10 Steps to Choose the Right Career

1. Identify how you feel right now – Think about the circumstances that have brought you to this point of choice. If you feel worry or maybe confusion, let it go for the time being and move to step two. Keep moving.

2. Identify your absolute best outcome…BE HONEST…This is not: “I want to work for myself, but I won’t be able to meet my bills.” This is: “I want to work for myself. I will need to find a way to make my bill payments.”

3. What are all of your options / choices? Ask others for additional support and options, separate fact from fiction- push yourself – come up with ten – prioritize according to what is important and valuable to you.

4. Test each option / choice against your values and personal freedom definition – stay focused. Test each remaining option / choice against your absolute best outcome. Which choices are in alignment? Which ones are not?? Eliminate the ones that are not.

5. Let go…give yourself space while looking for signposts. Take time to notice what the universe puts in front of you. Vijay had a tough choice, he could go to the United States during WWII and continue teaching or he could stay and help his parents. He struggled for some time with this choice. One day he went to his parents house and on the table there was a piece of a tablet from temple that had been destroyed. Vijay asked his father what the tablet was and was told that it was one of the ten commandments. Vijay then asked his father which one and his father said, “Honor they mother and they Father.” Vijay chose to stay and help his parents.

6. Make your choice. Ask yourself, what would it cost you if you did not follow through on this choice? Identify how you feel about your choice.

7. Accept full responsibility for your choice – Don’t spend energy on, “I wish I had”. There is no going back, only going forward by continuing to make choices.

8. Break through fear to deliver your choice – If your choice has an impact on someone else, deliver your choice with compassion.

9. Let go and learn from your choices, know that you have made the best choice you could at

this time.

10. Re-evaluate how you feel now that you have made your choice you should feel

empowered, if not, go back and evaluate your other options.

Give it a try and see how you do!

The Benefits of Internships

College academics are just one part of preparing for a future career. New grads need to offer something extra to prospective employers. That’s where an internship comes in.

An internship is an employment situation in which a student works (often for free) in order to gain hands-on experience. Internships offer valuable work experience, help you develop marketable skills and beef up your resume. Best of all, they can help you land a job after college.

But internships can also help you throughout your college career. Here are a number of things internships help you do:

Get Your Foot in the Door

For the most competitive careers, like journalism or theater, internships are essential. In a crowded job market, an internship provides:

· Experience. Studying a major is one thing; applying that knowledge to “real world” situations is entirely another. In an internship, you learn to back up your smarts with action.

· Contacts. Working with professionals, you tap into a network that can offer references, advice and information about new job opportunities.

· A future job. Many companies use their internship programs to bolster their recruitment efforts. Working with interns gives them the chance to try out motivated, ambitious students before employing them. If the intern makes the grade, the company may make a permanent job offer.

Develop New Skills

Internships can also help you diversify your background and experience. While it’s good to have an area of strength – a focus for your career – more diverse skills in a variety of fields can make you more marketable to a potential employee.

This type of internship is especially important for liberal arts majors. Adding some practical job skills to your academic expertise makes you a much better candidate for any job.

Do Some Comparison Shopping

Use an internship to sample various fields before choosing your major. You may not need specialized skills to do this sort of internship; many organizations rely on interns for projects that require only general skills and a good work ethic.

This sort of internship gives you important insights into the typical workday in this company or field. Exploring careers in this way can help you choose a major – and a future career.

So you see, there are different kinds of internships for different phases of your college career. Not merely resume builders, internships can play a crucial role in every stage of career planning. The times to think about applying for an internship is now – plan early, and use these “experimental careers” as a means to pave the way to a bright future.

How to Face GD

A group discussion consists of:

Communication Skills

The first aspect is one's power of expression. In a group discussion, a candidate has to talk effectively so that he is able to convince others. For convincing, one has to speak forcefully and at the same time create an impact by his knowledge of the subject. A candidate who is successful in holding the attention of the audience creates a positive impact.

It is necessary that you should be precise and clear. As a rule evaluators do not look for the wordage produced. Your knowledge on a given subject, your precision and clarity of thought are the things that are evaluated. Irrelevant talks lead you nowhere. You should speak as much as necessary, neither more nor less. Group discussions are not debating stages.

Ability to listen is also what evaluator’s judge. They look for your ability to react on what other participants say. Hence, it is necessary that you listen carefully to others and then react or proceed to add some more points. Your behavior in the group is also put to test to judge whether you are a loner or can work in a group.

You should be able to convey your thoughts satisfactorily and convincingly before a group of people. Confidence and level headedness in doing so is necessary. These add value to your presentation. In case you are not good at it, you might gain by joining an institute that offers specialized courses in public speaking. For instance, British Council Division's English Language Teaching Centre offers a wide range of courses like conversation skills, business communication skills, business writing, negotiation skills and presentation skills. Mostly people attend these courses to improve their communication skills. Students here are involved in activities which use communication skills and teachers provide inputs, monitor and facilitate the classes. The course at the Centre makes you confident enough to speak before people without any nervousness.

Knowledge and Ideas Regarding a Given Subject

Knowledge of the subject under discussion and clarity of ideas are important. Knowledge comes from consistent reading on various topics ranging from science and technology to politics. In-depth knowledge makes one confident and enthusiastic and this in turn, makes one sound convincing and confident.

Leadership and Coordinating Capabilities

The basic aim of a group discussion is to judge a candidate's leadership qualities. The examiner withdraws and becomes a silent spectator once the discussion starts. A candidate should display tactfulness, skill, understanding and knowledge on varied topics, enterprise, forcefulness and other leadership qualities to motivate and influence other candidates who may be almost equally competent.

Exchange of Thoughts

A group discussion is an exchange of thoughts and ideas among members of a group. These discussions are held for selecting personnel in organizations where there is a high level of competition. The number of participants in a group can vary between 8 and 15. Mostly a topic or a situation is given to group members who have to discuss it within 10 to 20 minutes.

The purpose is to get an idea about candidates in a short time and make assessments about their skills, which normally cannot be evaluated in an interview. These skills may be team membership, leadership skills, listening and articulation skills.

A note is made of your contributions to the discussion, comprehension of the main idea, the rapport you strike, patience, assertion, accommodation, amenability, etc. Body language and eye contact too are important points which are to be considered

Addressing the Group as a Whole

In a group discussion it is not necessary to address anyone by name. Even otherwise you may not know everyone's names. It better to address the group as a whole.

Address the person farthest from you. If he can hear you everyone else too can. Needless to add, as for the interview, attend the group discussion in formal dress. The language used should also be formal, not the language used in normal conversations. For instance, words and phrases like "yar", "chalta hai", "CP", "I dunno", etc. are out. This is not to say you should use a high sounding, pedantic language. Avoiding both, just use formal, plain and simple language. Hinglish, (mixture of Hindi and English) should be discarded.

Confidence and coolness while presenting your viewpoint are of help. See that you do not keep repeating a point. Do not use more words than necessary. Do not be superfluous. Try to be specific. Do not exaggerate.

Thorough Preparation

Start making preparations for interview and group discussions right away, without waiting till the eleventh hour, this is, if and when called for them. Then the time left may not be adequate. It is important to concentrate on subject knowledge and general awareness. Hence, the prime need for thorough preparation. Remember, the competition is very tough. Only 460 candidates make it to the final list from 2.75 lakh civil service aspirants each year.

It may so happen that you are called for interviews and group discussions from three or four organizations but are not selected by any. The reason obviously lies in your not being well-prepared.

In a group discussion you may be given a topic and asked to express your views on it. Or in a case study GD, students have to read a case study and suggest ways of tackling the problem. For this you should have a good general knowledge, need to be abreast with current affairs, should regularly read newspapers and magazines. Your group behavior and communication skills are on test, i.e. how you convince the others and how clearly you are able to express your points of view. You should be articulate, generate ideas, not sound boring, should allow others to speak, and adopt a stand on a given subject. During the course of the GD this stand can even be changed, giving the impression that you are open to accommodate others' viewpoints.

Additional marks may be given for starting or concluding the discussion.

Life after Graduation: To Work or Not to Work?

All college or university graduates often face this type of dilemma: What's next after graduation? Should I start working after graduation? Would it be smarter to consider pursuing a postgraduate study? Should I put up a business instead? Or take a break before thinking about joining the workforce? Questions like these would always pop up.

But before even thinking of what to do next, the best way to avoid these dilemmas is to prepare before you graduate; get your plans organized and get the right advice from the right people. Getting advice is very important since it's going to be your first time out on the "real world". Experienced and well-informed people are needed to help you weigh out your best options even if you have decided on what to do next. Universities and colleges offer career services where help is obtainable.

If you finally opt to work after graduation after careful thought, then start finding details on job placements and job vacancies. Your college or university career service can assist you with your applications, interview techniques and CVs. Even former graduates can avail of these services. You can as well search for jobs online, in trade journals or in newspapers. If you are curious on what it would be like to work on a specific career, you can always discover them while you're still at the university. Better yet, try volunteering where you can enhance your skills and to give you an early work experience. A previous working experience is one quality that an employer mostly looks into from a resume.

Some might prefer to pursue a postgraduate study after graduating. Before you even consider this, it's essential to think about your options, ideally, at least 18 months before you actually start a postgraduate course. Postgraduate studies are for you if:

· You are interested of studying a more in-depth subject or want that first step to become a part of the academic field.

· You want to qualify for a specific career, helping you to stand out among other job applicants.

But you should also bear in mind that having more degrees doesn't guarantee more money in return. Do not settle for making education as a reason for you to avoid the strenuous task of job hunting. Do not go back to school unless you are certainly sure that you will be able to use what you'll learn to get ahead in the future. Be confident that the investment for studying further will pay off and not just let you end up taking a job that you could have gotten even without the additional degree.

For those who prefer to start their own business after graduation, feel free to consult your university if they're offering support to students and graduates wanting to start a business. They might provide you an option to increase your entrepreneurial skills as part of your course, or giving extra-curricular counsel sessions on starting a business. Some colleges also provide a starting service to guide graduates to get their business to soar. You can always ask your instructor for details.

Lastly, if graduating students still opt to choose taking a break after graduation, then think of what you may be missing out. As the saying goes, "those who delay to play often pay"; potential employers could contact you the soonest if you'll be able to make your presence known earlier to them after you graduate. It may even take weeks or months to get that first job out after college; so the earlier you start, the better.

Although you might feel that rewarding yourself after the hard work of spending years in school is something you deserve. This is reasonable enough, but you should at least organize your career plans before you go off on a break; it might be more difficult to embark on a job search when you choose to set it aside first. You can enjoy taking the time off better once your game plan is already organized. Finally, whenever you feel the need to start looking for a job, make sure you integrate in everything that you've discovered about yourself while having your post-college quest; think of how you can use that knowledge in your future career.

Whatever your choice is, make sure you're happy and satisfied with it. Any path you choose to take that leads you to become a better person is definitely a path worth journeying on.

Choosing a Career as a Computer Engineer

Computer Engineer Career

A computer engineer designs and develops the software systems and applications that make computers work. Computer engineers are projected to be one of the fastest growing occupations from 2008-2018. Job prospects are excellent for well-educated computer engineers with relevant experience and a passion for their work.

Computer Engineer Career Description

A computer engineer's job is different from that of a computer hardware engineer. Hardware experts design the actual computers. A computer software engineer develops, tests and evaluates software to make computers operational. Computer engineers may also be responsible for constructing and managing an organization's computer system. Often computer engineers also provide essential technical support to maximize software potential. Most computer engineers work as part of a tech team in an office or laboratory environment.

Computer engineers design and develop a wide range of software including business applications, network control systems, operating systems, middle-ware and games. Computer engineers start by analyzing user needs. Then engineers develop, design and test software to meet those needs. The process involves detailed flowcharts, diagrams, documents and instructions referred to as algorithms. Conversion of algorithms is typically done by computer programmers.

Computer Engineer Career Opportunities

Computer engineers are divided into two categories. Computer applications software engineers analyze users' needs to design applications software or specialized utility programs. Computer systems software engineers coordinate construction of an organization's computer systems and handle maintenance and expansion.

Computer applications software engineers work with various programming languages based on the purpose of the program and where it runs. Some engineers develop package computer applications while others develop completely customized applications for specific organizations and even develop databases.

Computer systems software engineers work with an organization to coordinate each department's computer needs to work seamlessly together. Suggestions about technical direction and coordination address needs such as payroll, billing, ordering and inventory. Intranets might be setup to make communication between departments easier. Systems software engineers also design and implement data assurance and system security.

Marketing, sales, technical resources, logistical and technical support are all possible career options for computer systems software engineers. Some systems software engineers work for companies that create and install the computer systems for other businesses and organizations.

After computer engineers and system analysts design software programs, computer programmers write them. The design is converted into a logical series of instructions for the computer to follow. Programmers also work on updating, modifying, expanding and repairing existing programs. Often programmers work closely with computer engineers to boost productivity through enhanced technology.

Computer Engineer Career Salary

As of July, 2009, the National Association of Colleges and Employers reported the starting salary for computer science graduates with a bachelor's degree as $61,407 on average. Occupational Employment Statistics for 2008 revealed median wages for computer applications software engineers were $85,430. Median wages for computer systems software engineers were $92,430. Computer programmers were earning an average of $69,620.

Computer Engineer Career Education

Most computer engineer jobs require a bachelor's degree. For some positions, a master's degree is preferred. A 2-year degree or certificate is sufficient for certain computer engineer positions. Relevant skills and experience matter. Employers prefer to hire computer engineers who are familiar with the latest technology.

College majors for computer engineers include computer science, mathematics or software engineering. Computer systems software engineers usually study computer information systems or computer science. Complex jobs may require a graduate degree.

Internships, continuing education and professional development seminars keep computer engineers apprised of the latest technology. Certification demonstrates a level of competence in a particular area and may offer a competitive advantage for certain positions.

Computer Engineer Career Skills

Computer engineers must have certain skills to be employable. Computer engineers need strong analytical skills and the ability to remain focused on multiple tasks at once. Many computer engineers work with clients and must express complex ideas in simple terms. Creativity and ingenuity are important skills for computer engineers designing new software programs. Computer engineers should work well with technical analysis and abstract concepts. Business skills make it possible for computer engineers to advance to management positions.

Why Choose a Career as a Computer Engineer?

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics shows growth in computer engineering fields is much faster than other fields. Job prospects for computer engineers are very good. The BLS also revealed the highest ten percent of computer engineers earn around $120,000 annually. Besides an excellent salary, computer engineers enjoy working with systems and people to maximize an organization's potential.

Computer engineers enjoy comfortable working conditions. Most computer engineers work 40-50 hours weekly in a clean office or laboratory environment. With technological advances, more computer engineers have the opportunity to telecommute. Computer engineers are a relevant part of the work world today as technology becomes increasingly important in all types of communications.

A computer engineer can work at home, in an office or at a lab based on their personal preference. Educated computer engineers with experience appreciate an above average salary and challenging work. With plenty of jobs available, computer engineers can land a satisfying full-time position upon graduation.