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Q I am interested in becoming a fashion designer and a musician. Can I pursue both careers simultaneously? Please advise. — Farhad Ahmed A Although both careers demand a high degree of creativity and aesthetics, fashion designing and music are entirely different fields. Ultimately, you’ll have to choose between them as there’s little synergy between the two. Each has its own intricacies and ‘grammar’ which need a high degree of patience, practice and dedication to achieve any measurable level of success. However, if you still wish to have your cake and eat it too, you can opt for a career in fashion design and settle for music as a hobby on the side. Or vice-versa. Believe me, unless you are exceptionally talented, you may find it impossible to do equal justice and devote adequate time and energy to both simultaneously. That said, as a multi-dimensional human being, you don’t have to confine your interests or limit them to your bread-and-butter profession. By all means dabble in whatever catches your fancy. Who knows given sufficient talent and interest, your hobby may well develop into a rewarding full-fledged career in the future! What's in a name, a college is a college Q What is the difference between a school, a college and a university? I would like to do my graduation in the US but I am thoroughly confused by the terminology. Can I do a Master’s there on the same visa? What is an academic year? — Minal Parekh A In many countries a college is a secondary school and is very different than a university. In the United States, however, colleges and universities are quite similar. Often, both colleges and universities are referred to as "schools." Generally, both colleges and universities in the US are four-year institutions that offer a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree. This is commonly known as an undergraduate or bachelor's degree. The main difference is that most universities also offer a higher level of study after you complete your bachelor's degree — resulting in a master's degree or doctorate. What confuses many international students is that Americans use the words "school," "college" and "university" interchangeably in conversation. For example, someone may ask, "Where do you go to school?" In this case, they simply want to know what university you are attending. Adding to the confusion, universities are often divided up into sections that are referred to as "colleges." The University of Idaho, for example, is organised into ten colleges, which include the College of Engineering, the College of Law and the College of Agriculture. No matter which of these colleges you attend, your degree will be issued by the university. You will also hear the word "college" when people discuss two-year colleges. These colleges (also called community colleges or junior colleges) offer a degree called an associate degree. Many international students choose to get this type of degree and then transfer to a four-year college or university to study two more years to earn a bachelor's degree. You will want to pay close attention when you read or hear information about a school, college or university, but recognise that all the institutions share the same basic principle of providing a challenging and stimulating place to study and earn a degree. By the way, the bachelor’s degree which we commonly term as a graduate degree in India is the American undergraduate degree. When they talk of graduate degrees, what they are referring to is a master’s or our postgraduate degree. So, make sure you are speaking the same language. If you wish to go in for further studies in the US, you will have to either extend your student status or obtain a fresh student visa. Each college and university determines its own academic year, so this will vary depending on where you study. The academic year in the US usually begins in late August or early September and continues through May or June. Each year is divided into "terms." Typically, a school will have either two terms per academic year (semesters), three terms (trimesters) or four terms (quarters). Many schools divide the calendar year into four "quarters", and then designate three of those quarters (usually fall, winter, and spring) as the "academic year." Career in insurance worth the risk
— Loveena Jha A An Executive PGDM is a full time general management programme of at least 15 months' duration (12 months on campus and 3 months field-based dissertation) that is meant for executives. If such a programme is sector or function specific, the parenthesis will denote the focus (as in the case of PGDM). An Executive PGDM programme must have equivalent of 700 contact hours and 100 hours of field-based projects, laboratory work or organisation-based assignments. Fifty per cent of sector-specific courses (i.e. approx 350 contact hours) must be devoted to the sector-specific course content. Eligibility for admission is any recognised bachelor’s degree in any discipline of minimum 3 years' duration and at least 5 years' of relevant managerial/ supervisory experience. Engineering prospects Q I am a student of Government Polytechnic, Bareilly. I am doing a diploma in mechanical engg (auto). I want to do a BE course but I have no knowledge about it. Please give me information regarding this. — Jitender Dhoundiyal A Hundreds of engineering colleges offer lateral entry directly to the second year BE/BTech programmes to diploma-holders. For many of these colleges, however, domicile conditions apply i.e., you have to be a resident of that particular state. Check with colleges affiliated with UP Technical University or University of Lucknow. If you are employed, you can either do a part-time, 4-year BE from an engineering college or acquire a BS degree by distance mode from Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Distance Learning Programme Division, Pilani (www.bitspilani.ac.in). Opt for the Associateship of the Institution of Engineers (India) (www.ieindia.org). AMIE (Sections A & B taken together are equivalent to BE/BTech both for the purpose of employment as well as further study). Diploma-holders can directly enrol in level A and get an exemption of 4 papers. Foreign affairs Q Can you please tell us how safe it is to enroll for institutions offering foreign technical degrees in India? — Maninder Nijhawan A Depends on the course and on the institution. Attractive advertisements luring students in the name of foreign degrees are being issued by many institutions. If you wish to join any technical programme of any foreign university or institution operating in India either directly or in collaboration with an Indian institution, do confirm the status of its approval by AICTE. Joining unapproved programmes can lead to problems in terms of eligibility for employment, higher studies etc The AICTE has opened Student Facilitation Counters at their Headquarters in Delhi and at their Regional Offices in Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kanpur, Kolkata and Mumbai, where all required information about approved technical courses is available. Lateral entry Q I have completed DOEACC "A" level course from UPTEC. Now I would like to do MCA through correspondence. Is there any way to get lateral entry in MCA-II? Please tell me details of such universities. — Alka Patel A Incidentally, you can also take Direct Entry into the third semester (second year) of MSc (IT) programmes through distance education mode in some universities (Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, Sikkim Manipal University, or Karnataka State Open University, Mysore). Similarly, you can also get direct entry to the third semester of MCA at IGNOU or SMU under the lateral entry scheme, if you have cleared the “A” level exam and completed your project work. In which case you will complete your master’s in two years flat. The writer is a noted career consultant Please send in your query, preferably on a postcard, along with your full name, complete address and academic qualifications to: Editor, Jobs and Careers, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030, or at careers@tribunemail.com
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Q I am working in the insurance sector. I am now thinking of doing a 1-year Executive PG management programme because I cannot afford to take time off for a full two-year MBA programme. Are these courses recognised?
