Counselling

Question 1: My daughter is studying B. Tech in Biotech at Hyderabad. I do not know the future of this subject and job possibilities. Do you think she should continue with this subject or it is better to switch over to some other one? Please guide me.

Answer: It depends on the long term planning and goal of career and the financial status of a family. In general longer duration of study (Ph.D or Post Doctoral Fellowship) is required to get established in a biotechnological area. If you have such plans and you are ready to provide her that time then biotech is fine. The rest of the thing required is her devotion towards her study. If such is not the scenario then she can shift to MBA or other such courses. The present opportunity scenario is not much good for these courses at undergraduate level, but still there will be a requirement in near future again. Do not expect short term gains in the areas of Biotech. If you reach the height of the academics in Biotech like Ph.D. or Post doc in premier institutes many national labs and academic institutions like IITs are looking forward to absorb them.

Question 2: I am studying B.Sc. (BiPC). I want to study M.Sc. Chemistry. Is it better to go for General Chemistry or Organic Chemistry? What is the difference between these tow subjects?

Answer: To keep your options open, its better to choose general chemistry but demand for organic chemistry is there in pharmaceutical sector. So if you are targeting a career in such sector then you can opt for Organic Chemistry. It is difficult to get a job with M.Sc. and you need not wait if you complete Ph.D. in Synthetic Chemistry or related to Organic Chemistry.

Question 3: I have completed my 12th standard. How to become a scientist in Biology? I want to know about the courses and the best colleges in India to study that course?

Answer: Achieving a scientific career requires patience, diligence and perseverance. So to become a scientist you have to finish your undergraduation, graduation followed by a Ph.D and later on Post Docs. Your chances will be better if you complete all these courses from reputed colleges. The scenario of Biology two decades back is different from the present. Many opportunities are there for qualified biologist. For your information many Physics, Chemistry and other related areas scientists are switching towards Biology since grand challenging problems in Biology are there with more and much funding from government and corporate research agencies. Many scientific positions are available in many national labs in India and looking for good candidates with excellent scientific background.

Question 1: I am studying 2nd year M.Sc. (Medicinal Chemistry). I am willing to do my Ph.D. in USA. I have passed in my 10th class, Intermediate and Degree with 82, 85 and 78 percentage of marks respectively. I have studied Microbiology, Biochemistry and Chemistry in my graduation. In M.Sc. first year, I got 62 percentage. Now, I am preparing for GRE and IELTS. Please suggest me the universities in USA related to my subject? Which universities are offering Ph.D. with financial aid. What about curriculum?

Answer: Based on the GRE score (1200+) you can select any University and they provide stipend around USD 1200 per month. Waiving of tuition fee depends on the University policy. This will vary from candidate to candidate. Remember one point that you must get good GRE score to get admission into good universities. Otherwise your admission and funding will be effected. There are so many banks in India offering funding for abroad education. Almost all leading Public Sector Banks have schemes to finance meritorious candidates for their higher education in foreign countries. You can check in ‘Education Loans’ section of this blog for more information on this topic.

Question 2: I want to do M. Pharmacy. What will be the admission criteria? Shall I write any M. Pharm Entrance or should write GATE?

Answer: GATE score is always preferable and helpful to take admission in any NIPER or similar level national institute. If you won’t perform much better in GATE then you can try out the other option that is looking for M. Pharm in other institutes. With valid GATE score you can try for Singapore and other South East Asian countries also, as it is valid in their admission system.

Question 3: I am studying M.Sc. Environmental Science. Please suggest a good topic for my project?

Answer: A good project depends on the infrastructure facility available in the lab and area and expertise of the supervisor. Please look in to the reputed journals available in Environmental science and discuss with your guide about the feasibility of the areas reported. From commercial Environmental subject point of view you can select Bioremediation that will help in future since aquatic pollution is hot topic now. You can also choose a topic related to climate change that is another demanding topic of today, for instance, recently organized Copenhagen Summit.