One of the major stress points of our generation today is how to choose the right career. Well, if this keeps you up at night, I don’t blame you. It is a decision that Might stay with you all through your adulthood unless you opt for a scientific method of choosing your career. But what is the right decision? How do you pick the right career path for yourself ? This blog focuses on just that. As you read, I'll explain to you the two methods available for choosing your career and which one is better.
Conventional Methods -
Before we see the right way to choose a career, let’s take a look at what you should not do. For different reasons students have fallen victim to the wrong ways for choosing a career. Here are some factors that you should beware of while deciding on you career path -
Following Family Path - They say apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. However when it comes to career the saying could be very wrong. You as an individual have different qualities and aptitudes than your parents. You may come from family of lawyers or engineers but your talent may be painting. It is important to not pick a career just because of your family history. Abhishek Munian who is a lead digital marketing strategist for kool kanya says - “I come from a family of businessmen, but the best decision I made was to pick marketing as a career option instead of business”.
Peer Pressure -According to parentfurtheronly 10 percent of teens that were surveyed said that they had not been influenced by peer pressure. Peer pressure can be big hurdle in deciding the right career path. While you friends and family push you towards a particular career, it is important to know your individualism before making a decision.
Lack Of Guidance -One should never overlook the value of an expert opinion. While it is good to trust your friends, families and teachers' advice, this may not be their expertise. Career counselors are better at this. They have a vast sea of information on different career paths available and which one would fit you better. It is sad to know that according to indianeducationdiary only 1 in 10 students receive career counselling in India.
Getting Influenced by Salary And Stats - I’m sure you have heard numbers can be misleading. For example you might be tempted to pursue engineering in I.T. because digital I.T. export revenue from India increased 3 times from 2016 to 2019. What this stat does not tell you is how many I.T. professionals didn’t find a job. Today, there is opportunity in different fields. It is important you decide your career path based on your strengths and not stats and numbers.
Scientific Methods -
By now I’m sure you know what not to do and why. So what should you do ? Well good news is like most modern day problems, science can help us here. You can give a Psychometric test to find the right career. This test will help evaluate your skills, personality, aptitude, I.Q. and other such factors. Armed with this knowledge you can see where you best fit in the career puzzle. I have listed out some factors that contribute to scientific selection of a career.
Aptitude - Albert Einstein said - “Everyone is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid”. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Successful people are able to identify their strengths and harness it. Aptitude based career planning focuses on finding a career where your strengths lie. For example your Numerical Aptitude might not be as strong as your Verbal aptitude. Your Logical Aptitude could even be higher than your Verbal Aptitude. Your Aptitude decides how fast you will learn anything. People with Higher Verbal Aptitude learn faster & better in the verbal related information. You could have hidden talents for certain jobs that you may not even be aware of. Hence Aptitude assessment is a must.
Personality - Personality could easily be one of the most underrated and overused words when it comes to career guidance. According toBig 5 OCEAN Model Theory there can be Broadly 5 different personality traits : Openness, Consciousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism . Proper assessment will tell you what personality trait you actually possess. With clear knowledge of your personality type you’ll know what role suits you best in a profession. Umpire, player and commentator all are part of cricket but their job requires different skills and personalities.
Interest - You will be spending 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for a period of 4-5 decades. Do you want to risk doing something you don’t enjoy for that long? I guess not. If you find a job that interests you, you’ll never need a vacation. Besides if it's your interest you’ll be absorbing knowledge in your field subconsciously. Your friends circle, social platforms, books all are decided by your interests.
Intelligence Quotient (I.Q.) - I.Q. is a score that is obtained by a series of tests to indicate your intelligence. Why an accurate I.Q. test is important? I.Q. of Muhammed Ali, one of the best boxers in history, was 78. Imagine if he would have tried to become a scientist. World would have lost a great athlete and he probably would have not enjoyed all the studying. An I.Q. score will provide a good indicator if you’ve skills required for the profession.
Emotional Quotient (E.Q.) - E.Q. is a score that reflects your ability to understand, use and manage your emotions. A good E.Q. score could indicate career prospects in hospitality, public relations and other similar sectors.
These are just 5 of many such scientific factors that can help you find your dream career. Career is not the same size fits all shoes. A scientific approach will help you find the career that is perfect for you as an individual. This paired with guidance of an experienced counsellor will save you a lot of trouble and stress of future career changes. A right decision would mean mental peace of 45 decades of career and being involved in what you love to do and excel at. Something that Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadela, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and many other achievers have in common
