All about charting the right career path

Source: thehindu.com

Scores of engineering aspirants seeking professional guidance on selection of a course and college had their questions answered at The Hindu EDGE Career Counselling 2019 held at The Institution of Engineers, Khairatabad, on Sunday.

The aspirants, along with their parents and guardians, attended the counselling session where experts suggested parameters which can be used to select a college, course, career prospects and nature of work in different engineering streams.

Experts’ panel

The clutch of experts at the session comprised JNTU-Hyderabad registrar N. Yadaiah, also the TS-EAMCET convenor; V. Uma Maheshwar, mechanical engineering professor and placement officer of OU College of Engineering (OUCE); S. Krishna Rao, professor and head of civil engineering department at Vignana Bharati Institute of Technology; A. Gopal Sharma, professor and head of electronics and communication department, Stanley College of Engineering and Technology for Women; K. Bhanu Sankara Rao, Pratt and Whitney Chair Professor, University of Hyderabad and B.P. Padala, chairman, Roots Institutions.

At the outset, Mr. Yadaiah walked the aspirants through the EAMCET counselling procedure and later spoke at length about a popularly-asked question — how to select a college. He listed out the parameters — National Institute Ranking Framework’s ranking of institutes, National Assessment and Accreditation Council’s assessment, kind of companies that visit a college to recruit students, faculty, laboratory facilities and research centres at a particular institute.

He also advised the youngsters and their parents to visit the colleges they are considering getting into.

“When it comes to the selection of a branch, a candidate has to be sure of his/her interest in that subject. I appeal to all parents not to pressurise their wards,” Mr. Yadaiah said.

Guiding girl students

Another common question posed at the session was whether female students can choose mechanical engineering and civil engineering courses, and if companies hesitate to recruit girls who pursue such courses. In reply, OUCE placement officer Mr. Uma Maheshwar said corporate companies do not differentiate between men and women during recruitment.

The experts also explained job prospects in circuit courses and core courses. They said that those who graduate in mechanical, civil or electrical engineering courses have an option of applying for jobs in public sector units too.

“A student opting circuit courses like EC, CSE, EEE and IT is expected to work in inter-disciplinary areas. If opting for electronics and communications engineering or computer science engineering, you should have good programming skills,” Prof. Gopal Sharma said.

To groom oneself into a thorough professional, Mr. Uma Maheshwar said, one has to focus on learning applications of concepts of the course that they choose to pursue, be a self learner, interact and network with faculty and alumni, improve soft skills, be a team player and organise many events at college.

“One should update oneself on global and national current affairs as well as business trends. And it’s also important be ethical and social,” he advised.