Question: I have completed my graduation in Commerce. I would like to take up a career in advertising. Can you please suggest the best courses available for Mass communication and Advertising both in India and abroad. Also I would like to specialize in Client servicing. Kindly advise on that too.

Ans: The Advertising Club, Carex Centre, IInd Floor, 713,Anna Salai, Chennai 600 006,Phone 8522214 offers a three semester course in advertising. Graduates with 60% marks and fluency in spoken and written English can apply. Bharathi Vidya Bhavan’s Sardar Patel College of Communication & Management, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110 001,Phone 3389942 offers a one year course in Marketing & Advertising. The National Institute of Advertising, No.1,Deen Dhayal Upadhayay Marg (ITO), New Delhi - 110 002 offers a two year post graduate diploma in Advertising and Communications through study at home or online. You may contact their communication portal www.niaindia.org for further info.

 The Symbiosis Institute of Journalism & Communication, Senapathi Bapat Road, Pune 411 004 offers a one year full time Master’s diploma in Journalism & Communication. It also offers a full time 2 year Master’s program in Mass Communication. The Directorates of Distance Education Annamalai University and Madurai Kamaraj University offer a I year PG diploma in Advertising and a 2 year MA in Advertising and Public Relations respectively. A Post Graduate degree program in Mass Communication is conducted by Dr.G.R.Damodaran College of Science,Civil Aerodrome Post, Avanashi Road, Coimbatore 014.The University of Calicut,Calicut University P.O.,673 635 offers a Master of Communication and Journalism course. The Manipal Institute of Communication, Udayavani Building, Press Corner, Manipal- 576119 a two year post graduate program in Communication. All the above courses are widely advertised.

The Client Servicing department in Ad agency may be rightly described as its heart. The functions include profiling the client, the product and the market, analysis of consumer behaviour, study of available media and their cost effectiveness among others. A post graduate diploma in or an MBA inmarketing is a general pre requisite. For info on courses abroad I suggest you look up any of the popular sites on the Net or contact the British Council and the USEFI for details on courses in the USA or Britain. And then of course there is writing online. Opportunities are available for online writing, creating web content and response management.

Question: I am in second year BDS. Can you please let me know of the Institutions Offering Medical Transcription.

Ans: The Manipal Academy of Higher Education, a Deemed University at Madhav Nagar, Manipal-576 119 offers a Masters in Medical Transcription and Data Management. Graduates in Humanities or Science with 50% aggregate marks can apply. Admission is through an entrance test. You may visit them at www.manipal.edu. K.G.Information systems, Thudiyalur Road, Saravanampatti, Coimbatore-641 035 offers a 4 hours, 5 days foundation training program for six weeks. On completion they absorb you and you have to undergo a 6 month regular training program. There are a host of other companies which offer training programs in Medical Transcription, some of them even allow home study under distance education. The internet has a few thousand web sites on Medical Transcription. Let me give the site addresses of a few companies;
1) Dynamic Software Solution at www.dssindia.com,
2) www.i2script.com,
3) www.iimt.org,
 4) www.keetes.com,
5)www.kimt.com,
6)www.lairdschool.com,
7) www.upfirst.com (correspondence),
8)www.medicaltrans.net,
9) www.grecoenterprises.com (homestudy).

Question: I am a student of B.Sc., (Microbiology). I would be glad if you could furnish me details regarding the scope and Universities offering M.Sc., (Microbiology) and other peripheral courses. I have also completed a course in Microsoft Office. Kindly suggest institutes that offer advanced courses. Also if I wish to switch my career, what are the choices available and what are the job opportunities?

 Ans:The Post Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Science, Madras University, Taramani Campus, Chennai offers a 3 year Post Graduate programme in Microbiology. It also offers a similar course in Environmental Toxicology. The Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai-625 021, offers a 2 year Post Graduate Programme in Micro Biology. The Bharathidasan University offers a 2 year M.Sc in Eco-Biology. The Bharathidasan University,Trichirapalli offers a 2 year M.Sc in Microbiology. The Gandhigram Rural Institute, Deemed University, Gandhigram-624 302 offers a 4 Semester M.Sc course in Applied Biology. There are a couple of dozen colleges all over Tamil Nadu offering M.Sc in Microbiology and M.Sc Applied Microbiology. The one closer to Chennai include among others, Adiparasakthi College of Science, Kallavai, Kancheepuram-632 506, Asan Memorial College of Arts & Science,Velachery, Jaladampet, Chennai-601 302, D.D.G.D., Vaishnav College, Arumbakkam, Chennai-600 106, Jaya College of Arts and Science, Thiruninravur-602 024, King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Chennai-600 032, Kanchi Sri Krishna College of Arts & Science, Kilambi, Kancheepuram-631 501 and Prince Shri Venkateswara Arts & Science Gowriwakkam, Chennai-601 302. A Post Graduate degree in Bio-Technology is another related course. The Jawarhalal Nehru University, New Delhi on behalf of a number of participating Universities holds a combined Entrance Examination every year, the details of which are widely advertised in the dailies. If you have the aptitude you may become a Microsoft Certified Programmer or a Microsoft Certified Software Engineer or a Microsoft Certified Software Developer. Get details for the Microsoft Portal www.msn.com. IT Careers include Programming, System analysis , System administration, Database administration Web designing and Web Programming. As a graduate there is wide range of careers open to you. Careers in the State and Central Civil services, Banking, Insurance, Railways, Management, Fashion Technology and the Defence Services are other good options. You have to sit for a Competative Examination followed by oral interviews for entry into these jobs.