Choosing and Managing your Career A common question in the minds of young people is: which career to choose? Parents obviously want their children to become successful doctors, engineers or bureaucrats. Many students do follow their parents wishes and are able to build a secure career for themselves. Since not everybody has the aptitude and can clear the extremely difficult competitive examinations of these professions, it results very often in heartbreaks and frustrations. Nor is it necessary that everybody is cut out for every profession. In the long run, it would be better if youngsters choose a career that one has interest in. The key to success would lie in doing things well and not in following what others are doing. Tejinder is a doctor who has joined MBA coaching classes. I did MBBS because my parents wanted me to but I find there is no money in it. An MBA will give me the qualifications to work in a multinational and live a decent life, he says. Thousands of students, including engineers from the premier institutes like the IITs, want to get into management for this reason. One often wonders why some of the brightest people in the country are opting for becoming salesmen for foreign companies, sacrificing their talent and years of their hard work and training in a different profession. Likewise, there is a craze for civil services. After many attempts and wasted years some people end up as teachers or clerks. The process wastes precious years of a person; if only the aptitude was measured earlier, a person could be advised to do something else. Failure apart, even those who may pass due to sheer grit and determination may not have an inherent interest and spend their life doing theirjobs without adding any value to it. This is evident from millions of mediocre IAS officers, engineers and doctors. Even mediocre MBAs cannot rise above middle management because they did not have the interest in the career and can never be as good as one who was always interested in it.Going by the quality of work done in the country, it does appear that there is an army of mediocre people who are content in passing their time in offices. We seem to encourage mediocrity. Everybody does diplomas in computers and management since they have heard that such diplomas fetch high salaries. Their contribution to the job, sadly, is abysmal.The diplomas, however, build up expectations and everybody thinks he is fit to work in a multinational company. Not everyone can find such a job, which leaves a trail of frustration behind. Ironically, though there is huge unemployment in the country, it is difficult to find a good typist or a good computer operator. Multinationals, or for that matter any employer, require people who can add value. They do not want pen pushers. A diploma or a degree does not add value. It is added by an understanding of the situation and taking intelligent decisions. Highly paid jobs require this more than anything else. A person who does not have talent for this is bound to be left behind. Choosing and managing a career requires more serious thinking than many of us are willing to admit. First is the question of aptitude. It is necessary not to be overwhelmed by stories of high salaries that others are getting, since each profession offers the possibility to earn more than others. The most highly paid professionals in the country, for instance, are not MBAs. A good doctor or a fashion designer would be able to earn more money. Some famous designers and cardiologists earn more than most MBAs.The aptitude question is also important to find out whether we can be successful in certain professions. Students preparing for civil services or as a Chartered Accountant would do well to find out whether they are cut out for them rather than spend years trying to pass tests that they cannot. It is not a matter of intelligence it is a matter of aptitude. Secondly, a commitment is called for. Most young people say that they can work hard but when it comes to doing it, they are happier spending time with friends and outings. It is important, therefore, to be honest with yourself, assess the kind of time you can put in and the resources you have at your disposal. Do not be misled by the glamorous professions but choose something which is more down to earth. If you do choose to work in a multinational, look at the effort put in bythose executives and try to emulate them. Merely saying that you can work hard will get you nowhere.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 04:17:01 +0000
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