Procedure to enter the field of Journalism

Years back, training for not absolutely essential, but today, it does give an extra boost to the career. Most of the large newspapers and disciplines prefer to take on young graduates in any discipline, since they are eager to learn and innovative. Training on the job is of course a must, and that proves to be the best kind of education because candidates can see first-hand the insides and workings of the industry - the plus points and disadvantages etc. Even when in college, candidates should start begin working on a portfolio; send in articles to various publications and retain copies of published articles. There are numerous institutions that offer journalism in India at both the undergraduate (BA level) as well as post-graduate (Masters). Most of the courses last for about a year. The academic programme consists of courses in all sections of communication, print and electronic journalism. At the end of the course, many institutions give students the opportunity of doing an internship with a publication.

Remuneration:
Remuneration Since journalists have so many different avenues open to them, it is not possible to give all the pay scales in each field, but the following table gives an idea about what journalists earn in a publication office (Newspapers, magazines etc.) The pay scales will vary according to place, reputation of publication, experience, skill etc. These values exclude the amount given for travel expenses. Most newspapers offer their journalists additional reading/paper allowance so that they can subscribe to other publications. This helps them remain up-to-date with the latest developments and events. Designation Pay scales (per month) Reporter Rs. 20,000 - Rs. 25,000 Senior Reporter/Chief Reporter Approx. Rs. 25,000 Sub - Editor Rs. 25,000 and above Assistant Editors/ Chief Sub Editor Rs. 30,000 and above Editor-in-Chief OR Chief Editor Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 50,000 (with car and accommodation)

Prospects of a career in the Travel and Tourism industry

It has a number of sectors or smaller 'industries' as it were, that work in collaboration. Each sector is an important branch of the main industry and have their own special characteristics. Commercial Services - Government & Travel Agencies Government : Apart from working at the airport (an expansive topic on its own), there do lie other opportunities at the - Customs Department where special officers are in charge of checking all luggage for illegal goods or items that are liable for duty. Guides - young graduates who have an interest in history and languages find this profession quite intriguing, since it gives them opportunities to meet new people, enhance their research skills, get good salaries etc. Knowledge of other languages is generally preferred.

The Indian Institutes of Travel and Tourism Management (IITM) offer short-term courses in this field. - Immigration Department where a tourist is first given service. Special training courses have started in some universities for learning about immigration procedures, since both the industry and the Government feel that there should be a separate cadre for this purpose.

Travel Agencies : Planning vacations or business trips to new places can be quite tiring and strenuous without the help of a travel agent. They have answers to all possible questions concerning the shortest route to the destination, travel mode, the important documents that will be required (visa, passport, vaccination certificates etc.), suitable places to stay, current exchange rates, tourist spots to visit, climate and they will plan the trip keeping in mind the clients' preferences, budgets and special needs.

A great deal of work is done on the computer where the latest information on flight schedules, departure/arrival timings, hotel ratings etc. can be obtained. Agencies may involve themselves in special discount packages, slide/movie presentations on various places and other promotional work to attract customers.

The four departments of a travel agency are - Accounts (handles the billing for individuals and groups) - - Tours (deal in in-expensive packaged tours, with the accomodation, food, transport etc. all taken care of) - Travel (provide detailed information on routes, costs) - Cargo (covers the booking and recovery of all cargo from the destination points connected by either Air, rail or road) The Department of Tourism in the Government does major amounts of work for the international market, in formulating policies, developing centres to attract tourists, providing adequate transport, advertising the different spots and publicising the various experiences, providing accurate information on all possible tourist areas.

Hotels The hotel sector is one which requires a large amount of manpower, with a wide variety of skills from housekeeping to computers. People with specialized training for food and beverage, recreation, marketing, accounting, security, fire-fighting, public relations and so on are much needed. There are many institutes that offer hotel management and candidates from institutes like the one at Pusa, Delhi have good future prospects. Many hotels also offer overseas training opportunities, which allow young people to gain promotions rapidly. Employment in foreign countries for Indians is also very encouraging. In India alone, about 1, 80,000 vacancies are expected to be filled within the next decade.

Transport As we know, transport can mean anything which takes us from one place to another - by air, road, railway, sea etc. The two main areas we will discuss are air and road transport. Travel by air - Post Second World War saw a tremendous change in travel, with the increased access to air travel. People got more opportunities to see other places and tourism advanced at a high pace.

Working in an airline, whether on the ground staff or in flight is an exciting option for many people these days. Foreign airlines like Aeroflot, British Airways, Royal Jordanian have all been granted new land rights and additional flights. Many of the top airlines like Cathay Pacific, ones based in Hong Kong, Emirates offer attractive salaries and numerous benefits to their flight attendants. The jobs in airlines are challenging ones but worth the struggle. Travel by road - Coaches, tourist cars employ numerous people every year. This arena has the added advantage that there is scope for self-employment. Presently, drivers with good conversational skills, who are educated, bi- or multi-lingual are much in demand. Bank loans are available for those wishing to invest in vehicles for this purpose.

3 Golden Rules for Effective Communication

As a young professional in today's global business world, it is imperative that you are competent in both oral as well as written communication.

Important forms of oral communication at the workplace include:

• Building interpersonal relationships
• Giving presentations and debating viewpoints effectively.
  

You need to master oral skills for both in-person and over-the-phone interactions.

Similarly, important written communication includes:

• Writing professional e-mails (sans SMS slang).
• Putting together concise reports.
• Creating visually powerful Powerpoint presentations.
  

And the key to acing oral and written communication is to spruce up your communication skills. And it is a lot easier than you think.

Here are some easy tips to do it on your own:

1. Improve pronunciation and diction:
There are a few tricks to making a vernacular accent more globally understandable.

~ Try making sure that 'air' comes out of your mouth when saying the letters, 'T, P, K' and the sound 'Ch'.
~ Focus on elongating your vowel sounds. This will also automatically slow down your rate of speech.
~ Sing English songs out loud!
~ Watch news shows on channels like CNN and BBC.
~ The web site www.m-w.com is great for pronunciation help.
~ I would also suggest buying books on pronunciation and language that come with audio cassettes.

A good book that I found really useful was Better English Pronunciation by J D O'Connor. It is part of the Cambridge series, and some of those books come with cassettes.

2. Spruce up your writing skills:
~ Believe it or not, you have to Read More!
~ Well-written magazines, like The Economist and India Today, are great to read not only to improve language skills but also to learn more about the world.
~ In terms of books, read what interests you. The basic goal is to read as much as you can.

There are a plethora of good authors who are popular today. Some good writers whose language is easy to follow include Vikram Seth, Jhumpa Lahiri, Paulo Coelho, J D Salinger, Albert Camus and Roald Dahl.

~ People tend to forget basic grammar when writing e-mails. An e-mail is nothing more than a letter which is sent electronically.

Make sure salutations and content are professional. Use special phrases when attaching documents. For example, "Please find attached with this e-mail a report on..." This helps you sound professional.

3. Five exercises to practise every day!
ii). Pretend you are a newscaster and read out the newspaper to your mirror.
ii). Do not read local newspapers. Focus on national newspapers.
iii). While reading a book, underline all the words you do not know. Look them up in the dictionary.
iv). Make a list of these words, and make sure you use at least five of them in a conversation during the day.
v). Most important, make an effort to speak in English to your friends and family.