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The science of better living

If you wish to carve a career that strikes equipoise between the home and the professional front, Home Science is the right option for you

The science of better living


Gauri Chhabra

If you wish to carve a career that strikes equipoise between the home and the professional front, Home Science is the right option for you

If you wish to get into a career that elevates you to "better living" and get an insight into the core of family ecosystem, Home Science is the right option for you. It would not only beef up your domestic skills like housekeeping, food preservation, stitching, interior decoration, cookery, home decoration, child rearing, but would also help you get into the minutest of details; right from what angle the chair should lean to comfort your back and what should be the ideal weight of a satchel that a school student can carry to what should be the width of the heel for comfortable walking. 

Changing Scope

When Home Science was initially introduced, the major areas of specialisation used to be Food and Nutrition, Human Development, Family Resource Management, Textiles and Clothing, Home Science Extension and Communication Management. Gradually the scope expanded to encompass many more disciplines. Food and Nutrition became Food Science and Nutrition expanded to include nutrition in critical care, maternal and child nutrition, geriatric nutrition, sports nutrition, clinical nutrition and public health nutrition. 

Getting in

For admission into BSc Home Science, you must have passed Plus II examination with science subjects such as biology, maths and chemistry. You can also choose to branch out into other fields like fashion designing, interior decoration etc. or go on for a master's in home science. There are more detailed courses in nutrition and dietetics, rural community extension, child development, family relations, textiles. There are degrees such as the MSc in Dietetics/Food and Nutrition, which are designed for the applied scientist, while you can also choose a career in textile designing or child-care or rural work. Most of the masters' programmes require a BSc. degree in home science.

Career opportunities

Home science opens a plethora of job opportunities that cut across sectors like Education, Healthcare, welfare organisations, FMCG, Tourism, Food and Beverages, Guidance and Counseling, Apparel and the like.

You may get into careers like:

Dietician 

As a dietician, you would plan and supervise the preparation of diets designed for patients, and work in hospitals, clinics, health care centers, wellness programmes, fitness, sports centers or own private clinics. You would be required to work closely with doctors and thereby you would develop expertise in a particular medical domain. Besides making the rounds of the respective wards, you would also check the quality and hygiene levels in the hospital kitchen. To excel, you must be in tune with the medical world.

Nutritionist 

A thin line of difference exists between the two -  as a Nutritionist you would work in the areas of food science, community development, research projects and Fast Moving Consumer Goods Companies (FMCG). Companies like Nestle, Unilever, Eli Lilly require nutritionists in two areas - Research & Development and Medical Marketing. The research could be in the field, desk or laboratory. You would majorly develop new product concept, interface with different department regulatory and give them technical support. In Medical Marketing, you would be required to organise scientific conferences, manage KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders), prepare manuals, flip charts, leaflets, posters for sales force and eventually train them. 

Advisor with Government bodies 

If you wish to get into the public sector as a nutritionist, you will be required to clear the interview for the post at Food & Nutrition Board (FNB) conducted by the UPSC. If recruited you jump on to become a class-I gazette officer. There are a sizeable number of nutritionists working as Advisor, Technical Advisor or Deputy Advisor. You may have to work with villagers/ illiterate masses and give them solutions which are practical for them to be actually implemented. You may get to work with missions like ICDS, NHRM etc. There are also organisations like Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Diabetic Foundation of India, Nutrition Foundation of India, and Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) which need BSc Home Science Graduates for research.

Entrepreneur 

If you are innovative and have the entrepreneurial spark in you, you can set up a confectionery, ice-cream parlor or a bakery. You may use innovation to evolve your own products which are more nutritive and different from the conventional ones and add variety at parties or at dining table.

You may also start your hobby centers where interested persons can learn Candle and Paper Flower Making, Preparation of Decorative Articles, Soft Toys, Rangoli, Jewellery Designing, Pot Making, Wall Painting etc.

Increase in the number of nuclear families has compelled many old people to stay in old age homes away from their families. Such old age homes could be managed by home science graduates where various kinds of activities could be arranged for old people with proper food services and psycho-emotional enrichment.

Field in focus: Home science

Expert Speak

Home science is a vast field, and there are many job opportunities for the students as Lecturer, Family & Marriage counselor, Dress designer, Nutritional counselor, Extension worker, etc. Today more and more students are opting for this field. Home science not only deals with food and nutrition security, resource management, apparel and textile designing, human development and extension education & communication management but there is a professional immersion in the last year in any one field. It gives 'hands on' experience to students who wish to pursue their career in that particular field. — Sukhjeet Kaur, Professor, Department of Extension Education and Communication. Management, PAU

Student Speak

In the days of Robotics Engineering and Space Science, when I expressed my desire to get into BSc Home Science, it was not very well taken by my family. I have been very passionate about the why of things and wanted to hone not only the skills of cooking, laundry, decoration and stitching but also wished to dive into the depths of topics. An important feature of BSc. Home Science programme is the RAWE (Rural Awareness Work Experience), which gives an opportunity to the students to visit the rural areas and spread  awareness about skill development and setting up small units to translate the entrepreneurial dreams of the students into reality. This programme made me understand Life in its real form. After completing my graduation I chose M.A Psychology. Now I am working as a career counselor and I feel that my knowledge of Home Science has given me an insight into the subtle nuances of Life and also enhanced my understanding of the students' psyche. — Dilpreet Kaur, a BSc Home Science Graduate

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