June 15, 2005
Mangalore

After Exams? What next? is a common problem students of today's generation face. With stiff competition in the field of employment, careers which are financially rewarding are the options that are normall looked at.
 
In the words of John F. Kennedy "Ask not what your country can do for you  - but what You can do for your country?.

In India,  as of today there are varied choices for careers ranging from engineering to medicine to the different fields and one of the less thought of options is the CIVIL ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES (like the IAS, IPS etc).

Why is it that there are a few takers for this noble and patriotic service to our motherland especially amongst the Mangalorean community. Is it the low salary structure, or the lack of perks, or no Godfather at the helm to pull strings of influence,   which could be discouraging our today's youth. No road to success is easy. If you would take a walk down memory lane with some of  the community members  Julio Riberio, Ronald Mendonca, Maxwell Pereira all of the IPS cadre. Surely they too have worked their way up the ladder to enjoy the success and glory that they have earned for themselves today with their braving dynamism and daring spirit. This was only possible  because they "Dared to Dream" and they worked hard  to make their dream come true.

To let us know more about this field, we are grateful to A.C. Pereira Advocate and ex KPCC Member (from Karkala  and settled in Mangalore) who  has  thrown great enlightenment on these Careers. He speaks of  how he himself choose this career and advises our youth the reasons good enough to choose this career.. We hope this interview will inspire our youth to serve our country and make India a better country in safe hands.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

Could you tell us, what were the deciding factors that led you to chose your career in life

I was born to  Camil and Anna Pereira in Kanthavara village of Karkala Taluk, D.K. My father being an agriculturist in a remote village, we were not easily accessible to good Schools and Colleges. Moreover due to financial restraints I could not pursue my higher education and  after completing my S.S.L.C.(That time it was 11th standard ) I went to Bombay in search of a job to earn my livelihood and also study side by side.   I took up a clerical job at CIBA of India Ltd. But I could not join the morning  college like others who work for Government or Indian Private Firm since my  office timings were from  9. A.M. to 5 P.M and  my employer was very strict about office timings I had no other go but to wait patiently for some time.

However after two years when I was considered as permanent employee I joined  the K.C. College at Bombay and passed B.A. with Honours in  Economics. My Employer was not very cooperative in granting me the time to go to college  and I used to attend the classes only from 7.30 a.m. to 8.45 a.m. ( and could not attend like the others right till 10.30 a.m.) to be on time to the office , but still I managed to pass with second class honours due to my strong ambition and goal of studying ahead.

After getting the above Degree I joined  the L.L.B course at the same  college for which classes were held in the evening and passed with second class. I later joined for Post Graduation course of Business Management at St. Xavier’s College and completed the same. After with all this additional qualifications I did not wanted to continue with the present Employer CIBA as  they did not  value and appreciate me for the educational qualifications which I obtained after joining them. I thought of resigning and going back to my own hometown to start legal practice.