Career decisions: Are you thinking the right way?

Youngsters passing out from 10th and 12th standard are often bombarded with all sorts of questions regarding their careers. Some kids promptly burst out the answer,'Engineering!'. (I was among this category) But no one ever questioned the reason behind why the kid choose it as a career option out of so many alternatives. I am often confronted with silence from a 10th pass when I put this question forward. Some do manage to answer it as their 'interest' or 'hobby' or simply ' Sab yahi to karate Hain!'

I wonder what may be their thoughts behind answering  one of the most important questions of their lives : careers

Decisions about careers are taking in the adolescent stage where a student is dealing of variety of changes in his life.This stage is often regarded as a delicate or to be precise - vulnerable.Call it unfair or just the bad luck, it is in this stage the careers are decided.

So its likely that this decision process might be affected by a whole lot of factor. Peer pressure being one of them. They have an easily gullible teenage mind that might be attracted to the career options his peers are taking up regardless of his own personal abilities and interests.( frankly, I was a victim of a deadly peer pressure).The same guy isn't aware of the fact that his peers too can get their choices wrong!And ends up being yet another martyr of the great 'peer pressure'.

Media , a highly crucial industry in our country, does its job of hammering the 'what not' to us. So much so that, IIT coaching institutes are indirectly 'marketing' a career in engineering through media! How can the young vulnerable stand a chance in making a decision of his life  thoughtfully in spite of so many evils ready to play with his mind?

All such factors easily convince his mind which actually blacks out his ability to think beyond!

An average performing student, I think, is the most suffered. Having not so appreciable grades but still crawling his way back into the competition despite a long struggle also has to go to the pressures and depressions following an odd 55%-60% in his board examination. How does his decide upon his careers? How would he deal with the fingers pointed at him due to his poor grades? Surely, taking up traditional careers such as engineering in one of the pioneer institutes is way beyond his cup of tea.

Well, that's when fears creep in bringing along with a wave of wrong decisions ready to wash his feet off the ground.

A few rounds of wrong decisions followed by the depressions after each one gives him a hard time until he realizes his potential.Sooner or later, one has to make his earnings and earn respect.

I think education system has to play a crucial role here.A student passing after 12th should be well equipped about the career choices he can take. He should have recognized his talents and interests till then to make his life much more easier and most of all happier. He should be tried and tested in most of the possible fields to make him realize his interest by himself. The more he experiences, the more he is aware and in turn gives him a wide variety of possible careers he can choose from.Thus making his decision process much more simpler. For instance, if a student excellent with arts and design isnt given a right direction to his career path and instead being made to mug up long chemical reactions, he might end up pursuing a job which was never meant for him.

I believe a student should be made well aware of the career choices matching his abilities by his tutors and parents. His talent and personality should be tested to make himself aware about his qualities. I wished that career options came in the form a menu card like in a restaurants with managers always there to guide us about every dish!

All in all, I think, decision right or wrong doesn't matter a lot unless it is taken with a great deal of self introspection by the student. A wrong decision is always helpful ,I feel, for it is the only way to cancel out the wrong choices from the list.Not only the career choice matters but also the thinking process taken to come that decision.