As noble as it gets

• Q:My daughter has just received her economics (honours) degree and wants to teach in a college, while I want her to do an MBA and get a job in an industry where she can have a secure and relatively prosperous future. What is your advice?

Tripti Bawa

• A:It’s true that lecturers get paid less, often in the range of Rs 20,000 per month while a fresh MBA graduate may end up with lakhs (and even a crore per annum). But the situation is likely to improve for college professors in the near future. With the likely implementation of other backward class (OBC) reservations, student intake will rise by 54 per cent, and there will be a consequent improvement in infrastructure and an increase in the number of faculty members.

A sub-committee dealing with OBC reservations has estimated that educational institutions will have to hire more than 12,000 additional faculty, half of them in central universities alone. Salaries and perks, including retirement age, have to be made more attractive. So if teaching in a college is what she’s interested in, please encourage her to do so. We need good teachers as much or perhaps even more than we need good managers.

In order to teach in college, she will have to get a masters degree in economics with at least 55 per cent marks and then qualify in the National Eligibility Test (NET) for lectureship conducted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or the state level eligibility tests (SLET) conducted by state commissions, such as the West Bengal College Service Commission, to teach in a particular state. Some colleges and universities do not demand the NET/SLET qualification from those who have a PhD or an MPhil degree in their subject. She could try Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi, and Bangalore University, Bangalore, for postgraduate courses in economics.

Offering a different perspective

• Q:After a fairly successful career in marketing fast moving consumer goods, I am now tempted to switch to the IT sector. Do you think that’s possible at this stage?

P.N. Dikshit

• A:For a while, it was believed that the technology sector was so unique and required so many technological skills that a shift wasn’t possible. But the fundamentals of marketing (as also finance or HR or general administration) remain the same across sectors. Many people have successfully applied skills acquired in one industry elsewhere.

Louis Gerstner, who retired after a very successful stint at IBM, didn’t know much about computers, as he came from Phillip Morris, a tobacco company. But he certainly knew a lot about management and had the qualities required to lead in a sophisticated environment. Talented people bring a fresh outlook and perspective. And that’s valuable to any organisation.

Of art, aesthetics and critical appreciation

• Q:I am a final year BFA student. Could you suggest some courses that could equip me to specialise in art criticism?

Latika Joseph

• A:Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU’s) School of Arts & Aesthetics (SAA), New Delhi, offers a unique MA degree in arts and aesthetics. Admission decisions are made on the basis of an entrance exam. You don’t necessarily need an arts background to qualify. Applicants are required to have a bachelors degree in any field and a basic appreciation of art.

The MA course at JNU will expose you to various aspects of art (music, dance, drama, cinema), culture, civilisation, literature, history, religion and politics. Although you will be exposed to art during the course, you will not be taught its technical aspects.

JNU also offers a direct PhD in the subject. Those who don’t have an MPhil degree should have some outstanding work of merit to their credit. An MPhil programme in arts and aesthetics is also on the anvil at JNU.

You may write to SAA, JNU, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi-110067, or telephone 011-26717676, for more information.

Similarly, the faculty of fine arts, MS University of Baroda, Baroda, offers an MFA (art criticism) programme which is open to graduates of all streams. Applicants must have a BA (fine arts) degree from a recognised university in India or a bachelors degree in humanities with an aptitude for fine arts. University graduates in disciplines other than humanities will also be considered for admission if they show proof of aptitude in fine arts and familiarity with art objects and literature on art, and provided they put in an additional year to cover the prerequisites. Such students should apply through the dean, faculty of fine arts, MS University, Baroda, Sayajibaug Main Road, Near Kalaghoda Circle, Sayajigunj, Baroda-390002. You may also visit their website (www. msubaroda. ac.in) for information.

With so many art galleries being set up and with magazine and newspapers featuring reviews and covering art shows, employment opportunities should not be a problem for someone who wishes to specialise in art criticism.

A course in art history or museology could also be an asset.