Dear Students,
LAST WEEK WE ASKED: Amid the slowdown and job scarcity, do you think students should take up higher studies?
BEST RESPONSE
The job market has become very specific today and demands the best quality knowledge and skills. Higher studies provide a platform which can help students develop their overall personality as well as providing them with the requisite skill sets. As a matter of fact the prevailing slowdown and job scarcity offer a better proposition for students to go for higher studies in order to meet the demands of the business environment. Slowdowns are a part of the business cycle and are not here to stay but a better skill set can definitely catapult one’s career in the long run.
-- Prateek Parimal, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Anand.
OTHER RESPONSES:
Economic slowdown is the ripe time to opt for higher studies and to sharpen your skills. Slowdown creates havoc among those employed and those seeking employment all over. During this period the recruiters are highly cautious in recruiting persons. Higher studies provides high standardisation with respect to competencies students acquire which plays an important role in informing the employers about their skills. Job scarcity creates competition among people hence you need better skills, abilities which can be acquired through higher education. Higher studies provide exclusive specialisation to particular occupations which helps you gain an edge over others.
-- Rohith Mohandas, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME), Bangalore.
One need to take the job scarcity as an opportunity and make his/her own way than being one among the million. India is dearth of Entrepreneurs, sports persons, artists and many more. So this would be the right time to explore one's inner-self and to do what he really wants to do. Pursuing higher education is definitely an option if and only if it leads to what you want to become. Few years from now getting a job is not final, it is the satisfaction which you achieve is ultimate, so do anything which gives you that.
-- Harika Garapati, NITIE, Mumbai.
Today competition is increasing even as students take up higher studies. However, places like government schools are suffering due to substandard education. Hence, government should appoint good teacher in schools and in colleges also who encourage students to take part in debate competition, group discussion, workshop and quiz. In current scenario students with additional knowledge of technology and current affairs will have a higher edge.
-- Sagar Rawalani, Jhunjhunwala Business School, Faizabad.
Higher studies during downturn will assist student to sharpen his skill and be different from the rest thus giving student the edge in long run.Even if times are strenuous it is always useful making the investment in once self development. Recessionary times may be the spark and motivation one need to start considering how to develop himself. Furthermore, The benefit of higher education are many viz. higher earning potential, job satisfaction, job stability, healthier lifestyle choices, future children benefit etc. Thus, Higher education will enhance the employability of students.
-- Nilaya Mitash Shanker, Indian Institute Of Technology, Roorkee.
At a time when recruiters come to your door step and explain you 100 reasons for why you are not fit for their organization, the only savior you have backing you is your intellectual largesse. And common sense dictates that one can only achieve it when his graduation skills are passed through a litmus test, when his basics are fine-tuned, when he learns to survive under pressure and where he learns to take split second decisions which could change his life, where he sees what is awaiting him when he steps out in the market. And that is called Masters.
-- Tushar Kanti Acharya, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME), Bangalore.
Weak demand from the West has lowered employment opportunities drastically. Leif Eskesen, Chief Economist for India, IMF said it will take India time and effort to recover and till then employment opportunities will remain scarce. The recent reforms and any further ones by the incumbent government will not have a dramatic impact overnight, and it will be more than 2 years before they translate into jobs. Another aspect is that the slowdown has raised the retention rate to a record high, and employees are sticking to their jobs. So where are the opportunities for the batch passing out in the year 2015?
-- Dennis Joseph Koshy, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME), Bangalore.
Over the past 10 years, the growth rate of students taking up higher studies in USA, UK, Singapore etc has shown some increase year after year between 4% to 10%. Also due to Indian economy witnessing slowdown after 2008, the job assignments and requirements in India have been reducing. This has forced companies to resort to various cost and job reduction measures such as lower pay-scales, reducing the hirings leading to uncertainty getting the job. Hence during the slowdown period, perusing higher studies would be the most popular and best option among students of various streams.
-- Arun Sundar, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bangalore.
In this globalised world, phases of prosperity and slowdown are intermittent and to maintain a reasonable growth and other technological innovation we need talented and highly educated engineers, doctors, CAs, and MBAs. The US succeeded due to highly educated people which leads to more innovation and hence more success for the country. India lacks this characteristic because percentage of students pursuing higher education is less than even 13%. Higher education cannot be a luxury, it is an economic imperative that every student should go for. Only then they would be able to face modern economic and other challenges effectively.
-- Anurag Mishra, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME), Bangalore.
In the present scenario, it definitely makes sense for students to pursue higher studies to gain additional qualification and attain a clear edge over peers. However, one has to approach this double-edged knife carefully. For students considering institutes abroad, they have to keep in mind that off late many students going to European countries have come back empty-handed. Hence, reputed institutes in Asian countries with healthier economies make more sense. In the domestic scenario, the reputation of institute, validity of course and ROI involved are other important factors. Hence, it has to be a properly analysed decision at present.
-- Nidhi Shah, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME), Bangalore.
Students should take up higher education for gaining expertise in the concerned field which in-turn should corroborate their profession. To skip the slow down first, they take up higher education and then they spend huge sums on the same, but unfortunately a slow-down will never be, for a short duration of 2 or 3 years. By the time they are out in the market, they find that they still get a job which is not at all in accordance with his/her new qualification. So it affects the over all psychology of the students.
-- Bhushan Orpe, Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Management Studies, Vashi.
Education is an investment, not an expenditure, which would pay its dividend for decades. One who wants an early realisation of this dividend chooses those undergraduate courses which would make one employable after its completion. But still a sense of incompleteness ponders over the minds of both employers and who are in jobs and possess only an undergraduate degree and thus one goes for higher studies mainly for getting promotions. Due to few quality institutions, lower emphasis on research, old curriculum, even after possessing a degree of higher education one still doesn't possess those skill which they deem to have.
-- Girish Changulani, Jhunjhunwala Business School, Faizabad.
Your responses should reach us at edu@business-standard.com by Monday evening every week. Please ensure that your responses do not exceed 100 words. Avoid attachments and email your full name, institute's name, batch and complete mailing address. The student who gives the 'Best Response' will be awarded Rs 500.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Do you think if CAT goes global it will be beneficial for students?
