“Choose a job you love and you may never have to work for life” Confucious
I have heard this before but I feel it is never true enough when I was growing up those days. We had to choose something that would feed our families and us. We never thought of pursuing our passions and making a career out of it
If this is true for you too, read on……..
2020, the year characterized by uncertainty. Years down the line we shall remember how the world changed this year and life came to a standstill. We have witnessed major unprecedented events till now, with one leading to the other and we are still not done yet. But one of the changes which was not only anticipated but rather necessary came about in the form of the National Education Policy 2020 in India, and happens to be one of the major positive breakthroughs of this otherwise dreadful start of the decade
The Indian education system has been deemed as archaic and obsolete by many as its examination rating system inadvertently emphasizes rote models of memorization and repetition with little to no incentive for real-life applications. The new system of education has removed the rigid distinctions between the streams that one has got to pick within the 12th standard.
During a new multi-disciplinary course method, one can pick physics with psychology and humanities if they so desire. While these changes will take the immense burden off the shoulders of the policymakers, it might end in more students and parents getting more confusion on what’s the right career choice on a wide palette of career options spread on the table before them.
In today’s scenario, it’s a task for parents to give the right career choice for your child. It’s equally hard for children to choose the right combination of subjects that would help them succeed in life. With so many options laid in front of you, it’s getting even tougher by the day. While our prime objective is to work and give the best for our children, we don’t know where to go?
Often we hear adults reminiscing while in their jobs for maybe 10 rs, 15 yrs or even 20 years later in life saying “I think I chose the wrong career. How I wish I had taken something I loved doing in life?”
Did I Choose the Wrong Career?
Sometimes you realize halfway through your degree and realize you have the passion for something else. However, since education is expensive and you couldn’t opt-out in the middle and you had to continue carrying the grudge within you lifelong.
Now you don’t want that to happen to your children do you?
So how do we know for sure on what’s best for the children of today?
Here are some signs to help you figure this out and don’t let that happen to your children.
- Chose the right college, not the Career Path.Although the question of what college to attend is important, it often overshadows a more critical question—what career paths fit into who I am? Indians love ranking as a population. The fit of the student to the college is more important than the ranking itself. Even college ranked 200-400 have great resources and great faculty and a great education. . I would encourage you to read the book by an economist called Malcolm Gladwell https://www.amazon.in/David-Goliath-Underdogs-Misfits-Battling/dp/0316204374 David vs Goliath. After extensive research, he has data points to prove that if you did better in college, even if you went to a lesser ranked college you probably have a better chance of succeeding in life than those who went to a top-ranked college and come at the bottom of their class. He uses a theory called “Relative Deprivation” whereby he says we judge ourselves in relation to the people around us. So if we surround ourselves with the most intelligent and amazing people around the world, we tend to think we are always not good enough..But if we are around people, who challenge me, yet I am at par and competitive with them then I am more confident about my abilities and can go forward in life and do something good. So we have to get it into our heads that ranking is less important but right fit according to each student’s interests, abilities, and potential.
- I Wanted to Please My Parents.Young people are caught in a riddle wrapped inside an enigma. Everyone is encouraging them to focus their energy on getting into the best colleges and best companies, but no one is helping them decide whatever they want to be when they grow up. One of the most common reasons people land in the wrong career is to make their parents and friends proud. They probably are proud, but unfortunately, that won’t make you feel alive inside or any happier.
- I Didn’t Do Enough Research.If your college major was more or less a random or an untested choice, that’s a big clue to the source of your problem. Studies show that about 75 percent of college grads picked the wrong major to study. Once you get that degree, you’ve signaled to the world that “I am this.” So, your college major is by default your career choice. The problem is, you didn’t really do the hard work required to choose it. As mentioned earlier too, most mid-career people tell me, “I fell into my career. . . I followed something I ‘thought’ I was interested in it until I realized I am not cut out for this field. It all seemed like a good idea at the time, but I was just a kid not mature enough to make a well-informed decision, I didn’t really know what I liked or what I was good at.”
- I’ve been waiting For Things to “Work out Later”Three, four years of college go by fast, suddenly you wake up with reality hitting you in the face at 1000 mph. Finding your bearings in the midst of the chaos isn’t easy, but don’t freak out, it gets much easier to navigate the career terrain after you’ve dragged yourself to a job you hate for a few years. The more miserable you are now, the better. Why? Most people need to feel a lot of pain to get out of their comfort zone and make changes; otherwise, they keep waiting and hoping for things to “work out later.”
- I feel like I’m faking It.After 10 years on the job, people declaring they chose the wrong career path is abysmally high, barely 1 in 10 really like what they do. This sounds hard to believe, but sadly, it is the reality. Check out Gallup’s studieson this matter, there’s scientific proof that most people are royally screwing up their career choices. Worldwide, only 13% of people say they feel “engaged” with their work, while their natural potential is sitting idle. If your gut hunch is telling you that you chose the wrong career, the high statistical base rates on career mismatch predict that you’re instincts are probably right. The sooner you deal with the pain of a mismatch or wrong career decision, the faster and easier it is to redirect.
- I’m nothing Like the People I Work With.If you were in the right field, things will click and you’ll start seeking guidance from coaches and mentors. But, if you’re not in your element or faking an interest in what you’re doing, your career will feel like it’s not going anywhere.
Now, don’t stress out there is good news. You can face the dragon and fix the problem now.
Grab your sword and let’s get going on your career quest to do some slaying.