I’m a class X student keen on a career in chemical engineering. What are the job prospects in this field?
Nikhil Chandran, Chennai
Chemical engineering graduates are employed in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, pulp and paper, food processing, polymers, biotechnology, electronics, and environmental health and safety industries. Also in technical and research departments in the chemical processes and petrochemical industries. Specialisation options include plastics and polymers, food technology, ceramics, chemical process, bioprocess technology, pharmaceutical technology, perfumes and flavours, and petroleum engineering among others.
In short, job prospects for qualified chemical engineers are excellent.
I’m keen on signing up for an auto-mobile engineering degree programme after class XII. Which colleges offer this specialisation?
Sumit Chawla, New Delhi
Very few colleges in india offer automobile engineering as a degree programme. However some offer it as a specialisation in the mechanical engineering degree programme. My advice is you enrol in the mechanical engineering degree programme of prestigious institutions such as the IITs, NITs, BITS Pilani, BIT Mesra etc and choose to specialise in automobile engineering.
Which field offers better career prospects — food technology or biotechnology? I’m planning to do an M.Tech in either subject after comple-ting my B.Tech degree in 2012.
Shalini Karmarkar, Pune
An M.Tech degree in biotechnology definitely offers more job options, provided it interests you as much as food technology. Biotechnology is a broad discipline and a biotechnologist has wider options to work in the chemical and pharmaceutical, plant engineering and equipment manufacturing, energy resource and biomass industries, farm-ing, agriculture and forestry, environmental protection, environmental measu-rement and instrumentation, air purification and effluent/sewage treatment.
Food technologists, on the other hand, have limited opportunities. They usually work in food products development, preservation, processing, packaging and distribution.
What are the job opportunities available to biomedical engineers?
Ivan Fernandes, Mumbai
Biomedical engineers have a bright future. They tend to be employed in hospitals and companies manufacturing medical equipment including artificial organs (hearing aids, cardiac pacemakers, artificial kidneys and hearts, blood oxygenators, synthetic blood vessels, joints, legs), automated patient monitoring systems etc. However if you want to work in research and development, you should complete an M.Tech/ME or MS in this field. In Mumbai, among the prominent colleges offering biomedical engineering are the Thadomal Shahani Engineering College, D.J. Sanghvi College of Engineering and Watumull Institute of Electronics Engineering and Computer Technology.
I’m planning to do an MA (history) after my graduation next year. What employment opportunities can I expect?
Aparna Chatterjee, Kolkata
Postgraduates in history can work in teaching and research as also in publishing, mass communication, archaeology, museums, travel and tourism, heritage management etc. If you also possess research and writing skills you could write film/documentary scripts, work on educational CD ROMs, compile oral histories of organisations, communities, families etc.
Historians also design museum exhibitions, serve as consultants for historical stage and cinematic presentations, and compile guides and literature for tou-rism if they have the inclination for it.
I’m a class XII student. I want to know which colleges offer bachelors and Masters programmes in nuclear engineering.
Jagan Rao, Bangalore
No respectable college offers a bachelor’s in nuclear engineering. However you will be eligible for an M.Tech in nuclear engineering after you complete a BE/B.Tech in mechanical/electrical/electronics/instrumentation/chemical/civil/industrial/metallurgical engineering or an M.Sc in physics/electronics. M.Tech programmes in nuclear engineering are offered by IIT-Kanpur; IIT-Madras; Manipal Unive-rsity; Jadavpur University, Kolkata; JNTU, Kakinada, and the Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar.
I’m a B.Tech (computer science) student interested in signing up for an MBA or M.Tech study programme. I’m good in computer science but not in maths. Please advise.
Naresh Desai, Ahmedabad
M.Tech/MS would be the right choice for you if you are interested in a long-term career in engineering/technology, including research and teaching. MBA would qualify you to switch from engineering to management.
I’m a class XII (science) student interested in qualifying as a journalist. Which courses should I pursue post Plus Two?
Shalini Nair, Trivandrum
You could enrol for a bachelor’s degree in any discipline and then opt for a postgraduate degree or diploma in journalism and mass communication. This will prepare you to work in the editorial department of a newspaper/radio or television channel.
A bachelor’s degree in social sciences and/or English literature is a good base to develop as a journalist. However, if you want to pursue a B.Sc degree, you could still do your postgraduation in journalism. It will qualify you for science and technical writing.
After completing my BE degree programme in 2012, I want to sign up for a full-fledged course in animation. Please advise.
Siddharth Singh, Mumbai
After you graduate, sign up for the two-year Master of design progra-mme in animation offered by IIT-Bombay. Admission is through the institute’s common entrance examination for design (CEED). Postgrad programmes in design include new media, software and user interface design, and design for digitalk offered by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Both these institutes offer excellent campus placement opportunities.