Careers in Aviation

Aviation is a large field so it will not be possible to cover all career options in one post. To easily understand each career prospects of aviation, I will split the guidance materials into different posts. Student can choose their options depend on their particular interest.

This is the first post on Careers in Aviation; it outlines overview of aviation industry and job profiles.

Overview :

Aviation is a general term which includes the science and technology of flight through the air. Aviation also applies to the mode of travel provided by the aircraft as carriers of passengers and cargo, and as such is part of the total transportation system. Aviation also describes the employment of aircraft in such fields as military aviation. The world of the airplane, including the people who manufacture, market, and repair aircraft or who work in allied industries, is frequently spoken as aviation.

Aviation is broadly grouped into three classes :

• General aviation,
• Air transport aviation (commercial aviation), and
• Military aviation.

General aviation comprises of all aviation not included in military or air-transport aviation.

Commercial aviation includes passenger airlines and cargo air services (domestic and international operations), air taxi and charter operations. The major function of commercial aviation is the movement of persons and commodities.

Military aviation includes all forms of aviation in military activities i.e. the air force and the aviation arms of the navy and army.

Aviation Job Profiles :

A career in aviation has gained much popularity. The industry has been growing significantly over the last few years. The numbers of domestic and international carriers have been doubled and the requirement for professionals in the field has also been increased.

Aspirants can make career in any sectors of aviation industry; however there are separate eligibility criteria for each sector. The major career options are available in commercial aviation sector. One can look out at options such as customer support, ticket reservation, cargo management, logistic, aviation administration, aircraft engineering and maintenance, flight crew, flight dispatchers, cabin crew, ground operations and many more. The list of aviation career options can be stretch as per departmental wise. Even the government or aviation regulatory bodies offer numerous job profiles related to this field.

The commercial airlines have the following pattern of organizational structure like airlines operations which includes flight and ground operations, maintenance, security, safety, marketing, HR and finance divisions. Here are some listed jobs profiles not in brief just an outline. Brief of each individual job will not be possible in one post, so the career prospect of each job will be covered in different posts.

• Pilots : The job of pilot is one of the most adventurous career in aviation. It is a specialised job and requires intensive training along with specialised knowledge of air navigation, interpretation of meteorological reports, operations of sophisticated electronic and mechanical controls.
• Aeronautical Engineers : Aeronautical engineering is the branch of engineering concerned primarily with the design and construction of aircraft structures and power units, and with the special problems of flight in the atmosphere. Candidates with aeronautical degrees have excellent career opportunities in the aviation industry.
• Air Hostess : This profession attracts smart and young individuals who love to do a lot of traveling and believe in hard work. The primary role of an air hostess is to ensure passenger safety. In addition to this, they are often tasked with customer service duties such as serving meals and drinks, as a secondary responsibility. The majority of air hostess for most airlines are female, though a substantial number of males have entered the industry.
• Airline Ticketing : The job includes reservation and booking of flight tickets for the customers and also the job planning of routes. Basically the job is customer oriented, so an individual require good communication skills. There is no particular requirement about education background, but graduation in any stream should be an advantage. Under graduates may also get an opportunity but require some experience. There are some diploma courses available in ticketing management which should give good advantage for career boost.
• Customer Service Jobs : Nowadays customer service jobs are in great demand especially for young and hardworking people. Customer satisfaction is the main priority for all the airlines today. Customer service executives are entrusted with the duty of looking after various problems and requirements of the clients.
• Apart from above, one can also look out for job opportunities in administration, traffic regulation, cargo management, ground operations, security agent, aircraft maintenance and other areas related to this field.

 As discussed the organizational size of commercial airlines, it will not be easy to cover career brief of each department in one post. So I will post the career brief of each individual job as a separate post. Check Kokan Tribune Blog regularly.

Check out the latest deal on Amazon.com

Raigad District, Places of Visit

General Information :

Raigad district is located in south western side of Maharashtra state. The district head quarter is Alibag. Alibag is situated on the western coast of India and on shore of Arabian Sea.

Raigad district consist of 15 talukas : Alibag, Pen, Murud, Mangaon, Tala, Roha, Sudhagad (Pali), Mahad, Mhasla, Poladpur, Shrivardhan, Panvel, Khalapur, Karjat and Uran.

The main rivers in Raigad district are Kalu, Patalganga, Amsa, Kundalika, Ghod, Ulhas, Bhogawati, Savitri and Gandhar.

The district includes towns/cities of Panvel, Pen, Khopoli, Khalapur, Uran, Patalganga, Rasayani, Nagothana, Poladpur, Alibag, Karjat and Mahad. The biggest city both in area and population is Panvel. The district also includes the isle of Gharapuri or Elephanta, located in Uran tehasil which has ancient Hindu and Buddhist caves.

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University is a unitary, autonomous university located at Lonere in Raigad district, Maharashtra, India.

Tourist Spot :

Prime attraction in district are as follows :

• Forts : Raigad and Murud-Janjira fort.


• Holyplaces like Ballaleshwar Ganpati – Pali, Varad Vinayak Gapati – Mahad, Birla Ganesh Temple – Alibag, Kanakeshwar – Alibag and Elephanta Caves.


• Beaches : Alibag, Murud – Janjira and Hari-Harihareshwar.


• Hill Station : Matheran.

Sindhudurg District Places of Visit

General Information :

Sindhudurg district is the Southern part of the ‘Konkan’ which is historically famous for its long coast line and safe harbors. The district is named after the fort of Sindhudurg (which means “fort in the sea”), which lies on a rocky island just off the coast of Malvan.

Sindhudurg is bordered on the North by Ratnagiri District, on the South by the state of Goa, on the west by the Arabian Sea, and to the east across the crest of the Western Ghats or Sayadhris is Kolhapur District.

Sindhudurg district comprises of eight talukas : Sawantwadi, Kudal, Vengurla, Malvan, Devgad, Kankavli, Vaibhavwadi and Dodamarg. Smaller towns include Talere, Vaibhavwadi, Shirgaon, Kharepatan, Achara, Banda and the hill resort of Amboli.

The modern township of Sindhudurgnagari is the headquarters of Sindhudurg district.

The main rivers in the district are Devgad, Gad, Shuk, Achra, Terekhol, Sahyadri, Kurla, Kalna and Tilari.

Sindhudurg being a coastal district, the climate is generally moist and humid and the temperature variations during the day and throughout the seasons are not large.

Mango is a major factor to the life of Sindhudurg. Varieties of Alphonso Mango from Devgad are particularly popular. Other varieties of mango are Mankur, Pāyari and Karel (used for preparing Mango Pickle) are also popular for their distinct taste.

Most of the district area covered by dense rain forest, Amboli hill station area is most suitable habitat for wild animals like leopard, wild cats, rabbits, wild hen and some times wild buffalo also appears in winter season.

National Highway 17 passes through this area. With 7 railway stations, a 103 km stretch of Konkan Railway line passes through this district. It has good road and rail links with Goa and Bombay

Places of attraction :

• Tilari Dam (Dodamarg)
• Redi Ganesh Vengurla
• Navadurga Temple at Redi
• Navdurga Redi
• Amboli Hill Station Sawantwadi
• Sindhudurg Fort Malvan
• Vijaydurg Fort Devgad
• Dev Kaleshwar Temple, Nerur
• Kunkeshwar temple Devgad
• Lakshminarayan Temple, Walwal
• Shri Bramhanand Swami Math, Ozar
• Shri Sai Baba Temple (oldest in India), Kudal
• Napapne Waterfall, Vaibhavwadi
• Bharadi Devi temple, Aangnewadi
• Konkan Tourism
• Achara Beach
• Shree Dev Rameshwar Temple, Achara
• Bhalchandra Maharaj Ashram, Kankavli

Beaches :

• Redi
• Shiroda
• Tarkarli
• Malvan
• Vijaydurg
• Velagar
• Bhogve
• Nivti
• Khavne
• Devbaug
• Wayaangani
• Achara
• Mochemad
• Mithbaon
• Sagaareshwar (Ubhadanda)
• Chivla
• Baagayat

Careers in Commerce

Careers in Commerce

-- Source of Information : Yahoo ! India Education portal, Educationtimes.com portal and indiaeducation.net portal --

Bachelors in Commerce or BCom, is as the name itself suggests, gives an overview of the commerce field. Commerce education is known as a foundation for business development. Commerce offers foundation for many professional careers like finance, planning, accountancy, tax practitioners, banking and broking … etc, besides academics, research, and many more.

Persons having interest for accounting, finance, commodities, marketing and trading … etc may generally choose Commerce as first career choice.

Well Known Personality :

Do you know what do steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, PepsiCo Chairperson Indira Nooyi and Kinetic Motors’s Joint MD Sullaja Firoda Motwani have in common? Besides being established names, all of them are Commerce graduates.

Not that their illustrious careers were scripted while studying. But their Commerce background definitely aided in setting the stage. It familiarised them with financial foundations of a Company, besides acquainting them with core financial underpinnings that result in smooth functioning of really successful corporations.

BCom basics :

As a stream of study, Commerce can be studied right after 10 years of schooling. After the 10 years of schooling – commerce is available as an option in 10+2 or the Higher Secondary level. After completing Class 12, one can pursue Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) or Bachelor of Commerce (Hons), both three-year full-time programmes.

Commerce is a multidisciplinary field, choose your options carefully. A number of subjects can be studied under Commerce disciplines like accountancy, economics, mathematics, business, finance, stastics and e-commerce among others.

Here are some of the listed subjects of commerce, student can choose depend on their particular interest.

• Business economics : This would cover concepts like the laws of demand and supply, law of returns, elasticity, theory of pricing under different market forms … etc.
• Financial accounting : This subject would deal with the preparation of profit and loss statements, balance sheets and final accounts of a company, knowledge of accounting standards, calculation of depreciation and valuation of shares and goodwill of a company.
• Cost accounting : This would include process, job and contract costing, costing of overheads, standard and variance costing and budgetary control.
• Income tax : This would encompass the nature and basis of charge of income tax, tax planning, tax deduction, incomes not taxable … etc.
• Auditing : This would deal with vouching, valuation and verification of transactions, assets and liabilities. It will also include studying the auditing of different organizations like clubs, hospitals and charitable concerns.
• Business finance : This would include in its scope financial analysis as a diagnostic tool, the management of working capital and its components as well as capital structure leverages.
• Business law : This subject would discuss the different laws in India relating to, among others, the Companies Act and the Consumer Protection Act.
• Marketing : This subject would deal with products, pricing methods, promotion, channels of distribution, logistics … etc.
• Business communication : This subject focuses on the art of business correspondence, business letter writing, memo writing, notices … etc.

Difference between BCom (Honors) and BCom (Pass) :

BCom (Honors) :

B.Com (Honors) is an undergraduate degree designed to inculcate business acumen in students. The course curriculum includes subjects like cost accounting, organizational behaviour and then one can specialize in fields like accounts and economics. You can also pursue courses like Chartered Accountancy along with your BCom. You can better your skills by pursuing post graduation courses like MBA or M.Com.

Scope :

You can join a KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) that deals with processing of payrolls, administration of accounts or insurance at entry level positions. If you’re interested in figures, and balancing ledgers, cost accounts, then you can join as an account assistant or in the auditing department of various firms. Apart from this, you can go for higher education, by pursuing courses like an MBA or an MCom.

BCom (Pass) :

The course is similar to BCom (Honors). The difference lies in the fact that you can specialize in a certain subject in BCom (Honor), but the BCom (Pass) course gives you an overview of all those subjects taught in the honors course.

Scope

You can pursue higher education after your graduation. You can pursue courses like MBA or M.Com. Compared to the honors course, the job opportunities are a little less, after pursuing this course.

The following table can illustrate simple differences between B.Com Honors and Pass:

Post Graduate level and beyond :

A BCom graduate may pursue the Master of Commerce, or other post-graduate masters programs such as the Master of Finance (MFin), Master of Accounting (MAcc), Master in Business Administration (MBA). The degree is usually recognised by the various professional accounting bodies, and graduates often therefore pursue accounting designations such as the Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified General Accountant (CGA), or Financial qualifications such as Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Career prospects :

BCom graduates can get a job in several fields ranging from banks, financial institutions, outsourcing firms, insurance companies, audit firms, aviation, media and defense. A fresh Commerce graduate can start out as account assistant, in CA firm or any other small organisation. Corporate also recruit fresh BCom students directly from campuses. Commerce graduates can also work as researchers and teachers.

Here’s a quick look at the various options :

• Banking: For a career in banking, one can start off by maintaining accounts. However, to climb up the ladder, you have to clear an exam conducted by the bank. Within the banking sector itself one can choose from a variety of options like retail personal banking, corporate banking, merchant banking, rural banking, treasury group and product management and loans to name some. If you are comfortable with numbers, and have a good presence of minds, there are options galore.
• Investments : If you are looking forward to making it in the investment sector, it is advisable to start off by assisting an investment banker as experience can help you climb the success ladder. This is especially true for forex and capital trading, as they need a higher amount of experience. Similarly, if you are looking forward to getting into the stock market, it is only experience that will help as experience will give you the knack of how the market functions. Equity research analyst, investment banker, mutual fund executive, capital market manager, financial planner/ asset manager, venture capitalist, and real estate are some of the other options you could choose from.
• Insurance : Insurance is not very different from the investment sector when it comes to experience. Yes, the key to success here is also experience. Insurance offers jobs like actuary, risk management, insurance surveyor, underwriter … etc.
• Other fields : Apart from these known ‘commerce’ fields, you can also try your hand in aviation, travel and tourism, media, defense, medical transcription, secretarial practices, and of course, the booming BPO.

Salary Packages :

Pay packages depend on the organisations as well as area of specialisation. Salaries depend on the nature of organisation and type of job. Students with good communication skills tend to get paid better. They are ideal candidates for front-end functions such as customer service, marketing and sales.

So, if you have the financial aptitude and are willing to develop further competency, be rest assured, as a Commerce student you will never be out of a job.

Cashews in Kokan

The cashew (Marathi name Kaju) is a fruit which looks like an inverted heart. Cashew is grown for its fruit cashew apple and for a nut. Cashew nut is grown at the end of cashew apple.

Cashew apple is used for making cashew syrup. The famous Goan feni is produced from cashew apple juice.

Nuts are separated from cashew apple immediately after the harvest. Dried nuts are roasted either in open pan or rotary cylinders. Shelling is done by hands. Soon after roasting kernels are dried in sun or hot air chambers in cashew factory. They are kept in sweating chamber for some time. The nuts are then ready for grading and packing. The premium quality cashews of Sindhudurg are exported worldwide.

Cashew trees grow in rocky land having red soil. Kokan climate is very favorable for cashews plantation and are mainly grown in large scale in Sindhudurg district.
Fruits are ripen from December to May.

The nutritional health facts of cashews

The cashew tree’s leaves and bark as well as the popular cashew apple possess herbal health benefits that include killing bacteria and germs, stopping diarrhea, drying secretions, increasing the libido, and reducing fever, blood sugar, blood pressure and body temperature.

Cashew nuts have gained popularity not only for their succulent flavor but for health benefits, too. Whether roasted, salted, sugared or covered in chocolate, the cashew nut, often used as a flavorful complement to appetizers, main dishes and deserts.

The cashew nut is full of nutritional content. It contains protein and high levels of the essential minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and manganese. That is why it is said that Cashew nuts are beneficial for health as they contain heart-protective monounsaturated fats, copper, and magnesium.

Cashew nuts do have a relatively high fat content (12 grams per ounce, 2 grams saturated fat), but it is considered “good fat.” This is due to the agreeable fat ratio in the nut, 1:2:1 for saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated, respectively, which scientists say is the ideal ratio for optimal health.

Kokani the Language, Past and Present

We all know that Kokan is land of natural beauty and culture. Like its unique beauty, the language of Kokan known as Kokani is also unique. The word unique has been used for Kokani language because even through it is widely spoken in Kokan, each region has a different dialect, pronunciation style, vocabulary, tone and sometimes, significant differences in grammar.

Roots of Kokani Language :

The origins of Konkani language from the historic viewpoint are very interesting. The Aryans who migrated to India familiarized themselves in North India and established several languages based on the local influence. Depending on their geographical dispersion you can categorize two distinct groups. Punjabi, Rajasthani, Gujarati, and Hindi evolved from Prakrit of Magadha, and Sindhi Maithili, Assamese, Bengali originated from Shouraseni Prakrit. Konkani belongs to the second group, and hence some scholars regard Bengali or Assamese as the mother of Konkani language. However, in reality the three are siblings of the same (now nonexistent) intermediary parent language. The arguments on the matter continue to generate a lot of response among linguists. Some historians argue that it was the language of Aryans who came further South to the Konkan, and hence the name Kokani. The most important point to note here is that Konkani is first seen in the Konkan area. Early adopters used the Brahmi script, but eventually due to the local influence, Nagari (i.e. Devanagari) was used for the benefit of much larger audience.

Also earlier times, Kokanis had business interactions with Arabian countries; therefore some Arabian-Persian words entered in Konkani language. During 11th century Kadamba kings ruled Goa so some Kannada words too found place in Konkani. In the 13th century, Konkani people residing in Kerala accepted some words from Malayalam and Tamil. During 1510, Portuguese came to Goa; they ruled Goa for around 450 years, so some Portuguese words also came in Konkani and are still in use. Konkani has taken some words even from old Marathi. Of late, due to onslaught of English language, many English words and phrases too are seen in this language. The orthography, vocabulary, grammar and overall style of Konkani have an impact of other languages.

Scripts :

Kokani does not have a unique script. It is written in a number of scripts. Devanagari is the official script for Konkani in Goa, whereas Roman script is also popular in Goa. Amongst the Konkani population of Karnataka, the Kannada script is used. Malayalam script is used by the Konkani community in Kerala state, centered on the cities of Cochin and Kozhikode. Urdu script is used by Konkani Muslims in coastal Maharashtra and Bhatkal taluka of Karnataka to write Konkani.

Dialects :

Despite having a small population, Konkani language shows varieties of dialects. The dialect of Konkani can easily be classified according to the region, religion, caste and local tongue influence. Different researchers have classified the dialects differently. N. G. Kalelkar’s classification is based on the historical events and cultural ties of the speakers and he has broadly classified the dialects into three main groups :

• Northern Konkani : These are the dialects mainly spoken in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra with strong cultural ties to Marathi.
• Central Konkani : It is the dialects spoken in Goa, where Konkani came in close contact with Portuguese language and culture.
• Southern Konkani : The dialects which are spoken in the Canara region of Karnataka which came in close contact with Tulu and Kannada.

Kokani Language Today :

Language is identity of every community. If you want to save our community, first we have to save our own language. One should realize a fact that our language is dying and it is our responsibility to save it.

How many Kokanis speak their mother tongue Kokani ? Many of us don’t know the fact that we are the real enemies of our language because we left our language and adopted other domestic or foreign languages such as Marathi, Urdu, English … etc. It is not our mistakes, the modern era has put us in foreign / domestic languages and we adopt those languages and culture and put end to our culture.

In Maharashtra Marathi community believe that Kokani is a dialect of Marathi and did not recognize as a language. The Kokani language is not receiving the respect or status as it deserved and thus it resulted in lack of literature or patronage of the language. But, history has established that even when Konkani language had reached maturity, the Marathi language was not even born.

If one has to see the diversity of today’s Kokani language, one should travel the Indian west coast. In Mumbai, they speak in Marathi accent whereas in Kokan, they stretch the words so that no outsider can understand. The Hindus of Goa liberally use the Portuguese words whereas the Christians use it as if it’s a Portuguese dialect.

A very large number of Kokanis live outside India, either as expatriates or citizens of other countries (NRIs). A significant number of Kokani speakers are found in African continent, Persian Gulf, UK, USA, Canada, Australia … etc. Many families still continue to speak different dialects that their ancestors spoke, which are now highly influenced by the native languages.

Kokani is dying because Kokanis are changing their mother tongue like Catholics have started speaking English, Muslims are adopting Urdu and Hindus are using Marathi. This should be stopped as early as possible otherwise in few years Kokani language will remain as history.

The Kokani language will only be saved when an individual understand the importance to remain with its culture and heritage. To save our language, all Kokanis should speak in their mother language and even teach the language to their children, it may be any dialects try to understand and try to avoid marrying out of Konkani caste.

It is not that we are against any languages; we should respect other languages but should not forget our mother language. Knowing different languages is good practice and nowadays it is not hard to learn any languages, as the media contributes highly. So don’t worry our kids will automatically learn other languages.

Remember Kokani is beautiful language lets conserve it, develop it and proudly call it as our mother tongue.

Note it is practice which makes man perfect. You can become perfect in every language. Take example of former Prime Ministers of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Mr. Narasimha Rao. Both were masters of 13 Indian languages. So it is individual responsibility to save his language.

How fathers can improve communication with kids

--- Source: www.timeswellness.com and Educationtimes.com ---
For Parents

There are challenges that a father faces while trying to communicate with his child. Deepti Khanna tells how you can overcome those and strengthen the father-child bond.

Most kids often complain that their fathers never have the time for them and most fathers are sad that kids don’t respect the decisions they take for them.

6-12 years
In this age group, kids are aware yet very curious and inquisitive. They have complete faith and trust in what their parents say and do not challenge what is spoken. For fathers it is important to understand that the Indian concept of instilling fear of the father is not healthy. Dr Harish Shetty, pyschiatrist practising at Dr LH Hirannadani Hospital says, “Often in India, mothers threaten kids that if they don’t do their homework, their father would be told. This is not the right way of communicating. The child at this age should be made to feel secure and accepted.”

Dr Yusuf Mathcheswalla, a psychiatrist and a counsellor says, “In case of a male child the Sigmund Freudian concept of Oedipus complex holds true. Until 5 years, a boy child is completely in love with his mother and shares a very close bond with her. It is only after five that the boy child accepts his father and begins to bond. By six and seven

Years, the child becomes very friendly with his dad. For him his dad is his superman and loves spending time together. In case of the girl child they simply dote on their fathers and love them more than their moms.”

13 to 18 years
According to experts it is important to allow the child to dream and express their dreams when they are in their teens. This means that if a child says “I want to be a pilot” he or she should not be told ‘but you do not get enough marks’. On the other hand he / she should be encouraged to dream big and realise their dreams eventually. Dr Shetty adds, “Also in this age group, providing an element of surprise while communicating is important. Dads can just take their kids for a drive or coffee and just chat and tell them things like how he met his wife and such things. It is important to befriend the child. Also being around the child is important but do not do the mistake of spying. Trust your kids completely but keep your eyes open.”

Dr Matcheswalla states that 13 to 18 years is a time when the child grows from a boy to man. The child starts making bonds outside home and distancing from parents happens. It is important for dads to take an interest in kids’ lives and ensure they communicate with each other without lecturing.

18 to 21 years
During this age group there is not much face to face interaction among kids and dads so making an effort from the parent’s side is important. Fathers should go for a drive, walk, ice cream etc. Fathers at this stage should call kids and involve them in family decisions. For instance, “Which colour walls will you prefer or what could we have for dinner.” Also during these brief interactions it is advisable to stay away from lecturing kids. Your aim should be to give him / her a good time. Also knowing the kids’ friends is crucial.

Says Dr Matcheswalla, “It is important to give your child space. A doctor father should not expect a doctor son. But again once career choices are made and he / she is good in academics this period generally runs smooth.”

Above 21 years of age
By this age the child has settled career wise and respecting the child’s desires is what a dad should do. During this time kids and dads will be together and bond generally on festivals and times of illness. Dads now should make an effort to bond through small conversations and gossiping. Dr Shetty says, “At this stage it is important to accept the lifestyle choices the child has made. For instance if a child says lets go in my car the dad should not say ‘no I am a simple man and will travel by train alone’. If the child offers a lift by car, accept it wholeheartedly.”

However the one thing that fathers across all age groups should remember is that they need to respect their child at every point. Dr Harish Shetty, pyschiatrist practising at Dr LH Hirannadani Hospital says, “According to me, love should come after respect. Loving is not as important as respecting. It is lack of respect for each other that causes all the communication problems.”

Kokan Electricity Generation about 25 Megawatts

In Kokan electricity about 25 Megawatt to be generated through privatized plants, check the below article from Sakal newspaper.
http://www.esakal.com/esakal/20110201/4863826971558660918.htm

Carrer Path Finder

Check out the carrer path finder especially for our youngsters :