I am doing my M.A. in English (Second year). I would like to know about career options after graduation. I want a prestigious job. I am not interested in teaching. What are the career options other than teaching? Please guide me.

Armed with a degree in English, you can have many more options besides teaching. Some of these are: publishing, broadcasting, marketing, tourism, translation, journalism, creative and technical writing. Even advertising & PR agencies find English experts more suitable for their work, due to their improved skills. If you find these areas interesting, you should first go for diploma course in advertising or mass communication, journalism or Public relations to have the professional edge. These courses are usually of one year duration. If you have good command on spoken English and have basic computer skills, you can as well join a call-centre.

I'm doing BA and have taken a combination of arts, commerce and science subjects which is available in only three colleges in Mumbai, St Xavier's, LS Raheja, Juhu, and Ruia college, Matunga. But because of this combination I cannot apply for BEd. Do I need to do MA or is BA enough? Actually I wanted to do BMM and go into media as a news reporter, but I could not get admission there. Now I've got an offer in a press. Should I go to work? But I wanted work in media. Please guide, I'm fully confused.

You wanted to become a news reporter, but when you're getting work in a press, you're not sure…. Yes, you look thoroughly confused. It seems that you want to be in broadcast journalism, which is basically journalism in Radio and Television. Still there is not much difference between the two, except that the broadcast journalists are more visible.

Both report on day-to-day news events and analyze, interpret, and broadcast news received from various sources. Those with sharp journalistic skills, good experience and expertise in fields like international affairs, economics or business can get the assignments as a correspondent in a foreign news agency.

Still it's not late, there are many institutes which offer one year courses viz. Bachelors in Journalism and Mass Communication (BJMC), Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM), Bachelor of Mass Communication (BMC) for which eligibility is bachelor's degree in any stream. Some of these are: Indian Institute of Journalism & News Media, Bangalore http://www.iijnm.org/; Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi http://www.iimc.ac.in/; Mass Communication Research Centre (MCRC), Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi http://www.jmi.nic.in; Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA), Ahmedabad http://www.mica-india.net/; School of Communication & Management Studies, Cochin http://www.scmscochin.com/; Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune http://www.simc.edu/; Xavier Institute of Communication, St Xavier's College, Mumbai http://www.xaviercomm.org/.

Generally, institutes conduct their own entrance test followed by interview, for the selection of suitable candidates. The objective of these tests is to judge awareness of the current events and the essential skills required of a conscientious journalist. Personal qualities rather than training are more important for becoming a good journalist. To have a feel of the field, join the work at press now. If you like the field you can specialize in the area of your interest later.

I want to become a pilot. I want to know how to enter into that field and the good training institutes in India. How is the scope for it in present days?

To become a professional pilot, one should begin with a Student Pilot Licence (SPL). The examination for SPL comprises of test in Air Regulations, Air Navigation, Aviation Meteorology, Aircraft and engines. They must also pass a strict physical examination to make sure that they are in good health and have good vision with or without glasses, good hearing, and no physical handicaps that could impair their performance. On getting SPL one is eligible for practical training in flying.

For Private Pilot Licence (PPL), one should have an experience of minimum 60 hours of flight time, which includes 20 hours of solo flight time and 5 hours cross-country flying. Also one has to clear a written test on subjects like air regulation, air navigation, aviation meteorology and aircraft engines.

After getting SPL, PPL one can proceed for Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL). A candidate has to complete 190 hours (150 hours solo, 25 hours cross-country, 10 hours instrument flying and 5 hours night flying) of flying, excluding hours logged for PPL. Selection procedure for CPL consists of a written Test –WOMBAT (Wondrous Original Method of Basic Airmanship Testing), Aptitude Test and Interview.

There are many flying clubs in India, spread all over the country, in which one can train for SPL and PPL. For CPL, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA), Rae Bareli (UP) http://igrua.gov.in/, is the premium institute run by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India.

The training is expensive and costs around Rs 2- 5 lakhs for a PPL and anywhere between Rs. 16-22 lakh for a CPL, depending on whether you train in India or abroad. Most of the airlines provide in-house training to newly recruited pilots. Usually the cost of in-house training, in private airlines, varies between Rs 5 -10 lakhs, depending upon the aircraft on which training is being done.

The growth in airline passengers and cargo traffic is creating a need for more pilots. The privatization of civil aviation has opened many lucrative job offers for pilots. Also there are many possibilities of better prospects due to the emerging tie-up between foreign carriers and private airlines.