Q:I completed a BTech in IT in 2005 and I’m working as a faculty in an engineering college. I am interested in pursuing a career in Oracle. How do I go about it?
Avhik Sarkar
A:You will have to get trained in the Oracle Financial package for pursuing a career in Oracle. There are a lot of opportunities in this field and your educational qualification in IT will be useful in getting a foothold in that sector.
Q:I am working with a reputed MNC for the last 13 years. I started my career as a secretary to the GM. After a long period of service, my job profile was changed and since 2000, I am looking after administration (which includes statutory compliance and other office administrative jobs as well as handling contingent fund and various payments). I am also involved in the purchase of non-capex items. However, I am quite bored and I have no option of furthering my career unless there is any diversion or change in my present job profile. I have been sent for two-three MDP courses which helped increase my knowledge.
I am a graduate (humanities) and do not hold any other degrees or diploma. I am quite open to studying and want to opt for HR or finance since I already have work experience in that field. What should I do? Please advise.
Name withheld
A:To get into HR at this stage of your career, it would be prudent if you did some short term or correspondence courses in HR. This will equip you with theoretical knowledge augmenting the practical experience you already have in the field. In the meantime, you should also get some exposure in HR functions like recruitment and training co-ordination.
Q:My son (who is 25 years old) is an MBA from ICFAI, Calcutta. Right from the beginning, he has been working as a relationship manager (focussed mainly on salary issues) with a leading private bank.
But he is more interested in a portfolio like equity research and consultancy. As a result, he is becoming very frustrated. At present, he is pursuing an ERP course. What other options does he have?
Kalyan Ghosh
A:If he wants to get into equity research or consultancy, he will have to seek opportunities in those organisations. He has the requisite educational qualification. So all that he needs is experience in these fields. Pursuing an ERP course may or may not help him in the intended field unless there is a specific opportunity, which requires those skill sets. In consultancy, he would get exposure in transaction services, mergers and acquisitions, and funding.
Q:I am a software engineer and have completed my degree this year. I am now working with a very reputed telecom company.
But there is little scope of software development in the telecom sector. So I am feeling frustrated in my professional life and want to shift to the IT sector. Since, I’m working here for the last six months, my friends are advising me not to quit right now but to rather stick it out for a year before making a move.
However, if I join an IT company after completion of a year, will my experience in the telecom field be taken into account or will I be treated as a fresher?
If I’m treated as a fresher then isn’t it a better idea to go for the change right now? Also, I want to do an MBA. Can you suggest what specialisation to take up?
Aditi Roy
A:It is essential that before embarking on a career, one should do enough research on the suitability of the job to one’s education and experience requirements. In your current job, you have not taken that step and hence after just six months, you are unhappy with the job content since it is not providing you the expected exposure. I would recommend you to stay in the job for a year before thinking of a change. Meanwhile you can search for a job, which will give you requisite exposure as per your expectations. So do a thorough research before applying. A specialisation in MBA would depend on your competency and inclination towards a particular subject matter. Since you want to make a career in the IT industry, you would do well to specialise in systems.
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