I am a Plus Two student interested in a career in art direction. What are my options? — Rajesh Singh, Delhi A bachelor’s degree in fine arts, digital media or visual communication will give you a good foundation for a career in art direction. Depending on your area of interest, you could opt for any of these subjects at the undergraduate level. However, for a successful career in art direction you need to acquire proficiency in design software packages such as Adobe Photoshop, user interface design, HTML, Illustrator, InDesign, Adobe creative suite, and Cascading Style Sheets, plus acquire knowledge of photography and typefaces. During your undergrad years, it’s important for you to maintain a portfolio of your work. I have just completed class XII (PCM) and want to study spatial design. What is the scope of a career in spatial design? — Seepie Singh, Bhopal Spatial design is a new discipline that transcends the boundaries of traditional design specialisms such as architecture, landscape, interior and service design. Spatial designers study how people move and interact in their living spaces, and design buildings and environments to suit their lifestyles. Employment opportunities are in interior/building design firms, theatre, film, television and digital design, furniture and products design and teaching postgraduate students. I’m interested in teaching after I graduate in science next year. What qualifications do I need to teach in a school/college? — Sunita Desai, Mumbai The eligibility requirement to qualify as a school teacher varies according to the level/age of students you teach. The minimum qualification for any school teacher is a B.Ed degree. However, to teach higher secondary school students, a postgraduate qualification together with a B.Ed is required. Moreover, you need to clear the teacher eligibility test before you can teach in any school. To qualify as a college/university lecturer, you need a postgraduate degree (with a minimum 55 percent average), clear the National Eligibility Test (NET) and enroll in an M.Phil or Ph D programme. Under UGC regulations, only postgrads who have cleared NET are eligible to teach undergraduates. The best option is to sign up for a full-time B.Ed degree and start teaching in a school. Coterminously, you can sign up for an online M.Sc degree programme. I want to pursue a career in geology after completing Plus Two. Which universities in India offer study programmes in this vocation? — Ayushman Mehta, Bangalore Geology is an earth science which includes the study of mineralogy, natural structures, geomorphology, paleontology and geological engineering. Almost all major universities host geology departments and most colleges offer undergrad and postgrad degree programmes in the subject. Among the most reputed are the IITs (Mumbai, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Dhanbad and Bhubaneswar); St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai; TIFR, Mumbai; Indian Institute of Geo-Magnetism, Mumbai; Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad; National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad and National Institute of Oceanography, Goa. I am a class XII science student interested in journalism. What are the skill-sets required? Also please suggest colleges which offer study programmes in journalism. — Tayyaba…
