Jobs and Career Opportunities After Clearing Ugc Net and Jrf Exam

National Eligibility Test (NET) is conducted for testing a candidate’s knowledge and skills for the post of lectureship and award of Junior Research Fellowship.

We can further classify this exam as UGC NET and CSIR NET. While UGC NET is conducted for the students from the stream of Humanities (including languages), Arts/Commerce, Computer Science, etc.  CSIR is conducted for Science and mathematics stream. Although the post held by candidates after clearing both of the exams is similar, there are variations in choice of colleges and job institutions chosen by the candidates.

Jobs for CSIR Qualified Candidates

• CSIR stands for the council for scientific and research organization which conducts CSIR-NET exam every year for candidates interested in the field of research and development. Candidates who want to go to the field of lectureship or research can take this exam.
• Candidates from the background of science and technology can take this exam into five different subjects. The subjects in which this exam could be taken include Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Life sciences, Earth Sciences (Atmospheric, Ocean& Planetary science). What makes CSIR NET different from UGC NET are the subjects. National Eligibility Test (NET) for science subjects are conducted by CSIR.

PhD. from prestigious institutes

Candidates can enroll themselves into Ph.D. programs along with a fellowship into various scientific research institutions in India.

After completing their Ph.D. candidates can take up any of the options given below.

Job opportunities in the field of Public Sector Undertakings (PSU’s)

• CSIR-NET Qualified candidates can take up jobs into various government and private PSU’s with lucrative salaries.
• Candidates from chemistry background can apply in ONGC (oil and natural gas corporation), NTPC (National thermal power corporation), Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat petroleum, etc. where a sound knowledge of chemistry is necessary for the post of executive officers.
• Apart from this other PSU’s also hire CSIR qualified candidates onto various officers’ post in the field of research and development.

Join CSIR Research labs

CSIR has its own 37 laboratories and 39 field stations across India. A candidate having interest in the field of research can join one of these. Based on your interests you can apply to CSIR labs for two posts: Laboratory technician and Junior Scientist.

As a laboratory technician, you have to work in the laboratory research work into the fields of Physics, Chemistry, and life science.

As a junior scientist, you need to assist the analysts and scientist in their work on research and development.

Growth: You may grow up to a lead in the project, presenting the lab research work, or review lab research work.

Salary: The pay scale starts from 25,000 – 39,000 which increases with substantial growth and experience.

Join DRDO/ Scientific research institutions

Apart from CSIR, there are other varied meticulous institutions across the country. Some of the prominent institutes in the field are:

ISRO, BARC, IGCAR

Growth: After joining scientific institutions you can work on up to a post of scientist, Research leader. If you are able to attract funding then you may also set up your own labs and work on your own projects.

Salary: The starting salary of junior scientists and researchers (Grade B) are in the range of 25,000-30,000. Once you get promoted it may increase up to 80,000- 1 lakhs per month.

Apply as JRF

 

Apply for the post of JRF in various government-funded institutes such as CSIR/DBT/INSPIRE, DRDO, CSIR – CFTRI, IISER, NIPER, IICB, NIMAHNS. JRF (Junior research fellow) is a pot of fellowship in research work.

Growth: As a research fellow you can have a career in lectureship as well. You may also lead up to as a project leader and guide students over a certain project.

Salary: On the off chance that you fit the bill for JRF then you would get Rs. 25,000 and once the partnership is moved up to SRF then stipend is expanded up to Rs. 28,000 for the third and consequent years.

Join as an Assistant professor

Lecturer job is considered as one of the most prestigious and respectful job in our country.

Growth: Candidates who have a dream career as a professor, head of department, Vice-chancellor can apply as an assistant professor in various esteemed government as well as private universities over the country.

Salary: Pay bundle of Assistant Professors at Government Universities begins with least CTC of 6 Lakhs and after the advancement, you may get a base Rs. 12 Lakhs for every year.

Work in private corporate firms

Recently, private firms/ MNC’s have started hiring CSIR-NET qualified candidates for research and advancement purposes. They are hired for analyzing and researching on given data.

Why should you appear for UGC NET – Jobs opportunities and other benefits?

University Grants Commission brings out National Eligibility Test twice a year for aspirants who want to pursue a career in the field of lectureship or research. If you want to have a career in teaching or want to go ahead with your research after post-graduation then you must take the UGC NET Exam.

This exam is supposed to check the credibility of a candidate for pursuing Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) or Assistant professor in Indian Universities and Colleges. A candidate’s post is decided on the basis of merit marks obtained in both the papers. The candidates who qualify the merit marks for JRF can apply for both Assistant professor and JRF Post. However, a candidate who only qualifies assistant professor may not pursue the career in Research field through this exam.

It is honestly said that the job of a teacher is the one who teaches hundreds and thus if you want to be a part of this great work faculty you need to Qualify UGC NET-LS at least.

The job prospectus is similar to that of CSIR-NET except that UGC-NET does not involve science subjects and therefore admission to those institutions is restricted.

Career opportunities for UGC NET-LS Qualified Candidate

Qualified candidates can apply for the post of assistant professor in various colleges, universities across the country. The growth and salary packages are the same as that of CSIR-NET.

• Upon Clearing UGC NET-LS, a candidate is eligible for teaching in any private or government college/ university as a lecturer.
• Candidates can also go for research projects going on in the colleges and universities which have short term goals (having results in the long run thus developing interests of the scholars) and are therefore able to be published in magazines and journals making important news articles for young scholars.
• Lecturers and professors enjoy various perks and benefits of government and central jobs such as housing allowances, health allowances, etc.
• Working hours of a professor depends upon the institution and the shift in which a person is working. Generally, the morning shift is from 8 am to 1 pm and evening shift is from 1 pm to 5 pm. Working hours vary in accordance with post, subject and college/university.
• Salary offered to the candidates who go for lectureship according to increasing order of posts

Position	Salary (in lakhs)
Assistant Professor (Junior)	4.92
Assistant Professor	5.75
Assistant Professor (Senior)	6.80
Assistant Professor (Selection Grade)	9.33
Associate Professor	9.33
Professor	11.88

 

These salaries are dependent on the type of colleges/university and your field of study.

Career growth as a lecturer

S. No.	Positions	Position after Promotion
1.	Junior Assistant Professor	Assistant Professor
2.	Assistant Professor	Senior Assistant Professor
3.	Senior Assistant Professor	Assistant Professor (Selection Grade)
4.	Assistant Professor (Selection Grade)	Associate Professor
5.	Associate Professor	Professor
6.	Professor	Head of Department

 

Career options for NET-JRF qualified Candidates

• NET JRF Qualified candidates can furthermore join as junior research fellow with an initial stipend of Rs 25,000 up to two years. Being in the merit list for JRF Qualified Candidates is a grateful task. If you have qualified JRF NET then you can apply for research Projects in various meticulous Indian Universities and colleges such as IIT’s, IIM’s, etc. and various R&D institutes.
• Some of the government Labs where a UGC Qualified candidate may work:
  1. ICAR
  2. DRDO
  3. ICMR
  4. SERB
• Clearing JRF is not only limited to research fields, a candidate may also join a university /college as an Assistant Professor/ lecturer.
• When going for research opportunities in various colleges/universities, a candidate may go for research in their respective master’s subject. You can look for various research opportunities on the net official website.
• Those who work on the post of junior research fellow get financial support throughout their Ph.D. First two years as JRF (Basic pay =25,000) from 3rd Year as SRF (Basic pay =28,000).
• Aspirants who cleared the UGC NET Exam with merit in JRF can join as project assistant, Author or Project manager.
• Clearing NET-JRF gives a person direct admission into Ph.D. courses in premier Indian universities.

UGC NET preparation tips

Start your preparation early, it will take on the average 4-5 months for students to fully prepare UGC NET syllabus

Career growth as JRF

Post	After Promotion
Junior research Fellow (JRF)	Senior Research Fellow (SRF)
Project Fellow (PF)	Senior Project Fellow (SPF)
Project Assistant (PA)	Senior Project Assistant (SPA)
Author	Senior Author
Project Manager	Project Head

 

• As a Junior Research Fellow, a candidate should select such topics for research and project which can attract huge investment which in turn helps in proper growth and development of research project.
• Furthermore, if proper investment and sources are provided a candidate can set up their own laboratory and recruit people to work in their project. For all of this to happen a credible project topic should be chosen.

 

Apart from these career options, a UGC NET Qualified candidate may opt for several other lucrative career paths as well, such as:

Public Sector Undertakings (PSU’s) – Jobs for UGC NET Qualified candidates

Now the career opportunities for UGC NET Qualified candidates are not only limited to the lectureship. In order to provide better opportunities and increase the number of candidates willing to take UGC NET and pursue higher education recently, PSU’s are employing NET Qualified candidates.

If You are willing to work in a government organization you should apply in various PSU’s as well. With the recent changes, various PSU’s are hiring NET Qualified candidates for the post of executives in the fields of Human Resources (HR), Corporate Communications, Research and Development (R&D), Management and finance.

List of PSU’s offering jobs for NET Qualified candidates:

• Oil and Natural gas corporation (ONGC)
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)
• Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)
• National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)
• Oil India Limited (OIL)
• Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
• Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
• Naval Materials Research Laboratory

 

Average Salary of UGC NET Aspirants in PSU’s is 25,000-45,000. In 2018 IOCL Hired HR and Managers from among UGC NET Qualified candidates.

Working hours in PSU’s and other organizations are in the range of 8 to 12 hours.

UGC NET Job portal

Another good news for UGC NET Qualified candidates. If a candidate doesn’t want to make a career as a lecturer, then he/she may look for recent job openings at UGC NET Job portal. Various institutions, firms post job vacancies for NET and JRF Qualified candidates here. A candidate may upload their UGC result and biodata and also browse job opportunities from various employers.

Job’s from various government sectors such as defense, research, and management are posted here.

Working as a consultant

Carious Law firms, MNC’s are hiring NET qualified candidates to provide consultancy service and research operations in their field of interest.

Work as an author/ editor

You can write a book in the field of your specialization. Several book publications give contracts to qualified candidates for writing books for them.

Guide students for NET Exam

Qualified candidates can always join pre-established coaching centers as a guide and train students for UGC-NET, CSIR-NET.  One can also set up their own institute, online coaching guide and work independently in the field of teaching. There are lots of options for candidates who are seeking career opportunity after UGC NET. 

From the above points, it is clear that both UGC-NET and CSIR-NET provides ample career opportunities. It is must to prepare properly for this exam. 

Contact rakesh@xamnation.com for UGC NET preparation help.