Proactive Career Planning

There are also cases where the scope nor interest nor aptitude is responsible when a student chooses his or her career. Sometimes it is the parents’ wishes which end up as the main reason that a person enters a particular field. This may be because the parents themselves wanted to choose that particular field but could not do so for some reason. Now they want one of their children to pursue that field. Sometimes it may also be that if one sibling chooses a particular field, the parents want the other children to enter some other field. This attitude almost always leads to the student not being happy with the subject and also not being able to fully concentrate on his/her studies. Because of these typical wrong attitudes it becomes very difficult to survive and progress in any particular field.

The most important times when students need the most help about which subjects to choose are matriculation and intermediate. The results of these classes affect the whole life of a person .The subjects he/she chooses at that stage helps him/her in getting admissions in to professional colleges & universities of their choice and the departments of their choice.

Before starting intermediate, the students should be told about the prospects in store for them should they choose Science, Commerce or Arts. A clear understanding about what choices one would have after passing intermediate in a particular subject would help them choose the correct field. In our country right now, students are almost always expected to take admissions in either science or commerce. There is a false preconceived notion that the students who take Arts as a subject are either less intelligent or not serious about their studies. The interests and talents of these students are never taken into account.

After intermediate and before admission in a professional college, it would be very useful if the student knew what prospects of higher education one would have once he/she takes admission in a particular subject. He could be asked and advised upon which fields or subjects to choose so that he can continue in his field of interest. During university also, students should be kept informed about the opportunities & prospects through

work-shops and seminars.

Nowadays, career counseling and planning is even being carried out by multinational companies and organizations. They assess their employees according to interests and skills and assign them work which is more suitable to their natural capabilities.

Career assessment and planning from the very beginning of a child’s life is necessary so that his energies could be channeled in the correct direction. His interests and aptitude should be kept in mind and he/she should be encouraged to choose the work he/she likes to do. Parents and teachers have a great role to play in this regard as they are the only people who can assess the children by observing their activities and their inclinations. Students should be advised accordingly whenever they have to make such decisions regarding their future fields of study or work.

Following the trends of the time is not the right way to choose ones career. In fact, interest should be the thing to keep in mind when making decisions about the future. Professional career counselors could help in this regard by making the student understand clearly what line of action he/she could take and where it would lead him/her. All this is very important so that the student’s potentials, skills and effort are not wasted and his/her talents are fully utilized.

Correct career planning could help a student to become a very useful part of society. The development of their skills can help the nation progress rapidly. It would greatly assist in the prosperity and success of our country if we could correctly harness the potential of our youth.