Your Counselor Replies

After completing my B.Tech (computer science) degree in 2010, what study programme would you recommend — M.Tech or MBA?Vijay Raghavan, Chennai Both degrees — M.Tech and MBA — are stepping stones to successful careers. However, if youre not enjoying the B.Tech curriculum, you should opt for an MBA which offers a great future, particularly with your computer science background. The best course of action would be to complete your B.Tech, acquire some work experience and then enrol in an MBA programme. Ill be completing my Plus Two (science) next year and want to make a career in biotechnology. Please advise. Neelam Kothari, Bangalore Since biotechnology is a knowledge intensive industry, career opportunities are mainly in research and development, teaching and consulting. You could chart out a career path by enroling in a B.Tech programme or an integrated five-year M.Sc programme in biotechnology after class XII. Another option is to sign up for a bachelors degree in biotech, followed by M.Sc in the subject. Graduation from a reputed institution and a consistently good academic record will attract good job offers. The biotech industry offers a variety of employment options in the agriculture, food, waste management, environment pollution control, health and medical sciences sectors. Please suggest colleges/universities which offer an MBA in agri-business management. Vijay Kelkar, Pune Institutions offering an MBA in agri-business management or equivalent programmes include: Institute of Rural Management, Anand (www.irma.ac.in); College of Agri-Business Management, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (www.cabm.ac.in); Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management, Pune (www.vamnicom. org); Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (www.iimahd.ernet.in/pgpabm); IIM Lucknow (www.iiml.ac.in); Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune (www.siib.ac.in); National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad (www.manage.gov.in); Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bangalore (www.iipmb.edu.in); Garware Institute of Career Education and Development, University of Mumbai, Kalina Campus, Mumbai (www.mu.ac.in/garware/pgagri.html). Moreover a certified analyst diploma programme in global commodity markets and derivatives is offered at the Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development by the FT Knowledge Management Company Ltd (www.ftkmc.com) in association with the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited. A three-month diploma in commodities markets is also offered jointly by the Multi Commodity Exchange of India, FT Knowledge Management Company and Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai (www.mcxindia.com). After graduating next year, I want to enrol in a postgraduate course in human resource development. Please recommend some reputed business schools and universities. Neeta Fonseca, Panjim Well-reputed schools for HRD are TISS (Mumbai); XLRI (Jamshed-pur); MDI (Gurgaon); IISWBM (Kolkata) and UBS (Chandigarh). Im keen on a career as an airline pilot. What are the eligibility requirements? Can you also suggest institutes offering training programmes? Sunil Puri, New Delhi You need to have completed Plus Two with physics and mathematics, and possess a PPL (private pilots licence) with flying experience of at least 60 hours including three hours solo in the past three years, to qualify for admission into the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA), Rae Bareli 229310, the premier flying school in the country administered by the…