Trending doesn’t mean “in fashion”. It’s all about the courses which you study now and secure your career journey with, as these courses have peak requirements in employment across the globe. Develop the required skills at every step of life, keep upgrading your knowledge, and by doing so you will never go out of trend.

As Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Ensure that you are taking that first step in the right direction with the right guidance.

Here are a few in-demand courses that offer students more job opportunities, and finally, a lucrative career.

Technology

Ever-emerging technologies have become a part of our daily life, and as the future approaches, many more people will be required to handle these technologies. The digital revolution continues to enrich humans as technology progresses each day. The niche fields which will help students develop their skills in this domain are Machine Learning, Web Design and Application Development, Cyber-crime and E-investigation, Software Engineering, Digital System Technology and Embedded Systems, Semi-conductors technology, Big Data, Data Communication, Data Warehousing and Data Mining, Data Scientists, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Network Security, Forensic Science, Wireless Communication, Computer Animation, Computer Networking, Computer Games Development, Computer Graphics, Multimedia, Image Analysis, Applied Computing, Mobile Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Bio-informatics, Micro-processing, Virtual Reality, Internet of Things (IoT), Advanced Robotics, Biometric Technology, Automation Technology, Cryptocurrency, Aviation Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing, Aerospace Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering, Oil and Petroleum Engineering, Textile Engineering, Ecotechnology, Biomedical Technology and Food Technology.

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In my teenage years, pursuing an education abroad was one of the biggest fantasies for me. I always thought achieving that dream needed a lot of money, but over time I realized that it was a necessity and the whole journey needed to start with the right guidance.

In 2021, despite the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, as per UNESCO, 91% of Indian students showed an interest in pursuing their studies abroad. According to data from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), despite many visa-related issues, 2,61,406 students went abroad to pursue an education.

Rick Steve said, “If we want a new generation of leaders and innovators who can be effective in an ever more globalized world, sending our students overseas is not a luxury. It’s a necessity.”

Stepping outside your comfort zone is one of the biggest challenges, but the whole experience of studying abroad is valuable and worthwhile.

Education abroad broadly offers two types of benefits — personal and academic.

Personal Growth: Studying abroad makes you!

1. New Country and Culture

Adaptability and getting immersed in a totally different environment can be scary at first, but it will help you grow your self-confidence and independence. It also gives you an opportunity to explore places or countries around your university, to learn about local food, history, traditional music, sports and customs. You may also get a chance to experience your own culture or tradition through the eyes of other people belonging to another culture. This in turn broadens your world view and perspective.

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“I believe that individuals can make a difference in society. Since periods of change such as the present one come so rarely in human history, it is up to each of us to make the best use of our time to help create a happier world.”

— The Dalai Lama

Scholarship committees have a massive responsibility and that is to distribute the money in such a way that diversity is increased in the classroom, stronger ideals are rewarded and the best students are encouraged to join a University. In this context, those students have an edge who have dedicated their leisure time to empowering people other than their own selves. The question young people ask is: “What can I do?”, “I am still learning myself?” However, each of us has the capacity to help another no matter what our age and/or ability. We all have our unique skills which can be used to benefit other people. For some of you it might be a language skill, for others it could be time and compassion or knowledge of everyday technology, etc. It really depends on how you utilize the skills you have and help make a difference in somebody else’s life.

How to choose the volunteer experience

Ideally, you want to volunteer in a community that you would genuinely like to impact. However, sometimes that may or may not be possible owing to the circumstances you are in. The important thing is to be consistent and work with a community for a long period of time. Being flighty and working a few weeks here and a few weeks there is not really looked upon as being dependable. So be consistent and do some intensive work in a setting to gain the full benefits.

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“Play to your personal strengths” is what I always tell students who come to me for an answer to the eternal question whether academics matters more or extra-curriculars. The question is objectively almost impossible to solve as every admission and scholarship committee is different and their objectives of giving the scholarship are different. If academics is your strength then make that your key card and vice versa. There are certain skills that we acquire predominantly through academics like the ability to research, critical thinking, interpreting data, etc. But extra-curriculars, on the other hand, give you an opportunity to develop your soft skills like leadership, team skills, communication, etc. So probably maintaining a balance and working towards an all-round personality is what will benefit you the most in life as far as your long-term career planning goals are concerned. However let’s take a closer look at how extra-curriculars, especially sports, activities can hone your personality further and make you that much more unique.

Life Skills and Sports

When I say that “sports can really help build your character” I don’t really mean playing a sport in your neighbourhood without any routine, or attempt towards skill development or for that matter watching a game of soccer in the middle of the night! Watching a game passionately on TV (however big) is not really a symbol of your excellence. The true benefits of any activity, including sport, accrue when you try and push your talent to the limit and involve yourself in it as professionally as possible. So if you are interested in cricket make a local club, have a team, look for opportunities to compete, play with discipline, benchmark your growth, etc. Giving it your all whilst balancing your academics will help you pick up those essential life skills.

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To study abroad with a full scholarship is a dream come true for almost everybody who decides to get into the game of applications to study abroad. So what differentiates those who manage to get the scholarship from those who don’t get the funding? Even though there is no one formula as scholarship winners are as much same as they are different. But let’s take a closer look at what may be some of the factors that could potentially convince an admissions committee to award the scholarship to one candidate over another.

1. Consistent Academic Record

There is no getting away from it. A steady performance in academics demonstrates to the admissions committee that a candidate is dependable and hardworking. So if you are in school/college and reading this do make sure that you study hard and maintain good marks. Do apply for those Olympiads and work towards them as every attempt to reach the state or the national level will strengthen your academic foundation and take you further in your quest for success. However, if due to any reason your academics take a dip, address it in your application. For instance, if one year your academics dipped because you lost focus and did not study that hard, mention what you learned from that experience in your application. The admissions committee does not expect candidates to be perfect but they are curious to assess how the candidate has coped with the situation.

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I studied Counselling in the USA on a full scholarship and on my return I started to work as a Student Adviser at the United States Education Foundation in India (USEFI). The job entailed guiding students on how to study successfully in the USA and the most frequently asked question was: “How can I study on a full scholarship?” Having been successful in the scholarship arena I spent a considerable amount of time guiding students with the scholarship process. However, I was always amazed at the myths that surrounded the scholarship process.

Merit vs Need: One of the frequently held myths is that scholarships are given out as charity to a financially needy person. So a large number of students use the Statement of Purpose to write about dire financial circumstances. The truth is that in the arena of international education (Indian students studying abroad) full scholarships are always given on merit. Very rarely will a full scholarship go to a student who has not been academically successful. So save those sob stories and focus on building your academic profile because having top of the line merit will always remain one of the key factors in winning full scholarships.

Academic vs Extra-curricular: At the undergraduate level (Bachelor’s) universities may look for a candidate who over and above academics will have excelled in extra-curricular activities. But a rare student will get a full scholarship only on the basis of extra-curricular activities provided they have been exceptional. So if you have to choose between focusing upon academics versus extra-curriculars then go for a balance and if you can’t manage a balance then tilt towards academics. There are, of course, some extra-curriculars which testify to your academic proficiency, e.g., National Science Olympiad, Maths Olympiad, etc., and they are a definite plus. The other activities that make a difference are Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, NCC, NSS, inter-school/state level sports, etc. So create an Excel sheet of the skills you are learning in these activities and highlight them in your Statement of Purpose.

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Rahul came to my office to discuss his rejection slips from several universities — puzzlement and disappointment written all over his face. All he kept saying was: “Where did I go wrong?”

There are several pieces to the puzzle that makes an application — the reference letter, the statement of purpose, standardized test scores, etc. Very often we look at our scores and feel complacent about the other aspects of an application. “After all, with scores like that a committee would be crazy to reject me!” Right? I’m afraid that’s wrong! The scores, the percentages are only one of the few concrete pieces that complete the puzzle. The subjective pieces like the reference letter and the statement of purpose provide vital data which make or break the application. Coming back to Rahul, his grades were great but the language of his statement of purpose (SOP) left much to be desired. There were careless mistakes and abbreviations strewn all over. So what could have been a great application sitting in the accepted pile reached the rejection pile instead.

Let’s take a closer look at what went wrong in Rahul’s SOP:

SMS Language vs Formal Language: When we send out a SMS or a WhatsApp message, most of us are used to using terms like ‘y’ to represent ‘why’ or ‘atm’ to represent ‘at the moment’ or ‘cu’ to represent ‘see you’. However, when we write a formal essay or a sample of writing it is unacceptable to use SMS like abbreviations. Some of you might roll your eyes at this but the admissions committee needs to know that you are familiar with English and can write an assignment in the same. Even though an IELTS or TOEFL is part of your application we are still light years away from SMS language being acceptable in the academic world.

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The Statement of Purpose (SOP) is probably the most challenging and exciting part of an application. It probably makes you, the applicant, most nervous before starting to write. Yet once it is well written it can bring out your personality and give your application a boost like nothing else can. The statement of purpose is an important component of your application. It is an opportunity for the admissions committee to know you personally as an individual rather than just as a number as indicated by your marksheets. You have complete control over this essay; how exciting is that! You can use the opportunity to talk about the aspects that have influenced your career path, your academic interests, etc. This is your opportunity to explain if there are any gaps or tangents in your background which cannot be understood from just numbers.

Learning from academics and achievements

There is no set rule whether this should be chronological or as per its importance. The aim of the SOP should be to highlight your unique achievements in academics. However please don’t leap from one year to the other and back again. If you are going to share the importance of high school then do so in completion before you move to college and then internship or job. However, if you think that something that happened in Class 12 defined you, then yes, start with that and then go back and share an experience in Class 9. The SOP is your personal work and it needs to stay true to what you feel is important. For instance, you could mention any specific assignments or projects that you have done in a related area, if you have read any books that can highlight your interest in the topic. Any special seminars you have attended would also find a special mention here. It is important that you highlight what specifically you learned from the book/project mentioned.

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Now that you have selected your universities, and the courses, it is best to start doing some in-depth research of the shortlisted universities. Most universities have clear instructions available on their website for international applicants. Additionally, universities may have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section which you might find useful. In case there is an instruction you don’t understand completely you could potentially email the university and request a reply or work with a local consultant for international education.

Marksheets and transcripts

Universities in different countries have different requirements hence the importance of doing in-depth research with the university that you shortlisted. Universities in the U.S. very often require you to submit transcripts from your college and/or they might also require you to get your credentials evaluated from agencies like World Education Service (www.wes.org). If credential evaluation is required please contact WES several weeks ahead during your preparation stage itself.

Reference letter

Unlike some Indian institutions, a character or a moral certificate is not required by universities abroad. The reference letters must always be taken from somebody who has either taught you academically or worked with you in a job/internship. Email a copy of your resume to the referee ahead of time while requesting the reference letter. (See my column on guidance for the Reference Letter)

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Developing and following an action plan is one of the most efficient ways to ensure that you stay on top of your game for admission applications to study abroad. As a counsellor many a time I have seen broken dreams and frustrated students because they did not either have a plan or a backup plan.

If by the next academic cycle you wish to study abroad or if studying abroad is part of your backup plan, then here are some steps that you could follow to ensure that you stay in control of your application and not succumb to the last minute panic monster.

Understanding Requirements Stage (Jan to October)*

Ideally, if you are looking at studying abroad, then this needs to happen at least 16 to 20 months in advance of the semester you intend to join. This is a vital stage as it helps you weigh the pros and cons of international education as well as helps you to understand the costs involved in the whole process. It is important that you do your own online research and visit the websites of some Universities so that you have basic knowledge yourself. You could consult an experienced counsellor, at this stage, to help understand these requirements better. My suggestion would be to create an excel sheet where you list the name of the University, the application deadlines, documents required, tests to be taken etc such that you can plan accordingly. For instance, if you are applying for medicine and to some universities in the U.K., then October 15th is the deadline and you need to adjust this timeline accordingly. Similarly, some U.S. universities for undergraduate applicants have an early action deadline in the first week of November and if you plan to meet that then you need to have given the tests by June/July such that you have your results in hand while completing the applications.

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