A Comprehend to Professional Qualification
What is Qualification?
Any special skill, comprehension or aptitude which will make someone suitable for a particular job or activity is called Qualification. It is a process of qualifying for an accomplishment. It denotes implementation of necessary conditions such as completion of required schooling or training, acquisition of a degree or diploma.
What is Profession?
It is a different concept to different people. It is little more than a job; we can say it as career where a person becomes competent in their chosen sector through training. It is an occupation; practice which requires mastery of a complex set of knowledge and skills through formal education and practical experience. From dentists to teachers, from career advisor to managers, planner to paramedics we rely on their skills and experience.
There is a difference between career and profession. A ‘Career’ is job based on Profession. It is something people choose to get money or earn money. In Profession a person undergoes prolonged training from particular university, institute or college under an expert. For Example if a person’s career was a Computer Software Developer than the Profession might be Computer Scientist.
Now the Question is what is Professional Qualification?
It is a degree that an individual earns from an institute, university or college which give them a chance to earn their living in a profession. Here people demonstrate an ability or capacity to do something. A course which is pursued to enhance professional career is Professional Qualification. For example, the degree of MD is enough for a doctor to land in job or enter in a profession that normally earns money for the person for the rest of the life.
Why Academic qualification is different from Professional Qualification?
Academic Qualification involves the study of a subject with an academic discipline. But this is not based on formal practice analysis. All it certifies is that the learner has successfully learnt the theory behind the practice. On the other hand professional qualification usually made up on the job training and various short courses which when combined make up a qualification. Academic qualification does not certify competence and isn’t based on a systematic or formal practice analysis.
Is a Degree Professional Qualification?
Professional Qualification often involves practical training. It is usually linked with a specific industry. This helps to improve and develop relevant skill for a particular career path. Sometimes career requires having certain Professional Qualification. For example if someone wants to be a Chartered Accountant or something like that he or she must obtain chartered status in the chosen Profession. Most sectors have some sorts of industry specific Professional Qualification likes lawyers, Doctors or Accountant etc. It may take a few weeks or several years to achieve certain Professional Qualification. That is why most of the Professional Qualifications are done part-time basis or are offered through distance learning.
But before obtaining Professional qualification one should check whether this qualification going to help the career or not. Will it bring you extra recognition or improve the salary? Sometimes students spend money on acquiring a professional qualification before they are even guaranteed a job. In this case, one must ensure that before enrolling on a Professional Qualification it will be respected in future. You must check that it is accredited by an established Professional Body. A Professional qualification might improve the employability, but it isn’t a sure-fire route to employment.
What should be the Professional Qualification as graduate engineer?
Obtaining Engineering degree from a technical university or equivalent is what we call an engineering degree or graduate engineer. They can avail degree from any discipline like aerospace, mechanical, chemical, civil and electrical. And of course an engineering degree is valuable.
Many people with a passion for technical science and engineering can succeed in this profession. In today’s world, there is a great demand for engineers. This is a technological era, every year the demand for engineer is growing. But most importantly one should not pursue it just because others wanted them to. Engineering degree needs a lot of effort and patience. A lot of students who are stuck in engineering colleges regretting the decision they had made in haste.
Difference between engineering degree & Diploma
A diploma is an explicit scholastic reward usually earned in professional/vocational courses, e.g., Engineering, Pharmacy, Design, etc. It’s alike to general degree in that discipline for instance; Diploma in computer science and engineering is rated differently than Bachelor of engineering in Computer Science and engineering but is equivalent to Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. It is taken soon after completing 10th. Degree courses like B.Sc/B.Tech are generally of 3-4 yrs duration. These courses are more favoured from an industry perspective because degree courses are supposed to be technically meticulous and thus prepare you better for the industry. Diploma courses on the other hand are generally of 2-3 yrs duration. And they might not be as respected in the industry. Obviously, the point to be noted is that the MBA programmes at IIMs are PGDM, which are Post Graduate diplomas. Thus there cannot be a 1 to 1 correspondence for degree vs. diploma in a general case. But generally for undergraduate courses, degrees are more preferred. Lastly, you must decide the subject first and then go for your degree/diploma predilection.
Difference between Career & Profession:
There’s a subtle difference between the Term ‘Career’ & ‘Profession’ as these two words we use interchangeably. It is often confused when it comes to their meaning. A career is occupation that needs a particular training or recognized education and is followed as one’s lifework. However, the meaning of the term might slightly diverge according to convention. They are interpreting to have the identical meanings. In fact, they are distinguishing by diverse connotation. The word ‘career’ is used in the sense of ‘occupation’ and word ‘profession’ is commonly used in the sense of ‘full time job’. This is the major differentiation between the two terms. A Career is based on Ambition on the other hand a Profession is about Education & Training. The Career is Growth Oriented while Profession is Service Oriented.
Wrapping Up
In India, a professional qualification often referred to courses which entitle someone to qualify directly to a job or give him/her a secured salaried position to a job. It is a harsh truth in India. However every course is Professional as long it is credible and affiliated. Landing in a job without strong skill is one of the major drawbacks. A person needs a good way to market themselves and their abilities and having stellar Professional Qualification can really help. Talk to other experienced people about it. Find out where they took the test, how much studying is valued and the cost. Then decide if such certification would be beneficial to you in your career.
Another important reason to choose professional qualification is that it enables to negotiate a higher pay rate. Academic qualification leaves us raw .we may have knowledge but it will lack practical exposure and experience. Having Professional qualification can mean the difference between landing in a great job with extra pay and continuously losing out to people who are far more qualified.
These days most of the companies want to hire certified professionals as it provides assurance and recognition of the specific set of skill and knowledge for a particular job . Some highest designations require additional diplomas and qualifications because of the challenges to the position. The aspiring company would never hire amateurish candidates and take risk of successful blending of company culture.
