It was 1993 when Jayaraj cleared his M. Com. Like every other true blue Keralite, he began sitting for bank tests and teaching in one of the innumerable parallel colleges in the country. While at work, he also pursued a PG Diploma in Computer Applications. He got into Lord Krishna Bank, and banking computerisation was catching up. Jayaraj found his niche. He developed substantial expertise over a period of six years and is currently Consultant, Risk on the Oracle Financial Services team. As he says, "It is the M. Com that gave me the foundation, but the computer applications gave me the opportunity." Welcome to the world of diplomas.  From advertising to yoga to computers, a whole lot of fields are open for today's graduates to blossom into professionals.

Advertising and PR With an industry size of about Rs 20,000 crore currently, this industry is expected to grow in the long run, despite the current wave of contraction and consolidation. Led by burgeoning internet and mobile penetration, new forms of advertising using new media are expected to lead the charge. While private institutes like NiA, Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan and YMCA offer industry-responsive curriculum with a chance of a placement interview, a whole lot of universities offer a cost-effective alternative. But as Parameswaran, Executive Director, FCB Ulka says, "Diploma holders would begin as executive trainees and would be bunched with graduates from elite colleges. But they do get a start, and then all that counts is talent and handwork."

Media and Journalism For any graduate with a flair for writing and fire in the belly, this is the best entry point for a career. While schools like Chennai's Asian School of Journalism, Manorama School of Journalism in Kottayam and Bangalore's Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (see the last issue of Careers360 for a detailed treatment of journalism as a profession) offer professional diplomas, university diplomas also afford entry into the sector. But the only constraint here is that you might have to enter through regional media. And after the stupendous success of Hindi newspapers, language media is also seen in a new light. Media management is another lucrative segment open to select graduates (see column by Namrata Suri, Director, NiA alongside).

Sales and Marketing An evergreen diploma, this is more of a value-add rather than a route to a job. Ideally, one should always look for diplomas which offer specialisations, like insurance and pharma sales services, rather than generic ones. With over 50 universities offering these programmes, the choices are aplenty. Praveen Kumar, Sales Manager with Sun Pharma, opines that, "A diploma from an institution like Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI offered by NIIT Imperia), might be a better option than one from a normal university." But with the advent of focused sales training institutes like Carnegie Institute, CIM, UK, Wigan & Leigh College and NIS Sparta with centres all over India, sales is increasingly getting professionalised, and some of these institutes offer placement assistance as well.

Fitness and Yoga/Food and Nutrition With over one in three urban Indians approaching obesity, fitness is a booming sector and yoga and allied Indian systems of medicine are finding many takers. Purushothaman Shastri, a product of Bihar Yoga Bharati, is not even a graduate, but his communications skills can put many to shame. He says the profession is very demanding, and the initial stages would be quite a struggle. While about 20 universities do offer programmes in fitness, which are structured and scientific, institutions like Gold Gym, Talwalkar's and Bihar Yoga Bharti offer you focused skill-based certification. A dual-qualification would put you on a sure footing in the market. A few institutions like Bihar Yoga Bharti, Sagar University and Avinashilingam University offer programmes in Indian languages as well.

Travel and Tourism India was the 10th most visited destinations for tourists, according the Word Tourism Report, 2008 and the largest in terms of revenues earned. Though the industry is affected by the current downturn, according to Ramesh Chand, CEO Travel Advisory, this is a sector with long-term potential and students would always find employment, provided they lower their expectations in terms of pay packages. The institute recently launched a specialised 2-month programme on training to be a tour guide with paid internship at Switzerland, but its industry acceptance is still not clear, since it was launched very recently. Nearly 35 universities, as well as institutions like YMCA offer courses on tourism management. A major revenue generating sector, a diploma here would enable one to venture into the business on one's own as well.

Computer Applications Computing capability is now as important as communication in securing a job. Any kind of profession demands ability to effectively use computers. As Divya Pillai, a placement consultant opines, 85% of applicants can't use spreadsheets and almost none of them could affect a mail merge facility. In terms of offerings, too, nearly 85 universities offer PG diplomas in computer applications. And for those of you who want to pursue higher education, a diploma in computer applications would earn you lateral entry into 2nd year MCA, thereby saving a year there as well. But it is the industry certification like CCNA, MCSE, and Oracle Certified-Database Administrator that provides maximum job opportunities.  Prem, an employee at Motorola, Bangalore, was an M.Sc in computer science. But it is only his MCSE certification that enabled him to land a job as a systems trouble shooter at Motorola (see the section on industry certification in the booklet for details).

Animation Did you know most of the graphics for the recent movie Dashavataram was done at Pentamedia in Chennai? Animation is the next big opportunity in the computing field. Marrying imagination with technology, it provides tremendous growth potential, and most of it is driven by small institutions in tier-II towns. Prof. George Varghese, Faculty of Animation, New Castle University, was introduced to animation by a small training institution in his home town, Kochi. Though one would be exposed to the latest tools and concepts at leading institutions like Aptech Arena, MAYA, Pentamedia and others, most of these courses are quite expensive.

Counselling and Guidance For a nation which invests about a third of its total education spend in higher education, career planning is almost a misnomer. As Prof VV Krishna, Senior Visiting Fellow at National University of Singapore says, "As parents we are very clueless but completely involved in our children's education." The need for trained counsellors is tremendous and very few of them exist. Interestingly, about 13 universities offer courses in guidance. And some of these are specialised programmes for rehabilitation as well. This diploma excels as a self-employment opportunity.

Office Management and Secretarial Practice This is the last of the 10 diplomas we identified, and the least glamorous, but it produces the lynchpins of every office. But as Suresh, MD of outsourcing firm Wellplaced says, people trained in office practices along with computer literacy are very much in short supply. And interestingly, this is one diploma which is exceptionally cheap to do the most costliest one is Rs 7,000. But the biggest catch is that communication capabilities in English and computer literacy, not to mention an ability to get things done with matchless efficiency, are a sine qua non.