Courses After Graduation - Prof. RSS Mani, Vice President (Institutional Development) ITM Group

In today’s world, graduation is now a necessary step to build a successful career. After the completion of an undergraduate course, the plethora of options make one ask - what courses after graduation? The problem doesn't just end there. It involves not just choosing the course but also the college, specialization and finally a placement. If there is help from experts in choosing courses after graduation, it leads to a better chance and the right path to a successful career. Careers360 held a live session with Professor RSS. Mani, Vice President (Institutional Development), ITM Group on April 14 where students posed awide range of questions from courses to colleges and careers. To know the answers to which courses after graduation, check the video below or the questions asked and discussed in the live session with Prof Mani.

Check the session below

Courses After Graduation - Do’s and Don’ts

At the beginning of the LIVE session, Prof. Mani discussed certain points to be kept in mind after the completion of an undergraduate course. For your convenience, we’ve broken it down into Do’s and Don’t after graduation.

Do’s:

• Complete the master’s degree without a break if possible.

• Eliminate what you don’t want to do

• Make a conscious and well-researched decision

• Seek help from Career Counsellors if needed

• Introspect and know your area of interest

Don’ts:

• Don’t consider graduation as the end of your academic career

• Don’t follow the crowd

• Try not to take a break after graduation

Q: I want to study MBA but I have a three years gap after graduation and I have no work experience either. Will it create any problems during placements?

A: If you do well in your two years MBA programme, no recruiter is going to worry about those three years. Choose a college of your choice and pursue an MBA with full enthusiasm and prove everybody wrong by excelling in your MBA. See how well you can do in the present so that you can build your future effectively.

Q: What are the best career options after graduation in Chemistry?

A: Becoming a scientist is one of the careers which is often ignored in India. However, it has a huge demand in the West. If someone is specialising in Chemistry, there are plenty of careers available to you. You are advised to do the masters and then move on to do the PhD. Write the GATE entrance exam based on which you can get admissions in IITs and the NITs. There are a wonderful set of institutions in India called IISER. They have a course called integrated MS and PhD. After completing the specialisation in Chemistry, you can choose Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Nuclear Chemistry. You can seek careers as a scientist, you can work for organisations such as BHABHA Atomic Research Centre, TATA institute and work as a scientist.

Q: What are the career options in government sectors such as UPSC after graduation?

A: Government service is one of the fascinating career choices as you not only build a career for yourself but actually contribute to Nation building. The minimum eligibility is that you should have completed the graduation. Humanities background will help in cracking the UPSC exam. The UPSC exam has three components - the prelim exams, final exam and the panel interview. Each level becomes tougher as you go higher. Join coaching institutes for the preparation and coping with stress, know how to tackle the questions. Preparation for UPSC should be a long followed strategy and ensure you devote enough time and energy to the whole process.You’re also advised to pursue a Master’s degree side by side.

Q: Is it necessary to pursue post-graduation after completing any degree course such as B.A / B.Com / B.Sc or can I get a job after graduation also?

A: Pursuing a master’s degree is very essential not only to secure a great job but to gain deep knowledge as well. Masters is very important for excelling in your career. It increases the chances of a good and secured career. It will also help you get the position you always deserved Without a post-grad, success may get bounded. Jobs after graduation are possible but a good career is guaranteed after the master’s qualification in the area of your interest.

Q: What to do after BA Economics?

A: After this, a good option is to study further in the same domain, in areas such as econometrics. You could get into related careers like banking and insurance. Many students go to study at the London school of Economics where they look at it as a stepping stone to a global career, be it with an international monetary fund or the world bank.

Q: After having completed B.tech Civil engineering with one-year work experience. What are the options which I can pursue?

A: You can look for your area of interest and decide that either you want to do masters in Civil engineering or related areas in engineering or you would like to look for an MBA. If you want to take up the technical stream, you’ll have to write a GATE exam. In case you want to pursue an MBA, you’ll have to appear for CAT.

Q: What is the difference between a PGDM and MBA?

A: These are the synonymous courses. MBA, MBBS, PGDM, PGDBA are all namesakes, one course named Masters in management. All you need to take care of is, it should be a two-year full-time programme and it must be recognised either by the Central University, State University or by AICTE.

Q: What are the short-term courses that students can take up to enhance their skills?

A: World Universities such as Oxford, Harvard, etc come up with a surfeit of short term courses which adds value to your knowledge and help you stand apart. Know your area of interest and enrol accordingly. Prefer courses related to public speaking, confidence building, personality development, etc. You can also take-up a session which can help you deal with stress management. How you come across as a confident individual is key to making a difference to your career. Pay special attention to the courses related to communication skills

Q: Should I do an MBA? What MBA specialisation to choose for a secured career?

A: Master in Business Administration is a choice of a majority of students after graduation. MBA is in greatest demand even today but students must do proper research before enrolling in this programme. Don’t go with the flavour of the season. You’re also advised to not wait too much for the seat in your cherished institution. Not being able to enrol in IIMs is not the end of the journey. Try to give your best and score exceptionally well. Also, I prefer enrolling for a full-time MBA.

The specialisation which is in the greatest demand in the present time includes: Digital Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, IT. Sub-specialisation can be advertising, mass-communication, etc. Choose the specialisation after thorough research and as per your area of interest.

Q: The curriculum in BBA and MBA is almost similar. If I have done BBA so should I go for an MBA or not?

A: It is true that many universities are not upgrading the syllabus regularly. Also, there is a program BMS which is a namesake of BBA only and its syllabus is so defined that they cover almost 50-60 percent of coverage of the MBA program. However, after completing BBA, you should find a good institution whose syllabus is up to date, select a specialisation which you have not studied in BBA.

Q: Should I do my MBA after bachelors or after post graduation?

A: If you are interested in an MBA then you can go for it after Graduation. There’s no meaning of going for it after your post graduation.

Q: Is MBA relevant for the students with Arts background?

A: MBA is relevant to the student of any stream who wants to excel in a particular field. Background in Psychology, Sociology, Economics, etc will help in cracking the entrance test. A sufficient amount of practice and hard work will help you crack the entrance exam. MBA offers many specialisations, research well and prepare accordingly

Q: Please suggest some B.Schools with affordable fees?

A: Some of the top B.Schools conduct scholarship exams for the students to help them financially. They have a tie-up with financial institutions and banks. They help the underprivileged ones to simplify the procedure of loan. In such cases, they also offer a discount on the fee as per the student’s talent. All university programmes are subsidized.

Q: How to choose the best B.School?

A: Look at the stability of the B.School. Pay attention to the quality of faculty and alumni. Visit the B.School and prefer having an interaction with the faculty. Remember that only infrastructure is not sufficient to judge. The institution must have a meaningful existence. A fair amount of research will surely help

Q: What are the best career options after doing Hotel Management?

A: Within the broad domain of hotel management, there are predominantly two job options. First one is the broad domain of hotel management which includes the work in the areas of the front office, banquets, housekeeping and generally managing the hotels or resorts. The second domain is everything to do with the culinary part of it. There are excellent careers ahead in this field. In the current scenario, working in resorts, cruise ships are also an area of big demand.

Q: Which one is better: Flagship programs vs Non-flagship programs of B-schools?

A: I would suggest you to go as per your preferred branch. The branches recently introduced might be the core branch as per the industry demand so the branches cope up as per the demand, that doesn't mean that other branches or specializations do not have scope in comparison to core specialization.

Q: What are the courses related to ISRO?

A: Institutions such as ISRO, BARC, TIFR, Indian Institute of Science, IISER, etc are some of the top-notch institutes serving the world. Aspirants must look up to these institutes and research about the courses they offer. B.Sc-M.Sc, Bs-Ms are some of the integrated courses which are offered by these institutes. It is a dual degree with a more holistic science education experience.

Q: I am a graduate in HM and interested in Finance. I want to do an MBA in Finance. Please guide me.

A: After completing MBA in finance, You can go for Hotel & Hospitality Industry as you know these industries are so well as compared to the person working in finance department who doesn't understand about the pricing of food items which you know because you are graduate in Hotel Management so it can be an advantage for you being a Hotel Management student and Every top hotel will be ready to hire you.

Q: What are the opportunities in Operations Management?

A: These are logical choices where engineering students move on to. If you want to get into these domains, I would recommend this to engineering students because they start with the huge advantage that is involved here that is already known to them. It’s the preferred option in case you come from an engineering background. People think that demand in operations management is lesser but they need to understand the number of positions in many companies in this field is lesser.

Q: After B.Sc. Physics, can I go for masters in Data Sciences?

A: Yes you can. There are MSc level courses in Data Sciences. If you want to try in IITs, you’ll have to write a GATE entrance exam. There are many private universities which offer this course. Please do thorough research and go ahead.

Q: What should I do after MBBS? Which medical field is best for PG?

A: After MBBS, doing an MD is critical in the present competitive scenario. Therefore, you need to do specialisation. You may choose Cardiology, Physiotherapy as per your interest. The other large demand career for medical professionals is Hospital management. It is one of the best options where doctors are trained to become a medical administrator. Tata Institute of social science is the founder of Master in hospital Management, Diploma in Hospital Management.You can also do an MD in your area of interest.