“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
But there’s a bummer out there “How do you find what you love?”
One of the research study conducted in U.S stated 91% of the people are unhappy with the CAREER life, which needs immediate attention. Regardless of the research, when we look at ourselves or people around us, we can observe the same.
This dilemma of choosing a career starts when a child is in 8th/9th grade and it continues for the next 5-6 years of their life & honestly even after entering the job world it is a concern for many.
Also the conditioning of teens/youngsters, change in job scenarios, media & information, emotional space of individuals have drastically shifted & is evolving every few years. In this midst choosing a career based on old beliefs is DANGEROUS.
Study & research shows 7 major mistakes Indian people make while choosing a CAREER, which should be strongly avoided;
1. RELYING SOLELY ON “SCOPE” OF THE FIELD
There are lots and lots of kids & their parents who had taken up engineering or medical (or any xyz field for that matter) because they had been told:
“There’s a lot of scope in this field” only to find struggle and unhappiness in their life years later.
When asked about their understanding of the word SCOPE, there were a lot of randomness without any clear understanding of the word & its meaning they interpret for themselves or their child.
It’s high time we stop giving false hope to ourselves and those around us.
It is time we take a more realistic approach and not solely depend on the thought that “There is lot of scope”, as ideally almost every field has scope.
So is this a Right Question to be asked?
2. ACADEMIC BASED DECISIONS
“My son is really good with Math.”
Obvious professions started popping in your head which have been defined since years, right?
This is one of the most prominent error people (Parents & Kids both) make while confirming on the career journey they choose to walk on.
While not neglecting the same, we need to understand the fact that the demand & reality of the actual work requires a whole set of skills & qualities, which are of more importance but never talked or considered.
Most people when they get into the real professional world after academic journey suffers a setback in understanding the fact that their professional requirement demanded something else & academics contributed less than 5% in their professions.
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3. LACK OF SELF – UNDERSTANDING
“How well do you know yourself?”
In this even more busy and hectic life, we hardly spend quality time in knowing our individual self.
Every profession requires a certain set of qualities, lifestyle, routine which should closely coincide with the individual’s personality.
Most kids & parents lack SELF-UNDERSTANDING thus choosing careers contrasting their innate qualities.
(Note -: Its always better to take a non-judgmental third persons support here for a kickstart)
This has long term impact & to name a few -:
- Disliking work Lifestyle
- Lack of Self – Expression & Creativity in work
- Low Confidence
- Stagnant & Hopeless life
- Stress/Aggression/Depression/Self -Doubting
- Imbalance in personal & professional life
Moreover, no one would want to live a life of such consequences.
“Knowing yourself is the best SELF – GIFT ever.”
4. LACK OF RESEARCH
Half Knowledge more dangerous than no knowledge!
Most people are not aware of the actual research process & this proves to be a major setback in building the actual knowledge & awareness of the field.
Indian Research includes -:
1. Asking Relatives & Friends
2. Going Through 1st Page on Google & interpreting half read data
3. Comparing Journey of third person with ourselves/our child without knowing their reality
4. Getting influenced by someone’s else success story
Closely considering the changing generation & changes in the Career Trends, the outcomes in the long run with the above method are harmful in terms of Career, Relationship & Personal Mental space.
Thus Lack of Real Knowledge/Research leads an individual to the following state -:
Finding Possibilities & Drawbacks in every field
- No clear Futuristic Visualization
- Trusting Random Data & Opinions
- Building wrong belief about the Profession
- Self-Doubts
- Developing Non-Existing Fears
- Choosing a Profession out of random data
5. BECOMING A VICTIM OF SOCIETAL OPINIONS
“We are most likely to be influenced when we are unsure about something.”
Especially when it comes from someone experienced and a confident individual.
Deciding a career is one of those phases in your life when you’ll find all your relatives and friends magically turning into the career experts and giving you all the possible inputs. (relatable much?)
Also in this realm of glorification or criticism of the profession, one question remains
unanswered in most cases, “Whether this professional opinion matters in my life & personality as an individual?”
The point to be understood here is that in most of the cases it is their opinion and experience
that they express & not the actual description of the profession
You must realize that, it is you who has to live with whatever decision you make & thus it is very important for you to be objective while considering someone’s opinion, which may otherwise lead us to strong confusion/issues.
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6. INABILITY TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN “THE REEL AND THE REAL”
The world is not a wish-granting factory where you think that your first paycheck would buy you
a car or your work life will always be sunshine and rainbows.
“A mechanical engineering degree doesn’t guarantee you a job at AUDI and neither all IT engineers end up at GOOGLE”
Burst that little bubble of yours and get in touch with the reality. Consider the steps and years of hard work that you have to go through before reaching that position.
Study well about the daily work routine of a person in that field. Get a realistic idea about that profession.
7. ONLY RELYING ON DEFINED TESTS
In the midst of confusion, most parents & students approach certain defined Test for immediate results. Now a very logical question that occurs is, “Are these tests completely reliable?”
The matter of fact is that these TESTS can never be a real benchmark in deciding your Career Journey, but can only be used as a reference point, as they are hypothesis based on your frame of mind, the test itself & the interpreter.
After learning about all the possible mistakes, you could make, let us all pledge to be wise enough to take a more realistic, planned and a thoughtful approach while choosing a career. Let us us understand that career is a process & an evolving one.
It is a cluster of data where you need to take into consideration your thoughts, beliefs, routine, academics, lifestyle, experiences, family culture, impactful events, emotional space, achievements etc.
The world has now created numerous opportunities where despite of studying Engineering you can become a Marketing Guru. It’s most important to know yourself by the core and keeping on exploring yourself at different intervals.
A wise decision made today bears a fruitful tomorrow. Do not torture yourself with the best options, realize what you can do and where your potential lies, the best will happen!
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