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Choosing a career is one the most important choices a person makes in their lifetime. It’s about so much more than deciding what you will do to make a living. A person spends about 71% of their time per year on a career. Thus the importance of selecting a suitable career cannot be undermined.
Career Choices in the 90’s
- Popularity of the course / existing career wave or trend
- Based on what was easily available
- Following the choice of a favourite cousin or friend
- Depending on the fees, seat availability or college available
- To secure a job immediately after the course completion
- Easy to study / completion.
- Due to peer/ parents’ pressure
- Reputation in society – herd mentality
The Scenario Today
Gone are the days when a career happened by chance, now it is more of a choice, a conscious CHOICE! Choosing the right career can be challenging but having a defined career direction and with a little hard work, some planning, and some serious self-reflection, you can set yourself on a path towards a fruitful, fulfilling career that can provide for you and your family.
Steps to choosing a Career:
The job industry is flooded with new career fields coming up. But the first word of caution is that the availability of plenty of career choices today also leads to lots of confusion; hence we must take a few basic steps to plan careers effectively and choose the right one. Although goals may change and you may take up to 10 years to find yourself in your desired role, your first step should be a solid understanding of what you can bring to the table. Finding your “raison d’être” – your reason for being, can give you the hope you need to find something you love and are good at – while getting paid and being what the world needs
Follow these 5 steps and pick a career line which is just right for you!
The job industry is flooded with new career fields coming up. But the first word of caution is that the availability of plenty of career choices today also leads to lots of confusion; hence we must take a few basic steps to plan careers effectively and choose the right one.
Step 1: Have a discussion on career choice:
All parents should ensure that they discuss the aspirations of their children with them while not forcing careers of their choice on the children. Parents and children are mostly only aware of popular choices among various career options. It is very important to be aware of emerging and other fruitful career avenues too.
Step 2: Visit a career counsellor:
It is expected that after the initial discussion with parents or peers there will be multiple opinions on the career track that the child should take up. This often results in opinions being forced on the child and thus it leads to a lot of uncertainty and confusion. It is here where a Career Counsellor can help and guide the student. The advantage here is that the counsellor can give an unbiased opinion based on the facts of the case and the best possible option.
Step 3: Working on the communication skills
One of the most important skills youngsters should develop is the ability of expression. Very often, many students know various things but fail miserably because they are unable to express their thoughts with clarity. Improving their communication skills, both verbal and written is an essential ‘status quo’ for any career field.
Step 4: Develop overall personality
Without a doubt, in today’s competitive world, the person who succeeds has more than one skill under his belt. Specialization in an area is important but having knowledge about various other things adds more points to one’s profile. It is useful to inculcate inter-personal skills, teamwork and street smartness to all children.
Step 5: Digital-age literacy
When it comes to information, the sheer quantity thereof stored in one’s head, and the way it got there, are no longer all that important – what matters is what you do with it. This means that in order to become successful, students need to be able to analyze, access, evaluate and create information in different media, which implies information and media literacy.
These five steps should help any student go for the right career that they are passionate about and also possess the skills for.
