Quest for a glorious career...

                                                              

  Part 2: Kya kare kya na kare..

 As we saw in our previous blog, after completing his 10^th standard exam, Rahul started his quest to find answer to the single question which would define his life... “what to do after 10^th ?!!”

 Despite knowing modus operandi of many, Rahul was extremely confused as he realized most of them were taking most important decision of their life in most unscientific way. I am sure you all will also find many misguided souls around who take such critical decision based on beliefs prevalent in our society. I have tried to list a few most popular ones, though I am sure the list is much longer:

                    

Doctor ka beta doctor: This belief is partly result of the  traditional social set-up in our country from pre-historic times. Though society is shading off caste  based mindset, still there is   a deep rooted faith that offsprings naturally genetically inherit skills passed to them by their parents as legacy. This makes people believe that it is safe for students to follow the footsteps of their parents. 

This belief is further strengthen by the parents themselves. They usually lack knowledge of available career paths and related opportunities in fields other than their own domain. And to “safeguard” future of their children they push them to take up a “known” path without validating kids’ inclinations.

Do you know the fact that  Sachin Tendulkar’s dad was not a cricketer, but a well-known marathi writer and poet!

Intelligent students = science students: This is yet popular   assumption. Many parents feel that if their child will be recognized as a bright student only if he or she is opting for a professional course in science stream. In fact, I have seen many parents simply pushing their kids in science studies despite they pass with bare minimum marks in related subjects in their entire school time. It is unfair to equate inteligence to science as a student may be extremely good in many other subjects and can have bright career there too!

Nahi toh baad mein pachhataoge: Many parents make the result of 10^th exam as well as stream selection after after 10^th exam, a “Life and death” decision. I am sure this decision is important, but it is just the first step of a long journey ahead and it is always possible to do a course correction.

Computer engineer bano, warana koi career nahi hei: This is the latest and most impactful myth told to students in last twenty plus years. I agree that in 21^st century the opportunities in computer science have increased exponentially and probability to get jobs with good “salaries” is much higher. However that does not mean that other career options are absolute zero.

The way society needs computer engineers, is also needs other skills and domain knowledge to run the businesses which will in turn use computers.

As one can see decisions taken based on these beliefs may not necessarily lead to a successful career for the student. Alternatively, even if they get into a “fat salary job”, they may not enjoy their life when they work in a career they detest the most. 

 

 

If a student answers to few important questions like, “What I love do learn?” , “What I am good at?”, “what is beneficial to me in longer run ?” , can make education and career an enjoyable journey for students as well as parents. Do you want to know the simple yet scientific way to find answers to these questions? Do read my next blog.

.. TO BE CONTINUED