Take good care of animals

• Q: What are the job prospects for someone who wants to study for a bachelors degree in veterinary science?

Bulbul Roy Chowdhury

• A: With a bachelors degree in veterinary science under your belt, you could look at the following options: teaching and research (masters and PhD), working in veterinary hospitals, dairy and poultry farms, piggeries, camel/stud farms, sheep and goat farms, abattoirs, zoos, research units, Army Remount Veterinary Corps, banks, insurance, pharmaceutical industry and non-governmental organisations. You may also start your own private practice or take the Civil Services examination.

It may help to go for a specialisation at the postgraduate level because in the coming years, there will be little scope for general practitioners. Some areas in which you could specialise are animal biotechnology, reproduction, gynoecology and obstetrics, anatomy and histology, veterinary biochemistry, clinical medicine, ethics and jurisprudence, animal epidemiology and preventive medicine, microbiology, parasitology, pathology, physiology, surgery, radiology, nutrition and dairy bacteriology.

Some institutes where you can study veterinary science are the West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, 68 Kshudiram Bose Sarani, Nadia, West Bengal, Pin-751252; Bombay Veterinary College, Parel, Mumbai-400012; College of Veterinary Sciences, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar-125004; Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Birsa Agricultural University, Kanke, Ranchi-834006; Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati-781022.

To be eligible for a bachelors degree in veterinary science and animal husbandry, a student should have passed the Class XII examination with physics, chemistry and biology. Most institutes also conduct an entrance examination.

An MTech that suits your taste

• Q: I have done my MSc in food technology after getting my bachelors degree in physics. I would like to do higher studies, if there is an MTech course in food technology. Could you please suggest some courses?

Nachiketa Sen

• A: IT Kharagpur, department of agricultural and food engineering, Kharagpur-721302, West Bengal (www.iitkgp.ernet.in) may be the best option for you. The department was the first of its kind to be set up in 1952. It offers an MTech degree in dairy and food engineering. Check their website or e-mail them directly for details.

Kanpur University, Kanpur-208024, also offers an MTech degree in food technology and processing.

The Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Allahabad-211007 should be on the list of those who are seeking an MTech in food technology.

An MBA could boost an engineer’s job prospects

• Q: am in my final year of engineering. My friends say that it will be better if I pursue an MBA after this. Do you agree?

Navik Sharma

• A: Traditionally, engineers are more involved in the manufacturing and operational aspects of business. However, in their day-to-day operations, they also have to interact with finance, accounting and marketing professionals.

Further, as you move up in your career, you will have more managerial responsibilities while handling projects. This will demand increasing interface with finance, marketing and systems experts.

It is important for an engineer to have a good understanding of various functional areas of management. It will also help you to appreciate the need for an integrated approach for managing a successful business.

Today’s engineers need to understand business as a whole and relate their operational aspects to the needs of the organisation.

An MBA degree from a top-rung business school will widen your prospects and equip you with administrative skills for value-added jobs across the board in the corporate sector as well as in industry.

In fact, engineers constitute the single largest segment of a typical top-rung business school class. Just see the average break-up of an IIM class (6 out of 10).

However, since this is boom time for engineers, it may be a good idea to work for a year or two if you get an attractive offer through campus placement before doing an MBA from a good business school.

You could apply to schools such as the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (www.iimahd.ernet.in), Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur (www.xlri.ac.in), Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai (www.jbims.edu), Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune (www.sibm.edu), Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (www.iimcal.ac.in), Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi (www.fms.edu), and others. Most institutes require not only a bachelors degree but also a high score in CAT (the common admission test conducted by the Indian Institute of Management).