For Professional Nirvana
Ranjana Kakodkar
Every year in summer, we witness an all too familiar spectacle. Hordes of adolescents scribble away feverishly in dusty exam halls around the country, as they prepare to face the ultimate nemesis of their fledgling academic career - the Std. XII Board Exams. Parents and relatives nervously pace the halls outside and stand ready to console, encourage and even scold, as their child straggles out wearily after an exam. Jubilation erupts with the culmination of the final exam but the relief is all too short lived, as the build up to the all important results begins. Summer holidays are tinged with anxiety and one can never really relax plagued as one is by niggling doubts related to forthcoming results and desired careers. Come D-day, and parents and students alike, scramble to nervously scan notice boards in schools and either joyous screams or disappointing sighs fill the corridors.
After the hoopla has died down and those who have made it to the coveted shortlists for medicine or engineering have distributed truckloads of pedas, the rest of us then begin to ponder over our nebulous future.
This unfortunately, has been the scenario that plays out year after year in towns across the nation. Careers other than medicine and engineering are usually an afterthought and only pursued if the former two seem unattainable. Very rarely do deliberate thought, talent, interests, passions and future growth come into the choosing process. This invariably, leaves many a youngster floundering, feeling helpless and somewhat lost. With our society’s narrow focus on a few so called status professions, very rarely do we focus on a child’s individuality, innate talent and aspirations. Given this knee jerk approach to choosing what, after all we will be doing with the rest of our lives, is it possible to expect true satisfaction and joy in our professional lives?
A common tendency is to berate a child who is interested in the liberal arts and praise the budding technologist in your family. And while a parent’s fears about his child’s future self-sufficiency are valid, remember that true success comes from matching your child’s skill set to the right vocation. The country needs as many Sania Mirzas and Chetan Bhagats as it needs Sabeer Bhatias.
How do you go about planning a career? A practical and disciplined approach is needed. There are some concrete steps that you as a parent can take along with your child. This is a time for active career exploration. An easy way to do this is to get your child involved in real life activities, which match his passion. Let him spend a summer volunteering at a hospital to see if he can actually withstand the sight of blood and injury. A budding writer can be encouraged to pen a few articles and see if he can get them published in local publications. Attend career fairs, read articles on the latest in the field of professional education and begin to narrow down those that meet their particular interests.
Beginning at the age of about thirteen or fourteen years of age, do form an informal support network consisting of primarily you, a beloved teacher at school and a career assessment expert. All of you will be on your child’s team. A good starting point would be, to encourage him to take a career assessment test or an aptitude test. These tests if administered correctly are a fair indicator of where an individual’s strengths lie. A good career counsellor will help your child to inventory his skills and interests, set achievable goals, guide you through the hundreds of dazzling career options today and zero in on one or two possible ones.
Remember, in life, true magic only happens when hard work, passion and aptitude coalesce.
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