Uma Dasgupta Senior academician and ex-professor, ISI, Calcutta

Q: I have passed my Plus Two (science) with 78 per cent in 2004. I sat for the engineering entrance exam this year but could not qualify because I was not well prepared. I am not interested in wasting another year and appearing for the entrance exams all over again. Should I join a private institute in Bangalore to complete my BTech? Should I opt for a job in the IT sector?

Parikshit Kumar

A: Yes, by all means, you can enrol for a BTech degree at a private institute in Bangalore if that is possible for you. It should do no harm if you opt for a job in the IT sector in the future. But do try to work hard and compete well. That is important.

Q: My nephew is a Class XI student. He scored 88 per cent in ICSE. He has taken maths and computer science along with English, Hindi, physics, chemistry and environmental studies. He is quite good at studies and interested in maths and computer science. Could you please suggest what line of career he ought to pursue?

S. Mirza

A: If your nephew is academically inclined and keen on pursuing higher studies, he can take up either maths, statistics or computer science as an honours subject. If he prefers to go for a professional career and would like to become an engineer he could work towards getting admission at the IITs.