Of career puzzle and how today’s youth is smartly decoding it
| Date :16-Jun-2023 |
By Nakul Dongre
This is that time of the year when school and junior college results are declared and the teens find themselves facing probably the most important decision of their life - their career. While some have their future all planned out, by them or their parents, there are many who keep hanging between options. So, how does one take a decision when it comes to what profession to get into? The decision making process can be confusing, especially since it shall become the turning point of one’s life. One mistake can spell doom on the future prospects. To decide on a career one needs to analyse a lot of factors such as one’s area of interest, individual skill set, and the financial viability of the course to be taken. ‘The Hitavada’ caught up with some youngsters and asked them about the factors they had considered before choosing their career. Sanika Ogale, an MBA student at MIT, Pune, believes that in today’s time, the job market has cut-throat competition and, to excel, one needs to gain experience along with high qualification. While pursuing MBA in Digital Marketing, she is keeping a tab on the fast changing job market which requires updating oneself with the latest softwares and applications. To her, love for her work, satisfying job conditions, and peace of mind were her driving force. “Today, being able to choose these three while also surviving in the cut-throat competition is a challenge,” she added.
Chartered Accountant Mayank Mokashi did not want to restrict himself to auditing and tax filing. The area of Finance Management and Investment peaked his interest. He says, “I chose the field as it was a cut above all the other professional fields,”. However he realised that there is much to learn in the field of Investment and Finance. So, he researched into related careers and came accross Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). With interest in finance and investment, he applied for CFA and has also cleared the first level. But yes, pursuing a masters’ degree is expensive and not a lot of students can go for such career choices. So do the traditional courses give better job opportunities? Do most youths go for the traditional courses? Not for Deepa Kolwadkar, who finished her BSc in Cosmetic Science from University of Sunderland. She is currently working in the UK. She says her liking for the field was the defining factor for her choosing this career. Sharwari Pawar, a BCom graduate, who is pursuing MCom, was once a CA aspirant. She was interested in the finance field, however, after a while she realised that her interest was more towards Certified Public Accountant (CPA). She says that her reason for choosing CPA is that it is a new field and gives her greater scope to work in other countries as well in a much more experienced and advanced work culture, not to mention the high paying cheques.
In the case of Krutika Pande, she had chosen architecture as a back-up and for job stability. Her passion lies in fine arts. She felt architecture would provide her both, an opportunity to be creative and get financial stability. The precision in architecture needs to be spot-on. Updating oneself on a day-to-day basis is also a must and this gives her the thrill in the career of her choice. “Students at a young age, especially after passing 10th, are a little confused regarding their choice of career. It takes a lot of thinking. Many options are available at that age,” opined Dr Bhushan Mahajan, Training and Placement Officer, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU). He mentioned that students today are more interested in IT sector jobs which guarantee high-paying jobs and faster growth, and hence students choose courses accordingly. He also mentioned that all jobs were equally valuable to the society, one only needed to look for passion within. So, while some look for choosing a career that ensures a fat salary, some others look for careers that provide job satisfaction. All want financial stability, but the degree of that urge differs from person to person. What matters in the end is that one enjoys what one does to be able to become a better professional.