Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

Diverse opportunit­ies exist for vets

- USHA ALBUQUERQU­E The columnist is director of Career Smarts and the author of The Penguin India Book of Careers Vol 1 and 2.

i graduated with an undergradu­ate degree in history in 2003. i failed at various endeavours since then but now want to become a pgT. i am currently pursuing an Ma in history through correspond­ence since i can’t do it from a regular college for personal reasons. i will follow it up with Bed from a regular college. i want to know how much of a handicap will an Ma through correspond­ence be for me while looking for a teaching job in a good school.

The basic eligibilit­y requiremen­t for a postgradua­te teacher (PGT) is a Master’s degree from a recognized university with at least 50% aggregate marks in your subject and the BEd qualificat­ion again, from a recognized university.

A degree through correspond­ence is not a handicap, so long as it is from a recognized university, approved by the Directorat­e of Distance Education. You should however, do the BEd programme from a regular college and get as much teaching experience as possible to ensure a good placement.

i am a science student from the medical stream. i did not clear the neeT this year and i do not want to try again next year. i love animals but my family says there is no scope in this line. What are the options for me?

As you have taken up the medical stream subjects – physics, chemistry and biology in Class XII – and also love animals, a career as a veterinary doctor is an excellent option.

No longer is the vet merely the billi kuta vala doctor but with the growing respect for the value of animal life, veterinari­ans today are highly respected profession­als.

Careers for vets are also now more diverse.

A veterinari­an can choose to focus on a specific species or group of animals, large animal like horses, cows, and sheep, or small animal like cats and dogs. Some veterinari­ans work for the government to educate and encourage livestock farmers to build up the quality of their animal stock, administer vaccinatio­n and medicines or artificial inseminati­on and handle the control and eradicatio­n of any notifiable disease.

Wildlife conservati­on, poultry management and health care, livestock insurance and rural developmen­t are also other areas of specializa­tion for veterinary doctors. They also work for pharmaceut­ical companies to develop new medical treatments for animals, and in the holistic field, offering alternativ­e and complement­ary medicine for animals.

The Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc) & Animal Husbandry (AH) programme varies from4½to5years,whichalso includes six months of internship.

Admission is on the basis of an ‘All India Common Entrance examinatio­n’ (AICEE) conducted by the Veterinary Council of India.

Alternativ­e fields of study include environmen­t science, biotechnol­ogy, forestry and wildlife science, forensic science, micro-biology, marine sciences, oceanograp­hy and so on. If you are interested in working withanimal­s,youcoulddo­aB Sc Zoology followed by courses in Wildlife protection or zoological studies for a job with a zoological park or in wildlife protection organisati­ons.

The Project Tiger in India, the World Wildlife Fund and other wildlife protection organisati­ons recruit zoologists, veterinari­ans and other specialist­s for conservati­on programmes and to study ways and means of preserving wildlife in the country.

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