In Conversation with Nipa Vaidya; Editor of Education Times
Hello CEans,
In the times of hard economic conditions, lot of fresh engineers are facing the music of either being turned down by their employers or by not getting employment opportunities at all. Some see it as a bad phase in the times of recession where as some see it as an opportunity to sharpen their skill sets further more. So that they can be highly competitive and bounce back when the market is up. We thought of catching up with Nipa Vaidya, a career counselor and the editor of Education times, an initiative from Times of India. Here is the conversation below. Have a good read.
------------------
CE: Hi Nipa, You are the editor of Education Times from Times of India. Tell us more about your job.
NIPA: The job entails having hands on knowledge of various happenings in the education world. Trends in study patterns, students’ preferences, parents’ woes, scholarships, important competitive exams, management studies are different aspects that we cover in the paper. Right from conceptualizing stories to finalizing the look and feel of the paper it all begins and ends at my desk. Love every bit of what I do.
CE: How do you feel working for one of the largest news papers in India?
NIPA: Who wouldn’t want to be part of a success story? And Education Times is a hugely successful brand. So feels absolutely great and motivating to be part of this product.
CE: You know the current economic downturn. How do you see it affecting the Young students or fresh graduates?
NIPA: Graduates or students on the threshold of graduation are definitely worried. With campus placements declining, it is certainly not a pleasant time to be graduating. To make matters worse, students are not too sure if enrolling for further studies is that great an idea given the current situation.
CE: Lot of engineering students who got placed through campus placements (especially in IT companies) have been deferred of joining or have been shown the door. What would you suggest them in terms of updating of skills?
NIPA: Education in whatever form be it polishing your soft skills or a full-fledged masters, is always a value-add. Instead of sitting at home and worrying about placements and ways to bring careers on track, it would really be an advantage to have additional qualifications in your kitty.
CE: Will you suggest an alternative career? What options do engineers have if they wish to change their career path?
NIPA: Alternate career paths would vary from student to student and thus a qualified counselor would be the best person to give this advice.
CE: Can you tell us more about ‘GradFirst’, your online finishing school?
NIPA: It is not our venture.
CE: Has Education Times taken any other initiatives? Would you like to associate with Crazyengineers.com?
NIPA: If by initiatives you mean an online presence, yes we have a portal Career, Higher Education & Study Abroad | Education Times that has a dedicated reader base. And yes we would be willing to associate with CE.
CE: Will you recommend them to go for higher studies? If yes, which stream and where should they study? (I mean abroad or if in India, in which parts)
NIPA: As I said before, these are highly individualistic options and are best taken from a qualified counselor.
CE: Many thanks for talking to us. What message would you like to give to the Crazy engineers’ community?
NIPA: For qualified engineers a job is not necessarily the way to begin a career, entrepreneurial ventures would be a learning experience in these difficult times. All the best
------------------
We sincerely thank Nipa Vaidya for sharing her valuable time with us to discuss the problems faced by engineers.
In the times of hard economic conditions, lot of fresh engineers are facing the music of either being turned down by their employers or by not getting employment opportunities at all. Some see it as a bad phase in the times of recession where as some see it as an opportunity to sharpen their skill sets further more. So that they can be highly competitive and bounce back when the market is up. We thought of catching up with Nipa Vaidya, a career counselor and the editor of Education times, an initiative from Times of India. Here is the conversation below. Have a good read.
------------------
CE: Hi Nipa, You are the editor of Education Times from Times of India. Tell us more about your job.
NIPA: The job entails having hands on knowledge of various happenings in the education world. Trends in study patterns, students’ preferences, parents’ woes, scholarships, important competitive exams, management studies are different aspects that we cover in the paper. Right from conceptualizing stories to finalizing the look and feel of the paper it all begins and ends at my desk. Love every bit of what I do.
CE: How do you feel working for one of the largest news papers in India?
NIPA: Who wouldn’t want to be part of a success story? And Education Times is a hugely successful brand. So feels absolutely great and motivating to be part of this product.
CE: You know the current economic downturn. How do you see it affecting the Young students or fresh graduates?
NIPA: Graduates or students on the threshold of graduation are definitely worried. With campus placements declining, it is certainly not a pleasant time to be graduating. To make matters worse, students are not too sure if enrolling for further studies is that great an idea given the current situation.
CE: Lot of engineering students who got placed through campus placements (especially in IT companies) have been deferred of joining or have been shown the door. What would you suggest them in terms of updating of skills?
NIPA: Education in whatever form be it polishing your soft skills or a full-fledged masters, is always a value-add. Instead of sitting at home and worrying about placements and ways to bring careers on track, it would really be an advantage to have additional qualifications in your kitty.
CE: Will you suggest an alternative career? What options do engineers have if they wish to change their career path?
NIPA: Alternate career paths would vary from student to student and thus a qualified counselor would be the best person to give this advice.
CE: Can you tell us more about ‘GradFirst’, your online finishing school?
NIPA: It is not our venture.
CE: Has Education Times taken any other initiatives? Would you like to associate with Crazyengineers.com?
NIPA: If by initiatives you mean an online presence, yes we have a portal Career, Higher Education & Study Abroad | Education Times that has a dedicated reader base. And yes we would be willing to associate with CE.
CE: Will you recommend them to go for higher studies? If yes, which stream and where should they study? (I mean abroad or if in India, in which parts)
NIPA: As I said before, these are highly individualistic options and are best taken from a qualified counselor.
CE: Many thanks for talking to us. What message would you like to give to the Crazy engineers’ community?
NIPA: For qualified engineers a job is not necessarily the way to begin a career, entrepreneurial ventures would be a learning experience in these difficult times. All the best
------------------
We sincerely thank Nipa Vaidya for sharing her valuable time with us to discuss the problems faced by engineers.
Replies
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shalini_goel14Thanks Nipa Madam and Mayur Sir for giving us tips and showing the right path. 😀 -
Ashraf HZNice interview!
Looks like entrepreneurship is a good option in these times. -
Saandeep SreerambatlaNice interview.
its time to think differently and take some risks to have a well settled life , fearing for the offers is not a thing to be done now as it is in all the companies.
😎 -
Yamini LReally motivating(especially for students who are about to complete their courses and step into the new corporate world)..Thank you Mayur sir..
You are reading an archived discussion.
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