Category Career Query

Against the tide

How can a student risk being a non-conformist in school and still retain high levels of confidence to do well in life?

Non-conformist does not mean non-performer. A student can be a non-conformist but be a very good student, scoring excellent marks or even average to above average marks. A non-conformist is one who does not agree or conform to all the rules and regulations of the school and when questioned is able to convincingly explain his stand. This is possible only for a person who has the self-confidence to put across his points of view very clearly even though they may not conform to the views of the school. I hope you now understand what was written in that report.

 

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How do I win friends?

 Yes, you do need friends with whom you could share your joys and excitement. For someone as talented and intelligent as you, making friends will not be a difficult task. Jealousy could be one of the reasons why your friends do not share information and books with you. You may have to do some introspection. Ask yourself whether there is something about you that puts them off. Do you have a haughty posture? Do you keep to yourself? Do you help others In studies when they ask you a clarification? Do you give the impression that scoring marks is all that matters to you?  Try and find the answers to these questions. Expect nothing from friends and be willing to give them everything. You will soon discover true friendship.

 

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Headed for the Woods

I want to join the Indian Forest Service. Is a course in forest management essential for that? Please give details.

Qualification in forest management is not essential for entry to Indian Forest Service (IFS). The Union Public Service Commission, that recruits candidates to the service, considers graduation in botany, zoology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and veterinary science. The exam notification comes in February and the examination is held in August, every year.

You will have to appear for two compulsory subjects i.e., English and general knowledge, two optional subjects. Certain combinations are not allowed in the exam, like agricultural and animal husbandry.

Besides the written exam and interview, one has to appear for a physical fitness test. Make candidates have to walk a distance of 25 kilometers in four hours, and female candidates have to cover 14 kilometers in the same time.

After a training schedule in Indian Forest College, Dehra Dun, and at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy, Mussourie, one is appointed as assistant conservator of forests.

 

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Top Cop

I am in my second year. If I want to join the police services, what subjects should I take up, and how should I prepare for the entrance exam?

Recruitment to the Indian Police Services is done by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), over two stages: preliminary, or qualifying stage; and the main stage. This entrance test is common for IAS, IPS and IFS, P&T, and a host of other central government services.

The choice of subject at graduation level or the choice of the optional subject for the examination doesn’t make a difference for selection to the IPS. Many students choose new subjects thinking that certain subjects are more scoring. But it’s usually better to opt for a subject you have been studying all along.

Since you won’t have much time after the results of the preliminary exams are announced, it would be better if you start preparation for prelims and the main examination simultaneously.

 The preliminary exam is objective type, and has two sections: General studies of 150 marks and one optional subject of 450 marks. For general studies, you should read thoroughly NCERT books of history, economics, political science and geography for classes XI and XII. You should read, at least, one newspaper everyday, maintain a diary and make entries in different sections like sports, state, politics, economy and so on. Go through the dairy regularly. In fact, you should begin this exercise from this year itself.

For the optional, select the subject that you would be taking for the main exam. In each topic of that subject, get to the basics, so that you can answer the objective-type questions of the prelims, as well as the subjective queries in the main exam. For the mains, you should develop the habit of writing long answers and improve your written expressions. This is important for the two optional subjects that you will have to take up, as well as English, regional language, as well as the essay that you will have to attempt. Show your answers to a lecturer and get feedback. At the interview stage, your power of judgement and your understanding of the world around you will be assessed

There are chances though, that in the next few years there will be radical changes in the entrance method, following the recommendations of the Alagh Committee to UPSC. It’s possible tat by the time you do apply, the subject-specific tests may have been replaced by psychometric tests.

 

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Alien Tongue

I am a student of class XII and I am keen to learn a foreign language. What is the appropriate stage to learn a foreign language? Can one get a job on the basis of a foreign language?

 

From the perspective of knowing a different country or culture, you can start learning a foreign language as early as class V. your age will not prevent you from grasping the basics of a foreign language. Early learning encourages one to move beyond mere literacy and read the original works of literature. In fact, institutes like Max Mueller Bhawan (for German) and Alliance Francaise (for French) rather than follow a translation approach, encourage you to communicate in the new language from day one.

However, from the job perspective, it is better to study a language once you are clear about your career objectives. Direct job opportunities in foreign languages are limited to teaching at school and college-level or at foreign language institutes. You can also take up translation. But as a translator, the chances are that you will come across more work for translating personal documents or instruction material for some machine. The more challenging task of translating literary works will be available only if you are exceedingly good at the language.

Then there is the job of interpretation. The new age economy is opening up avenues for interpreters, who have good spoken language and communication skills, in travel and tourism, hospitality, public relations, event management, and so on. However, in most jobs, foreign language is a time-consuming and costly affair. You will tend to forget it if you do not constantly practice that language or use its vocabulary regularly.

 

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Soaring Ambition

What qualifications should I possess in order to become an airline pilot? What is the career scope of a pilot?

The job of an airline pilot offers a glamorous lifestyle with great salaries and the opportunities to travel. But becoming a pilot is also a very expensive proposition. You have to get a commercial pilot’s license (CPL) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Only those who have done science with PCM at the +2 are eligible to apply.

You have to register 250 flying hours with a flying club like Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy, Rae Bareli; Pinjore Aviation Club, Ambala; and School of Aviation Science and Technology, Safdarjang Airport, New Delhi, and clear a set of exams, before you are given the license. You can get the CPL from abroad too and get it converted to the Indian pilot license. While getting into Air India or Indian Airlines may not be that easy, a number of private and foreign airlines do offer attractive salaries to their pilots-starting from Rs 45,000 for  trainee pilot to Rs 165,000 for confirmed pilots. Initially, you have to work as a co-pilot and it’s only with experience that you are given the command of a flight.

However, the course is very expensive, around Rs five lakh. To check your suitability for the job, ask yourself whether you are capable of quick thinking, can you keep calm during a crisis, whether you have quick reflexes, are you comfortable working with machines, how physically fit are you. It’s an erratic life-you have to report at unearthly hours, be away from home for days on end. so in all likelihood, you will watch Diwali festivities from your cockpit, rather than from the courtyard of your home.

 

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