-tech fields and therefore it is important for
your child to have an aptitude for computers and computing if they want a career here. Jobs with industry would be
mainly in the public sector or with private airlines, research labs, multinationals, research and teaching institutions.
Materials Engineering
Materials engineering is all about using the right materials for the right applications and about constantly inventing
new materials with properties that can make better products. Materials engineering also involves figuring out how
to recycle materials so that the strain on the earth’s resources is minimized. Materials engineering involves a nice
balance of theoretical science and applied engineering. This is why a materials engineer is really both an engineer
and a scientist.
Most careers in metallurgical engineering are stress-free and relaxed. The jobs would be in bigger, well established
companies, which means these jobs are more stable. The fact that a materials engineer is both an engineer and a
scientist gives one the flexibility to choose either at the post-graduate level and then take a job in the field of one’s
choice.
Textile Engineering
Traditionally textile engineering covered yarn manufacture, fabric preparation and dyeing, and finishing. Today the
scope is further expanded to non-woven technology, polymer science and synthetic fibre production. The textiles
industry employs the largest number of people in India and is the largest foreign exchange earner for the country.
Textile engineers could work in textile plants, supervising and improving processes of textile manufacture. Their
jobs call for active participation and are quite practical and do not involve major mathematical calisthenics. Jobs for
textile engineers could also exist in the garment industry and the mill sector. A specialization in polymer science
would help a textile engineer seek employment with a chemical engineering company. Opportunities would also
exist with companies servicing the textile industry, like dye stuff manufacturers, companies selling CAD
instruments for textile application and textile machinery manufacturers. There may also be a few opportunities for
working with the handloom sector to improve and upgrade technology.
The more research-oriented textile engineers could work in areas like modifying synthetic fibres like polyester to
behave like natural fibres such as cotton. It must be understood, however, that switching careers across different
industries is not easy for an industry-specific discipline like textile engineering. Depending on the company, textile
engineers could earn salaries more or less on par with other engineering disciplines.
Other Branches of Engineering
•Agricultural Engineering
Agricultural engineers unite traditional engineering principles and design concepts with the biological sciences.
Their work involves increasing crop yield, conserving soil through farming techniques like hydroponics (the
science of growing plants in fluids without soil) and water, and also unfolding techniques to develop bio-energy
(energy from crop and animal wastes). They design farm and food processing equipment, construct warehouse and
livestock shelters, and develop systems for drainage, irrigation, and waste disposal.
•Industrial And Production Engineering

Industrial engineers organize the people, information, energy, materials, and machines involved in the production
process. They are concerned with plant design and management, quality control, and even the human factors of
engineering. Part of an industrial engineer's job may be finding the best location for a hi-tech company's new plant,
or figuring out how best to use the workforce to ensure smooth and economically viable production. Industrial
engineers ought to be experts in machinery, materials, procedures, human resources and processes. Specialty areas
in this branch include facility layout, production planning, quality assurance, logistics systems, and management
and operations. In fact, an industrial engineer's job often overlaps with that of top management cadre.
•Mining Engineering
Mining is the process of extracting useful minerals from the surface of the Earth (including from the seas). Minerals
(coal, iron ore, bauxite, gold etc) are inorganic substances occurring in nature. Mining engineers are involved in all
aspects of mining, starting with locating mineral veins that can produce enough mineral economically. They lay out
the mines, supervise their construction, train and manage miners and other workers, create an efficient materials
transportation system, and convert the area to its natural state upon mining completion. Mineral and mining
engineers must know how to mine the natural wealth underground without destroying the ecology. They have to
take care that the mining activities do not cause any environmental degradation
Medicine
Pursuing a career in medicine is rewarding. As a practicing physician, nurse or medical
researcher, learn how your child’s work will help bring change in peoples lives.
Allopathic Medicine
It is the rarely used term for the kind of medicine practised by anyone who has an MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine
and Bachelor of Surgery) degree. Allopathic medicine is the most popular and by far the most widely practiced
stream of medicine in the world today.
Getting Started
How can your child become a doctor?
The first step to your child becoming a doctor is to get admission into an MBBS course, after Class XII, where your
child should have taken the science stream with Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The MBBS course is four and a
half years of rigorous study followed by a year of rotating internship–so that they get a working knowledge of what
these fields are all about.
The entrance exams to postgraduate medical courses (the ones which doctors take when they finish their MBBS and
want to specialize) are extremely competitive as there are few seats available.
Entrance Exams
•The All-India Pre-Medical Test (PMT) conducted by the CBSE is a route to admission in about 90 medical colleges
in India run by the Union government, state governments and municipal authorities (except a few like AIIMS and
AFMC which have their own entrance exams).
•The state-level entrance test for admission to both government and private medical colleges in the state where you
live.
•The entrance exams conducted by top-ranking medical colleges – colleges such as the All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS)- Delhi, the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC)- Pune, JIPMER- Pondicherry, PGI-
Chandigarh and CMC- Vellore – for admission into the courses offered by these colleges.
Jobs to explore
•Radiologists
These doctors are only involved in taking and interpreting X-rays and work in the X-ray departments of hospitals or
diagnostic centres.
•Pathologists
These doctors run tests on people’s urine, blood and stool samples, as prescribed by the patient’s consulting
physician. They also interpret the results of these tests for the consulting doctor.
•Anaesthetists
These doctors work with surgeons during a surgery. It is their job to administer and then monitor the anaesthesia
given to the patient.
•Specialists in forensic medicine

These doctors work on dead bodies and their workplace is the mortuary. It is the forensic surgeon who conducts
post-mortems on bodies of people who have died unnaturally or under suspicious circumstances and his findings
might be vital in discovering if the person died accidentally or was murdered.
•Psychiatrists
Psychiatrists either practise on their own or are attached to mental health institutions like the Bangalore-based
NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences) or the Central Institute of Psychiatry in
Ranchi.
•Sports medicine specialists

Specialists in sports medicine deal directly with patients, but only with a particular kind of patient. These doctors
are either attached to national sports teams or individual sports persons or practise privately, and the popular ones
are in huge demand.
•Specialists in teaching subjects

There are also doctors who take their PG degrees in purely academic subjects like Anatomy, Physiology and
Microbiology, and go on to take up teaching or research positions in medical colleges or research institutions.
How can you help as a parent?
Apart from getting your child to study diligently in their subjects in school and preparing for the admission process,
there are several other things that your child could do to learn more about doctors and what they do.
•Get your child to watch TV serials that feature doctors: like ER, The Flying Doctors, Doogie Howser and even
Sanjeevani — that are regularly broadcast or available on video.
•Your child must try to speak to a few doctors about their interest in pursuing medicine.
•In many hospitals and clinics, medical students are permitted to observe operations. If your child can avail of that
opportunity, they should go for it.
•Read doctor fiction- A suggested reading list:
1.Medical Thrillers by Robin Cook
(Coma, Toxin, Seizure, Blindsight etc)
1.Medical Thrillers by Michael Palmer (Miracle Cure, Critical Judgment…)

2.Strong Medicine by Arthur Hailey
Visit medical web sites
There are hundreds of interesting, informative and engaging web sites for the aspiring doctor.
•A collection of really interesting medical sites for students

http://www.knowitall.org/kidswork/teachers/resources/res_hospital.html
Visit hospitals
Your child should make it a point to visit the largest hospital in your city – as an observer, where they can observe
how the hospital functions.
Dentist
Dentists not only treat diseases of the mouth and the teeth, but they also do plenty of ‘cosmetic’ work aimed only
at making people look better. Dentistry is a creative field and dentists are artists as well as scientists. To brighten
one tooth or realign an entire jaw, dentists always utilize an artist’s touch.
Getting Started
After your child finishes their 10 + 2, with Biology, Physics and Chemistry, they need to study towards obtaining a
BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) degree. Much like the MBBS course, the BDS is a 5-year course that includes a
year of rotating internship.
The admission process is similar to MBBS. In fact, the same entrance exams (the CBSE–PMT) and the state-level
common entrance exams, also offer an admission to dental colleges. Unlike in medicine, however, where some
prestigious national-level medical colleges have their own entrance exams, there are no national-level dental
colleges at all.
Again, even in dentistry, certain private colleges have a ‘payment option’ for securing a seat.
Careers your child can explore in Dentistry
Once your child has completed their basic BDS course, they can specialize in any branch of dentistry. Here are
some of them.
•Orthodontists – Includes those who do corrective work on teeth and jaws.

•Periodontists - Gums specialists – they deal with the diseases of the gums and the jaw.
•Prosthodontists - These ‘sculptors’ remake parts of the teeth, jaw, or face lost due to injury or disease.
•Paedodontists - These dentists concern themselves entirely with the problems and treatment of children’s teeth.
•Operative dentists or endodontists - These dentists are again in a very profitable line of work because they deal
with root canal work.
•Cosmetic and aesthetic dentists - These dentists are involved not only in cosmetic or ‘want-based’ dentistry– where
there is basically nothing obviously wrong with a patient’s teeth but he or she would like to get some work done on
them to make them look better (teeth are too yellowish, smile is too ‘gummy’, etc) but also in aesthetic or ‘need-
based’ dentistry (where there are obvious aesthetic problems like protruding teeth).
•Oral and maxillofacial surgeons - They deal with the repair of injuries and rectifying defects to the teeth, jaws and
associated structures.
•Forensic odontologists - They deal with the collection and evaluation of dental evidence in order to assist law
enforcement officers either through the identification of human remains, bite-mark analysis or the examination of
oral-facial injuries.
•Oral pathologists - These dentists diagnose diseases of the mouth and jaw.
•Oral radiologists - They are the X-ray specialists.
•Oral surgeons - Oral surgeons are qualified to operate on the mouth and jaw.
•The best way to know exactly what a dentist’s job is all about is for your child to go to your dentist and ask him for
an hour of his time. Quiz him extensively about his job, a day in his life and about prospects for fresh dentists these
days.
•Visit the following web sites to get a good idea of all the cutting-edge developments in the field of dentistry:
◦www.dentistry.com–a good online resource with a special section on dentistry as a career
◦www.agd.com-the official web site of the Academy of General Dentistry, dedicated to continuing education and
reliable consumer information
◦www.sportsdentistry.com which deals with the emerging field of sports dentistry, which is all about prevention or
minimization of sports-related dental and facial injuries, especially in contact sports like boxing, football, martial
arts and hockey
Veterinarian
Vets keep animals healthy; today’s vets also prevent transmission of diseases to people from animals and keep our
food supplies safe. Vets are involved in conservation of wildlife and practise everything from veterinary dentistry to
surgery to behaviour counselling for pets! The practice of this science is known as Veterinary Science.
Careers your child can pursue
•The Farm Vet

Although we normally think of the vet as a doctor of animals, vets are far more common and far, far, more
important, in rural settings. But treating disease is not all a vet does in this setting. He is also involved in
recommending the right feeds and prescribing general health tonics and giving advice on animal hygiene, all of
which will go towards ensuring higher yields from the animals, whether it is more milk or more eggs.
•The pet vet

These vets live in cities, and usually have their clinics in residential areas. A pet vet’s job not only involves treating
the pet but also dealing with pet owners, who are very emotional as long as their pets are concerned.
•The racing vet

Another setting where a vet is seriously respected is in the world where animals are bred for sport, like the world of
horse racing.
•The wildlife vet

Vets can be found in zoological parks, national parks and game sanctuaries. In this setting, vets not only treat
animals with diseases, but also play a big role in ensuring that breeding happens in captivity, which is what zoos are
all about in the first place.
•More vet
A side from being an animal doctor, your child can also work in research and development sections of
pharmaceutical, developing animal vaccines, animal feeds, and fertilizers. They could also be part of animal welfare
societies or get a job in the Army Remount Veterinary Corps, where they will be looking after horses, ponies, mules
and sniffer dogs. Of course, they could also get into academics and take up a teaching position in a veterinary
college.
Getting Started
After 10 + 2, with Biology, Physics and Chemistry, your child can get into the BVSc (Bachelor of Veterinary
Science) course. BVSc is a five-year course with four and a half years of study and six months of internship.
Admission tests to BVSc courses are conducted by the respective universities.
Your child can practise after BVSc degree but job opportunities with the government and in private industry is
better after MVSc. This takes an additional two years. You can choose to specialize in Poultry Science, Dairy
Production, Dairy Technology, Dairy Science, Animal Nutrition, Pathology, Parasitology, Microbiology, Anatomy,
Physiology, Pharmacology & Toxicology, Veterinary Medicine, Surgery, Animal Reproduction & Gynaecology,
Genetics & Animal Breeding, Meat Science & Technology and Feed & Fodder Technology.
How you help as a parent?
•An absolute must-read for anyone even remotely interested in being a vet is the set of delightful books – including
All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, The Lord God Made Them All etc
•Another must-read set of books are those by British wildlife conservationist and animal collector Gerald Durrell.
•There are any number of serials on vets on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel.
•Get your child to watch the movies Dr Doolittle 1 and 2, about a vet (Eddie Murphy) who can talk to animals.
•Get your child to talk to a vet in your area, to ask him exactly what the profession looks like on the ground, in
India. And encourage them to try and spend a day at his surgery to figure out what their day may look like if they do
end up becoming a vet.
•Check out the following web sites, but keep in mind that these are American web sites and the specific information
about courses and salaries does not apply in India.
•Animal Doc Com
For kids who would like to be veterinarians. Animal health and care information, puzzles and contests.
Are You Thinking about Becoming a Veterinarian?
http://www.talktothevet.com/faqvetcareer.HTM
Frequently asked questions about how someone becomes a vet including career information, veterinary medicine,
jobs, education, salary, advice, schools, and personal experiences.
Alternative Medicines
With the public awareness of all the undesirable side effects of allopathic drugs rising, many people are shifting
loyalties and trying out all kinds of alternative streams of medicine. The most popular of these are Homoeopathy
and Ayurveda, but there are others as well, such as Unani, Tibetan Medicine and so on.
Various Alternative Medicines
•Ayurveda - According to Ayurveda, there are three primary doshas and imbalances in these doshas are what cause
illness and pain. The Ayurvedic doctor (the Ayurvedacharya) can diagnose the imbalances in the tridosha by feeling
a patient’s pulse. Ayurveda is more concerned with preventing disease than with curing it.
•Homoeopathy is gaining in popularity for several reasons. For one, when the correct remedy is taken, results can be
rapid, complete and permanent. Also, homoeopathy is completely safe. Even babies and pregnant women can use
homoeopathic medicines safely and they can be taken without producing undesirable side effects.
•Unani doctors are called Hakims. They believe that good health is a result of a perfect balance of elements, humour
and temperament within the body. Hakims treat any imbalance basically with diet control, herbal and animal-based
drugs, physiotherapy and surgery.
•Siddha is the third of the three schools of traditional Indian medicine and is practised basically in Tamil Nadu.
Siddha doctors draw all their knowledge from ancient medical treatises, which are a source of valuable information
on herbs, drugs, alchemy, disease syndromes and diagnosis.
•Tibetan medicine is an ancient Himalayan system of medicine that has been practised for some 3,000 years.
Doctors of Tibetan medicine diagnose diseases by conducting mucus, phlegm, saliva and urine tests and by
performing the unique six-finger pulse readings. Diseases are treated with tablets prepared from herbs, fruits,
flowers mineral and metallic powders and also with acupuncture, massage and fomentation.
Getting Started
How does your child qualify as a doctor of Ayurveda?
After 10+2 in Physics, Chemistry and Biology, your child can apply for the BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic
Medicine and Surgery) degree. The BAMS degree is offered at various universities, but the most renowned of them
all is the National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, which has facilities for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
National Academy of Ayurveda in New Delhi is for postgraduate studies in Ayurveda.
How does your child qualify to be a Homoeopath?

Once your child finishes their 10+2, with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, they can take a national-level entrance
exam for admission into BHMS (Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery) or DHMS (Diploma in
Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery).
How does your child qualify as a Unani Hakim?
Your child can start a Pre-Tib course right after their Class 10. To apply for a degree course in Unani Medicine and
Surgery, your child needs to have completed their 10+2 in either Science or Arts. They also need to know Persian or
Arabic. The National Institute of Unani Medicine in Bangalore is considered the best place to do graduation.
How does your child qualify as a Siddha doctor?
Only two colleges in Tamil Nadu offer facilities for studies in the Siddha System of Medicine. Admission to the
course is open after 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Your child has to know Tamil if they want to take
up this course – the Siddha entrance exam even has a Tamil paper.
How does your child qualify as a doctor of Tibetan medicine?
Your child needs to have at least 80 per cent marks in their 10+2 (Arts or Science) to be eligible to seek admission
into a college of Tibetan Medicine. In 1963,The Dalai Lama founded the first Tibetan Medicine and Astrological
Institute (TMAI) in India and today the institute has 32 branches spread all over the country. The Changpori Tibetan
Medical Institute at Darjeeling and The Benaras Tholop at Varanasi also conduct courses in Tibetan Medicine.
Ayurveda
Check out the following web sites:
www.ayurveda.com
www.ayurveda-herbs.com
www.ayurvedic.org
Homeopathy
For more information on the science and practice of homoeopathy, check out these web sites:
www.abchomeopathy.com
www.homeopathic.org
Nurse
If the thought of being a ministering angel – helping to take care of the sick and the wounded, taking on the
responsibility of following the doctor’s orders and making sure patients get their medicines and injections on time,
talking gently and kindly to people and making their stay in hospital as comfortable as it can possibly be, bringing
smiles to people’s faces just by your strong, calm presence – appeals to your child, then, maybe, a career in nursing
is for them.
Getting Started
How to become a Nurse?
If your child wants to get into nursing, they need to do a BSc in nursing or a GNM (General Nursing and
Midwifery) degree after a 10+2 in science. Other options are Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and Health Worker
(Female) which they can do right after their class X. The BSc degree in nursing and other diploma and certificate
courses in nursing are offered in several colleges and they can apply directly, without having to go through an
entrance exam.
After their degree, they could choose to specialize, by doing a master’s degree in nursing surgery, cardiac care,
psychiatry or midwifery. Qualified nurses can find employment in private hospitals, nursing homes, sanatoria, and
in hospitals run by the government. Military, public health services, treatment rooms and clinics, industrial
houses/factories, corporations, offices, orphanages and old age homes all need nurses. Nurses with postgraduate
degrees can also get into teaching.
What qualities do they need to be a nurse?
Your child should have good academic ability. They must be a serious student with proficiency in the health
sciences to be a good nurse.
•Responsibility: When they earn the privilege of using the title 'professional nurse', they also assume ethical
accountability for their actions. Nurses must respect confidentiality, use good judgement and be loyal.
•Acceptance and caring: Nurses must respect the rights of all patients and demonstrate unbiased compassion.
•Eagerness to learn: Nurses must be motivated to learn continuously and keep up with the changing trends.
•Confidence: Nurses must handle catastrophe and crisis in a confident, efficient and caring manner.
•Emotional strength and good health: Nurses need to have immense emotional strength to be able to help patients
and their families through their own health and abilities to tackle emotional crises.
Careers in Nursing
Nurses work in a variety of practice settings including hospitals, long-term care facilities, community and public
health agencies, independent practice, ambulatory care centres, Public Health Service, military services (Army,
Navy and Air Force), Veteran’s Administration Medical Centres and in any setting where people need health care
services.
Many nurses begin their careers working in hospitals which offer opportunities to work in medical/surgical nursing,
maternity and paediatrics as well as in critical care areas. As their career develops, they may choose to practise in
one of the many specialized areas of nursing. Specialty nursing areas include emergency nursing, operation theatre
nursing, coronary care, and intensive care specialties such as trauma, cardiac surgery, respiratory, paediatrics, and
newborn intensive care.
Famous Personality
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was born in Italy on 12 May 1820 and was named Florence after her birthplace. In 1851, she
went to Kaiserswerth in Germany and undertook three months of nursing training, which enabled her to take a
vacancy as Superintendent of the Establishment for Gentlewomen during Illness at London in 1853.
In 1860, with the public subscriptions of the Nightingale Fund, she established the Nightingale Training School for
nurses at St Thomas’ Hospital. Once trained, the nurses were sent to staff hospitals in Britain and abroad and to
establish nurse training schools on the ‘Nightingale Model’. In the same year, Florence Nightingale’s best known
work, Notes on Nursing, was published.
Associated Fields
If the thought of helping people out of pain in some indirect way appeals to your child and they don’t want to deal
with the heartache and the responsibility of being a doctor, there are other options open to them. Some of them,
which we will be dealing with in this chapter, include nutrition and dietetics, radiography, optometry, medical lab
technology, physiotherapy, speech therapy and pharmacy.
Jobs to explore
Nutrition and Dietetics
These professionals study food and all its components so that they can recommend foods that will help us lead
better, healthier lives.
Your child can do a postgraduate degree in Nutrition and Dietetics after a basic degree in Chemistry, Microbiology,
Home Science, or Hotel Management. Some universities, including Delhi University and the University of
Pondicherry, also offer undergraduate courses in the subject, which they can do after a 10+2 in science.
Other Therapeutic fields
•Optometry
Remember when you last visited the optician to take an eye test, and you were asked to look into a hi-tech machine
and read a bunch of letters on a chart? Chances are that the lady or man, who operated the machine, declared that
you needed glasses and suggested that you use contact lenses, was not really a doctor of medicine at all, but
someone called an optometrist.
If your child wants to be an optometrist, they could do a BSc in optometry or a Diploma in Ophthalmic Technology
after a 10+2 in science.
•Radiography
Radiographers or radiological technicians basically work in diagnostic-imaging centres, where they may assist a
radiologist (who is a doctor with a postgraduate degree in radiology) with procedures like taking X-rays, CT scans,
ultrasound scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
To become a radiological technician, your child would be required to do a Diploma in Radiography after a 10+2 in
science.
•Speech Therapy
Speech therapists and audio therapists work with the hearing-impaired to teach them to speak and make themselves
understood even though they cannot hear, to communicate in sign language and to help them lip-read.
To become a speech therapist, your child needs to do a degree or a diploma in speech therapy after a 10+2 in
science.
•Physiotherapy
Physiotherapists work with people who have been disabled by accident (where they have suffered fractures or
worse) or illness (those who have suffered bodily or facial paralysis, or a stroke) to help their affected limbs become
mobile again. They also help people who have suffered slipped discs and cervical spondylitis to become free of
pain.
If your child wants to become a physiotherapist, they need to do a degree or a diploma in physiotherapy after a 10+2
in science.
•Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapists work with the physically and mentally challenged – the physically handicapped, those who
have suffered injuries to the spine through an accident or illness, spastics, and so on – to help them learn to perform
everyday tasks and become as self-reliant as possible.
To become an occupational therapist, your child needs to do a degree or diploma in occupational therapy, after a
10+2 in science.
Pathological and pharmaceuticals field
•Medical lab technology

Medical Technologists, or Lab Technicians, work in pathological labs and conduct various tests and analyses on
human blood, stools, urine and so on. Lab technicians are also involved in the preparation of vaccines, labelling
blood (as group A, B, AB, and O) in blood banks for future transfusion and in the preparation of slides from sample
tissues and body cells.
If your child wants to qualify as a lab technician, they need to do a degree or diploma in Medical Lab Technology
after a 10+2 in science.
•Pharmacy
This is the degree required to run the medical store. They are pharmacists. They know so much about what goes into
drugs and tonics that they can suggest substitutes to the ones your doctor has prescribed if they don’t have those in
stock. Pharmacists study the chemistry of drugs, procedures for their preparation, and their effects on people.
If your child wants to become a pharmacist, they need to do either a two-year diploma in pharmacy or the proper
four-year Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) degree course, for admission into which they need to take an entrance
exam. They can follow up their BPharm with an MPharm and a PhD.
Teaching
Teaching is an extremely rewarding profession. As teacher, see how your child will be
imparting knowledge as well as shaping the minds others eager to learn.
Kindergarten Teacher
Kindergarten is the first level of school or exposure to education that a child is faced with. A KG teacher is the first
formal teacher a child comes into contact with. Until a child goes to KG, he or she has probably never interacted
with anyone except his own parents and extended family. How he is treated in KG will set the foundation for his
future reactions to and opinions of school and teachers in general.
If your child likes being around children and if the thought of playing a vital role in shaping and moulding a child’s
approach to education, learning, is something that excites them, then they will find a career in kindergarten teaching
– one of the most rewarding careers ever.
What’s in store for your child
KG teachers do not have to be the brainiest people in the world. But they certainly have to have lots of energy and
be endlessly inventive and creative.
KG teachers devise games at the drop of a hat to distract a crying, homesick child, they think up novel ways to
make children work as a team and do what they say, so that the entire two-hour session is not disrupted for
everyone.
As a KG teacher, your child will need to include some outdoor activities – ball games, climbing activities, at least
every few days, so that children do not feel cooped up inside a room all the time.
They draw up work schedules and curriculum for the year, so that in the middle of what seems like complete chaos,
children actually learn. They hand out activity books and homework and correct children’s work carefully. They
ensure that children wash their hands before they sit down for a snack and check that the toilets are clean.
They interact with parents on a day-to-day basis, telling them how their child is getting along and draw up detailed
assessments at the end of the year for every single child. They accompany children on field trips to post offices and
zoos and bring them all back safe. They try their best to make every class fun, so that children look forward to
coming back to school each day.
How to get started?
While there are some nursery schools where six months of Montessori training still serves as enough qualification,
these days, most of the better nurseries insist that at least the main teacher in each class have a degree in Early Child
Care and Education (ECCE). A pass in class X or class XII is all the eligibility you need to apply for admission to
the ECCE course. ECCE is a two-year course and includes subjects like curriculum planning and development,
child psychology, and so on.
Famous Personality
Maria Montessori
Today, the Montessori method of education is among the most popular in the world, at least as far as kindergarten is
concerned. The person who founded the method, which believes in letting the child discover things for himself
without having to be lectured to, was an Italian doctor called Maria Montessori.
Primary School Teacher
Education given to children generally between 1-4 grade is known as Primary Education. The primary
schoolteacher also has the advantage of being the ‘class teacher’ instead of just a ‘subject teacher.’ She is as
completely involved with her kids as the KG schoolteacher, but unlike her, she can enjoy the rewards of teaching
children who understand what she is teaching and respond eagerly, asking intelligent and curious questions and
coming up with completely creative answers to her questions.
How to get started?
To qualify as a primary teacher your child will need a Diploma in Education (DEd) after their 10+2. Your child
should have an excellent command over English and an ability to teach all subjects, except languages, for which
special language teachers are usually hired.
What’s do primary school teachers do…

Primary schoolteachers are perhaps the busiest and most involved of all teachers, at least in mainstream education.
They teach a wide range of subjects, from mathematics to English to general science to social science.
Primary schoolteachers also set test papers for the subjects they teach and evaluate their students’ papers. The first
serious test or exam that a child takes is usually at the primary school level, so once again it is up to this teacher to
be generous with praise and kind while handing out suggestions for improvement.
They may take children on museum visits to reinforce what they learnt in class, they may encourage children to
perform experiments so that they can learn by experience, they may even encourage children to start a hobby like
coin collecting or origami, or inculcate in them a lifelong love of books and reading. The more creative amongst
them may even use song, dance, puppets, and play-acting to teach difficult concepts in a funny way.
What are the skills required?
•Be hugely creative, a primary school teacher needs to be creative to ensure that her students understand tricky
concepts.
•Be an all-rounder themselves, interested in all kinds of subjects and topics, since they will be teaching not just one
subject but the whole syllabus.
•They should not be easily bored.
•Be able to look beyond the syllabus.
Secondary School Teacher
Secondary school, which comprises class V to class X, is a whole different ball game from primary school.
Basically, a secondary schoolteacher also has to teach, but this time just the subject of her specialization. It is often
she who is responsible for a child loving or hating a subject and who unconsciously influences at the earliest stage
his choice of a career.
Secondary school is board exam time, so the secondary schoolteacher cannot take things casually as far as
completing portions, conducting revision tests and being there for her kids whenever they have ‘doubts’ is
concerned. Apart from this, she should also spend time training her students to tackle the exam themselves – things
like how to answer questions in order to score maximum marks.
Secondary schoolteachers also set question papers for unit tests, half-term exams, the pre-boards, and any other
revision tests the school may decide to conduct. They then evaluate the answer papers and award marks, giving
constructive suggestions for improvement.
•If your child can demonstrate to their students that they can keep confidences, listen with an open mind and offer
sensible, valuable guidance and advice, they will be honoured with trust and become the person that children come
to with their problems, both personal and otherwise.
•If your child can demonstrate to their students their mastery of the subject.
How to get started?
To qualify as a secondary schoolteacher, your child needs to be a graduate in any stream and hold a BEd degree.
They also need a thorough knowledge of at least two subjects
Junior College Teacher

Junior college, or class XI and XII, is the next stage. While class XI and XII is more or less like high school, since
students are still in uniform and within the same school. Junior college is all about freedom from the rigid strictures
of a high school.
Only the junior college teacher who can assure students of a fun, interesting or completely absorbing lecture can be
assured of 100% attendance. As a junior college teacher, your child will face far less an emotional responsibility.
The Plus 2 or junior college is either attached to a secondary school or is part of a degree college.
In a junior college situation, as a faculty member, your child will be required to serve on committees set up for
examinations, cultural affairs, admissions, etc. These are of great help in honing administrative skills.
Also, since the student is now in a chosen ‘stream’, he will expect more from his teachers as far as subject teaching
goes. There is another board exam – the most important one of his life if he is a science student who wants to get
into a professional course – at the end of these two years. So he will expect his teachers to realize the importance of
it and give him the support and training he needs.
Because teachers in junior college don’t get emotionally involved with their students, they can leave their work
behind at school when they go home.
They are also sharing a staff room with others who have specialized in the same field and love the subject and this
can be intellectually very stimulating.
The pace of work is relaxed with just three lectures a day.
How to get started?
To qualify as a lecturer in a junior college, your child needs to have a Master’s degree in the subject of your choice,
plus a BEd.
Degree College and Beyond...
As a college lecturer your child will finally have a bunch of students who are really, really interested in what you
have to teach, considering that they have chosen their stream of study themselves.
How to get started?
To enter the teaching profession at a university as a lecturer, your child will need to have a postgraduate degree in
a subject of their choice, with 55% passing marks. In addition, they would need to pass the National Eligibility Test
or the State Eligibility Test (NET/SET Exams) conducted by the CSIR-UGC (for lectureships in the science
subjects) or the UGC (for lectureships in all other subjects).
The hierarchy works like this: your child starts off as a lecturer and then goes on to become senior lecturer, reader
and professor. For a readership and professorship, a PhD is mandatory, plus your child would need to put in years of
working experience.
Qualities your child must posses
As a degree college teacher must therefore be a master of his subject who can simplify concepts to the students.
He or she must also set challenging problems – literary or scientific or mathematical, as the case may be – for his
students to solve and enjoy brainstorming with them to derive solutions to problems that they come up with. A
good degree college teacher will be able to turn the incipient interest in the subject that his students already have
into a deep passion for the subject.
During this time, apart from teaching (around 12-18 lectures a week), your child would have to help out the students
in their seminars, projects and other activities.
For professors, roles include administrative duties in the college from admission procedures to creating syllabus
changes in new or old courses.
Mahatma Gandhi
He was an extraordinary teacher. Starting with one elementary school, Gandhi built hundreds of schools and
colleges throughout India, designed their curriculum, trained the staff and closely monitored the quality of education
in each school.
Barry John
A Delhi-based Yorkshire man has taught acting to some of the biggest names in the film industry like Shahrukh
Khan. He has been recognised for his efforts through the awards, Sangeet Natak Academy Award and the Sahitya
Kala Parishad Award
Special Education Teacher
Teaching special children requires you to have all the qualities that make a great kindergarten or primary
schoolteacher – patience, creativity, and so on – but in far larger quantities. Plus a whole bunch of other attributes –
sensitivity, understanding, empathy and more.
Special educators teach the visually-impaired, the hearing- impaired the mentally-challenged in all their forms and
the physically-disabled. They also teach children with learning disabilities like dyslexia. Their job is as much about
teaching these children their ABC as it is about teaching them to dress themselves, to board buses and cross the
street themselves independently, to speak even if they cannot hear, to pick up a phone and call for help and in some
cases, simply to hold a pencil tight. Not only do special educators have to build their wards’ knowledge bases, but
they also have to build their self-confidence and self-esteem.
A special educator’s entire effort is geared more towards the all-round development of their wards and less towards
making them toppers at the school or university level.
First of all realize that the job is far from easy – The biggest joy of teaching is the response from your students, but
in a special educator’s job, such responses may not be as quick, as extensive or as dramatic as those in a regular
teacher’s job.
Be very patient and calm, especially as each day will be quite different from any other and quite unpredictable
altogether.
Be very tough mentally – Children in your care may frequently exhibit extreme and unexpected reactions to
situations and you simply cannot afford to get rattled by such an occasion.
Do not be judgmental. It is not your students’ faults that they are the way they are.
Be very sensitive to your students’ feelings.
What are the various types of special educators?
Teachers of mentally-challenged children do a variety of jobs based on the kind and level of mental impairment in
the children.
•The physically-disabled
Teachers of physically-disabled teach children basic skills like dressing themselves, using the toilet, negotiating
ramps in a wheelchair and also include sports, music, and other extra-curricular activities to help them become well-
rounded personalities with a variety of interests.
•Helping the Disabled

Teachers of children with learning disabilities devise individual learning programmes for each child depending on
the severity of the disability.
Each kind of impairment also demands a special kind of teaching.
•The hearing-impaired
Teachers of hearing-impaired children use visual cues, as well as high-powered hearing aids and amplifiers. They
teach students to lip-read and even speak, by forming words slowly and deliberately using their lips and tongue.
They ask them to place their fingers on the teacher’s throat to feel the vibrations when she speaks and encourage
them to try and reproduce the same vibrations when they say the words she is saying. They also teach rhythm and
music through vibrations. They speak to students constantly, using all the different words normally used in
speaking, so that students learn to lip-read.
•The visually-impaired
Teachers of visually-impaired children teach them to respond to a variety of hearing-based cues and touch-based
cues. They teach them to write and read Braille using a slate and stylus. They use audio cassettes to teach them
music and rhythm and encourage the children to commit as much as possible to memory. They teach mental
mathematics and how to use a red-tipped white cane to find their way around obstacles.
Famous Person
Stephen Hawking
British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and his bestselling book ‘A Brief History of Time’ was diagnosed
with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), a degenerative and eventually fatal motor neuron disease. Today,
confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak after a tracheotomy operation, he uses hi-tech speech and
communication software and technology to write books, give lectures around the world.
Professor Hawking came to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics in Cambridge in 1973
and since 1979 has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. Professor Hawking has twelve honorary
degrees, was awarded the CBE in 1982, and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989.
Information
Technology
In a world that’s defined by technology and progress your child can achieve great
success within the Information Technology industry as it offers a wide variety of career
options.
Information Technology
Information Technology (IT) is a hugely exciting field to be in because it is at the very forefront of change. For this
very reason, IT professionals have to keep themselves abreast of new technologies and keep learning if they want to
stay relevant. With every industry, be it banking, car manufacturing or hotel, computerizing their processes,
networking their people, and taking their businesses online, there are jobs available for the IT professional in every
kind of industry.
Getting Started
•Get a formal graduation qualification for your child. Field which can be explored include
◦BE/BTech
◦B.Sc (Computers or IT)
◦BCA - Bachelor of Computer Applications
•Get a formal postgraduate degree for your child (after graduation)
◦MCA - Master of Computer Applications
◦MCM - Master of Computer Management
•Have your child study a course offered by private institutions.
These may not get them a formal degree, but a certificate that is of value to employers.
•DOEACC
The government has created a certifying authority DOEACC, so it is best if your child does a course that is
accredited by the DOEACC. It has defined 4 'levels' of courses:
•
◦The 'O' Level (Foundation Level): for immediately after 10+2
◦The 'A' Level (advanced diploma level): for graduates and those qualified at 'O' level
◦The 'B' Level (graduate level)
◦The 'B' Level (graduate level)
•The 'C' Level (postgraduate level)
•Have your child get an industry certification from an international IT company
Several companies like Microsoft, IBM, etc. offer certification courses that are internationally recognized. These
companies have authorized several training institutes to train candidates and also conduct the certification
examinations. Visit the company web site for more details. You could get your child to study abroad, give the GRE
(Graduate Record Exam) and do their MS or PhD in the US.
These people had very ordinary lives before they got into IT. Let us take a look into the earlier careers of some of
the not-so-ordinary people.
Narayana Murthy
The founder of Infosys wanted to do social service by helping the under-privileged children. At one point of time,
he also wanted to become a politician so that he could help under-privileged children.
Jeff Bezos
The founder and CEO of amazon.com worked in Wall Street helping them with their computer network when he
decided to get into a web site for books. The company was called Amazon for the seemingly endless South
American river with its innumerable branches.
Software Programmer
There are various jobs your child could do as a software programmer, but it would depend first on the kind of
industry they are working for.
The IT Industry
If your child should choose to work in the IT industry as a software programmer, there are basically two kinds of
firms they may be working for. One kind of IT company is a Software Product Company, like Microsoft, Adobe or
Computer Associates. These companies write and create the 'software products' that people like us use systems-
software products like Windows and UNIX and application software products like Office, Photoshop, Corel Draw,
and so on.
Job Opportunities in the IT Industry
If your child should work in a software product company, they would either be doing programming, i.e. writing the
code for different software products or overseeing the work of several groups of programmers who are writing
different parts of the overall software product. They may be involved in fitting the different parts of the code
together, or in testing each software product thoroughly to remove all the glitches before it goes into the market.
Other Software Companies
Another kind of IT company is a Software Services Company (or a software consultant), like Infosys, Wipro or Tata
Consultancy Services (TCS). These companies do not create general software products but work with individual
customers/clients to develop customized software products that would help solve the client's specific problem.
Job Opportunities in Software Service Companies
If your child works in a software services company, they could either be a Programmer or a Project Leader who
supervises the entire project. They could also be a Systems Analyst, involved in documentation, in testing or
debugger.
The Pros and Cons
Pros
•Your child can work from home.

•It is very easy to start a venture.
•There is always a demand for a software developer.
•They could always freelance.
•There is no limit to software applications. Softwares are yet to be used to their potential. So, there are always new
possibilities.
•Your child may get opportunities to travel abroad.
Cons
•Your child will always be surrounded by deadlines. They should not break under pressure.
•Since they may always be in their office seat for most of the time, there are chances of major health hazards
affecting them.
Hardware Engineer
Computer hardware engineers design, develop, test and assist in the manufacture of computer components,
products and systems, such as chips or device controllers. They plan the systems concept and the hardware needs
for a particular computer product by analysing the market requirement and prepare a forecast which defines
specification, the technology to be used and the method by which the product could be made economical and
market-friendly. They fabricate and test theoretical models of computer products and build working prototypes of
the computer equipment.
As a hardware engineer your child can look forward to pursue the following streams:
•Design engineers
They research, develop and design electrical components, computerized equipment and systems for commercial,
industrial and domestic purposes.
•Systems engineers
They analyse information to determine, recommend and plan layout for types of computers and peripheral
equipment or modifications to existing equipment and system.
•Diagnostics engineers
They plan, develop and conduct tests on electronic components, products and systems. They may develop or use
computer software and hardware to conduct tests on electronic products and systems.
•Test engineers
They conduct tests on electrical equipment and systems.
•Hardware integration engineers

They design layouts for integrated circuits according to engineering specifications using Computer Assisted Design
(CAD) equipment and software. May review and analyse engineering design schematics and supporting documents.
•Product development engineers

They design and develop electronic components, equipment, systems and products, applying knowledge and
principles of electronic theory, design and engineering.
•Manufacturing systems engineers

They plan, direct and coordinate manufacturing processes in industrial plants. They may develop, evaluate and
improve manufacturing methods. They analyse and plan workforce utilization, space requirements and workflow
and design layout of equipment and workspace for maximum efficiency.
Vinod Dham
Believe it or not, an Indian is one of the fathers of the Pentium processor. Vinod Dham, an Indian IT whiz, armed
with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Delhi decided to go abroad to Cincinnati in 1975 to do an
MSEE in Solid State Sciences. He worked on EPROMS (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) for seven
years. However, Dham wanted more action and started looking around for more projects. He soon found one to beat
the 486 processor. He and his team worked day and night trying to figure out ways and means to beat the
predecessor. They experimented and tried several permutations and combinations. Finally, they decided to use a new
type of memory system and it worked wonderfully. He built a new type of processor and when it came to be named
they couldn't use 586, as numbers couldn't be patented on technology products. So, they called it Pentium. Within a
period of time came the P2 or Pentium 2, then P3. And now P4 has hit the market.
CAD-CAM
A computer design engineer plans, prepares, and interprets sketches; uses special equipment and materials to
produce charts and drawings; develops models; and prepares reports and data sheets for writing specifications for a
job. A computer design engineer makes detailed manual or computer drawings of products and machinery from
sketches and specifications conceived by engineers and designers. The finished drawings are used as working plans
for engineering and manufacturing purposes. Depending on experience and level of responsibility, duties may vary
from preparing basic drawings to modifying the finished design using computer-aided design equipment.
The job profile
As a Computer Design Engineer, your child will have to:
•Develop a computer model of a part defined by a drawing.

•Evaluate and repair the design CAD data to manufacturing tolerances for a part designed on a CAD system.
•Modify the part design to allow for manufacturability. This would include adding draft angles or developing
different models of the part for different steps in multi-process manufacturing.
•Design fixtures, mould cavities, mould bases and other tooling.
In order to become a computer design engineer, your child should be able to:
•Work within precise limits or standards of accuracy, concentrate for long periods of time, visualize three-
dimensional objects from drawings or pictures
•See detail in objects or drawings and recognize slight differences in shapes and shading.
•Computer skills are a requirement.
Job Opportunities
Design engineering provides opportunities to gain the knowledge and skill needed for employment in any of the
many architectural, engineering and manufacturing fields that require detailed drawings of structures, products and
machinery. Computer-Aided Design Engineering provides opportunities to supplement design and drafting skills
with specialized computer graphic skills. Trained persons may also find employment in the engineering,
architectural and manufacturing fields.
EDP Manager
Electronic Data Processing (EDP) Managers control various activities related to the operation of the firm's
mainframe computer or its client-server network as well as all of the peripheral equipment. Major users of EDP
systems are banks, public utilities, transportation and insurance companies, large manufacturing firms and
government and educational establishments.
In some firms, an EDP Manager may be responsible only for computer production: data entry, data control,
equipment scheduling and quality control. In such firms, another EDP Manager takes care of programming,
program maintenance and systems analysis functions. Frequently, however, the EDP Manager is in charge of all
these activities.
Job Profile
As head of computer production units, EDP Managers plan and direct the operations of the electronic data
processing equipment, and select, train, supervise and evaluate the work of the computer operations staff.
In planning the work of the department, EDP Managers evaluate the relative importance of various projects and
determine job priorities. They review the requirements of each project and assign machine time and personnel to
complete it. They coordinate all projects to produce a continuous workflow and meet deadlines established by
management of user departments. Since idle machines are expensive to the organization, one of the prime
responsibilities of the EDP Managers is the effective utilization of all data processing equipment through proper
scheduling.
•Your child will need to complete a bachelor's degree in business administration, engineering, or computer science.
Three to five years’ experience in data processing is usually required of EDP Managers.
•Proven supervisory ability, along with the required experience and training is highly desirable.
•A good command over computer languages is also advisable.
•In most establishments a broad knowledge of the firm's activities, gained through experience in accounting,
production, inventory control or other specialized activities is considered an asset when combined with EDP
experience
Modern Jobs
Network Engineers design, develop, install, test and maintain networks that link computers, peripherals (fax
machines, printers, modems), communication equipment (telephones, cellular phones, PDAs) and video equipment
(cameras, VCRs) using cabling methods or wireless transmissions and software.
Although a 4-year degree in Engineering is the routine educational preparation, it is becoming increasingly
necessary to obtain certification of network-related competency. A number of network hardware and software
vendors offer certification programmes that attest to an individual's basic network knowledge or to specialty
knowledge of that company's products. There are three to four companies well known for their educational courses:
•Microsoft offers a number of courses for a network engineer like, Microsoft Certified Professional, Microsoft
Certified Professional Internet, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
Internet, or the Microsoft Solution Developer.
•Novell offers the following courses: Certified Internet Professional, Certified Novell Engineer, and Master
Certified Novell Engineer.
•CISCO is the most highly regarded of them all. It offers a course containing three levels, the lowest level of
certification is Cisco Certified Network Associate, secondly Cisco Certified Network Professional and finally, Cisco
Certified Interwork Expert Certification.
Job Profile
As a Network Engineer, your child must be able to:
•Consult with key users/ customers concerning the design and maintenance of their networks.
•Monitor the daily performance of the network infrastructure including cable lines, hubs, servers and
satellites/towers.
•Manage network security initiatives and implementation strategies, providing utilities for scanning and cleaning
viruses on network components and maintaining security servers.
•Resolve hardware and software problems, bugs and deficiencies, and customer router and circuit outages.
Job Opportunities in a Dotcom company
There are a plethora of options available to your child if they wish to choose a career in a dotcom company.
•Venture Capitalist
A venture capitalist is a person who funds a web site. He gives money to the entrepreneur who wants to create a web
site, analysis the person's financial statement, business proposal and then gives him the money. He then claims
return on the money he invested and holds a stake in the company which the entrepreneur has created.
•Web Developer
A web developer develops, implements, maintains and enhances Internet web (portal) sites for businesses,
profit/non-profit organizations, colleges, governmental agencies and other entities through his knowledge of
programming and server software operation.
To become a web developer your child can either learn computer languages at home or through a software institute.
Your child is more likely to become proficient in their work by practice and not by theory.
•Web Designer
A web designer designs a web site pertaining to the requirements of the company. He takes into consideration the
connectivity and the bandwidth and the cost while designing the web site. There are several courses in multimedia
which teach you graphics in web designing. Your child doesn’t necessarily need a background in fine arts to know
web designing but it is helpful to have a keen sense of design.
Sabeer Bhatia – Founder of Hotmail
When Bangalore boy was working Apple Computers, he hated it when others had access to his company email. He
decided to form an email system which could be accessed only by yourself, and no matter from where you are, you
could check your inbox and receive emails for free. He was rejected by 19 funding organizations. Finally, a
company agreed because they felt doing a free email would revolutionize the Internet. The day hotmail was
launched; servers were flooded with new people signing up. Thousands and thousands of people flocked to sign up
everyday. By year-end, they were greeting their millionth customer. When Microsoft came knocking, 12 months
later, they'd signed up nearly 10 million users. Microsoft went on to purchase hotmail.com for a whopping 400
million dollars.
Multimedia
The advent of the Internet has made computer graphics and computer animations more popular and accessible.
Ever since then, there has been a huge demand for digital graphics, both static as well as motion. Though originally,
the role of these designers was limited to films, now thanks to the development in personal computer and the
Internet, there has been a huge demand for such digital graphics.
Careers in Multimedia
Multimedia jobs can be classified into two broad categories: image editing; and animation. Image editing can be
further classified into two categories: web; and print. The person who handles this kind of job is a graphic artist.
•Graphic artists design, prepare and render images digitally for business cards and stationery, brochures, advertising,
packaging, book covers, newspapers, billboards, and a variety of other materials. This field also includes signs,
architectural graphics, film, television and video and the Internet. A graphic artist can work in several fields such as
in an advertising agency, as a web designer, etc. based on his skill or specialization.
•Animations are done by an animator. An animator interprets ideas, sketches, actions, flow charts and storyboards to
create an animated environment or character. They mainly work with either 2D or 3D computer animation
programmes. They make animations for web sites, or CDs for a company or for television programmes or cartoons
and computer games.
About ERP
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. True to its full form, it means planning all the resources step-by-step,
putting them in order, and so on. ERP is not just a software, but a complete business solution integrated across the
entire value chain, creating an information infrastructure for effective planning and execution. By using ERP
effectively one not only cuts down on costs but also knows what stage the product is at and how much more time it
will take to develop.
Job opportunities with ERP
As an ERP manager, your child will talk to companies interested in implementing ERP and chalk out a software
which has several functions to do. They then give the specifications to their software programmers or give it to a
software services company, which develops the software for a price.
Educational Qualifications
Essentially, an ERP manager needs to have a degree in management or in materials management. He should also
know the limitations of the software. An ERP software programmer can specialize in software programming of a
specific software belonging to a reputed company like SAP or ORACLE. The best place for education in a software
firm is an institute like NIIT or SSI which teaches ORACLE or you could do a course from a company like SAP
itself.
Telecom
Telecommunications mean the exchange of information over a distance, which may be as short as 10 feet or as
long as 10,000 miles. Telecommunications and computer equipment are linked for voice, text, image, data, and
video transmission. Examples of such transmissions include calling from one phone location to another, sending
data from computer to computer over phone lines or cables, relaying documents over facsimile machines,
teleconferencing, sending voice and electronic mail, and transmitting cable television signals.
Job Opportunities
Telecommunications Analyst
Your child can work as a telecommunications analyst who is responsible for analysing, evaluating, and maintaining
a company's telecommunications systems equipment; modifying telecommunications systems to improve their
efficiency; and coordinating the planning and implementation of new telecommunications systems. A
telecommunications analyst may be responsible for the entire network or a part of it.
What Does A Telecom Analyst Do?
•Repair the malfunctioning telecommunications system of a company.

•Analyse telecommunications requirements and recommend equipment and systems configurations.
•Review and analyse the phone system/data communications equipment costs; long distance transmission costs; and
volume of phone/data related calls.
•Coordinate the installation and implementation of telecommunications equipment.
•Test the hardware/software of new telecommunications system.
Almond Brown Stroger
The dial phone was invented in the 1880s by Almond Brown Stroger, an undertaker, who was convinced that the
Bell Telephone operator was sending calls for his funeral to the operator's brother-in-law, who was also an
undertaker. Stroger invented the dial telephone and installed automatic exchanges in the US and Europe.
Services
The service industry offers an array of careers for suitable candidates who love creating
relationships with guests. Guide your child if they ever want to play host.
Hotel Industry
Hotels are the most visible and important factor of a country's tourism infrastructure. Let us see how this industry
can provide a promising career for youngsters like your child.
•General Operations
Hotel managers are responsible for the efficient and profitable operation of their establishments. The General
Manager is the coordinator and administrator, responsible for staff management, financial control, provision of
services, quality control and customer care.
•Front Office
The first person to welcome a guest in a hotel is the person at the front office. It is the centre of all activities like
receiving the guests, making room reservations, handling correspondence preparing bills and keeping accounts of
the guest services.
•Housekeeping
A hotel requires maintenance to a very large scale. The work of maintaining the hotel, the rooms, the bars and the
restaurants to make it presentable to the guests is handled by this department.
•Catering Department
Different mangers manage different sections of the catering department. The Food and Beverage Manager plans,
organizes and controls the work of the catering department.
•The Restaurant and Food Service Manager is responsible for maintaining stocks of tableware, linens, paper,
supplies furniture and fixtures.
•The Banquet Manager looks after catering assignments and is responsible for preparation, presentation and serving
of food.
•The Chef de Cuisine is the overall supervisor in the kitchen.
•The Culinary Unit
This department is at the heart of the hotel industry. There are various restaurants specializing in a variety of
cuisines.
•The Steward Department

The steward is the head of all the arrangements made in a restaurant. He has to make sure that everything in the
food service department is in order.
•Accounting Department
This department deals with both cash and credit transactions, i.e. all the financial transactions such as purchase of
materials.
•Sales & Marketing

This department keeps in touch with travel agents and tour operators as well as other potential corporate clients in
order to sell hotel facilities.
•Engineering / Maintenance Department

Qualified engineers are appointed for the maintenance of the building and various machines installed in the
premises.
•Security department
This department provides security to the guest and their belongings and employs Security Officers/Guards for this
purpose.
How to get started?
The journey into hotel management will start after your child’s grade 12. They need to pursue a course in hotel
management.
Institutes coming under the National Council offer a 3-year diploma course while private institutes offer a 4-year
Bachelor's programme. Your child’s admission is contingent upon their performance in an entrance test.
•Get your child to go to a hotel you admire and notice the kinds of activities that happen around. Observe how
people work.
•Get them to talk to the staff members and ask them about job prospects.
•If your child is interested in cooking, get them to try their hand at cooking in your house and see if they have the
right qualities to become a chef.
•Get your child to see cookery programmes like Khana Khazana. They should watch programs like ‘Best Hotels’
series on discovery channel.
•Get your child to start taking care of your home like making the bed and preparing and serving food in attractive
ways.
Airline Industry
A career as an air hostess or steward is a very promising option. If your child enjoys flying, visiting different
places and interacting with different kinds of people and at the same time wants to earn a very attractive pay
package; this is the career for them.
What are the jobs to explore?
Cabin Crew
The main purpose of cabin crew is to look after the safety of passengers. Their duty starts with a pre-flight briefing
from the senior-most cabin crew. This includes a question and answer session on emergency procedures, emergency
equipment, safety procedures, evacuation procedures and first aid. Thereafter, the galley-in-charge would check the
galley, catering equipment, etc, start heating meals, making welcome drinks. Meanwhile, the person in charge of the
cabin would check cabin cleanliness, seat pockets, availability of newspapers and safety instruction manuals. The
Cabin Crew ensure that the flight commander's instructions are carried out, doors are barred and seat belts fastened.
They also instruct the passengers on the different safety and emergency rules.
How to get started?
Your child must be 12th standard pass, but a Bachelor’s degree is preferred. They must be between 19-27 years with
a minimum height of 5’3 for girls and 5’7 for boys and not more than 6’.
A diploma in Hotel Management, Nursing and knowledge of a foreign language are desirable qualifications, which
may give a candidate an edge over other aspirants.
Institutions for Cabin Crew training
•Air Hostess Academy (AHA), New Delhi

•Aptima Air Hostess Academy, New Delhi
•Flyers Inc, New Delhi
•Pacific Airways, New Delhi
•Your child can improve on their spoken English and geography. Get them to study as many languages as possible,
both Indian and foreign apart from English.
•Get your child to cultivate a polite, gracious and cultured manner of speaking.
•Encourage them to take a part-time job in some sphere of the service industry.
•They should observe the activity that goes on in the plane, how the crew acts, etc
Social Worker
Social workers try to lessen and prevent social problems caused by various crucial factors such as poverty,
unemployment, alcoholism, lack of health services, family maladjustments, physical, mental and emotional
handicaps, anti-social behaviour and poor housing.
Those to whom a career means more than just another way to earn money and lead a comfortable, cushioned life,
who want their work to be an extension of what they are, who cannot see other people in pain and who would like to
do something for the betterment of the society; should think of social work as a career choice.
Different aspects of being a Social Worker
•Criminology and correction administration or probation officers work in prisons, social welfare and other
departments of the state governments, certified schools, etc playing a major role in the rehabilitation of the prisoners
or juvenile delinquents.
•Family and child welfare specialists work with government and voluntary agencies in the field of women and child
welfare.
•Urban and rural community development workers work in the administrative and field positions in community
development agencies and national/international voluntary agencies like the UN.
•Medical and psychiatric social workers find placements in hospitals, child clinics, drug rehabilitation centres,
special schools, family welfare agencies, research organizations, colleges and industries.
How to get started?
Though no formal education is required, a degree holder in Social Work or an allied field will definitely have an
edge.
The Bachelors in Social Work (BSW) and Masters in Social Work (MSW), or similar degrees in social sciences, can
be obtained from institutes.
Some of the highly-regarded institutes are:
•Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Mumbai)

•XISS (Ranchi)
•The Institute of Rural Management (Anand)
•College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan (Mumbai)
•Before looking around to help, get your child to start from their own home. They should help the maid by
explaining to her the importance of her child’s education, need for an education etc. Help her husband or her get a
better job.
•They can join their school or college social work departments which are active in their projects. It will give them
an opportunity to work with NGOs like CRY, Help Age India etc.
•They should keep a track of the Rotary Clubs in their areas and if possible join the younger versions of a Rotary
Club and participate in their social work projects to get an international feel to whatever they are doing.
•They should observe what's going on around the world and about current affairs to get an idea of what's needed and
what's required in the world.
•They should visit NGO offices or events that the NGOs organize to experience how it feels working for the
underprivileged.
•Visit web sites like http://www.indianngos.com
http://www.cry.org
http://www.helpageindia.org to get an idea of how they are working.
•They should be a volunteer to get as much exposure as possible at an early stage.
Famous Personality
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa dedicated the majority of her life to helping the poorest of the poor in India, thus gaining her the
name "Saint of the Gutters." She founded an order of nuns called the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India
dedicated to serving the poor. For over 50 years, she worked selflessly helping the poor. That devotion towards the
poor won her respect throughout the world and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Rest of the World
There are several other servicing industries which offer a great career in customer service. Here are some of the
important ones.
Jobs to explore
•Servicing in the Advertising field

Advertising is a very important function of Marketing. Advertising is handled by various advertising agencies and it
comes under the servicing industry.
◦All about client servicing

The job of the servicing executive is to understand the need of the clients, study the market, analyse market
dynamics, understand customers, their needs and behavioural patterns, be aware of the competition etc.
For getting into an advertising agency as a client servicing executive, you need to have an MBA from a reputed
institute or Post graduate in Advertising or Communication with specialization in Client Servicing.
•Servicing in the Finance industry

The financial services include banking services, insurance services and brokerage services.
◦All about banking services

The private and multinational banks today have changed the face of personal banking in India. They use technology
to offer a variety of services. Apart from inter-branch banking and ATMs in convenient locations, they have also
brought phone and Internet banking to customers. This opens up umpteen opportunities for careers in customer
service in banks.
◦All about insurance services

Today, there are close to 20 companies offering both life and general insurance products. These range from
insurance as an investment option to pension plans.
•Servicing in the Education Industry

Education industry includes almost all education institutes — the schools which offer primary and secondary
education, the colleges, the professional institutions and the big world of preparatory educationists who help
hundreds of aspirants reach their dream career destinations.
◦All about educational services

In the field of education, the people who get services are the students and their parents. Those who deliver services
are the academicians, the teachers, the counsellors, and the relationship managers.
Both academic and non-academic servicing opportunities are available in plenty today. If your child seeks an
academic role, they can become a teacher in educational institutes or the preparatory centres who prepare students
for various admission tests.
To become an academician in schools, your child needs be a B.Ed. In colleges, they should have a postgraduate
degree or MPhil or a PhD.
They can also get in as a customer service executive. For this, a graduation is enough, but an MBA will also help.
Management
Managers are extremely vital to any organization as they overlook and allocate
appropriate resources wherever required. Read more about the different areas your
child could pursue.
General Manager
Management opens a plethora of vistas involving great diversity, openness and flexibility without compromising
on the growth.
What are the different functions of management?
•Marketing Management
Marketers find the need of the product and if there is no need then they create the need for that product by showing
its usefulness of the product.
•Production Management
A Production Manager handles the actual manufacturing of a product.
•Materials Management
A Materials Manager takes care of issues like product storage, transportation etc.
•Human Resources Management

It is the job of the Human Resource Manager to take care of the people in the organization.
•Financial Management
The people who manage the money, invest it the right way so that the company can make the best use of its funds,
are the Finance Managers.
How to map the skill sets of your child?
To have a career in Management your child must be:
•Able to handle Stress.

•A good decision maker.
•Great at Time Management.
•A People’s Person.
How to get started?
Educational Qualifications
•Your child could pursue a career in management either after their plus-two or after graduation.
•If they pursue a course after their class XII, they could do:
◦BBA or (Bachelor of Business Administration); or
◦BMS (Bachelor of Management Studies)
•Based on the university, your child could opt for a bachelor’s degree in management.
•Alternatively, your child could do an MBA (Master of Business Administration), which is pursued after graduation.
Almost every MBA institute offers you an area of specialization. The specialization differs from one institute to
another.
Read
•Lee Iacocca: Autobiography

•What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School: Mark H. McCormack
•Made in Japan — Akio Morita
•Straight from the Gut — Jack WelchSurf
•www.themanager.org
•www.kmresource.com
•www.indiainfoline.com
•www.careerlauncher.com
•www.knowledgestorm.com
•www.eweek.com
•www.quickmba.com
•http://management.about.com
•www.bettermanagement.com
•www.business.com
Best Management Schools
•Marketing Management
◦IIMs - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow
•Human Resource Management
◦Xaviers Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur◦Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
•Financial Management
◦SP Jain Institute of Management, Mumbai◦- IIMs - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow
•Rural Management
◦Institute of Rural Management, Anand
•Foreign Trade
◦Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi◦Industrial Engineering and Management◦National Institute of
Technology and Industrial Institute, Mumbai◦Advertising and Communications◦Mudra Institute of
Communications, Ahmedabad
Famous Personality
Indira Nooyi
Indira Nooyi is an Indian who is the president and CFO of the soft drink major PepsiCo. She has studied at IIM
Calcutta.
Marketing Manager
Marketing is defined as a human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange processes. A
marketing manager’s job is to plan and decide how to sell his products to his customers. The selling part is done by
the sales manager and the advertising is done by the advertising agencies.
What are the different roles of a marketer?
•Rural Marketing
This form of marketing exists mainly in India. India has a rich culture, a varied heritage and a plethora of languages,
cultures, dialects, etc; that each part of it varies from the other. For example, in the Coke ads you see Aamir Khan
appearing as different characters, each from different regions of India, so that the product will appeal to all Indians.
•Domestic Marketing
Marketing that is targeted exclusively at the home country of the company is called domestic marketing.
•Export Marketing
Export marketing is considered to be the first stage of global marketing. The export marketer targets outside the
home country and relies upon home country production to supply products for the foreign country.
•Global Marketing
In global marketing, a company establishes itself in another country, by adapting its products and communication
efforts to what is truly unique to each country. It recognizes cultural universals and unique market differences.
•Market Research
A market research is the systematic gathering, recording, analysing, and use of data relating to the transfer and sale
of goods and services from producer to consumer
Human Resource Manager
People are called assets to an organization. This is because machines can be replaced and repaired, policies can be
made and remade, old technology can be replaced with the new one, but the qualities and great value that each
person has cannot be replaced, repaired or substituted with anything.
What are the qualities of an HR manager?
There are various qualities and traits that a company looks for in an HR manager. There are a few which are the
most essential:
•Fairness and Firmness: The manager should be fair in matters of promotions, demotions, transfers and be firm in
enforcing discipline in an organization.
•Tactful and Resourceful: The HR manager should be tactful in dealing with difficult situations. The HR manager
should also be resourceful and have an open mind to tackle a difficult matter in different angles.
•Sympathy and Consideration: The HR manager must be guided by a sympathetic attitude towards the employees.
Some of the employees may be unreasonable, but it all boils down to the skill of the HR manager who must tackle
them to get the best out of them.
•Good Communication Skills: A good HR manager must have excellent communication skills.
•Broad Social Outlook: The HR manager should have a good social outlook to all walks of life.
•Knowledge of Labour Laws: He should ensure that the company conducts itself in accordance with the major
labour laws. He should be aware of the government's policy and he should ensure that all employees get treated
properly.
How to get started?
It is expected that an HR manager is an MBA with a specialization in human resource or personnel management or
should have completed Masters degree in PMIR (Personnel Management and Industrial Relations) from an institute
such as TISS or XLRI or has a basic degree and certificate issued by the National Institute of Personnel
Management (NIPM) or any other recognised university.
Production/Operations Manager
A production manager’s role is to convert the inputs that go into the machine into the finished output at the lowest
price, the best quality and in the shortest time. He plans the different stages in preparing the product. He carefully
allocates time to each stage of the product and ensures that proper safety measures are taken.
The production manager also takes care of the welfare of the workers so that they are comfortable while working.
They also have to ensure that the company adheres to the law. They plan how they should design the place where
production takes place so that clutter does not happen.
What are the functions of a production / operations manager?
•Plan the production of materials. Sitting with the marketing manager, they discuss whether the product is what the
consumers need, and how it can be bettered.
•Draw up estimates of how much it is going to cost at each stage of the product. He develops a budget or an
estimate of the amount of money required to produce a finished good.
•Ensure that there is no drop in the quality of the product and makes sure that the goods produced are of top-most
quality. The percentage of wastage is also ascertained.
•Select the location of the factory depending on various factors like infrastructural accessibility, transport facility,
geographical advantage, etc.
•Draw up a carefully analysed layout of the plant so that the number of accidents is minimum and there is enough
comfort while working.
•Take care of the maintenance of the plant. He ensures that there is a contingency plan or a backup in case anything
goes wrong.
•Draw up a production schedule, which tells how many products should be manufactured, how many have been
manufactured and how many more should be produced.
•Take care of the welfare of workers. He arranges for their safety and prepares for medical emergencies for any
accident that might happen. He also ensures that the numbers of accidents that keep occurring are reduced.
•Make alternate arrangements for materials in case anything goes wrong. He also takes care of the warehouse where
the finished products are safely stored. He arranges for the transportation of the finished product from the factory to
the warehouse or godown.
•Create a materials schedule in such a way that the order for the goods is sent as soon as the level of raw materials
reaches that particular stage.
•Also arrange for internal transport like trolleys or conveyors for effective distribution.
Famous Personality
Henry Ford
Henry Ford designed his own assembly line in 1913. This assembly line could reduce the time for creating a new
magneto from 20 to 5 minutes. On April 1, 1913, Ford began to experiment with his assembly line. First, he had
one workman assemble a new magneto using the usual method. He accomplished his task in approximately 20
minutes. This job was then split into 29 individual jobs. This cut down the assembly time to 13 minutes and 10
seconds. In 1914, the height of the assembly line in Ford's factory was raised by 8 inches, lowering the amount of
time it took to build a magneto to 7 minutes. With further experimentation, the time was reduced to 5 minutes.
He further perfected the system such that each finished car was rolled out every 90 seconds. He did that by giving
each man just one job. So, if one man had to just fix tyres, he would do just that, moving from one car to another.
This way Ford developed the system of mass production.
Materials Manager
The definition of a materials manager goes like this: A materials manager gets the right materials of the right
quality at the right time and for this, purchases them from the right sources and at the right price. To put it in one
line, he does everything to handle materials that are used to manufacture a finished product.
What are the functions of a Material Manager?
His functions are, amongst others, to:
•Plan when to buy materials, where to buy, how much to buy.

•Bargain with the supplier to purchase at a lower cost.
•Never compromise on quality.
•Supply the material to the production manager as and when required.
•Stock all goods in the warehouse.
•Take a sample of the materials before purchasing.
•Test whether the sample will work in the machine or cause problems.
•Take care of all the goods in the warehouse, and throw away all the spoiled goods.
•Arrange for transport of goods and materials from the warehouse to the factory.
•Reduce costs as and when possible.
•Record all transactions in the log book.
How is a Materials Manager different from a Production Manager?
•The production manager is involved with the manufacturing of the product; the materials manager delivers the
materials to him.
•The production manager looks at every aspect of producing the product, right from getting the materials to
packaging it.
•The materials manager looks at every aspect of placing the order of materials to giving as and when required, to the
production manager.
•The production manager may or may not be involved with the purchase of the materials, but he is present to test the
sample of the materials from the suppliers.
•The materials manager is not involved with the production of goods, but when the production schedule is being
made, he sits with the production manager and decides when and how much should be ordered.
•The materials manager is required to keep an entry of all the purchasing. If there is a need of raw material at any
point of time, he has to be at the beck and call of the production manager to call the suppliers and get the materials.
Though their functions are separate, they are both very essential to the product and play a critical role.
Finance Manager/ CFO
The chief financial officer (CFO) is responsible for determining what the company's financial needs are and will
be; how best to finance those needs; and for informing all stakeholders (investors, creditors, analysts, employees,
management) about the firm's condition. He is in the top-most managerial position in finance.
What are the functions of a CFO?
•Controllership
This relates to the accounting, reporting and financial controls in a company for producing timely and accurate
historical financial statements. The controllership measures what happened last month, last quarter and last year for
the purpose of reporting financial performance to management, investors, lenders, taxing authorities and others.
•Treasury
This relates to the stewardship of a company's cash and similar assets according to policies laid down by the board
or management. The purpose here is to invest the company's cash in order to strike a balance between risk and
return so that cash is available when the company needs it.
•Capital Structure
This involves developing the optimum short- and long-term capital structures of the business and managing investor
relations and capital procurement to obtain the desired structure. This area is strategically important, particularly for
early stage or quickly-growing companies.
•Strategic Business Advice and Financial Market Intelligence

This involves providing senior management with radically objective, forward-looking, micro-economic analysis of
the business and serving as a seasoned business confidant. It includes bringing in a range of resources, contacts and
financial market intelligence to the company to enhance management's ability to execute the company's mission.
This is crucial for determining a company's exit strategy.
•Budgeting
The CFO draws up a list of all the possible allocations of money to be diverted. For example, he will say to IT
department that we can spend only 2 lakh of rupees in buying new computers; so plan accordingly.
What are the other professions in finance?
The CFO is the most coveted, and prestigious financial position in an organization. However, there are other career
options in the area of finance such as the following:
•Controllers direct the preparation of financial reports that summarize and forecast the organization's financial
position, such as income statements, balance sheets, and analysis of future earnings or expenses.
•Treasurers direct the organization's financial goals, objectives and budgets. They oversee the investment of funds
and manage associated risks, supervise cash management activities, execute capital-raising strategies to support a
firm's expansion, and deal with mergers and acquisitions.
•Cash Managers monitor and control the flow of cash receipts and disbursements to meet the business and
investment needs of the firm. Risk and insurance managers oversee programmes to minimize risks and losses that
may arise from financial transactions and business operations undertaken by the institution. Managers specializing
in International Finance, develop financial and accounting systems for the banking transactions of multinational
organizations.
What are the Eligibility Criteria?
The outlook for financial managers is good for those with the right skills:
•Expertise in accounting and finance is fundamental, and a master's degree will enhance your child’s job prospects.
•Strong computer skills and knowledge of international finance are important
•Excellent communication skills are vital as the job increasingly involves working on strategic planning teams.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneurship is an individual who starts an enterprise of his own. Your child can be an entrepreneur by
following any of the two routes. They can either learn the business fundamentals in a business school or they may
lucky enough to have the inborn ability to manage and hire the right kind of people who can run their enterprise.
Simply put an entrepreneur can either be a manager himself or can hire managers. Whether your child is an MBA is
not important. What an entrepreneur must have is a vision, an idea to make profits out of passion.
Which are the Entrepreneurial Institutes?
There are several Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs) in India that are conducted by reputed
institutions that have a systematic training process and help a budding entrepreneur to start off his or her own
venture.
•Central-level institutions
The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad; National Institute of Small Industries
Extension Training (NISIET), Hyderabad; and the National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business
Development (NIESBUD), New Delhi.
•State-level institutions
Several state governments have established state-level institutions (IInd tier) for identifying and training potential
and existing entrepreneurs.
•District-level institutions
Run by each District Industries Centre (DIC), in all districts of the country, these institutions operate at a very small
scale. In Chandigarh, besides the TTTI, there are organizations like NITCON which conduct EDPs regularly
throughout the year.
These institutions will keep your child in touch with people who have started a business and could thus offer you
tips and expert advice. They will also teach your child the entire gamut of skills needed to handle a self-owned
business.
•Get your child to speak to a person who has had his tryst with businesses. His advice and guidance could be the
best manual for entrepreneurship.
•Alternatively, you could get your child to study for an MBA. An MBA from a good institute is just as good as a
degree or a diploma from an entrepreneurship institute.
•Read:
◦Every Street is Paved with Gold - Kim Woo-Choong
◦The Silicon Boys — David Kaplan
◦Losing My Virginity — Richard Branson
◦Made in America — Sam Walton
◦Nuts — Herb Keller
◦The high performance entrepreneur – Subroto Bagchi
Rohit Bal
One of the front running fashion designers in India, he is also an entrepreneur and has his own boutique.
Ekta Kapoor
She would always bury her nose in books but one day she ventured off to her mother’s production studio in the
house. She came up with various alternatives to the storyline of the serial. She is the pioneer of the 'K' series, right
from ‘Saas Bahu.. ’to the mid-afternoon soap operas. She heads Balaji Telefilms.
Armed
Forces
The armed forces offer your child a world of exciting career opportunities. Help your child follow
their passion either as an army officer, air force pilot, naval officer or in the other divisions.
All about the Armed Forces
The armed forces offer your child a world of exciting career opportunities. Your child can choose from a variety of
professions such as army officer, air force pilot, naval officer, expert engineer, doctor, a trainer, a vet, a lawyer,
administrative officer and support the combat division in times of war and peace. In all these careers armed forces
promises a lifestyle that one cannot imagine in any other profession.
Getting Started
To begin with, if possible, enroll your child into an armed forces school. Once your child completes their course,
they will be posted in a position that will utilize their training and skill sets.
If your child is pursuing professional degrees like engineering, law or medicine outside the armed forces institutes,
then they need to enroll through the short service commission selection process.
•Citizenship: Your child must be an Indian citizen.

•Physical Fitness: Your child must be physically fit and free from any disease or disability and excess body mass.
•Vital Statistics: Your child’s height should not be less than 157.5 cm.
•Vision: Your child should be able to read 6/6 in a distant vision chart with each eye, with or without glasses.
•Age: The lowest age at which your child can join the forces is 16 1/2 years and the entry is open till 27 years.
•Age limits and qualifications: The age limits vary depending on your child’s qualification at the time of joining. If
you plan to have your child join the armed forces immediately after their 10+2, then they should be between 16 1/2
and 19 1/2 years. If they plan to join the armed forces after graduation, then their age should fall between 19-24 yrs.
For direct technical entry as engineers and doctors your child needs to be between 20-27 years.
Armed Force training academies
•National Defence Academy (NDA)

The National Defence Academy is in Pune and is affiliated to JNU. NDA is an inter-service academy where all
cadets undergo common academic, physical, sports and equitation training before moving on to the specialized
service training. On passing out from the NDA, army cadets go to the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun,
Naval cadets to the Cadets Trainingship and Air Force cadets to AFA, Hyderabad / BFTS, Allahabad.
•Indian Military Academy

At IMA, army cadets are given strenuous military training for a period of one year. On successful completion of
their training, cadets are granted a permanent commission in the rank of 2nd Lieutenants subject to being medically
fit.
•Indian Naval Academy

On passing out from NDA, Naval cadets are given sea training for a period of six months. On successful completion
they are promoted to the rank of Midshipmen, post which they are promoted to the rank of acting Sub-Lieutenants
after a further training of six months.
•Indian Air Force Academy

Air Force cadets receive flying training for a period of 1 - 11/2 years. At the end of 1 year they are given provisional
commission in the rank of Pilot Officer and thereafter are absorbed as permanent commissioned officers following
the successful completion of an additional training of six months.
Reference Websites
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com
http://www.globalsecurity.org
http://www.armedforces.nic.in
The Army
Armed forces not only offer your child adventurous and challenging careers but also take care of all their needs
including basic accommodation, health care, recreational facilities, and educational opportunities for children and
more.
The Combat Division
This is the part of the army that's on the front lines. It is further classified into the following:
•Infantry: The Infantry consists of the people doing the actual fighting on the battlefield.
•Artillery: Artillery commanders handle guns and surface-to-surface missiles. Your child can opt to be in the Army
Aviation Corps, as a helicopter pilot responsible for scouting out enemy positions and notifying the artillery. Air
Defence Artillery is also another branch of artillery where your child will be involved with anti-aircraft guns and
anti-aircraft missiles.
•Armour: Your child will be a Tank Commander where mobility and firepower will be of prime importance. They
will also be in charge of providing soldiers with the added protection and quick transport of armoured personnel
carriers.
Roles in the Combat Division
•Chief of the Army Staff: The entire army is under the direction of the Chief of the Army staff.
•Lieutenant general: The army has five tactical area commands - the Northern, Western, Central and the Southern. A
lieutenant general heads one of these commands.
•Major general: Each of the commands has army divisions - the Infantry, Artillery or Armoured. A Major general
commands one of these divisions.
•Brigadier: Each army division has brigades namely the Infantry Brigade, Mechanized Brigade, Parachute Brigade,
Armoured Brigade and Artillery Brigade. A brigadier commands one of these brigades.
•Colonel: Each of these brigades have battalions and they are commanded by a Colonel.
•Lieutenant colonel: A battalion may consist of three to four companies and may be commanded by a Lieutenant
Colonel or a Colonel.
•Major: Commands a company consisting of three platoons.
•Junior commissioned officer: The platoons are commanded by a Junior Commissioned Officer.
Perks of working in the Army
•Living Accommodation: As an officer, your child will be provided with well-furnished and spacious
accommodation with 2-3 bedrooms, depending upon their rank.
•Insurance Cover: The armed forces also provide your child with Insurance covers at low premium rates.
•Leave Travel Concession: As an officer, your child and their family are entitled to liberal Leave Travel
Concessions.
•Medical Facilities: All personnel and their families are comprehensively covered by medical facilities, including
specialist services.
•Ration: The canteen provides ration in kind to all officers.
•Recreational Facilities: As an officer, your child will be entitled to some of the finest facilities for recreational as
well as competitive sports and other adventure activities.
•Schooling Facilities: Excellent schooling facilities in addition to concession of tuition fee, and free/concessional
school transport will be provided to your grandchildren.
•Opportunities For Higher Learning: As an officer, your child will be provided with ample opportunities for
undergoing various courses to further their skills.
•Post-retirement Benefits: After retirement, your child will be offered a large number of benefits like pension,
medical facilities, use of the canteen etc.
The Kargil Heroes
Captain Vikram Batra
Captain Vikram Batra of 13 JAK Rifles, led the Indian offensive on Point 5140 in the Drass sub-sector. Captain
Batra and his Delta Company took Point 5140 at 3:30 a.m. on June 20, 1999. However, Captain Batra lost his life
when he tried to rescue an injured soldier during the capture of Point 4875 in the early morning hours of July 7,
1999. He was 23.
Captain Vikram Batra was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest medal for gallantry, posthumously.
The Navy
The navy guards the 7500 km of Indian coastline during wars, as well as in peacetime. Of all the diverse elements
that go into the making up of an effective Navy, no single factor is as important as the men who are in it. Our navy
is already the strongest fleet in the Indian Ocean, and is the seventh largest fleet in the world.
Jobs in the Navy your child can explore
•Submarine Officer: Your child will be responsible for attacking enemy ships without leaving a trace for the enemy.
•Hydrographic Officer: Your child’s job will be to collect the information needed for the preparation of charts, maps
and navigational programmes required by the navy.
•Naval Armament Inspection Officer: You child will be responsible for the inspection, safety, and reliability of all
the armament supplied to the navy by the various agencies. They will also have to handle in-house research and
development of new naval armament.
•Provost Officer and Law Officer: Your child will be dealing with the policing, regulatory, security and vigilance
needs of the navy. Similarly, as the Law Officer they will deal with the legal needs of the navy.
•Logistics Officer: Whether at sea or on shore, the Logistics Officer plays a vital role in the smooth functioning of
the ship. Your child will have to handle matters such as requirements of fuel, water and spares for the vast array of
sophisticated equipment and machinery.
•Engineering Officer: As an Engineering Officer, your child will be responsible for keeping the highly advanced
technological equipment working.
•Naval Architect: As a Naval Architect, your child will specialize in warship construction, design, construction,
quality control, repair, and carry out new construction work of naval vessels. They will have to keep abreast of the
high technology areas of ocean engineering on order to keep pace with the navy going for increasingly sophisticated
warship production within the country itself.
•Electrical Officer: As an Electrical Officer, your child will have to ensure that electronic systems function at
optimum efficiency. This is vital for the smooth sailing of the ship.
•Education Officers: Education Officers play a major role in updating the other officers on technical knowledge and
in raising their academic knowledge base. Your child will be responsible for scientific and methodical instructions
including theoretical aspects of technical subjects of all branches of the navy and for general education, both ashore
and afloat.
•Law Officers: Separate cadres of Law Officers deal with the legal needs of the navy. As a Law Officer, your child
will be responsible for advice on evidence in court martials and other disciplinary actions and give legal advice to
naval staff on various civil matters.
•Executive Branch Officers: Officers in the executive branch man the command appointments on board ships of the
Indian Navy. As an officer in the executive branch, one is liable for service on board any type of naval vessel
The Air Force
The IAF (Indian Air Force) has some of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world, such as the Mirage 2000,
Jaguar, MiG-21, MiG-25, MiG-29, Su-30, Sea Harrier, and now, the indigenous LCA (Light Combat Aircraft). The
air force, unlike the army doesn’t have posts that are rigidly defined under combat or non-combat forces.
Opportunities your child can explore in the Air Force
The air force can be divided into the following branches:
•The Flying Branch

As a pilot, you child will specialize in one type of aircraft. As a navigator, they will be in charge of working out
flight paths and fuel requirements, not to mention, tending to the electronic equipment and the radar.
In this branch of the air force, your child will mainly fly fighters or fighter-bombers, for attacking and destroying
enemies in the air and on the ground. They could also be a transport pilot, ferrying troops and equipment to and
from the battlefield. As a chopper pilot, your child will co-ordinate closely with the army to scout out enemy
locations.
•Technical Branch
The IAF offers an opportunity to get a hands-on experience with the most sophisticated aircraft and airborne
weaponry available. Aeronautical engineers in the mechanical branch are responsible for the operational readiness
of an aircraft. Aeronautical engineers in the electronic branch are responsible for communications from ground to
air and back.
Ground duty personnel have to look after administration, logistics, accounts, education, meteorology, etc. As an
Administrative Officer, the most important of your child’s tasks is to motivate the work force to deliver the desired
result.
Air Traffic Controllers provide control and advisory services in order to enable the pilots of armed forces and civil
aircraft to conduct their flights, land and take-off with total safety in all weather conditions. Your child will have to
make quick decisions as to the priority of aircraft for take-off or landing.
Flight Controllers counter enemy air threats by using modern electronic counter-offensive equipment. As a Flight
Controller, your child will have to provide their airbase with sophisticated defence ambience along with the anti-
aircraft defence measures.
Logistics Officers are responsible for provisioning of aircraft spares, mechanical transport, fuel, armament and
explosives, flying and other clothing items, rations and other items essential for day to day running of the
organization and sustaining its manpower.
Accounts Officers plan and forecast the budgetary requirement of the air force.
•Education Branch Officers

As an Education Branch Officer your child will design training programmes that incorporate the latest technological
developments. They will also be responsible for guiding the personnel in furthering their academic qualifications,
organize, and run the Air Force Schools for children of air force personnel.
•Meteorology Branch Officers

Accurate weather forecasting is one of the important tools of success in any naval operation and for the air force
too. Success of an air operation largely depends on meticulous planning which incorporates the prevailing weather
conditions in the area of operation. A Meteorology Branch Officer undertakes day-to-day scientific work in the air
force, using the latest state-of-the-art technology.
Flying Officer Gunjan Saxena
Flying Officer Gunjan Saxena is among the few women pilots in the IAF. Saxena was the first Woman IAF Officer
to fly in a Combat Zone when she took part in the Kargil conflict. She guided her helicopter, dodging artillery shells
through the steep valleys of Kargil as a Flying Officer in the Indian Air Force. She is the first ever woman lady pilot
of Indian Air Force who proved her mettle in Operation Vijay, has not only stepped into celebritydom but also in the
IAF history books as the Kargil girl
The Coast Guard

The Indian Coast Guard was formally inaugurated on 18 Aug 1978 and is the National Maritime Search and
Rescue Co-ordinating Authority. The role of the coast guard is to protect India's ocean and offshore wealth including
oil, fish and minerals. They are responsible for the security of the oil rigs and ensure that no illegal mining or
fishing is carried out in Indian waters. They enforce the maritime laws and assist the customs and police forces in
apprehending smugglers at sea. Apart from their regular duties, the coast guard also conducts various tests like
checking the pollution level and marine life.
Getting Started
The recruitment of Assistant Commandants is conducted bi-annually. The short-listed candidates are called for
Preliminary Selection. This selection procedure consists of a Mental Ability Test and interview. The candidates who
clear the PSB are called for Final Selection Board interview. The candidates who are medically fit are then selected
based on a merit list.
Basic training is given at the Naval Academy in Goa for 20 weeks. This is followed by afloat training, onboard a
Coast Guard ship, for 36 weeks. The technical courses are held at various naval schools, for a duration of 48 weeks.
The training ends with watch-keeping onboard coast guard ships for a period of 24 weeks. After this, your child will
be commissioned as an Assistant Commandant and will serve on board any of the coast guard ships, patrol boats or
interceptor craft.
Different branches your child can explore
The coast guards are split into the following three branches:
•General Duty Branch: This is the operational branch of the coast guard. As a General Duty Officer, your child will
operate weapons and sensors, and even perform the commanding functions. The safety of the ship and crew, the
manoeuvring of ships will be your child’s responsibility.
•General Duty Branch (Pilot/Navigator): In this branch, your child will get to operate the maritime surveillance
aircraft like the Dornier from coastal air stations. They will also have to operate helicopters from the coast guard
vessels, providing local surveillance and perform search-and-rescue missions at sea. As a pilot or a navigator, they
will be required to handle these aircraft during night and day, under any weather conditions.
•Technical Branch: Modern ships and aircraft are abound with advanced technology and sophisticated machinery. In
the technical branch, your child will be responsible for the upkeep of all these equipment. They could also work
onshore jobs in coast guard repair organizations.
The Paramilitary Forces
Paramilitary forces organizations are protective services that have been constituted to maintain internal security
and support the defence services in guarding our national borders. These services are provided by the Central
Government and have a separate role of action.
Your child can enter these services after completing class X, XII or Graduation. There are also openings for students
from science and humanities. Women can also enter paramilitary forces services. The organizations that serve as the
paramilitary forces of India are — the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the State Police Forces and the
Homeguards.
Careers your child can explore in the Paramilitary Forces

•Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF): The CRPF, like all protective services, selects dedicated men who have the
enthusiasm to lead the people at the time of crisis, rendering duty anywhere in the country. Your child will be
responsible for the maintenance of internal security and the enforcement of law and order. They will also serve to
provide assistance and support to the other protective agencies, and relief and rescue services during natural
disasters, riots, and terrorist activities.
•Border Security Force (BSF): This force mans the extensive national boundaries, in order to provide security of the
border regions as well as to control any activities that could threaten our defence structure. The BSF has three
operational arms:
•
◦The General Duty Branch
◦The Technical Branch
◦The Medical Branch
•Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP): The Indo Tibetan Border Police Force patrols the Himalayan ranges that border
India and China. Your child will be guarding the Tibetan border against infiltration and smuggling and will be
specially trained to patrol these mountain ranges.
•Central Industrial Security Force (CISF): As part of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), your child will be
responsible for providing security to public sector industrial establishments. They will be trained to handle
industrial emergencies and will be responsible for keeping the Home Ministry informed on industrial security
matters.
•Home Guard Force: A force of home guards has been constituted to serve as a standby force during emergencies
and to assist in maintaining law and order, manage traffic in cities, etc.
•Territorial Army: As an officer commissioned in TA, your child may be called for armed forces service as and
when required. Recruitment for Infantry in the officers cadre is open to graduates between 18 and 42 years of age.
The armed forces are not just about war. This career exposes and trains personnel in varied fields, helping the
officers to continue their contributions to the nation even after they quit their service.
Rakesh Sharma is the first Indian cosmonaut to go in space. A squadron leader in the Indian Air Force he embarked
on the research mission in 1984 along with the Soviet Union crew.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won independent India's first ever individual silver medal in the Olympic Games in
Athens in 2004 for shooting. He is an army major
Finance
If your child grasps the concepts of planning and finance early, then a career in the finance sector
can be extremely fulfilling.
Actuary
An actuary is an expert who applies mathematical and statistical methods for assessment of financial and other
risks relating to various contingent events and for scientific valuation of financial products in the fields of insurance,
retirement and other benefits, investments etc.
An Actuary designs insurance and pension plans, determines insurance premium rates and contract provisions for
each type of policy offered, compiles data relating to rates of mortality, sickness, injury, retirement and property loss
from accident, theft, fire or any other hazard. On the basis of data thus collected, he/she analyzes insurances' claims
from Corporation or Company.
Your child must:
•Have a natural problem solving ability

•Be able to see situation from different vantage points,
•Develop lateral thinking.
•Have a practical outlook
•Possess a probing curiosity and business sense with highly developed inter personal communication skills
•Have an aptitude for mathematics
•Have a deep knowledge of Statistics & Commerce
Career Opportunities
Necessary processes are in place of which Actuarial Society of India is a part, to achieve international
harmonization of Actuarial education. This will enhance further the current international opportunities. Being a
relatively new field having increased employment opportunities, wherein the supply line has almost been dry, has
generated lot of interest among the students especially of faculty of mathematical sciences.
Potential Employers
Life insurance
•Allianz Bajaj Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

•Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
•Aviva Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
•HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
•ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
•ING Vysya Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
•Om Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
•Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
•Met Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
•SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
•Tata AIG Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
•Life Insurance Corporation of India
Non-life Insurance
•Bajaj Allianz
•HDFC Ergo GIC Ltd.
•ICICI Lom bard General Insurance Co. Ltd.
•IFFCO - Tokio General Insurance Co.
•Reliance GIF
•Royal Sundaram GIC
•Cholamandalam GIC
•Tata AIG
•United India Insurance
•National Insurance Co.
•General Insurance Corporation
•New India Assurance Companies
Others
•Consultants/Back Office Support providers

- Watson Wyatt Churchill India
•Brokers
•Finance Companies
Institutes that offer Actuaries
•Bishop Herber College, Tiruchirapalli

(Nationally Accredited with 5 Stars) Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli)
Courses Offered: PGDAS -Post-Graduate Diploma in Actuarial Science (One year).
M.Sc. - Actuarial Science (2 years)
•CMD School Of Insurance & Actuarial Sciences Modi Nagar, Uttar Pradesh
{Accredited to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)}
Courses Offered: One year Post-Graduate Diploma in Insurance and Risk Management
Six Months Diploma in Insurance Marketing and Risk Management.
•Amity School Of Insurance And Actuarial Science, Noida

Approved by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
Courses Offered: P.G. Diploma in Graduate in any Insurance Management
•Institute For Integrated Learning In Management (IILM), New Delhi

Courses Offered: PGDIRM (Post Graduate Diploma in Insurance and Risk Management.) -
Executive PGDIRM
•Insurance Institute Of India, Mumbai

•International Institute For Insurance Finance (IIIF) , Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh
•Birla Institute Of Management Technology, New Delhi
•Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow
•Institute Of Insurance And Risk Management, Hyderabad
Banker
Banking is one of the most sought after career choice among students. It is an entry into a well paid, secure and
status career. Though it may appear that these jobs are meant for commerce/economics students, the fact is that
majority of bank officers are from different streams of education. Though the Public sector Banks are now
appointing management graduates, CAs and CFAs, bright graduates from any subject can get entry in the Public
sector Banks through an All India Examination conducted by them.
The emergence of technology-driven new private banks have broadened the scope and range of banking service and
entry of Financial Institutions are into the short-term lending business, is resulting in needs for more professionals.
Now banks are into mutual funds, securitization business credit cards, consumer loans, housing loans, housing loans
besides trading in gold and forex activities.
Types of Banks
•Merchant Banking
Merchant banking implies investment management. This includes management of mutual funds, public issues,
trusts, securities and international funds. It involves dealing with the corporate clients and advising them on various
issues like - mergers, acquisitions, public issues, capital structure decisions etc. This being the era where mergers
and acquisitions are hot, the scope of merchant banking has grown to a large extent.
•Treasury And Forex Functions

This aspect of banking is becoming increasingly important as the forex flow in the country is increasing and the
international markets are funding the operations of the corporates in India. The fund management measures the
success of any business, this makes treasury management as a very critical finance function. Management of
treasury profit center requires a wide variety of knowledge in the area of global money markets and financial
instruments such as deposit certificates, treasury bills, forecasting, source evaluation and cost of domestic and
foreign currency funds. Treasury and risk management ensures cost effectiveness in planning strategies in this era of
deregulation.
In a Forex marketing job, which is an interbank job, a person needs to assess various markets on the behalf of the
bank to advise corporates or other banks who need foreign currency. The job requires one to be constantly updated
about the policies of the regulatory bodies, monitoring the current prices, making predictions based on analysis of
trends etc.
Careers in Banking your child can explore
•Bank Manager
As a bank manager, your child will be responsible for profit, people and resource management and strategic
planning to generate more profits. A manager should be able to judge innovative policies based on the area where
the operations are carried on, and the type of customers that the bank is catering to. Managers need to interact and
communicate with CEOs of corporates who are interested in getting their operations funded and then following up
on the big customers who avail loans from the bank. With most banks getting computerized, it has become
absolutely necessary for your child to be computer literate so that they will be able to use the software packages to
perform daily transactions.
•Bank Clerk
A bank clerk is involved in various operations like keeping a record of accounts, loans, mortgages, providing
services like payrolls and inventory accounting to the customers.
•Other Positions
The other positions in a bank are for typist, secretary, receptionist, safe deposit attendants, messengers, file clerks
and custodians. In small banks there is a lot of job rotation of an employee, hence the responsibilities are not very
clearly demarcated. However, in bigger banks each employee is specialized in his/her role.
There is an intensive training course for the actual work involved in bank operations. Each employee goes through
such training and is allocated responsibilities which he can perform the best.
Generally banks look for good communication skills, good interpersonal skills, the ability to deal with customers,
an alert nature, and basic knowledge of the industry. However to join foreign or private sector banks at higher than
entry level, your child needs specialization in some specific areas. For example expertise in project analysis, credit
appraisal skills, managing huge loan portfolios general and foreign exchange and money. Good computer
knowledge is always preferred.
Types of Commercial Banks
•Public sector Banks - Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharastra, Canara
Bank, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, IDBI Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank,
Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, Syndicate Bank etc.
•Private sector Banks - Catholic Syrian Bank, Centurion Bank, City Union Bank, Dhanalakshmi Bank,
Development Credit Bank, Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, ING Vysya Bank, Jammu &
Kashmir Bank, Karnataka Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Laxmi Vilas Bank, South Indian Bank, United Western Bank,
Axis Bank etc.
•Foreign/Multinational Banks - ABN-AMRO Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Bank of Ceylon, BNP Paribas
Bank, Citi Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank etc.
Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountancy (CA) is a professional course in accounting that equips your child to deal with areas of
accounting, auditing, taxation and financial analysis.
CA as a career
Chartered accountants are authorized by law to check, verify, audit and certify the authenticity of financial
statements of various organizations. The CA profession is an integral part of the financial regulatory system of a
country. As a CA, your child will go through the various documents of a company to verify the correctness of facts
and figures and a fair representation of the financial status of the organizations. This function is called auditing.
Apart from auditing, CAs are also involved in other financial activities. They prepare budgets, help raise capital
from various sources, manage costs and supervise accounting functions. They are also involved in the financial
administration of banks and financial services organizations. CAs sometimes act as internal auditors and financial
controllers. They are also experts in corporate laws and taxation.
As a CA, you child will mainly be performing the following functions:
•Scrutinizing a large number of documents, data and financial statements.

•Crosscheck veracity of various documents with the employees of the organization.
•Prepare an Auditor's Report to certify the veracity of the financial statements of the organization.
•Supervise all accounting functions and financial administration including cost management.
•Preparing all financial statements of the organization in accordance with the law.
•Run an internal audit.
Your child must have:
•An excellent numerical and analytical abilities

•An eye for detail
•A critical outlook-a nose for errors and misrepresentations
•Good communication skills
•Excellent organizing abilities
•Good interpersonal abilities-you will be part of a team
•Patience and perseverance
What a job as a Chartered Accountant would require…
•Accountancy: Preparing accounts, supervising, controlling and organizing income and expenditure and making
financial statements for all kind of companies and government organizations.
•Auditing: Making sure that Financial Statements represents the true picture of company’s financial position and it
had followed the correct accounting procedures.
•Taxation: Preparing the returns for tax purposes, rendering advice on tax matters and minimization of incidence of
direct and indirect taxes using legal means. Government departments also hire CAs to solve tax related issues.
•Cost Consultancy: Includes working out cost of a particular operation as well as minimizing costs and future
forecasting.
•Management Consultancy: Collecting, Organising and analysing information from all parts of the organisation
which generally covers statements from various financial departments to make critical analysis of past and present
financial performance with projects for the future.
•Legal matters: Handling legal aspects of contracts, estate planning and playing a crucial role during insolvency and
liquidation of a company.
•Planning and management: Compiling various reports and suggesting clients in improving the management of their
company.
•Special Company Work: The services or advice of Chartered Accountants are frequently sought in connection with
matters such as the formation, financial structure and liquidation of limited companies.
•Companies Secretarial Work: ensuring that the organisation complies with relevant legislation and regulation, and
keeps board members informed of their legal responsibilities.
Employment Opportunities
•Auditing firms
•Management and financial consulting organisations
•Various private commercial organisations
•Government departments and regulatory agencies
•Banks and financial services organisations
•Law firms practicing corporate law
•Tax consultants
•Academic institutions
•Set up your own CA firm
Cost Accountant
Cost accounting aims to capture a company's costs of production by assessing the input costs of each step of
production as well as fixed costs such as depreciation of capital equipment. A Cost accountant will first measure and
record these costs individually, then compare input results to output or actual results to aid company management in
measuring financial performance. Cost accounting is one of the tools that managers utilize to determine what type
and how much expenses is involved with maintaining the current business model.
As a cost accountant, your child will do a wide variety of job including collection, assimilation, collation and
analysis of financial information from all areas of an organisation, ensuring that managerial decisions are well
within the cost prescriptions and giving a prognosis for projects to be undertaken based on past and present financial
performances. A cost accountant specializes in navigating managerial decisions, stabilizing budgets and standards,
assessing operational efficiency and the effectiveness of production and service management, identifying
accountability for profit variance and so on.
Your child’s responsibilities will include: designing and implementing effective management information and
control systems, planning costing systems and methods, inventory control incorporating mathematical models,
investment analysis, project management, internal audit, cost audit, diagnosis in the case of sick industries, fund
management, pricing planning, interpreting information and data related to business activities and translating them
in such a way as to guide the core management into taking the right decisions.
•An ability to communicate (both written and spoken) concisely

•A keen business sense and the ability to negotiate.
•A high sense of motivation, concentration and determination.
•Good interpersonal and communication skills as well as a sense of team spirit.
•Good numerical ability
•An analytical mind to interpret facts and figures
•A logical and methodical approach in work
•Good attention to detail, as any misses would mean financial loss
•Ability to interact and express clearly
Career Prospects
Cost Accountants toady are holding top management positions like Managing Director, Finance Director, Financial
Controller, Chief Accountant, Cost Controller, Marketing Manager, Chief Internal Auditor etc. Cost and
Management Accountants also hold key positions in Central and State Governments. In the matter of employment,
promotion and prospects, Cost Accountants are recognised by the government, public and private sectors for
placement at various levels in the fields of Accounting and Management functions.
Cost Accountancy Institutions
The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) conducts the exam for Cost Accountancy.
Insurance Officers
Presently in India, the insurance sector is nationalised, services are rendered by Life Insurance Corporation of
India (LIC) and General Insurance Company (GIC) along with its 4 subsidiaries. With the passage of the Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) bill, entry of private Indian as well as foreign companies, along
with existing players, in the insurance sector will add variety and quality to the present insurance services. The other
positive impact would be on creation of new employment opportunities.
The insurance corporation performs various tasks with each department having its own set of responsibilities.
•Administrative Officer (AAO): AAOs can choose any of the areas from Administration, Development and
Accounts. In Administration AAOs handle policy-making, policy claims up to certain limit, checking clauses and
details, filing official returns and statements to higher regional offices etc. The Development AAOs deal with
marketing and procurement of business, promoting policies, getting contracts etc. The Accounts AAOs manage the
funds including incomes and expenses of the corporation.
•Development Officer: The Development Officer is in-charge of their territory for the development of the insurance
policies. They handle recruitment of agents; train them for procurement of new business and servicing of the
existing policies.
Apart from people directly working in the insurance companies, there are other categories of people related to the
insurance sector. These include the following.
•Insurance Agents: An insurance agent is a person who takes up agency from the insurance company to sell their
policy on a commission basis. He acts as an intermediary between the insurance company and the policy holder.
The Corporation recruits agents after a written test and an interview followed by a training period of 3 years.
Graduates in the age group of 21 to 35 years are preferred.
•Insurance Surveyors: Insurance surveyors are qualified professionals deputed for the assessment of losses,
according to their qualification and experience. They play an important role as they serve a link between the insurer
and the insured.
1.Good communication skills.

2.A good analytical ability.
3.A good knowledge of insurance laws & regulations and ability to understand and retain information about your
employer's policies.
4.Being able to take complicated information and translate it into language that a layman can understand since
Insurance policy language can be difficult to understand and the company's customers want to understand exactly
what coverage they are buying when they decide to apply for coverage.
Jobs to explore in Insurance
•Actuarial: An actuary is involved in solving wide range of financial problems related with insurance investments,
financial planning and management. Graduates in maths or statistics are suited for this kind of a job because the
work is based on mathematical and statistical skills.
•Underwriting: An underwriter assesses the risk in the business and takes care of risk management. Normally
foreign insurers prefer people with medical or life science background for this job and the same is likely to happen
here.
•Marketing and Distribution: Marketing requires specialization. Degree holders from reputed institutes and those
with experience in marketing and finance fields can anticipate bright opportunities in the insurance sector.
•Operations: The insurance sector will require Infotech professionals for elaborate databases, network solutions and
for in house packages etc. Like other sectors, demand for database and software professionals is expected to grow in
the insurance sector as well.
•Investments: Like banks and mutual funds, investment professionals will be required in insurance sector as well.
Professionals with a degree in finance from reputed institutes as well as experienced professionals from banks and
mutual funds will have promising career options to look forward to.
Institutes offering insurance courses
•Bhavan's Center for Inter-Disciplinary Studies, Mumbai

•Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi
•Chennai Business School, Chennai
•C T Group of Institutions, Jalandhar
•Goa Institute of Management, Goa
•Harikishan Institute of Management Studies, New Delhi IILM Institute for Higher Education, New Delhi
•Institute of Insurance and Risk Management
•Insurance Institute of India, Mumbai
•International Institute for Insurance and Finance, Hyderabad
•Institute of Management Technology, Centre of Distance Learning, Ghaziabad
•International School of Business and Media, Pune. Kolkata, Noida, Bangalore
•Manipal University, Bangalore
•Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
•Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune
•SIES College of Management Studies, Navi Mumbai
•Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur
Stock Broker
A stockbroker is a commissioned agent who arranges for selling or buying stocks or other financial instruments for
his or her clients.
Jobs to Explore
As a stock Broker, your child can look forward to become the following:
•Stock Broker: The work of stockbrokers depends upon the kind operations they engage themselves into. Some of
the brokers like to practice with individual clients while others work for institutions. Brokers who work for
institutional investors are often called securities traders. Many prefer to work as dealers, advisors and securities
analysts. Security analysts are those who advise companies on floatation of shares as they are expected to have
sound knowledge of capital markets. Brokers also work in the financial sector with banks, mutual funds,
consultancies, insurance companies, pension funds and financial institutions etc.
•Investment Analysis: Investment analysts are those who carry out scientific research and analysis and help fund
managers manage their investments. They can work as stock broking analysts or as institutional analysts. The work
of investment analysts include studying the company’s financial reports, assess various statistical information,
estimate demand and supply factors, profitability projections, compare financial results, visit the organization, meet
the management, survey the industry as a whole and on the basis of the available information, finally conclude to a
decision.
•Equity Analysis: Equity analyst is one such specialist who does research and helps in systematic and better
financial investments. Given the prevailing market conditions, equity analysts are in for favorable times ahead.
There work is quite similar to that of investment analysts. The job mainly involves research activities apart from
analyzing financial performance, making profit projections, conducting interviews with the executives of
companies, making field visits and market research, etc.
Career Prospects
Capital markets in India are going through major reform phase. Initiatives taken by SEBI in the direction to
discipline reform and bring greater transparency in the markets have had positive effect on the performance. Foreign
institutional investors, mutual funds and even individuals have once again started posing confidence in the capital
markets. This has enhanced prospects for brokers, investment and equity analysts. Recently a number of
opportunities have opened up in various organisations like mutual funds, investment consultantancy, broker firms,
insurance companies, merchant banks, pension funds and other financial institutions. They can also start their own
consultancies.
Mapping the Skill Sets of Your Child
One of the most important skill required here is an ability to deal and attend to different kinds of people with ease
and tact. A broker needs to have a well-groomed personality and should have a knack to convince people. Patience
is something they cannot afford to lose as it can adversely affect their clientele. Good communication skills also
count when dealing with a variety of people.
Technical aspects of the job of brokers, investment and equity analysts are almost similar and ask for sharp memory,
analytical mind, foresight and logical approach to make projections, ability to withstand mental stress and handle
complex situations, as capital markets are highly susceptible to ups and downs.
Professional Courses
A graduate in commerce can pursue the profession of a broker. To attain membership of the stock exchange, one has
to go through training under a broking firm for a period of minimum 6 months. The training aims to impart
knowledge of subjects like accountancy, law related subjects, capital markets, securities and portfolio analysis, etc.
Your child can pursue a course in Stock Brokerage from the following institutions:
•Bombay Stock Exchange's BSE Training Institute, Mumbai

•Institute of Capital Market Development, 1965 Arya Samaj Road, Karol Bagh, New Delhi - 05
•All India Centre for Capital market Studies, J.D.C Bytce Institute of Management Studies and Research, Nashik -
05
•Institute of Company Secretaries of India, New Delhi
•Institute of Financial and Investment Planning, B/303,Ventex Vikas, M.V.Road, Andheri(E) Mumbai 69
•Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI), Road No.3, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 34
•The Orion Institute of Capital Market, S- 11, Adarshini Plaza, 91, Adchini, Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi
•The UTI Insitute of capital Market, Plot 82, Sector - 17, Vashi, Navi Mumbai - 400 705
Company Secretary
A company secretary (CS) is one such professional who is responsible for efficient management of the corporate
sector. He/She co-ordinates and assists various departments of the organisation, ensures compliance of company
legislations and advises directors on statutory requirements of the company. Apart from carrying out these functions
a CS also looks after finance, accounts, legal, personnel and administrative functions.
Company secretaries, with their multidisciplinary background and rigorous training attained in law, management
and finance, are involved in major decisions such as formulating long and short term corporate policies and
programmes, accounting and finance functions. For this reason, they are regarded as corporate development
planners.
Other areas of work of a Company Secretary include:
•Incorporation and managing public issues

•Acting as internal legal advisor and representative
•Processing inter-corporate loans and investments and maintaining company's records
•Taking care of company's tax planning, tax management, tax returns
•Explore expansion opportunities and arranging collaborations, amalgamations, acquisitions, and joint ventures
within and outside India etc.
They are required to understand relevant aspects of laws, update themselves with the changes to ensure proper
compliance of legislations. The job also involves arranging company meetings, collecting and compiling
information and recording the decisions. They act as confidants of board of directors and provide a link between the
management and shareholders. In many companies, company secretaries play an important role in legal and
financial functions. Nowadays, they are even foraying in capital markets and financial services industry. Their
assistance in administration, management, planning and general running of the company makes them the company's
chief administrator.
Career Opportunities
Exposure to detailed study and practical training in various fields adds to versatility of a company secretary. A
qualified company secretary is a competent enough to take up wide range of responsibilities in legal, secretarial,
finance, accounts, personnel and administrative departments of companies or other organisations in the private and
the public sector. Almost every kind of organisation whose affairs are controlled by boards or councils and other
corporate structures be it a co-operative society, association, federation or statutory authority, finds it beneficial to
appoint a qualified company secretary. Initially, your child’s career may begin with the designation of a Junior
Secretarial Officer. Depending upon experience and hard work it, can rise up to senior level positions of Company
Secretary and even Finance Advisor.
Company secretaries (CSs) have to be very disciplined and organised as they hold key positions. They are expected
to have thorough knowledge and understanding of their subject as they may have to deal with complex legal
situation. Excellent command over English, both written and oral is important. At the same time ability to
understand, analyse complex and technical issues and exercise accordingly with tact and intelligence are other
essentials. Associated with the top level management and being aware of top level plans and important secrets, it
becomes a moral responsibility of company secretaries to be loyal to their organisation.
Professional Courses
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India is the only recognised organisation offering this course. The course
consists of three stages. These are as follow.
•Foundation: The institute offers foundation course for senior secondary (10+2) pass students willing to join the
Company Secretaryship Course. Earlier admission was open to only those candidates possessing minimum graduate
degree.
•Intermediate: Students enrolled in the company secretaries course have to appear for the intermediate examination
after successfully passing the foundation course. All gradates, post-gradates (excluding fine arts) and pass in the
final examination of the ICWAI or ICAI or of any other accountancy Institution in India or abroad recognised by the
Council of the Institute are exempted from passing the foundation examination and can directly enroll in the
intermediate course on payment of such exemption fee.
•Final: On successfully completing the Intermediate Examination, students qualify to appear for the Final
Examination that can be pursued after 18 months of enrolling in the course and having undergone satisfactory postal
or oral tuition for a particular group of final examination.
One of the prescribed qualifications for a company secretary is the membership of the Institute of Company
Secretaries. Candidates desiring for the membership of the institute are required to successfully clear the
Foundation, Intermediate and the Final examinations conducted by the Institute. Further they are required to possess
practical experience and undergo practical training to become eligible for the membership.
Colleges, Institutions and Universities
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India is a recognised professional body formed to develop and regulate the
profession of Company Secretaries. It is the only institute which offers this course and awards the certificate
bestowing the designation of Company Secretary to a candidate qualifying for membership of the institute. The
institute has its headquarters at New Delhi and has four regional offices at Calcutta, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. In
addition, there are 36 chapters and 10 satellite chapters located all over the country.
Commerce
Commerce is one of the fundamental academic streams. While pursuing a course in the field of commerce, one
acquires the knowledge of business or trade, nature and fluctuations in market, basics of economics, fiscal policies,
industrial policies etc. The concept of commerce consists of a wide range of interdisciplinary branches including
Accountancy, Business Administration, E-Commerce, Finance, Economics and Marketing.
Getting started in Commerce

Several commerce colleges and institutes in India are imparting courses in the field of commerce at the
undergraduate and postgraduate levels. At the undergraduate level, your child can pursue Bachelor of Commerce
(B.Com), a three-year full time program and Master of Commerce (M.Com), at the postgraduate level. To be
eligible for undergraduate course, candidates have to pass 10+2 level examination in commerce stream, from any
recognized state/national Board. For the PG level program, your child should have done Bachelor of Commerce
(B.Com), from any statutory University/Institute.
Jobs your child can explore
After completing a course in the field of commerce, a student can join any private or government organization as a
specialist in any of the streams of commerce, such as economics, accountancy or work as management executive,
accounts executive, junior accountant or pursue a career in auditing or banking. There are a number of career
streams that open up for students once they opt for commerce. Here are some of the most popular choices:
•MBA: Students interested in learning how to manage a business professionally can opt for a degree in
management. An MBA course can vary in duration with a regular MBA being a 2-year course, while an Executive
MBA taking 1 year to complete. Doing an MBA through correspondence is also an option.
•Chartered accountancy: A chartered accountant is responsible for auditing companies, stock brokers and income
tax assesses. Your child can join a CA course either after the 10+2 board examination by registering for the
Professional Education (PE) I course (a 10-month course) or after graduating (with the specified percentage) by
registering for the PE II course (also 10-months long).
•Cost accountant: The option of pursuing cost accountancy is open to any student of 17 years of age who has passed
the Senior Secondary Examination (under the 10+2 scheme) of a recognised board.
•Company secretary: A person who is responsible for ensuring that the company meets its statutory obligations is
called a company secretary. Any student who has passed the Senior Secondary (10+2) examination is eligible to
apply for a company secretary course.
•Chartered financial analyst: A chartered financial analyst can operate in the areas of financial accounting,
management accounting, financial management, investment management, security evaluation, project planning,
venture capital management and credit rating. The course is a 3-year post graduation degree.
Commerce Institutes
Some of the top commerce colleges in India are

•Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) New Delhi
•Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi, New Delhi
•Hansraj College, Delhi
•Hindu College, Delhi
•Loyola College, Chennai
•St Xavier's College, Kolkata
•Presidency College, Chennai
•Christ College, Bangalore
•Symbiosis Society's College of Arts & Commerce, Pune
•St. Joseph's College, Bangalore.
•Narsee Monjee College, Mumbai
•St. Xavier's, Mumbai
•Hans Raj College, New Delhi

Law As A Profession

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category=Law&subcategory=The+different+branches+of+Law Time 19.1.2011 10:02 pm

The different branches of Law

The different branches of law

Your child can pursue the following branches in law:

 Intellectual Property Law

 Human Rights Law

The different types of Lawyers

Help your child to choose the best option

Pros and Cons

How to get started

Mapping the skill sets of your child

To become a lawyer, your child must:

How you can help as a parent?

1. Help your child develop good communication skills.

Lawyer in a Law Firm

Mapping the skill sets of your child

To become a lawyer in a law firm, your child must:

Pros and cons

 Very long working hours.

Mapping the skill sets of your child

To become a lawyer in a company, your child must:

Pros and cons

Mapping the skill sets of your child

To become a lawyer with an NGO, your child must be:

Pros and Cons

 The job is likely to offer a lot of emotional and personal satisfaction.

Mapping the skill sets of your child

To become a judge, your child must be:

 Honest, impartial and fair in judgment.

 Being hugely respected everywhere your child goes.

Getting started in Civil Engineering

The Konkan Railway a marvel of Civil Engineering

•Understanding materials and their physical behaviour

•Catch this programme with your child

•Read the following books

‘Wheels’ by Arthur Hailey

Biographies of Henry Ford

•Browse this great web site - www.discoverengineering.org

Electrical & Electronic Engineer

Careers your child can explore

Computer Science Engineer

Mapping the skill sets of your child

•A computer engineer usually brings his work home – because he can.

You may even want to visit the following sites:

Mapping the skill sets of your child

•Enjoy chemistry and also be good at it.

Get your child to:

The Polyester Prince – The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani by Hamish McDonald

Getting Started in Architecture

How you can help as a parent?

Getting started in the Merchant Navy

Aeronautical/ Aerospace Engineering

Other Branches of Engineering

•Industrial And Production Engineering

How can your child become a doctor?

•Specialists in forensic medicine

•Sports medicine specialists

•Specialists in teaching subjects

How can you help as a parent?

1.Medical Thrillers by Michael Palmer (Miracle Cure, Critical Judgment…)

•A collection of really interesting medical sites for students

Careers your child can explore in Dentistry