Be the wind beneath their wings

It is said that children are a reflection of their parents. In today’s generation, with the availability and accessibility of resources, we could say that children are bought up to complement or rather compensate for the void inside parents created by their unfulfilled ambitions. While parents inevitably imbue their skills into their wards, they can also identify the shortcomings they faced during their childhood and ensure those obstacles do not hinder their children.

It's that time of the year when parents are struggling to finalise a professional course for their wards. With a lot of career counselling centres at their disposal, teens are under pressure to finalise their career paths. While Indian education provides a good foundation irrespective of the career stream students choose, the school curriculum generally does not introduce students to job prospects or conditions. Most fields require a unique combination of subjects or a specialisation. How, then, can students be supported to make this critical choice?

Passion as profession

Industrial/site visits and interactions with industry experts in the formative years give a peek at the various avenues that students can explore later. It helps them identify with the real problems in the industry and helps them identify a profession they want to go for.

The multiple extracurricular activities today's kids are exposed to are necessary, but not sufficient to increase their professional line of sight. Can a passion be chosen as a profession? Only a few students take this less-trodden path. But success is not unheard of. Take the case of Nisha Millet, the only woman in the 2000 Sydney Olympics swimming team for India. She made her passion a profession and identified the shortcomings of swimwear for Indian body types. Today she owns a swimwear line and has her own swimming academy.

Every student who has studied the Indus Valley, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa civilizations once vehemently aspired to be an archaeologist. Why was this not a prospective profession for most students in India? This is the other extreme: pragmatism. This is where there is a dearth of expertise worldwide. Students need to be familiarised with the specialisations available and the diversity of fields related to history as a career choice.

Irrespective of the career choice a student makes, parents need to know that each career is unique, challenging and rewarding. Expertise or specialisation in any field is always respected and celebrated. Misconceptions or prejudice on subjects and professions should be dealt with through research and in-person interactions.

People keeping aside their educational degrees and pursuing their passion is common today. Students quit their studies mid-way and pursue an alternate career path. The midlife crisis that hits one in the forties has its root in forced professional choices. Every individual can pursue something forcefully for only a limited time. It cannot sustain.

Parents should be more receptive to children's interests or choices and equip them with what it takes to realise their dreams. Parents should be the wind beneath the child's wings and not force a profession where the kid's passion does not lie. As said by Gabrielle Bernstein, “Allow your passion to become your purpose and it will one day become your profession”.