Guide them, don't ruin them!!!

We have a serious crisis hitting our youngsters. It's not unemployment. It's unemployability. I recently had the courage to write a short letter to a newly launched careers magazine. I haven't got a reply, as yet. But, the topic of my letter was something; concerned with the current season. Just about a month after the 10th and 12th exams, the current season shapes a lot of people's dreams and aspirations, knowingly or unknowingly. Some of them would listen to parents and some others would listen to friends, while deciding their stream of study or eventually, their career. My letter to the magazine's editor asked him to simply stick to one basic rule: "Guide them, don't ruin them!"

Youngsters, myself included, have just one idea of career: A career is something I'll do after my 12th, or after my graduation. 

We all advise them. We don't teach them one thing. We don't reflect on what it is that we are facing after so many years in a career. If we do, we would ask them to rethink; because, careers are not what we do after our 12th or after our graduation, careers are what we do for life. It's a plan. It's not a course. It's a definite plan for what you want to be for the rest of your life. 

Some of my friends have started to face these problems, now, after 6 or 7 years working in the same field. The monotony of their jobs have forced them to reconsider the paths they had set out on, many years ago. What is that we want to do with our life? Certainly, it's not what pays most. And, it's not what takes you to places. But, it's all about what you are happy doing. 

Why do we then advise our youth, to "opt [for] Aeronautical Engineering, because it is a job in demand", when he has no idea what "aeronautical" is or what he would do after that course. A student who opts for the Commerce stream is most likely to be taken less seriously than a student who opts for Science stream. No, don't deny it. I'm talking about the general impression.

A boy I know was forced to take a shot at CPT [the preliminary test for CA, in the new scheme]. The boy had no interest whatsoever in being a Chartered Accountant. But, his mother wanted him to go for it, all because, someone recently told her that, "CAs make a lot of money". He wasted a lot of money preparing for CPT, and also spent a lot of time on it. He couldn't clear the CPT.

My solution to the problem is a simple one. Some of my readers may have better ideas. Do mail them to me. 

My solution is that, we must show the way for our youngsters, but we must not tell them what to find there. We often explain to them what the trendiest industries are and where they can be found. But, we don't tell them what they require for that particular kind of job. I had friends who had no basic skills in mathematics and yet, they ended up studying engineering. Well, it's quite a mammothian task; some worked hard and made it, while others dropped out of the course, eventually. Who could be held responsible for that? 

The way, as I see it, is to inculcate the habit of reading in youngsters. There are lots of career magazines and books on choosing careers. Pay attention to some of them. For books, one could check out Pervin Melhotra's career guides or Richard Nelson Bolles' What Colour is your Parachute? and for magazines - there are plenty of them online but, - if you are interested in print, then the newly launched Careers 360 would be a good choice. These magazines and books mention what kind of skills, each profession demands. It is also beneficial to help the subject plan for his future. Future is not five years. It could be 10 years, 15 years or 25 years. A student choosing a career must have at least a fair idea of where he can go with his chosen career.

The whole point is that next time you advise a youngster about his career,  guide him, but don't   ruin him. 

[Edits: Read the comments on this post]