Choosing a Career After Class 10 and 12

Choosing the right career is very important for an individual. An individual spends a considerable amount of time working, so loving one’s job becomes important for personal and professional satisfaction. Through this article, NNE has tried to put forth some of the common dilemmas that a student after having passed class 10th and class 12th faces, based upon an Interview with Ms Pervin Malhotra on April 21, 2010. The article mainly focuses on the building blocks for selecting a career. We have also made an earnest effort to resolve some of these dilemmas and clear your doubts and confusions.

Know Thyself

The first step to selecting a right career is to know oneself well. As a teenager, it is quite likely that the decisions that one might take are influenced by one’s peers. The decisions thus taken might not be right for a person. So, what should one do? As the ancient Greek aphorism reads, “Know thyself”. Knowing oneself is a continuous process and it should not stop. The more an individual knows himself, the clearer he will be about what he wants and does not want. So, how does one do that? Career counselor Pervin Malhotra has an answer. She says, “What a student can do is make a list of his interests, likes and dislikes. Then, on the basis of that list, try finding careers related to one’s likes and aptitude. For example, if someone likes to write, he can find careers that involve writing and enroll for a course related to that, like mass communication, for instance. Apart from this, there are some self-assessment tools available in the market, but the important thing to keep in mind about these tools is to ensure that the test is a bonafide one and the norms are duly validated.”

Dilemma After 10th

In a recent survey conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, 1/3rd of the total number of students who take up science after 10th, take it up for reasons other than interest in the subjects. The number in absolute terms is very large, but it might be a blessing in disguise. For someone who is not sure about what he wants to do, having his options open is a good thing, agrees Malhotra. She says, “In case a student is not sure about what s/he wants, it helps to choose a stream that will keep the maximum number of options open. For example, dropping a subject like mathematics directly closes the options like engineering, BBS, BCom (Hon), BBE, MCA etc.” Also, before taking a plunge into a certain career field, it is always good to know what that field has to offer.

Talking to parents, teachers, or a senior whose sense of judgment you trust and who has been through the grind is one way of overcoming your dilemma. Alternatively, you can read about the career you intend to choose in books and over the internet to find out about the pros and cons of a particular field which will help you immensely to arrive at a decision.

Dilemma After 12th

So, you are through with your 12th exams and you still have a lot of questions bottled up. We’ll try and clear some of the dilemmas.

Dilemma 1: I have fared poorly in my boards, what should I do?

In case you do not do well in your boards, you always have the option of taking entrance exams for admission to various courses. In fact, many students prefer to take entrance exams for admission to professional courses like BCA, BBA, B.Tech and MBBS. The basic requirement for most entrance exams is 50% in your HSC (or equivalent). Further, you can take up alternate careers and pursue your interest. For example, if you think you have it in you, you can always go for careers in acting and modeling. If you are good at photography, you can pursue undergraduate courses related to that, if you like a little more out-of-the-box careers and you think you have the skills, you can go for Radio jockeying or Disc jockeying. Then, if you like to write and love food, you can always be a food critic, for which you would require a degree in mass communication, if you are good at a certain sport, you can further your skills by joining a professional academy. The options are endless; all you need is to know what you want.

Dilemma 2:  I have decent marks in my boards, but I don’t know what to do.

On this issue, Malhotra says, “Your college tenure will stretch over 3-4 years. In case you are not sure about which specific career to choose, join a good college, keep your eyes and ears open, and explore your options during that time.” Indeed, there is always an option to pursue higher studies. For example, many engineers tend to go for an MBA instead of an M.Tech. Exploring your options, knowing what you want to do and then doing it is the mantra for success.

Dilemma 3: Subject or College

In case you are very sure about what you want to do, it should always be subject over college. Like they say, there are many ways to skin a cat. After you get admitted to a college, it is up to you to extract the maximum out of it. Any place will give you as much as you want to get out of it.

Dilemma 4: To drop or not to drop, that is the question.

On the issue of dropping a year, Malhotra says, “One year is a long time. One might start off with enthusiasm, but sustaining that enthusiasm and zeal throughout the year is very tough.”
Dropping a year, even if you are sure about what you want to do is not the best solution. Let’s break a simple looking 1 year into smaller and realistic looking numbers. One year has 12 month; each month has 30 or 31 days (excluding February), that is 365 days; each day has 24 hours, that is 8,760 hours! Studying something that you already have studied for this long and keeping yourself motivated for these many hours is a tough ask. Then, there is also a possibility of d?j? vu. Hence, a better option would be to maximize what you have and keep preparing for what you want. In simple terms, join a course and keep preparing, so that, in case something does not go according to plan, you will still have something in hand.

I know what I want, but...

There are times when you want something but you don’t know if you possess the skills required for that profile, Malhotra has the following piece of advice, “if you are interested in a particular field, your passion can compensate for your lack of qualification to some extent.” Of course you do need to possess the basic skills required to work in a certain field, but interest, enthusiasm and willingness to excel in a particular field can help you overcome those obstacles to a great extent.

There might be other factors like non availability of funds, for which Malhotra provides an answer with an example, “Not many have deep enough pockets to sponsor education in the field of, say, motor sports. But, if you have keen interest in motor sports, you can look at related fields like sports journalism, test driving cars and bikes, writing about cars, becoming an automotive photographer, designing cars, remodeling cars and doing umpteen other things related to your passion. So, before taking a plunge into a particular field, try to find the viability of that field and compare it with your strengths, availability of funds etc.”

You want to pursue a course, but no college in the 250 Km radius offers that course. There is a very simple solution to this problem. Move out. Travel the 251st kilometer by foot, if you have to. A person should realize that Life is anything but a bed of roses.

According to the survey by National Council of Applied Economic Research, the third most common reason among children to take up science is that it is their parents’ desire. While this may be the primary reason for these students to take the science, it might not be the only reason. But, in case you do not like a particular field and want to do something else, the best way is to talk to your parents. Tell them what you want to do and show them that you can do well in that field. For example, if you like to act and you think you have it in you, join a theatre group, perform and show them that you really can do well!

In the words of Gautam Buddha, “Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.” So, follow the light and tread the path of enlightenment.

Check out Ms Pervin Malhotra's interview on Career Guidance after Class 10 and Class 12.