Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
Education
JEE Main 2021: New exam pattern, tips to prepare better
Excerpts from article published by Education Today (India Today).
The JEE Main 2021 first session has been scheduled to start on February 23, 2021. Candidates who are willing to appear for the 2021 exam can get their application forms at the official website of JEE–jeemain.nta.nic.in. The last date to apply for JEE Main 2021 is Jan 16, 2021.
According to the announcement made by Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, this year, students are likely to get more flexibility due to the multiple sessions of the Engineering entrance exams.
New exam pattern
This year, the paper will comprise two sections for each subject. Section A will have MCQs and section B will have numerical questions.
Candidates will be given the choice to answer any 5 questions out of the 10 offered in Section B, and there will be no negative marking.
Candidates can answer all the questions in section B and can get up to 20 marks, which will increase their chances of qualifying. Students must take advantage of this opportunity.
Tips to prepare
While preparing for an exam as big as the JEE, students often get confused with a lot of available study material. It is advised that candidates only focus on the relevant study material.
The National Testing Agency follows NCERT as the final call for any confusion in questions or answer options. Most of the questions asked in JEE Main are directly or indirectly based on NCERT material. Understand core concepts by reading the textbooks.
Students can also try the Abhyas app, launched last year by the Education Minister. Tha app has been developed by the NTA for JEE Main and NEET aspirants.
Taking mock tests will help the students to deal with exam anxiety while preparing for JEE Mains.
Revision is of utmost importance. Revising chapters you have already covered will help you in retaining information and in finding new points that remained unnoticed previously.
Career
10 ways women can land a successful career in technology
Excerpts from article published in Analytics Insight
The gap between men and women studying and working in technology is huge. Despite having a long history in the industry, it has taken decades to get participation in the leadership position for women.
Increasing the number of women and their access to information and communication technology (ICT) jobs would enhance economic opportunities for women as well as help address the dearth of skilled workers for certain jobs and boost the digital economy.
Here’s a look at the 10 ways women can land a successful career in technology:
1. Seek out leadership opportunities
As revealed by Gartner, only 22% of IT leaders are women. To change the status quo and increase the number, women need to focus on meaningful cultural changes. They must embrace their technical expertise and move to the next level through different paths. They should push themselves towards participating in the team within a company and leading the team or the community through their expertise.
2. Advocate for yourself
A woman needs to advocate for herself in the way she expects her peers to admire her for. This is possible once she is aware of her strengths and weaknesses and uses them as an opportunity to enhance her skills and relationship with people.
3. Exploring unknown territories
Being a catalyst for change always augments knowledge and enables a team to drive innovation. As the tech industry is experiencing exponential transformation, taking an early leap into indefinite territory can pave the way for opportunities. One must ask questions, learn from others, and accept failure and being wrong. Becoming an IT leader is not just about excelling in a technical role; rather, it demands expertise in all aspects of the business. Hence, pushing oneelf in different roles is an excellent way for one to progress.
4. Take advantage of mentorship
It is no wonder that everyone has their own strengths and aspirations. And at some point in career, everyone might experience ‘imposter syndrome’, fear of failure, or lack of self-confidence. Having mentors in such a scenario can be helpful. For women in tech, mentorship can immensely benefit them as a means to build confidence, improve skills, and set achievable career goals. Thus, women must ask for advice from seniors or from those who have more experience and knowledge.
5. Raise your voice and speak up
Speaking up is one of the ways that distinguishes leaders from followers. Women must have their voice in the technology landscape to influence people around them. They must bring their ideas and opinions to the table to contribute to their companies’ growth. Having a strong voice is not just limited to expressing ideas and opinions. Women must not let their voices down in uneven situations or when mistreated due to their gender.
6. Take bold decisions
It is a common stereotype that women are not able to take risks compared to their male counterparts. And this is why many don’t consider women to make bold and risky decisions for the business. To change this tech stereotype, women must make and take bold decisions for success. For instance, taking the lead and developing a minimum viable product and then bringing it to the market can give a woman leadership exposure.
7. Enhancing business skills
Since the business environment is continuously changing and growing, keeping updated with changes will help grow and advance a person’s skills. This is significantly indispensable in the IT sector. So, suppose a woman wants advancements in her career, she needs to be equipped with skills in demand and always be ready to learn new things.
8. Don’t forget the practical side
The process of learning is not complete until a person implements what he/she has learned. It means women must put the things they learn into practice. They must explore all opportunities they are presented with.
9. Confront obstacles and win challenges
In the technology space, women may face challenges while competing with their male colleagues. The lack of gender equality creates a major obstacle. To shrink the women’s talent gap in technology, the best way is to encourage more young women to consider technology careers. Enhancing tech skills can be the key to address hindrances and overcome challenges.
10. Set high goals
Planning and setting new goals for the future is crucial to improving personal and professional life with changing times. With a continual goal-setting approach, women in tech can bring advancements in their careers. In this approach, whenever an old goal is completed, a person has already started a series of new ones.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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