Changing paths later in life...

Avinash just could not narrow down to what career he wanted to take up. Right from his high school days through PUC, he kept exploring different options, getting more and more confused, and becoming apprehensive to make a final decision. His parents could not help him much as they were not aware of too many opportunities themselves. His school did try to help students by calling in people from a few diverse professions to talk to children, but Avinash would get further confused every time a new vocation was mentioned.

He took the safe option of taking up science (PCMB) after Class 10, and breezed through Classes 11 and 12 focusing primarily on studies and the forthcoming Board exams. He was a fairly good student, and with minimal coaching, he managed to get above average marks. He appeared for the JEE Mains and NEET but did not clear either of them. On the other hand, he did get a good rank for engineering in the state CET. Before he could even think of what other alternatives there could be, he found himself in an engineering college enrolled for Computer Science engineering, which everyone said has the most ‘scope’.  The college was not among the top in his state, but fairly reputed.

But the more he thought about it, the greater was his confusion and anguish, because he felt that though he could clear the eight semesters of engineering, he just could not visualise himself as a programmer confined to the 17-inch world of the computer screen. But he dared not voice out his fears to anyone and kept plodding on somehow managing respectable grades. The question then loomed over his mind – now what?

There are many like Avinash who get pushed into a course which supposedly offers them a good ‘scope’, without taking into consideration the student’s interest, aptitude, personality traits or strengths/weaknesses. Some of them find themselves trapped, lose their motivation and either fail or give up the course half-way through.  Many other obedient children continue to plod on, putting in a lot of effort and pushing themselves to ensure that they maintain the respectability of good grades. But all the way through they are studying only to get marks, and perhaps satisfy their parents, and not because they feel that they are on their way to fulfil their dreams or create a happy life for themselves.

Identify the problem

We should ensure that such students do not lose their motivation and enthusiasm to carve out a good future. If they get the feeling that they have been derailed from their passion or objective and will have to spend the rest of their life in a job that they really do not enjoy, the quality of life and their satisfaction levels will go down, and it may also affect their performance at work.

What needs to be done in such cases is to help the student understand and list out the wide variety of careers that are open even after completing a degree in a subject they are not particularly fond of. If this is done, the student may feel enthusiastic enough to give his best shot to the degree he is pursuing, complete the course with good grades, and then look forward to doing whatever he will be happy in.

For example, to many students who fail to make it into the IITs and remain disappointed, it can be explained that after their basic degree, they can aspire to get into one of the IITs for a postgraduate course in technology, design, cognitive sciences or management, as entry at the postgraduate level is not as extremely competitive as the JEE-Advanced for the degree level.

There are also a number of very rewarding, prestigious and fulfilling careers which are open to graduates from any stream.  A short list will give an idea:

Civil Services like IAS, IPS, KAS etc

Different branches of military services

Design, animation, game development, and related fields

Almost all the fields of management, including the prestigious international PMP (Project Management Professional) which is now available locally

Chartered accountancy and similar finance qualifications like ACCA, CFA, CS etc

Aviation, marketing, entertainment industry

Media, mass communication, journalism

Psychology, counselling, social work

Teaching, corporate training, human resources

When a student gets into a degree course and is not very keen to continue higher studies or a career in that field, he or she should be encouraged to start exploring and identifying the options and diversifications. Since there is plenty of time for the three or four-year degree course to complete, the student can work on the colleges, courses, admission procedures, finances required, and possibilities of beating the competition. Similarly, the student should definitely match personality traits, social and commercial acumen, basic and multiple intelligences, general awareness and various other traits which would have become quite visible by the time a person reaches adulthood.

What a person should not do is to follow the herd mentality and jump into something which everyone else seems to be doing, or which is offering short-term benefits. This could lead to further frustration and the candidate can lose hope of ever becoming successful or an achiever.

Where there is a shortcoming (for instance if a person wishes to get into training or negotiations but does not have very good communication skills), there is plenty of time and opportunity to develop the required skills. Talking to people in those fields, visiting colleges offering higher education, checking out job prospects and becoming focused on a specific career increases motivation levels, and even helps in performing better and getting good grades. Doing an internship in the field that he or she would like to switch over to is also very helpful to ensure that the choice he or she is making is the right one.

It is imperative that the student does not start getting disheartened when doing a course he or she is not happy with. This affects the grades, brings down motivation, and even pulls down confidence and self-esteem. If the student understands that the current course and learning will never go waste, and any knowledge gained can be of use in some way later in life. They will be motivated to complete their course successfully and then move on to whatever they wish to do.  

 

(The author is director, Banjara Academy, Bengaluru)