It happens many a times, a choice you made with passion and commitment turns to be not a so good one some time later. One decides to become an engineer although he knows that he is an artist at heart. There are many reasons for that. May be u chose to becone engineering due to peer pressure and parental demand or any such reasons. But when time comes for second thought, one has to use that ocassion in a very deliberate manner. One should think through the whole consequence of staying in a field in which he/she has no inherent interest or making a new choice. This is NO doubt very difficult situation for person involved and all people concerned and may even be painful. But mistakes must be amended. Here are some instances where a person showed a need for making a change in career direction.
- Just after the announcement of final year results last year (2009), a passed out student came and told me " Sir, suggest me a career in which there is no programming".
- Another student told " At the heart of hearts, I know that I neither enjoy programming nor I can make justice to any programming career. I am looking out elsewhere"
In this context, the above question " What are the options for a CSE student if he does not want to go for IT sector?" become very pertinent. Please comment here. I expect answers within a broad specutrum. At one extreme it could be change of entire career path and on the other hand to stay back and continue in IT sector. In the middle it may a field which harness IT knowledge of our students.
Dear Sir,
ReplyDeleteI did research on this long back and now i got a chance to share with others.
I am mentioning a few of them.
Being in IT sector:
There are lot of other job opportunities in IT sector apart from programming.
1)Testing: The career in testing does not require any core programming,The person should think as the end user for the software.
2)Business Analyst (BA): The career is for the Management graduates or having good experience in IT. Again there is no programming, The "BA" should gather the
business requirements from the client. Needs excellent the communication skills.
3)Pre sales: Engaging in the Pre-Sales and Business development, Needs excellent the communication skills.
Having IT knowledge:
1)Career in teaching: Pursuing the Masters degree (Mtech or so).
2)MBA (in IT,Finance,Human Resource, etc), Engineering graduates has high success rate!
Non IT Sector:
1)Indian Civil Services(IAS/IPS/...): It gives a immense pride to serve the country as a bureaucrat. Exams are highly competitive, and a General Merit aspirant can attempt maximum of 4 exams ,until the age of 30 years.
Thanks,
Sandeep
Dear Sir,
ReplyDeleteSandeep above has listed a lot of options and I'd say that is a pretty comprehensive list of options.
There are a other few I could suggest. Game industry is booming in India. Social gaming in particular. One of the high profile examples of this is Zapak.
A person has a choice of becoming a an Animator, Modelling artist, Visual effects artist, a concept artist etc.
One can take up professional certifications like MCSE, RHCE, CCNA/CCNP and can chalk out a career as a system administrator.
An MBA in finance, marketing or business ethics for that matter can throw you off on a very different track.
MBA in Management information systems, business analysis or project management allows you to stay into the IT stream though it reduces the focus on technicalities and adds a broader scope of the business and strategy around it.
Civil services exams are a different thing altogether and one should be prepared for a disciplined,very hard and gruelling study schedule before undertaking such an endeavor.
If someone is willing to be an entrepreneur, he/she could think about it, though I'd say it would not be wise to do that as you would do good to get some experience in the relevant industry before plunging into it.
IT Law is different thing altogether and that is a field that has immense potential today with all the cyber crimes being committed today.
Regards Abhishek
Sir i prefer Defense is the best option if one is very much interested in it rather than joining IT sector.
ReplyDeleteAs there are lots of oppurtunities now is defense sector with good pay scale.
And its the most adventures life with lots of challenges.
There is a high demand for Engineers in Defense now.
I had been for Service Selection Board(SSB) Allahabad after clearing Combined Defense Service Exam.
Army life is really superb and disciplined.
And Sir student who dont like programming. IT sector is not just sitting in front of PC and coding.
If u dont like programming go for Network Administration or Database Administration or Telecom Sector as BTS Engineer.
For this they need to get certified.
CCNA,MCSE there are many certification they can go for.
Advertising, media, management, interaction design, ITES are some options that come to mind..
ReplyDeleteThank you everybody for your invaluable suggestions. Can anyone please elaborate on Cyber Law as a career option? What are the requirements, apart from being a CSE graduate, to take it as a profession? Who are the potential recruiters for the cyber law experts?
ReplyDeleteSir,
ReplyDeleteTeaching seems to be a great option.All the IT knowledge you have gained definitely comes to use and at the same time you don't seem to have a monotonous life.That all depends on your passion.You will enjoy whatever you do and do it best only if you are passionate about your work. I have found my passion in teaching.
You could also be technical writers who do documentation for the software projects.Our principal MNS Rao's daughter ( I'm not sure which one Suprabhata or Parijatha)is working as a technical writer in the U.S.
If you are more interested in journalism you could try writing technical stuff for magazines.
Even after engineering you can pursue any career field you are interested in,be it Defense,Media,Teaching,Journalism,Management so on and so forth. You can do a small course or a masters on your field of interest and work where your heart is. :)
Sir,
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the above comments.
But my question why not IT?
For 4 years most of us(as a student) always dream of becoming an "Software Engineer", and suddenly with economic fall down (which is temporary) you are thinking of other options. ???
My advice will be set the priorities straight and work on them instead of looking for OPTIONS.
If I may be prudent, it is definitely not IT self that puts a student off, it is more of the pressure and the variety of subjects that one has to go through, even if they may or may not to be his/hers liking and get "clearing" marks in all of these, and all of this within 3 months of a semester, year after year, that does not allow a student to settle down and get a genuine interest in say programming or networking.
ReplyDeleteAs Michael Jordan has put it, "it is the interest that matters, dedication comes automatically later on" .
Loosing interest in programing is very possible for several reasons. The person may never understand the logic. I know of one family where wife is a computer graduate and she hates computers. I am surprised how she completed her engineering. Her husband does all the computer work and is a mechanical engineer.
ReplyDeleteWell it goes by interests. As explained by many there a lot of options. If you have a family business you can prefer to expand the business. If interested do an MBA or a diploma in marketing or similar subjects. You have the option to apply theories in practice. There are several success stories like Azim Premzi who expanded Wipro into IT sector.
Tech marketting is another interesting sector. Having few marketting skills is really important.
Sir,
ReplyDeleteI am started my career in IBM as a Developer, then moverd into quality. But I was not satisfied. If you remember me, when i passed out in 2006 from SDM in CSE, i had the same thought.. no programming.. but i had no option then to go into IT field... after two years i quit and pursued MBA in Marketing as there is huge opportunity in IT marketing and after my Internship in Robert Bosch in Presales I felt yes I am on the right path... Now i am a Sales Specialist.. where my role is also of a Business analyst
So the best options are:
1. Presales
2. Business Analyst
3. IT marketing
And for this MBA in Marketing is a must
until you don't have any particular goal towards excelling your skills that you have learnt till now in your professional career as a "Computer Engineer"
ReplyDeletelooks like a career in business is a good option for you!!