JOIN USEngineering or MBA? Look before you leap
Children are born with an inherent desire to learn. Learning happens to be a journey and not an event. Parents, teachers and friends are the company and guide in this journey. We talk and read about personal counseling and career counseling. Many times, counseling becomes the art of selling what is desirable to a candidate who does not desire it by giving multiple options and relative comparisons without really considering the core competency of a student.
Parents or teachers start implanting the career seed into the child without really understanding the type of intelligence of the child. Will a particular career be taken as a passion or as a life saving event? I would like to ask all parents and teachers, “Have you ever spent enough time to analyse the child, get a psychometric test done, find out the proportions of Multiple Intelligence the child has?
As parents we may be too concerned about the scoring pattern in Mathematics and Science. Don’t we agree that Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar and Bill Gates are intelligent? Well then, did they ever score 100 out of 100 in Mathematics? Do we relate the marks to intelligence? We may have a child who scores 98 per cent in every subject and stands first in class.
This child knows nothing other than reading, reciting and scoring 98 per cent or more and gets intoxicated by this passion of scoring. We have another child who scores 60 per cent consistently but is street smart. He has life skills. He knows how to deal with people.
He is a fast learner and adaptable. He is not temperamental but rational, not too emotional but practical. Many a times we as parents kill the natural intelligence that a child possesses. This happens due to constant pestering and high expectations from the child.
An attempt is made here to give a holistic idea about how to select a branch of engineering or MBA.
Howard Gardner had suggested that every child has eight types of intelligence. A student should choose a career depending on the type of intelligence that he is born with. We can identify the types of intelligence by observing the child and also by taking a Multiple Intelligence Test which is available on the net for free.
Choosing a branch of Engineering or Management major should largely depend on the type of personality one has and the type of intelligence one has. The following is a guideline for selection of the branch of engineering or management based on the particular type of intelligence the student possesses. Only six types of intelligences are considered here and the preferable career option is given.
Interpersonal (People Smart)
Enjoys socialising, loves to be with friends, hates loneliness, plays team games, likes partying, loves clubs, mixes with all ages, involves himself in community and social work, loves travelling, driving advisor, leadership qualities.
Engineering specialisation: Civil, Mechanical, Architecture, Electrical, Production, Biomedical, Biotechnology, Automobile.
MBA specialisation: Marketing, Human Resources (HR), International Business.
Intrapersonal (Self Smart)
Independent, prefers to be alone, works well when left alone, does not like group study, self directed, has own opinions, prefers games like chess and caroms, has rare hobbies, keeps books and notes properly.
Engineering specialisation: Computer Science, Chemical, Textile, Electronics, anything having scope in R&D.
MBA specialisation: Finance, Information Technology, Banking and Insurance, Mergers and Acquisitions, CA.
Kinesthetic (Body Smart)
Loves sports and physical activity, always fidgety, taps his fingers on the table, taps the feet, cannot sit at one place for long, good in mimicry, drama and dance, loves activities. Communicates with hand signals or waving, does messy activities like cooking, house painting, greasing the vehicle.
Engineering specialisation: Civil, Mechanical (and offshoot of Mechanical), Petroleum, Chemical, Mining, sports engineering,
MBA specialisation: Marketing, Sales, International business, HR
Linguistic (Word Smart)
Tells stories, writes, remembers names of people, places, loves word puzzles, good at spellings, has good vocabulary, speaks well, can manage tongue twisters and puns, very reactive with replies, cracks witty jokes, comments, taunts, debates, orator.
Engineering specialisation: Mechanical, Computer Science, Civil, Mining, Architecture,
Production
MBA specialisation: Insurance sales, Marketing, Advertising, HR, International Business, Banking.
Logical (Number Smart)
Computes simple calculation in brain, does not seek help of calculator, loves mathematical puzzles, plays chess, or checkers, good at numbers, remembers number plates, birth dates and telephone numbers, cooks his own recipe, experiments, uses code languages, classifies and categorises everything.
Engineering specialisation: Computer Science, Electronics, Aerospace, and such subjects which require a good mathematical brain.
MBA specialisation: Finance, Banking.
Picture smart
Loves maps, charts, diagrams, daydreams, likes movies, likes to add pictures in a power point presentations, explains to others with diagrams, uses colour pens or pencils, likes photography, sketching, optical illusions, telescopes and binoculars.
Engineering specialisation: Architecture, Civil, Industrial Production, Mechanical (Machine Design), Automobile.
MBA specialisation: Marketing and Sales
Learning is a process but learning what is passionate is a journey to eternal knowledge. Students may encounter situations where decision making becomes difficult. Choosing a college or a branch is debatable. Students are left with three options when encountering such dilemmas about selecting a career.
Free Choice: A free choice might allow students to choose a particular branch and a particular college when many options are available. The objective and realistic assessment is done before choosing the branch. Here, the choice of the college and the concerned branch is also available.
Guided Choice: Guided choice allows students to choose from carefully selected and available options. This can happen when you have a constraint. You may have a college of your choice but not the branch or you may get a branch of your choice but not the college.
No Choice: Sometimes you have no choice but to select what is offered. The college as well as the branch of your choice may not be available. The next option should be ready.
Students are also advised to plan their finances before embarking on their educational journey. Give a thought to your health conditions, climatic allergies, food habits and culture before choosing a college or a course.
(The writer is Dean, Department of Management Studies, Jain College of Engineering, Belgaum)