Career Hotline
Heading into HR
Pervin Malhotra

Q I am doing my BA in Economics and am very interested in working as an HR professional? Is it difficult to get a job in this line? Can you guide me on this? Can you refer some institutes where I can specialise in HR?

— Loveena Sahni

A Human resource has come a long way from being a mere support function to emerging as the key capital or raw material for most companies in the information age. With a degree in HR you can work as a HR manager, employee relations manager, labour and welfare officer or industrial relations and training manager in large industrial and business organisations, BPOs, government undertakings, factories, mines, plantations, hospitals, hotels, banks and other financial institutions and other organisations that have a large workforce.

In fact, there is a shortage of HR professionals in India. In comparison to the increasing number of jobs every year, the number of HR professionals seems miniscule. Experts say that India would require 28,000 HR professionals next year. In 2007 alone, around 3, 37,000 employees are expected to join the software and services sector, for which around 4,500 HR professionals would be required. Although HR is a specialization offered in almost every B-school as part of the MBA programme, only a handful of institutes offer exclusive courses in HR of which the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), XLRI and SCMHRD are the most popular. These three institutes produce around 200 professionals each year.

Currently the average compensation for an entry level HR professional graduating from one of the premier institutes is in the range of Rs 8-10 lakh. This figure can also go up to Rs 14 lakh with 2-3 years of work experience.

Loan ranger

Q I am interested in a career in microfinance. Can you tell me how to start of in this field?

— K.P. Johri

A Microfinance provides micro-loans (Rs 500 to Rs 50,000) to the poor to start their own enterprises which could range from broom making to vegetable vending. This is a growing sector. After insurance, it is the most exciting field for youngsters in the financial sector

A microfinance professional is involved in various stages — from providing a blueprint to setting benchmarks for the repayment of loans. There are three ways in which you can contribute to this sector.

a) You can opt for a career in an MFIwhich operates in many parts of India or in a regional MFI..

b) You can work in the microfinance division of a bank.

c) You can work as a consultant to banks and microfinance institutions.

Fresh graduates with a social science background can work as field officers in MFIs while fresh MBAs can find middle management level jobs as branch or regional managers.

And the pay packages offered by large MFIs such as Share, SKS, Spandana and Basix, are fairly competitive. At the junior and middle levels, salaries match those of manufacturing firms.

A fresh MBA can earn anywhere between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 p.m. Those with some experience in MFIs are snapped up by the MF divisions of banks at six figure salaries.

Institutes: IRMA, XIMB, the Delhi School of Social Work and the Enterprise Development Institute, Ahmedabad amonst others, offer courses in rural management and microfinance. A two-year course in IRMA costs around Rs 2 .5 lakh. Even the UN offers a free online distance learning course in microfinance through its United Nations Capital Development Fund.

So, join the path laid by the latest Nobel Laureate from the subcontinent, Muhammad Yunus and contribute to this socially relevant sector.

Home in on realty

Q I am from Haryana and have dreams of becoming a real estate agent. But people say that the real estate boom is only happening in big cities. Can I fulfil my dream living in a small town?

— Hardyal Kadian

A What happens in big towns, eventually happens in smaller towns as well.

As the real estate industry experiences a boom, more and more towns — large and small, are being engulfed in infrastructure development activities.

Real estate growth over the last couple of years has spilt over from the metros to the state capitals and cities which enjoy a relatively better developed infrastructure and are able to support higher economic activity. States like Haryana, Punjab, UP, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan are emerging as the next boom real estate destinations. This has fueled the demand for real estate across all sectors like commercial, retail and residential. Prominent developers and retailers have accessed these markets to harness the captive purchasing power.

Even the Tier-III cities are now witnessing a spurt in this field as developers vie with each other to launch their projects. These cities have available land, low labour costs, more market transparency, improving quality of life and the changing profile of developers.

Tier-III hotspots include Kundli, Moradabad, Karnal, Agra and Mohali etc which have an industrial or tourism driven economy that is being leveraged for growth. All these townships are experiencing a significant hike in property prices. So you can definitely become a real estate agent, if that’s what you wish to do.

Back to biotech

Q I have done my Master’s in Bio-pharmaceutical Technology from Canada. My family and I are planning to return to India very soon. I want to know something about the scope of biotech in India. Is this sector adequately developed?

— M. P. Gupta

A India’s Rs.1000-crore biotech industry growing at the rate of 30-40 per cent every year has achieved ‘critical mass’ in certain areas such as bio-pharmaceuticals. India is the world’s largest producer of vaccines and may soon become the ‘bio-manufacturing’ and ‘clinical’ hub of the world. There is a huge demand for biotech professionals in bio-pharmaceutical companies, followed by manufacturers of agri-bio products, industrial enzymes, aquaculture and forestry products, in that order.

In fact, strapped with a severe shortage of people with specialised skills in developing new drugs, the industry is trying to bring in people of Indian origin from overseas like you to help domestic firms resolve the problem. Biotech institutes are being encouraged to address this issue.

Most biotechnologists work in pharmaceutical, chemical, medical, instrumentation, poultry, animal and plant breeding, seed, floriculture and plant tissue culture-based industries. They are also involved in planning, production and management of bio-process and chemical industries, and pollution control in manufacturing plants. Many others work in universities and research labs run by the government like ICMR, ICAR, CSIR, DBT, DST and TIFR besides R & D departments in the corporate sector. Employers include multinationals, large public and private sector corporations, pharma majors and research institutions and laboratories, both government and private, around the country. Even the State governments have drawn up plans to develop biotech-based industries.

Projected as the next big wave after IT, biotech is a "happening" field of work with excellent future prospects.

You can even look at managerial positions in large organisations, where a Master’s in Biotechnology would work in your favour — particularly if you have some work experience.

Colourful choice

Q What is chromotherapy? How can one study chromotherapy?

— Rita Chawla

A Derived from ‘chromo’, Greek for ‘colour’, chromotherapy is one of the alternative systems of medicine that uses the seven colours of the spectrum (violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red, abbreviated as VIBGYOR) to treat diseases. According to this system, the cause of any disease or disorder can be traced to the lack or excess of any colour in the human system, each colour associated with specific human qualities.

Chromotherapy is best used to supplement other natural therapies such as a nutritional diet, adequate rest and relaxation, exercise, yoga, naturopathy, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, etc.

Chromotherapy is taught as one of the subjects in the 5 ½-year Bachelor of Naturopathy & Yogic Sciences (BNYS) course. You can even opt for a diploma course.

Although career options are similar to those in any branch of alternative medicine — private practice, working in hospitals and teaching, they are relatively few, because this ancient form of therapy is neither well-known nor accepted by the common public.

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