'Can I Join IT After BSc Chemistry?'

rediffGURU Chocko Valliappa offers advice on how you can to pick the right course and career.

• You can post your career-related questions to rediffGURU Chocko Valliappa HERE.

Which is the best engineering stream?

What are some of the skills engineering students can pursue that doesn't involve coding and programming?

Is it possible to switch to IT after studying BSc chemistry?

rediffGURU Chocko Valliappa is the founder and CEO of Vee Technologies, a global IT services company; HireMee, a talent assessment and talent management start-up; and vice chairman of The Sona Group of education institutions.

• You can post your career-related questions to rediffGURU Chocko Valliappa HERE.
  
  

Kavitha: My son, 23 years old, recently cleared the final backlog of his BE degree in Electronics and Communication.
He is a 2023 batch graduate but fell behind by 10 months due to a knee surgery and subsequent rehabilitation.
Currently, he is feeling low in spirits due to this delay and the prevailing bleak job prospects.
Initially, he considered equipping himself with coding skills but has now shifted his focus to non-coding and non-technical roles such as project management, customer relationship management, etc. However, he is unclear about what path would be best for him and which skill set could help him secure a job with good and reliable growth potential.
I kindly request your guidance in helping him identify the right career path and counseling him on the available options with promising growth prospects.
Your advice will greatly help him make an informed decision and take the next step confidently.

Let's talk about what he wants to do.

He must realise that not everyone needs to do coding.

There are lots of other jobs in sales, marketing and customer relationship management. He should look for those jobs.

There is no shortage of jobs for those willing to get started. You have to motivate him to be on the lookout for a job.

Do let him share his final score in the BE and which college and university.

Does his college have a placement cell?

Will they not consider him for placement this year considering that he lost time due to medical reasons?

Perhaps a special request to the college will help.

Raju: My son has completed his BSc in chemistry and now wishes to switch his career to the IT field.
He is considering pursuing a certificate course in computer science (minor) from IIT and a certificate course in cloud computing at IIT.
I would like to know if these courses will help him secure a good job in the IT sector, or if there are better alternatives for a student with a non-IT background to enter this field. Your guidance on this matter would be highly appreciated.

Happy to help, Raju. Do let me know if your son has finished BSc in chemistry.

If he is pursuing BSc, which year is he in?

Let him speak to his college faculty to check if he can switch to a BCA programme.

Simultaneously, explore if IITs offer any programmes in computer science or cloud computing for BSc pass-outs.

If you can share more details, I may be able to make further suggestions.

Anonymous: Sir, I'm a first-year student in Manipal Bangalore.
Which course is better -- information Technology (IT) or electronics and computer engineering (EnC)?
Please suggest sir.

Like most other experts, I would rate the two specialist disciplines at par.

Are you in Manipal town or at the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT)?

If you are at MIT, you may review the syllabus of the two branches of engineering and enrol for the one that matches your interest.

A visit to the placement cell at MIT would guide you about how the students from these branches were placed in the past.

• You can post your career-related questions to rediffGURU Chocko Valliappa HERE.
  

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