It's always been like this for the middle class in Vizag - only two 'decent' kinds of professionals existed: Doctors & Engineers. It used to be taken for granted that any self-respecting student would opt for either of these courses after high school. Here too there was a gender bias - while the girls opted for 'BPC' (Biology, Physics, Chemistry), the boys chose 'MPC' (Maths, Physics, Chemistry) at the high school/Intermediate level.

You had to be either an engineer or a doctor, as though these two were the only respectable professions in the world the Vizagites knew. The result of this unhealthy way of thinking is now manifest: hundreds of qualified engineers are either jobless or working in dead-end jobs as they aren't qualified for anything else, and there are scores of engineering colleges with hardly any students! Things don't get any better for medical professionals either: the entry-level qualification for a job is a postgraduate degree. Fresh medical graduates are in demand only in rural areas. Indeed nurses are doing better than ever before now. The situation compels qualified doctors to work as Medical Transcriptionists and Medical Reps selling for pharmaceutical companies. However, those willing to pursue 'new trails' (as far as Vizag is concerned) would find several new opportunities cropping up on the horizon.

Even today, ask any student what he wants to do and he would say that he wants to write his EAMCET. Ask any parent what they want their child to be, they would say that they want their child to be a doctor or an engineer. They are either not aware, or do not want to look at, a host of other career career options for their children. Most of them are unaware of career options that are equally good and lucrative as the ones mentioned above. With the rise of a new era, people all over the world are waking up to find new talents and skills they could use to etch out a career of their own. Vizag is also finally discovering these new and innovative fields of work. More and more students say that they are often not aware of the different types of courses or career options open to them. There is a lot of scope for students in careers like Hotel Management, Interior Design, Beauty therapy, Mass Communications etc. All said and done, one should not force oneself to work. He should love what he is doing and that will not only give him satisfaction but also ensure a job well done.

This new career section on VizagCityOnline.com, especially targeted at the city youth, would explore several alternative career options, for many of which education/training and job opportunities are available in Vizag.

Have you ever thought that you could encash your talent in cooking or in home management? Have you ever wondered if your hospitality and good management skills could get you a job? If you have it in you, Hotel Management is a career option made to order for you. It is a career that involves a lot of skill and hard work. But why study Hotel Management? With the rapid growth of the Hotel, Tourism and Hospitality industries, the industry needs students who are qualified Hotel Management grads. There are many job opportunities in National and International Hotel chains, Luxury Cruise Liners, the Tourism Industry as also in Teaching and Entrepreneurship ventures. This is a career that requires painstaking hard work and dedication, and only a well-disciplined person can stick around for a long time in a field like this.

Nationally famous institutes of Hotel Management are located at Pusa in Delhi and Dadar in Mumbai, besides the PAI Institute in Manipal. Institutes in Vizag offering the course include the Coromandel Institute of Hotel Management and the Indo-American Institute of Hotel Management. Most of these institutes have an entrance test comprising papers on Test of Reasoning, English, Numerical Ability and General Knowledge.

The courses available at the Coromandel Institute, Visakhapatnam include a Four-year Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology, a Three-year Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology and One-and-a-half year craft courses each in Food & Beverages Services, Food Production, Front Office Management besides Certificate courses of the Internationally Renowned American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH & LA).

The core subjects taught there include Food and Beverages Service, Food and Beverages Production, Front Office Operations, Housekeeping, Principles Of Management, F & B Service Management, Tourism Management, Hygiene and Sanitation, Computer Basics, Hotel Accounts and Hotel French, the last subject lending the course an international dimension.

An increasing number of students taking courses in Hotel Management feel that there is a scope for doing something new all the time. This is the kind of job for those who can withstand a tough schedule with a smiling face. Toppers, even those selected as hotel operations trainees could earn up to Rs 6,500 per month and could rise to the position of a General Manager to earn about Rs 80,000 per month.

But it is not the mere lure of money that pulls people to Hotel Management institutes - there is also an element of job satisfaction in it.

With the boom in the Service Sector (such as call centres and insurance industry) which call for 'people skills' and employees with a service-oriented attitude and training, hotel employees are in great demand and are being 'poached'.