Management course choice after civil engineering

Pervin Malhotra     

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Q. I am in BE final year (Civil engineering). I would prefer to specialise in the management of this field. Can you suggest some options for further study that can fetch me a well-paying job in management?— kuldeep virk

A. Other than a general MBA from a top B-school, you could specifically consider going in for a relevant Construction Management/Project Management programme instead.

Here are some colleges that offer Construction/Project Management that you can check out:

•  IIT Delhi’s Master’s in Construction Technology & Mgt gives more weightage to technical aspects of Construction.
• National Institute of Construction Management & Research www.nicmar.ac.in

Programmes are offered at their campus in Pune, Hyderabad, Goa and Indore.

• NICMAR gives more weightage to the Managerial aspects of Construction.
• RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University (UGC Approved)

An industry-led initiative, and supported by leading employers & M/o Urban Development, RICS offers several programmes:

MBA in Real Estate & Urban Infrastructure, 

MBA in Construction Project Management,

MBA in Construction Economics & Quantity Surveying, MBA in Infrastructure Management etc

• Global Institute of Construction Management & Research (GICMAR)

Post Graduate Diploma in some courses (AICTE approved)

• Maharashtra Institute of Technology - Pune

Post Graduate Diploma in Project & Construction Mgt.

They’re all equally good from the career point of view. Some of these also include computer-aided programmes in their syllabus. Civil engineers and architects are eligible for this course.

Check out luxury brand management 

Q. After working in the front office of a leading hotel for nearly four years, I’m now looking at changing my profile. I do have an option to move to sales but I think a PG course may enable me to start off at a higher level. Should I go in for an MBA (dread the thought of preparing and taking the CAT)? Or would you suggest some other specialised course that I could pursue? — karishma vij

A. Almost every industry, from automobiles to fashion, to tourism and hospitality, is looking to carve its own niche in the luxury sector.

This, in turn fuels the need for well-trained and niche-focused professionals.

With people increasingly desiring exotic experiences, luxury branding in hospitality management has become imperative.

A great deal of creativity is required to figure out what makes a customer feel delighted, pampered and “special”.

To translate this into a product offering, you need to conduct market research for the target products/services, device multimedia marketing campaigns, collaborate with brand designers, manage brand budgets and resources, finalise strategies to communicate the exclusive offering to prospective customers, and most of all, supervise marketing staff and assignments —  all of which will be covered in a good luxury brand management programme (some of which can be pursued alongside your job.

Be prepared: a career in luxury branding & marketing in the hospitality sector could involve considerable international travel, and meeting people from culturally diverse backgrounds. Salaries can also be good, and can lead to even better packages if you can deliver quality services on a consistent basis to delight the customers. 

Scope and prospects in hydrology

Q. I am pursuing civil engineering. Could you please tell me something about hydrological engineering and what it takes to pursue a career in this field? — jaskeerat singh chahal

A. As you may have briefly gathered from your civil engineering curriculum, this branch of engineering focuses on studying the occurrence, movement, quality and properties of water that’s collected from the earth.

Hydrologists apply scientific theories to resolve water-related issues by calculating and auditing water resource systems and analysing the quality of water and where it can be used best.

Besides a keen interest in science, a career in hydrology demands keen observation skills, long hours of work and high patience levels. Astute judgement and decision-making skills also come handy while analysing and testing water bodies.

A master’s in Hydrology will enable you to work with the Central Water Commission, the National Institute of Hydrology, municipal water divisions, state water resources and irrigation departments, and other private hydropower companies. Starting salaries range from Rs 25,000-Rs 50,000 p.m.

Besides IIT Roorkee’s department of Hydrology and Bharath Engineering College, Chennai (Affiliated to Bharath University) which offer an MTech in Hydrology, you could look at a related course: MTech in Water Resources Engineering which is offered at the following institutes:

• IIT – Delhi
• Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), National Institute of Technology (NIT – Rourkela),
• M.D.S Kissan Technical Institute, Rewari 
• Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture Technology & Sciences, Allahabad
• Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), Jaipur

And besides these, 40+ engineering colleges offer MSc in Hydrology in the country.

Students of Agricultural Technology who wish to apply engineering solutions to emerging global environmental problems in water resources can specialise in irrigation, drainage, groundwater quality, water table management, animal waste management, sustainable agricultural production systems and modelling of hydrologic systems.