Visualise your future

The earlier the process starts, the greater are the chances of making right choices and sailing smoothly throughout, writes Ali Khwaja

Research and surveys have proven that students who are clear on their career goals inevitably perform better in exams. This is because their motivation is higher, and they are studying to gain knowledge and skills to help them fulfil their dreams, not just to get more exam marks.

Unfortunately, most students are not given sufficient input on how to select their most suitable career. The process requires sustained attention and effort, but it can be done, and it can ensure that the student not only excels but eventually enjoys the work he does. This can be done in schools and supplemented by involved parents. Both should understand that it is not enough to teach a child to walk; we should also show him which direction to take.

The process of guiding children towards careers can start in primary school by explaining various vocations, depending on their age and understanding level.  In classrooms, teachers can periodically give assignments to each child to find out about one profession based on their background and connections. Parents can talk about varied careers when taking the child out, e.g., buildings designed by architects, constructed by civil engineers, and filled in by interior decorators. Administrators run hospitals, and patients are treated by doctors, nurses, radiologists, and pathologists, who provide care, identify diseases, and manufacture and provide medicines by pharmacists.

Every child should be encouraged to dream of fascinating careers and to keep changing their mind as often as they wish… till they come to Class 9. That is when the child should be asked to rationalise what one can do and what one cannot. They should know what options can be aimed for realistically based on academic performance. By this time, students can be made into small groups and asked to give presentations in class about one or two professions they have inquired about with their elders. Charts can be put up explaining the role of each profession and what skills are required to succeed in them.

Children should also be made to evaluate the practicality of their interests and guided on the path to be taken up based on reality. For example, a child who wants to be an automobile designer only because he loves driving cars or riding bikes is impractical. A student scoring very average marks but wanting to become an IAS or IPS officer should be informed about these services' highly competitive entrance exams. Our late President Dr. Abdul Kalam rightly told children, “Build castles in the air – and build strong foundations beneath them.” Certain skills can be acquired through learning, practice, and others that a person cannot develop. Every student should be taught the difference between the two.

The summer holidays are an ideal time to give children fun assignments to roam around and identify as many vocations as possible, discuss among themselves, and then look for experts in each of them who can explain what skills are required to succeed in that profession and how those skills can be acquired. As mentioned above, this will also help students look realistically at their ambitions.

Never kill the dreams of a child. Gently and subtly help him get the above information and match it to their abilities. Remind them that they will be working for 40-50 years in their chosen career – if they are good at it, they will enjoy their work, and money and position will automatically follow. 

Before the child completes the tenth standard, they should be helped to narrow down to at least two clusters of careers, e.g., science and technology, creativity, people-related work, finance and commercial activities, languages or social science, etc. Matching the individual child’s traits and skills to the cluster they aspire for is important. Committed teachers can do this, or they can seek the help of professional career guidance counsellors or consultants. 

Some students have a wide range of ambitions and skills; hence, they cannot narrow them down as above. Such children can be assessed for their aptitude, personality traits, commercial acumen, interpersonal skills, concentration, memory and general knowledge. This should be done through a holistic process, with involvement of the career counsellor, and not just through button-punching computer tests.

Even the views of the parents and their social and financial background need to be ascertained. Through such assessment, a range of careers in descending order can be recommended, and the child can match them to their interests. Then they can start narrowing down to subjects, courses and colleges.

When children can dream, visualise, and understand their chosen career, they will go into it more enthusiastically. They can struggle until they succeed, keeping second and third options as a stand-by. Many Indian children who are allowed to dream and work towards their passion have often outpaced others in global competition and occupy eminent positions. Reading their biographies can be a great motivation.

Career selection is a continuous activity, and the earlier the process is started, the greater the chance of making the right choices and sailing smoothly throughout.