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Merchant Navy
As the name suggests, it’s related to the seas. Movement of men and material on ships has gone on for centuries. Several countries were discovered thanks to adventurous sailors (remember Columbus?). This paved way for trade in many commodities among countries by merchants, via the sea-route.
Present day merchant navy activities cover exactly these – transportation of men and material through cargo liners, tankers, passenger vehicles or cruise liners. Movement of material from one country to another through ships is quite significant in international trade nowadays. Cruise liners are popular among tourists.
For whom?A career in merchant navy is attractive for those who like traveling, are not prone to sea-sickness and are ready to spend long time away from their families.
Major jobs in Merchant Navy:
Cadets, who are given training in navigation, lifesaving, meteorology
Radio Officers who handle communication with the outside world from within the ship
Nautical Surveyors & Advisors
Engineers who take care of electro-mechanical devices and machines
Background: For cadets, candidates must have passed 10+2.For Engineers, degree in mechanical or electrical engineering is required.
Specialized Course
Marine Engineering course is available in some Indian Institutes of Technology, entry into which is through a nationwide Joint Entrance Exam.
SpinoffsA career in Merchant Navy provides an excellent opportunity to travel round the world. Besides sight-seeing, it provides exposure to various lifestyles and cultures. This provides a chance to make new friends, for social and professional networking.
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Library Science
With sources of knowledge multiplying through books, libraries serve as a single-point reference center for books on varied topics. They help in widening one’s awareness on a range of subjects.
As we move into the Internet era, probably cyber cafes, where you access the Internet, are the modern equivalents of mobile, universal libraries.
But then they can’t replace the old physical libraries for the simple reasons that Internet access isn’t free and everyone isn’t computer literate. Moreover, specialized libraries save time in searching for the right book, which gives information in a given format (say a text-book). Libraries as we know them now may ultimately end up as support facilities in addition to Internet, but their need will remain.
Scope
Apart from educational institutions such as schools, colleges, universities and information Centers, libraries are common to research institutes as well. Apart from these, there are several general libraries set up by social organizations, governments and municipal authorities which stock books and magazines on several topics.
A typical librarian’s job would be to catalog the books and be able to store and retrieve them whenever required. In addition to this, keeping stock of books issued and returned will also have to be done.
New look libraries:To keep up with emerging technologies, modern libraries will stock CDs, modems, PCs, scanners and copiers. Familiarity in using these would go a long way in helping present day librarians adapt to the latest requirements.
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Medical Transcription
Transcription refers to copying data or information provided orally or on tape to a written form. Medical transcription owes its origin to writing down patients’ medical history. Doctors talk their instructions into tapes; and these are transcribed by transcriptionists.
As the number of patients grew and the need for their healthcare increased, the volume of information grew correspondingly. Handling this transcription process began to be outsourced to professional agencies, to those who specialize in it.
Starting with outsourcing from within a country, it’s now progressed to giving contracts to overseas companies. If time zone differences are taken into account, this not only meant savings in cost but also time. Of late, many Indian companies have sprung up in this line to exploit the opportunity.
Requirements:
Good English language skills. This is a must, because the language spoken by doctors has to be perfectly understood, to be able to transcribe it.
Good knowledge of medical terms.
Fast typing skills, as the work has to be done on computers.
Understanding of phonetics, to decipher pronunciation by people of different countries.
Good listening skills, as half of the job is to listen to the tapes.
Comprehension ability, to be able to understand what’s being said.
A background in biological sciences is beneficial in understanding the terminology.
Major Jobs:Transcribers - Listen to the audio and convert into electronic documents.
Proof Readers – Those who check errors in English language as well as the medical terminology used in the typed reports. 99% accuracy is expected by clients.
Editors – Those who supervise the proof readers.
Scope
India enjoys several advantages such as the Time difference with European and US, relatively cheaper manpower and abundance of people with good English language skills, there is good scope for this profession here.
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Physiotherapy
Healthcare involves several support activities -- physiotherapy being one of them. A physiotherapist treats any malfunctions in muscles. Mostly, the therapy helps in speedy recovery of patients suffering from orthopedic problems, post-surgery recovery or after accidents.
Though anatomy and physiology seem the natural areas of study in this subject, other related topics include orthopedics, surgery and neurology. Strengthening of weak muscles and coordinating movements of body organs is done primarily through massage and specially designed exercises.
Improving mobility, relieving pain and minimizing physical disability are the main applications of physiotherapy. Most common cases where it’s applied are – Sclerosis (hardening of tissues), Cervical Spondylosis, nerve injuries, Arthritis, strokes and muscle pains. Therapeutic agents such as water, heat, ultrasonic waves, infrared rays, ultra-violet rays, laser therapy, electro-diagnosis and high frequency electricity are used during massage.
Scope
In hospitals, to enable patients’ speedy recovery.
Private physiotherapy centers, where regular, periodic treatment is given to patients, for maximum possible recovery of patients.
Sports training centers, to devise special exercises for speedy recovery of injured
Gymnasiums
Corporate fitness Centers
Qualities required
This profession calls for patience, as one has to deal with patients who are in pain and make them do exercises which may be physically uncomfortable to them.
Knowledge of human anatomy helps in effective physiotherapy treatment.
Awareness of specific exercises for different body organs.
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Medical Technologist
Another supporting activity in healthcare. A doctor prescribes tests to be undergone by patients in order to correctly diagnose the ailment. Technological advances have led to increasing use of machines in diagnosis.
A medical technologist handles the machinery and equipment involved in such tests. These equipments are mostly used in pathology and microbiology labs. Those trained in using the equipment are responsible for effectively carrying out the tests, giving accurate reports about the patients.
Training is given in handling X-ray machines, CT Scanner and other diagnostic tools.
Scope :
Hospitals
Clinics
Specialized diagnostic centers
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Designing
This is one specialized profession which offers an incredible range in terms of application – ranging from manufacturing industries to jewellery.
Requirements:Ability to perceive things visually. This is important, as the designs have to be put on paper, to portray how the product will look.
Creativity – the talent to come up with innovative ideas. Without this, new patterns and designs do not end up being radically different from the prevailing ones.
Imagination – to experiment with new concepts and ideas.
Good drawing and sketching skills.
Applications: Garments: in costume design, printing and textile design.Jewellery: lacquering (applying glossy varnish), cutting of stones & gems, polishing.Interior Designing: tastefully furnishing the interiors of a building.Products: designing new products that would appeal to customers. For example, in automobiles, designers spend a lot of time to come up with attractive looking, functional and innovative cars, scooters, bikes, etc.Furniture: Beautifully decorating homes, offices and institutions with unique designs.Fashion: coming up with trend-setting styles
Specialized Institute:National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
Some Specializations:Visual communicationProduct DesignsFabric & Garments
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Teaching
Imparting knowledge to students is the primary responsibility of a teacher. Besides this, teachers are also supposed to guide the students in developing their intellectual and other capabilities.
Raising literacy levels being a national priority, there’s always demand for teachers. Due to paucity of funds, the governments are not able to allocate required budgets to education. Private educational institutions fill the qualitative and quantitative gap in education. So, the demand for teachers would always be there as there’s a gap in educational supply-demand.
Skills required:Good communication, to present a subject in an interesting way. Ability to handle youngstersAn understanding of personalities to tackle students of different natures.
Scope:SchoolsCollegesUniversitiesResearch Institutes
Self-Employment:Taking TuitionsStarting TutorialsEstablishing Study Centers.
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Speech Therapy
Devoted to handling speech disorders. Special evaluation techniques and treatments have been devised to deal with disorders such as stuttering, stammering and lisping.
Giving this treatment enables those with speech disorders to overcome their inhibitions and indulge in conversation with others.
Treatment techniques:Using sign language – gestures replacing spoken wordsSound formation – training in forming sounds associated with different alphabets and words Lip reading
Scope:HospitalsClinicsSchools for deaf and dumbPrivate practice
Specialized Institution:All India Institute of Speech & Hearing, Mysore, Karnataka, offers courses at graduate and post-graduate level in speech therapy.
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Nursing
A profession which involves caring for fellow human beings’ health. After treatment by doctors, patients admitted in hospitals need time to recover their normal health. It is during this period that patients are in the care of nurses, of course under the supervision of doctors.
Nurses also care for patients, if required, when any medical treatment is being given. The responsibilities of a nurse include ensuring that medication is given as per the doctor’s instructions and monitoring the vitals of patients and call for the doctor’s intervention whenever needed.
Qualities required:Patience – needed to handle patients who may not be very cooperative
Sympathetic – when dealing with people as they respond better to a sympathetic way of treatmentCool-headed – to tackle very anxious patients and their relativesMild-mannered – to handle treatment in a courteous way
Specializations:
Neurology (nerve systems)Cardiac care (heart care)Operation Theatre (surgeries)ChildcarePublic HealthObstetrics (childbirth)GynaecologyGeriatrics (care of old people)
Scope:Government hospitalsClinicsPrivate hospitalsPrivate personalized serviceOverseas
With widespread growth in the number of hospitals – general, speciality, superspeciality -- there is good employment potential.
Gender
Predominantly ladies are preferred for this profession.
Timings
Because hospitals work round the clock, there is requirement of doctors and nurses during night time also. People desirous of making a career in nursing should be willing to work in shifts – either morning or afternoon or night.
Medicine (MBBS)
With advance of civilization, scientific ways of treating diseases evolved and thus a structured study of medicine was born. Prospective doctors undergo this course before they are allowed to treat patients.
A detailed study of human anatomy and the use of drugs to cure different ailments forms the course material studied in MBBS. Theory and practical exposure is given to students. With technological advancements, newer techniques of treatment and new drugs are being developed.
Specializations:Radiology – diagnosis of disorders through X-Rays
Psychiatry – study and treatment of mental diseases
Obstetrics – dealing with child birth
Surgery – treatment by cutting or manipulating body parts
Orthopaedics – handling deformities in bones or muscles
Pathology – study of diseases
Gynaecology – study of female reproductive system
Pediatrics – study of children’s diseases
Ophthalmology – study of eye and its diseases
Scope:
Government hospitals
Clinics
Private corporate hospitals
Private practice
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