Career Hotline
Go in for reputed institute
Pervin Malhotra

Q Could you please tell me something about optometry and the nature of work in this field? What is the difference between ophthalmology and optometry?

— Mahua Roy

A Often confused with an ophthalmologist, an optometrist (also known as ophthalmic technician) is a professionally qualified primary eyecare provider - akin to your family doctor for eyes. In India optometrists usually assist ophthalmologists or recommend patients to specialists for secondary and tertiary treatment. An optometrist tests the visual acuity and prescribes corrective lenses. Adept at handling eye-testing equipment to examine a person’s vision, the optometrist also fabricates lenses to prescribed specifications and fits them and other low-vision aids to suit individual requirements. High-precision machines are used to polish and harden lenses.

With an increasing aged population and the growing incidence of macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy - optometrists can be an important part of the treatment. Besides the need for spectacles and contact lenses, low vision aids and co-management of eye disorders spells good news for optometry as a profession.

Optometrists usually work in eye hospitals, clinics and opticians’ outlets or with multinational vision care companies. You may also specialise in particular types of vision disorders (i.e. squints, colour blindness). After gaining experience in a private establishment or with a lens manufacturer, you can open your own business.

You will be surprised to know that optometry features among the top 10 income-earning professions in the US. This 700-year old profession is perhaps one of the nearly extinct breeds of jobs that offer regular work hours. Flexibility in practice and myriad choices in geographic location form the icing on the cake.

Just look at the figures: Every third blind person in the world lives in India, 80 per cent of which can be ascribed to preventive blindness (cataract, refractive error), underscoring the need for timely detection and treatment. Whereas, India needs at least 2 lakh optometrists, the figure stands at a measly 5,000. Approximately 400-odd students pass out of various institutes p.a.

Moreover, with most people over 40 (and even earlier) requiring glasses/lenses, a skilled and experienced optometrist is always in demand. Faced with rising incidents of unqualified optometrists prescribing lenses in two-bit optical shops, of late there has been a demand for some sort of regularisation to prevent malpractice. Besides, most of the courses are still not recognised by the Ministry of Health. So make sure you enroll into a reputed institute.

Have the ability to write well

Q I am interested in making my career in web content development. What are the skills required for this?

— Kranti Saxena

A A web content developer/creator prepares information, articles and features that go onto a website as per the requirement of the client. Close on the heels of the BPO industry, outsourced web content development is emerging as one of the biggest employers in the field of offshored work.

Depending on the nature of the website or portal, specialist knowledge of a field/subject may be required but the key skills needed are: The ability to write well as well as edit, re-write or polish contributions from other writers, and an ability to think of new and innovative features and columns for the website.

A few general guidelines for all budding web writers like you: Remember, writing on the web is somewhat different from writing for print. It’s best to present the information in easy-to-digest chunks that allow browsers to dive straight in and locate what they require.

A content developer coordinates with the web designer and other members of the editorial team, meets people and keeps up-to-date with relevant news and developments.

Plenty of such opportunities exist in media, web development and online publishing firms. Check out some of the leading jobsites. Some big companies you could possibly approach are NIIT, Genpact, Lionbridge, TIS and TCS.

There is no tested specialist course for becoming a content developer. A college degree with fluency in writing, and preferably some experience at the copydesk or reporting in any media would suffice. Thus, a course in linguistics, journalism, mass communication, English, etc. is a good bet. Specialist knowledge as of law or technology would be an asset if you are creating content for a legal or technical website. Familiarity with computer basics is mandatory.

Trust me, this field is booming and job opportunities abound. You can start out as a content writer or ID to a senior ID, analyst and finally specialist.

Waiting to be tapped

Q What are the opportunities in healthcare sector for someone with an IT background? What are the future prospects of this sector?

A Of the top 30 occupations currently, 50per cent are health-related. Globally healthcare is a $ 4.5-trillion industry, simply waiting to be tapped in India. This sector will account for 7 per cent of the GDP within the next 10 years.

Projected to employ 9 million people in the next decade, there is an explosion of employment opportunities in the health sector even now.

For someone with an IT background the best place to look for job openings is in healthcare BPOs. Outsourcing in the healthcare sector has come a long way — from low-end claims processing and medical transcription to medical analytics and clinical processing.

The good news for IT professionals is that now the US healthcare industry outsources not only its medical billing and insurance processes to India, but also data analysis and software development. Although Indian healthcare BPOs are still in the nascent stage, medical services outsourcing from the US has witnessed a CAGR of 150 per cent.

The medical outsourcing industry estimated at about $300 million has four clients — the provider (hospitals and physicians) involving medical billing and raising claims worth $30-40 million, the payer (health insurance companies) which mainly involves outsourced data entry work worth $100-105 million, the pharmaceutical companies and finally the healthcare IT companies. You can find your niche in the latter. For example, IT majors like Wipro’s Healthcare division has been handling a variety of KPO work like consultancy, technology management, claims processing, etc.

Medical transcription worth $100 million and the new KPO — medical analytics (analyzing medical data) are the other big growth areas you could venture into.

Public management course IIM-A offers mid-career options

Q I am working with an NGO which is partnering with government in development projects. I am at a fairly senior post. But of late I have been feeling that I need to add to my qualifications to boost my career prospects. If I apply for IIM’s public policy programme do I need to take the CAT? Also could you please give me the details about the programme.

— Randhir Senapati

A The IIM-Ahmedabad offers a rigorous one-year full-time residential programme in public management and policy, which focuses on public policy formulation and implementation, financial regulation, infrastructure development and public enterprise management.

This programme is ideally suited for bright, motivated mid-career civil servants, managers, administrators, and NGO professionals aspiring for leadership positions in management and administration. Given your background, it will definitely serve as an excellent add-on for enhancing your career prospects.

The best part is the international exchange component designed to give an exposure to work practices abroad. It will help you understand the macro-economic fundas and do a SWOT analysis of the host country in terms of governance and policy. This is essential if India is to emerge as a key player in the context of globalisation. Potential partners are departments / schools of Carnegie Mellon University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Ohio State University, University of Geneva and University of Texas at Austin.

And yes, you need a valid GMAT / GRE / CAT or the IIM’s specially designed test score plus work experience of seven or more years to apply for this programme. For details log onto www.iimahd.ernet.in

The IIM, Bangalore, (www.iimb.ernet.in) also offers a two-year, full-time PGP in public policy and management.

Prospects in visual communication

Q I am studying in class XII. What does a course in visual communication offer in terms of prospects?

— Ragini Mehra

A Visual communication design is all about presenting information, whether printed on paper, presented on a screen or displayed at an exhibition.

Graduates in visual communication are employed by design consultants, book and magazine publishers, printers, advertising agencies and as in-house designers for large corporations and state bodies.

Opportunities for these specialists also exist in the fields of television and film design, multimedia, exhibition and display.

The writer is a noted career consultant