Career As A Food Technologist: Quality Check

The Lowdown

Food technology is an applied science course which makes a student fit for the following industries - food processing, retail, hotel, agri-products, and in the service sector in departments like quality assurance, production, hygiene, laboratory, etc. Food processing generally means making value-added products through fresh produce or ingredients by increasing the shelf life of the product or adding flavour to it, e.g. making jam, jelly, fruit drinks, juices, potato chips, flavoured yoghurt, etc.

Clockwork

7 am: Wake up, workout

9 am: Reaches office

9.30 am: Teleconference with clients

2 pm: Lunch

4 pm: Meets staff from other departments

6 pm: Leaves work

The Payoff

A BSc graduate can get Rs 3 to R4 lakh per annum in a reputable company. Remuneration can go up after a masters degree. A Senior executive can make Rs 5 lakh a year. An Asst Manager can earn Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7 lakh a year.

While the GM can rake in as much as Rs 15 lakh onwards a year.

Skills/Traits

• Knowledge of the physical sciences, biology and mathematics
• Aptitude for working in a laboratory environment
• A basic interest in processed foods available in the market

Getting There

In Delhi, there are two colleges under Delhi University for BSc (Hons) in food technology and normally the admissions are through cut-off lists of the colleges. One can go for higher studies like MSc (food tech) through institutes like the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, or opt for MBA (agri-business management)

Institutes

• Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences (Delhi University)
• Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women (Delhi University)
• Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
• University of Bombay, Mumbai
• Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad

Pros And Cons

• The food industry has tremendous growth potential
• Consumers are becoming more concerned about food safety
• The food industry in India is still largely an unorganised sector

 

Source: HT Horizons

Date: 15th April, 2011