I’m a commerce graduate with three years work experience. To better my job prospects, I want to pursue an MBA degree through distance learning. What are my options?
Nilima Swamy, Bangalore
A full-time MBA has greater value in the job market. However if it’s not possible for you to enroll in a full-time programme, a distance MBA is the next best option. Among the instit-utions offering this course are IGNOU, New Delhi; Annamalai University; Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning, Pune; Madurai Kamaraj University, Directorate of Distance Education, Madurai; Anna University Centre for Distance Education, Chennai; and S.P. Jain Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.
I’m a first year B.Com student interested in a career in banking. Will a chartered accountancy (CA) qualifi-cation help me?
Deepak Mehta, Mumbai
This is a professional qualification which renders you eligible to work in most divisions of a bank. Typically, chartered accountants work in loan disbursement, credit and risk assess-ment; the treasury; audit and acco-unting divisions; foreign exchange; debt and equity trading and merchant banking. The CA study programme now allows students to substitute three years of articleship with one year of industry training and two years of articleship. Thus working with a bank during the one year of industry training will be useful.
I’m a class XII (commerce) student keen to acquire an MBA degree after graduation. I’m confused as to whether I should sign up for a BMS (bachelor of management studies) or B.Com degree after Plus Two.
Shashi Iyer, Chennai
Both degrees qualify you to apply for admission into reputable B-schools. If a Masters degree is your goal, BMS will give you greater exposure and experience. However no weightage/advantage is given to BMS graduates for admission into MBA courses. My advice is that you begin preparing for the MBA entrance tests during the second year of your BMS degree programme.
I’m a third year B.Com student interested in accountancy. Will compl-etion of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) course help me secure admission into a reputed B-school/university in Europe or America?
Navin Chawla, New Delhi
Candidates who clear the uniform CPA Examination are awarded a CPA licence in the US. The examination is a 14-hour computer-based test (CBT) with four papers — auditing and attestation; financial accounting and reporting; regulation; and business environment and concepts. In general, 150 credit hours of education at an accredited college or university is a precondition of writing CPA.
Many of the 150 credit hour programmes lead to a Master’s degree such as an MBA. In the Indian context, a B.Com degree with CA training is a good base for CPA certification. The CPA licence has no bearing upon admission into US/European business schools. After graduation, you will need to complete the first year of a M.Com degree, to meet the 16 years of education requirement for admission into postgraduate programmes in the US.
During this period, plan to write the GMAT and TOEFL tests. For further information log on to www.aicpa.org.
After completing my B.Sc in 2015 I want to sign up for a postgrad degree in food technology. Which institutes offer this course and what are their eligibility requirements?
Shilpa Rao, Bangalore
The four-year food technology study programme is open to Plus Two (physics, chemistry, and math-ematics) school leavers and is offered by several engineering colleges and agricultural universities. The food technology Masters programme offered by Central Food Technological Rese-arch Institute, Mysore (www.cftri.org) is highly reputed. To qualify you need B.Sc with chemistry or agriculture/engineering and technology as one of your subjects. An entrance/aptitude test is conducted in Mysore and New Delhi.
I’m keen on enrolling in a MS (computer science) study programme in an American university. Will a score of 1240 in GRE (Graduate Record Examination) qualify me for admission into a top university?
Suresh Nair, Trivandrum
Scores of 1300 and above (out of 1600) in GRE and 100 and above (out of 120) in TOEFL are ideal. I recommend you also write the GRE subject test in computer science. For more information on this exam, visit www.gre.org. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Carnegie Melon University, New York University, and University of Southern California are some of the top-ranked institutions in the US offering Masters programmes in computer science.
I complete Plus Two (science) next year and am keen on studying for an engineering degree in information technology. What are my job prospects after graduation? Do I need to prepare for the GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) exam?
Dilip Chatterjee, Kolkata
If you have completed your education from a reputed college and with a high average, getting a job shouldn’t pose a problem. If your college doesn’t offer campus placement, then start resear-ching and prospecting for jobs during the last semester of your degree programme. Moreover during the vacations you should try to intern with an IT company to acquire practical experience to enhance your job prosp-ects after graduation. GATE scores are required for admission into postgrad courses. Preparation material for GATE is available in prominent bookstores, and correspondence study material is offered by most coaching schools.
Please suggest some reputed B-schools in Europe as I’m keen on pursuing my business management studies abroad.
Suresh Kumar, Chennai
Europe hosts several world-class B-schools and is a good choice for those planning to return to India. Among the best are London Business School (UK); HEC and INSEAD (France); IE Business School, ESADE Business School, and IESE Business School (Spain).