Choosing the right career
R.C. Sharma

In order to build a sound career in the area of your interest, it is necessary for you to develop your skills in that field and at the same time, have a good assessment of the job market. Persistent hard work and strong willpower combined with training and discipline will eventually help in reaching your target.

Unemployment exists only for those who do not adapt themselves to the changing needs of time. There is nothing such as good luck. According to Pearl S. Buck, “Good luck is what happens when preparation meets with opportunity.”

Nowadays, experts point out, that besides the economic factors, the concept of job satisfaction has become a key element in determining the work situation. This element includes amicable relations with one’s colleagues, subordinates and superiors, apart from a good status in society.

Confused choices

Lack of awareness about the various options available today, makes it difficult for any individual to decide. Some students often ask “Which job is high salaried?” “Oh!: I don’t know about the future course?” “How and where to find the details of this career?” “Will I make a mark in this particular career?”

If a student acts wisely, he can overcome the uncertainties and confusion. Each person is inherently endowed with a unique set of dispositions and there are numerous vocations demanding different abilities.

The most important aspect is self-awareness and knowledge about the world of work. Today, a student can even go in for professional counselling to find out which career suits him the best.

Assess longevity of profession

By carrying out research on oneself, seeking guidance from training institutes and from employment officer of the nearest employment exchange, you can find out the right career for yourself.

Sometimes, even an uninteresting work can be made interesting by changing oneself according to the work conditions.

Some fields are more competitive than others. So, there may by many jobs in the world of 1,00,000 successful computer professionals but only 50 successful cricketers. Evaluate how good you are according to how difficult it is to succeed in your chosen field.

Also, you have to figure out the opportunities in the contest of when you’ll be joining the job market-like, there may be huge openings for software professionals today, which is why you’re planning to become one, but will there be similar demand for you when you pass out your course after 3-4 years from now?

Then some professions have a short life. Ascertain whether the career is only going to last for, say, 10-15 years. Right now that may look like a lifetime, but one day you might be stuck in a job with no future. Flight stewards, models, actors, sportspersons, marine engineers, all face this at some point in their lives. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, just have options ready for later days in your life.

Basically, the idea is to get a realistic idea of what the career offers. “You need to get an idea of what the financial and other prospects are before you start, so that there is no frustration later on and you won’t need to resort to malpractices to compensate for any unexpected disappointments”, advises Dr Samir Parikh, psychiatrist and student counsellor.

So, you need to be more careful about your choice. Talk to a student counsellor at your school/college/university about the pros and cons of your choise in detail, get inputs from peers who are already in the field.

No reverse gear

According to experts, here are some important and useful tips you should follow while planning your career:

• Often individuals choose educational courses unrelated to their career goals which given them a shock later and it is too late when they realise their mistake, leaving no scope for rectification.

• Select such a career when it is easy for you to gain employment and progress further.

• Avoid the narrow field of specialisation. It limits one’s choice of career.

• Make a realistic choice and try to stick to it.

• The choice you make should be according to your abilities and not something which is too high and difficult to achieve and may lead to frustration.