A DATE WITH DESIGN Choosing a career in art and design no longer meansliving a life of aesthetic poverty. If you are aestheticallyblessed and you can summon your creative juices atwill then attractive careers are to be found whether inGraphic Designing (or visual communication as some ofthe fancier institutes prefer to call it), Fashion & TextileDesigning, Footwear & Leather Designing. Accessory,

Jewellery and ProductDesigning areas aresome of the otherareas that are seeinga lot of enthusiasmfrom students andindustry. Also on offerare viable careeroptions inphotography,animation,multimedia, and webdesigning. The listisn’t only limited tothe above mentionedfew. A number of otherareas such as

Retailing, Beauty Care, Hairstyling and Make-up, RealEstate present wonderful opportunities to youngsterswho are willing to seize an opportunity in areas a littledifferent from the mainstream. It does involve a leap offaith and takes guts and self-confidence to commityourself. But given your options in mainstream coursesand career, you really don’t have much to lose.

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FRIDAY | APRIL 18 | 2014 11THE TRIBUNE GUIDE TO BEST COLLEGES Optional Course

Zubin Malhotra

“Everybody is a genius.But, if you judge a fish byits ability to climb a tree,it'll spend its whole lifebelieving that it is stupid."

— Albert Einstein

IT’S that time of the yearagain. The board examsare over — and that wasthe easy part. The reallyscary monster now rears

its head — the monster thatgoes by the name ‘What-will-you-do-after-ClassXII’. This monster isknown to attack all school-leaving 18-year olds. Itespecially causes sleeplessnights, heart-stopping,stomach churning frightand panic among those whoare academically weak. The‘mob’ (relatives, neigh-bours, friends) that accom-panies this monster, utterthe same soul crushingrefrain — ‘no 90 per cent,no hope…’

But like in the moviesthere always is an anti-dote/cure for even the mostwicked villain. Let’s take alook. But before that aquick, much needed pep-talk. Board results are notalways a true mirror of astudent’s abilities. Thesecan be very unpredictableat times. Your school-leav-ing marks are certainlyNOT a measure of futuresuccess. Marks do notmeasure your ability, andare certainly not a measureof you as a person. Yourmarks gauge (narrowly)your ability to learn, assim-ilate and reproduce, in avery specific manner, theprescribed syllabus.

While succeeding inschool or college is oftenabout getting good marks,success in life is all aboutlife skills, how you react intough situations, yourgumption, drive and a littlenudge from lady luck.

History is replete withinstances of those whorefused to get cowed downby temporary setbacks orfailure, including thegreats like Einstein or Edi-son who failed severalhundred times before suc-ceeding finally. Remem-ber what Edmund Hillarysaid after climbing Mt.Everest: “It’s not themountain we conquer, butourselves”. So put yourheartbreak behind you,learn from the situationand move ahead. There aremany more mountains toconquer.

The good news is thatthere are literally hundredsof careers and opportuni-ties you can target acrosssectors even with your not-so-great marks. This is notto suggest that there is nostudying involved in them.There is.

This is also not to suggestthat your board marksaren’t considered duringadmissions. They will be,but these are not the solecriterion.

This is also not to suggestthat these are “easy”careers. They are not (infact be prepared to have tocompensate for your aca-demic performance by youron-job performance).

Here’s a list of coursesand careers where yourskills, personality, non-aca-demic strengths are themajor determinants of success.

Smiles and serviceThis industry is not lookingfor academic whiz-kids. Itwants well-rounded indi-viduals with a pleasing per-sonality and an ability towork well in teams. Astrong-work ethic andbeing stickler for routinesand order is a must.

Admission to Hotel Man-agement courses is usuallybased on an entrance exam,group discussion and inter-view. Also, look at innova-tive programmes such asSTEP (Oberoi Centre forLearning and Develop-ment) and the Welcomle-gionaire Programme (Wel-comgroup ManagementInstitute).

Opportunities in the Trav-el and Tourism sectoraren’t limited to cabincrews, ticketing agents andtour guides. Requirementsfor ground staff, flightoperation managers, andairport management per-sonnel are already startingto see an uptick as travelvolumes increase. TourismBoards of various states arelooking to market them-selves better. Discerningtravellers are increasinglylooking towards TravelConsultants to customisetheir travel and holidayexperience to their specificrequirements.

Happy sailingSail the high seas and trav-el the world — all whileplaying a role in how 90 percent of international worldtrade is transported: byship. Those from the sci-ence stream (PCM) with aminimum 60 per cent (55per cent in case of Diplomain Nautical Science) are eli-gible to enrol for a BScNautical Science courseand embark on a career inthe Navigation branchwhere you will start out as adeck cadet.

Organise and riseThe MICE sector — Meet-ings, Incentives, Confer-ences and Exhibitions — isgrowing by leaps andbounds. Add to this thedemand generated by wed-dings, sporting events

(think IPL, and IPLinspired leagues for hock-ey, badminton, football,boxing), concerts, awardsfunctions, media con-claves, etc. The industrysize is pegged around~3000 crore and clocking arobust 25 per cent year-on-year growth. Ingredients for success:Good teamwork and peopleskills, organisational abili-ty, willingness to roll upyour sleeves and put inhard work and long, odd-hours. Getting into thisfield is more about experi-ence than education. Startout by volunteering forevent management compa-nies during big events andby the time you finish col-lege (preferably by distancemode) you’ll have three

years of experience and joboffers in hand!

Action packedTV production incorporatesmultiple tasks — frommanaging the entire pro-duction process to ensuringthat the programme ismade within the stipulatedbudget and time. The workincludes co-ordinating withother departments to selectthe cast, clear scripts andco-ordinate the use of pro-duction facilities such asstudios, cameras, lightingetc. It also includes super-vising the production staffand the editing depart-ment to ensure quality ofproduction and guestcoordination.Requirements to succeed:High energy levels, good

people skills, creativity,technical knowledge.

Right strategyBefore enrolling in acourse, do, however, makesure that you have an over-riding interest in the fieldcoupled with the aptitudefor it. Before throwing your-self into it headlong, findout as much as you canabout its scope, returns, etc.Browse the Internet andspeak to people who arepursuing those careers toget an actual first-hand low-down on what it entails andwhat to expect.

Another approach couldbe to pursue a bachelor’sdegree via correspondenceor distance mode andalongside pursue job-ori-ented, skill developingcourses from polytechnicsor certifications from pro-fessional bodies. These areavailable for everythingfrom technical areas tocourses in computers,designing, accounting, ani-

mation, hospitality, etc.If you have a particular

course in mind that youwish to pursue, stick to thatplan, even if you have tochange cities. Finally,remember that it is yourperformance that will beconsidered and not theinstitute from which youcome. Real-life stories ofprofessionals and entrepre-neurs often reveal that theirsuccess has no link to a spe-cific academic institutionbut, rather, to their overallperformance and ability tomake the most of everyopportunity. The truth isthat an institution per sehas almost no influence onparameters like future hap-piness, job satisfaction oreven income and firstsalaries.

Further, it is important torealise that the first degreeis not the end of the road,but just the beginning of along journey.

— The writer is Carer Counsellor, Career Guidance India

A low score in board exams is no reason to be discouraged. Accept it gracefully, learn from the mistakes and move onby choosing courses and careers where your skills, personality and non-academic strengths are major determinantsof success rather than your board exam marks

Score a Point

LOW MARKS CAN MAKE YOU THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT CAREER CHOICE

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