Chandigarh, Feb 15
Kiran Chaudhary, 24, had
glittery dreams when she decided to pursue a career in life sciences in
2009. The decision, made after much introspection, took her to the
scientific study of living organisms. However, little did she know that
her hard work, dedication and five years of education would leave her
with no job in hand and even her gold medal in academics would be of
little help.
Like Kiran, there are scores of students whose
educational qualifications in unconventional areas have forced them to
fend for themselves as jobs in these fields in this region are either
limited or just not there.
Left with no hope with their existing
degrees and qualifications, these well-educated youngsters have been
forced to either register for additional courses in similar fields in
foreign universities or completely change their career line and opt for
something else.
"It is rather disappointing. It is high time we
took note of this situation as even students who score well enough to
secure gold or silver medals end up working in some other industry as
they are unable to find a job profile that suits their education and
expertise," Ananda Singh, senior manager at Youth Power HR consultancy
based here, told IANS.
Data collected by another HR company
headquartered here shows that over 90 percent of students who take
admission in courses like forensic science, biotechnology, life sciences
and genetic engineering usually face a hard time in finding suitable
job opportunities in this region.
"Most of the students who have
suffered due to lack of jobs in these particular areas of study are now
taking advanced courses or entirely different courses in countries like
Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Apart from great discouragement for
the students, it is an extra financial burden as their foreign education
is not easy to fund," Harpreet Kaur, an overseas educational
consultant, told IANS.
Kiran, who has a masters in biotechnology
from a city-based private college, said: "Sadly there is no job
opportunity available for a life science post-graduate in Chandigarh. We
have to go to other cities like Delhi or Mumbai but that is also not
practical as the limited number of job options there are taken up by the
students who study in the local universities in those cities. Most of
my batch mates are unemployed. We are forced to work in sectors totally
unrelated to our education just because the city has nothing to offer."
Dejected,
Kiran has now applied for a masters in physiology in a Canadian
college. Though this course is different from her past studies, she is
left with no other option.
Manreet Kaur, a recent pass-out from
the department of Forensic Science and Criminology at Panjab University
(PU) here, told IANS: "It was a dream come true for me getting admission
in PU. I opted for this course due to my interest and passion towards
solving mysterious criminal cases. But as soon as I passed out, I found
out that there are no jobs available."
A former PU student who
has a masters in forensic science, requesting anonymity, told IANS:
"Only a few available positions are of no use for fresh pass-outs like
me as they demand a minimum five years of work experience. I have now
decided to opt for an MBA from a foreign university. Though it is an
expensive option and I have already done my masters I have to do it to
secure a good future."
These youngsters feel that educational
institutions in the region should not offer courses for which no jobs
are available here. "Not everyone wants to go to another place or
country to work," Prashant Singh, who is pursuing his post-graduation,
pointed out.
(Akansha Sharma can be contacted at [email protected])
