The internet has been home to many free and paid courses over the years. From simple certificate courses to universities that provide legit degrees: online learning has come a long way. While there are drawbacks to every thing in the world: online learning comes with its own set of drawbacks and strengths. The need of internet to take an online class is the biggest challenge, with areas in the country that have minimal to no network, even bigger cities face network fluctuation issues at times. Some students also find it inefficient to have a class online, as there is no direct contact with the teacher or fellow classmates. However, this is an issue dependent of personal preference.

Online learning is flexible, it can be adjusted throughout your day: this is especially advantageous for people who are pursuing an education degree while studying. It also allows a student to pace his education according to his ability and availability. The internet also has an unsurmountable amount of information that is frequently updated—access to this information becomes more useful when learning online.

While there are sudents who despise this change, many are welcoming it with open arms. Moreover, after realizing the advantages of online school, universities and colleges are coming up with a wider variety of subjects available for online learning, and continually working on dimnishing the drawbacks that come along with it. Some big names in the field of online learning are:

1. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU): Also called the People’s University, IGNOU is one of India’s top institutions. Apart from providing offline courses, IGNOU also has BA, BCom, BCA, MCom, MCA and other online undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

2. Maharishi Dayanand University: MDU provides a plethora of online courses, they also include online therapy or learning programs, self-growth soft skills etc. They also provide courses in BE, BTech, BPharma, MA, MSc and LLB.

3. Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy: SASTRA is deemed to be University, and has been ranked as a top-tier educational institution by Times Higher Education and QS. They provide BA, BBA, BCom, MA, MCA, MCom, MSc in various subjects.

4. Amity University: Amity University is one of the most renowned private universities of India, the offer multiple online diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate courses in BBA, BA, BCom, BCA, and postgraduate diplomas in HR and International Business amongst others.

5. Aligarh Muslim University: AMU was established in 1920, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities of the country. They offer multiple online courses in BCom, BA, MA.

These are some of the best online colleges of the country. Apart from these, several IITs and IIMs have also begun to provide online education, building the path for a better, cheaper, more flexible and accessible education system in the future.

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India, however, is a country that produces 88350 engineering graduates every year who have specialization in IT; engineers from other fields also seek jobs in the IT sector. With so much competition in the market and a plethora of job opportunities available at one Google search it is important to narrow down our options.

So here’s a list of careers that seem to be taking the IT market by a storm:

1. Machine Learning Engineer

Artificial Intelligence is the hot topic today, from kids in primary school to fresh college graduates; everyone is invested in learning about AI. Of course, Artificial Intelligence is the future of technology and Machine Learning is a subpart of this huge phenomenon. Why Machine Learning Engineers top this list is because today the Internet runs on ML, with the help of Big Data it creates algorithms that make user experiences personalized. ML learns from past data and predicts browsing habits.

2. Data Scientist

Data Science is another chunk of Artificial Intelligence. It is a multidisciplinary field that focuses on organizing cluttered data, then analyzing it. Thus effectively trying to draw patterns and insights out of the data that is available. It is predicted that Data Science is a field that is going to blow up in the coming years.

3. Software Developer

Becoming a software developer is what we would typically imagine an IT graduate as. Developers are meant to understand user needs and design softwares and applications accordingly. These engineers are then split into Front End and Back End Developers: depending upon the kind of work they prefer to do. There are also Full Stack Developers who can manage both the data, modeling at the Back End as well as the UI/UX at the Front End.

4. Blockchain Engineer

Blockchain Technology is another field that is expected to rise tremendously in the future, as the world continues to become digital. It is important that everything on the Internet is safe from hackers, cheats and imposters. As a result, by 2023 around 15.3 billion will be spent on blockchain solutions, thus drastically increasing the number of blockchain engineers required in the country.

5. Robotics Engineer

Robotics is considered a high-end profession in India. Apart from the use of robotics in the gaming industry, it is also imperative in labs, medical fields, agriculture and aerospace industries. In the future, robots are expected to facilitate and reduce human labour, thus making it another extremely important field of technology.

Of course, these incredible career opportunities are only available after the right education. And in order to receive the right education it is imperative to choose the correct University. However, with the number of colleges and universities that exist today it seems almost impossible to make a decision. So here’s a few ways to narrow down your choices and make your decision simpler.

Academics: Of course, the first step to choosing your university is to figure out the career that you want to pursue. This certainly filters out a lot of the options available to you.

Location: The second step is to understand where you want to be, whether you would prefer being close to home or in a different city altogether. You also need to make choices according to your preference: do you prefer a city to the countryside? Do you like the cold? And so on. Although these questions seem silly, they are imperative for you to like your university.

Ranking: The rank of your university ends up telling you a lot about it: from the faculty to the extra curricular activities available, these are all important for your overall development as an individual.

Accommodation: Since you will be studying here for a minimum of 3-4 years, you need to find a comfortable place to reside, whether it is in dormitories or apartments. This would also include figuring out your mode of transportation, accessibility to shopping centers, medical facilities etc.

Finance: The tuition fees and your cost of living are important parts of making your decision. Here, you can also explore scholarship opportunities.

Career Prospects: After your education you tend to look for career opportunities. College placements certainly facilitate this process. Therefore, checking out the placement statistics of your university can be another box on your checklist.

Applications: Once you’ve looked at all of the things mentioned above and shortlisted a few universities. You can then start looking at the application process for the same.

These seven steps should reduce your prospective university options and help you in figuring out what would fit you best.

Also Read: Top Universities in India for Engineering, Top MBA Colleges Ranking in India & Top Engineering Colleges Ranking in India

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