Are parents sentient to career options of kids?

Every successive generation enjoys more opportunities to select a career. And with every passing decade, the opportunities generally increase twofold. Now, if that be so, are parents aware of the multitude of career options that exist for their children? Regrettably, the answer is ‘No’ and which by itself is highly unfavorable to a child’s future prospects. Parents may offer sincere advice, but such advice is usually based on restricted knowledge.

As and when a child goes past the matriculation or higher secondary stage, selection of specific streams for further studies is an enigma. Based on individual inclinations, electives are selected like medical, engineering, humanities or commerce. Should parents decide on the stream or should the decision be left to the child? The answer to this question is vital and has great ramifications. A child may actually not be well conversant with various career options available. Hence, if the decision is left to an immature or ignorant mind, the same may not turn out to be eventually correct or appropriate in the long run.

An illustration, hypothetical though can make things easy to understand. A child may feel that he  ought to pursue humanities. But in his board examinations, his performance in science subjects far surpassed marks obtained in social studies. Therefore, the issue of pursuing humanities throws up a big question mark. Moreover, a study of science subjects would offer him vast opportunities to become a doctor, engineer, architect, pilot and the like. He debates the issue, views humanities in relatively poor light and infers that he ought to study science. The pronouncement with regard to the soundness of the decision would be delivered by Father Time a number of years later. However, the only thing that warrants attention is the fact that a holistic consideration of various factors that contribute to the arrival of such a decision was perhaps not done. A career is something that a child would generally be required to cling all his life. His identity perhaps would be contingent on it. The fact that some people change careers notwithstanding, it is always advisable to ab initio choose one that is in conformity with one’s disposition, likes and interests. This would preclude changing streams mid-stream in later years. To that extent, a child needs to exercise a correct option and this cannot be possible if he is unaware of various existing opportunities and available options.

A decision arrived at and an option exercised solely on the basis of marks obtained is just not correct. Children, more often than not err on this aspect. The ideal procedure should incorporate firstly discerning what a child wants to do or achieve and secondly knowing what curriculum should be followed to attain that. Under no circumstances should a child consider the subjects of study prior to deciding on the career to be embarked upon. In case such a development is allowed, it would manifest governance by situations rather than inclinations and penchants; and should not be allowed to occur.

A child may not be fully conversant with or cognizant of his inclinations or ambitions. But one thing is certain - a general idea would prevail of what he or she would like to become or be a couple of years later. There may be a young lad who enjoys playing games at the computer as also communicating with his friends through e mail or networking sites. He understands, amongst others what Google, Yahoo and Facebook are all about. He would be more than willing to work in any of these setups, but little realizing that he needs to be armed with a computer science degree to be able to get in. He is perhaps also ignorant of the fact that these setups also employ generalists and personnel with non-technical background to handle administrative and allied functions. Such categories include human resource management & development, marketing, customer care, public relations and compliance, etc. Hence, if one is keen to join a particular organization, but not insistent on the work-stream, it would be prudent to know the organization of the concerned setup and opportunities of employment each section throws up. This would enable a child to have a practical acquaintance with the enormity of various options.

The importance of a parental role in career selection cannot be downplayed at any cost. It is not a bad idea to avail services of a career counselor so that he child gets to know what he can opt for. There is also nothing wrong in discussing issues with acquaintances, friends and relatives to fathom various options available and then talking them out with the child. It would be in the fitness of things to let the child also interact with various people so that he gets first hand information.

One of the most beneficial methods to put across available options to children is to start with what all streams they can go in for, viz., science, humanities or commerce. Having done so, they need to be explored for career opportunities.

The last step should be to identify various companies that offer employment in such fields. For example, a child may opt for medical group subjects, that is, physics, chemistry and biology. Post Class 12, he can go on to become a doctor, veterinarian, biotechnologist, agriculture scientist and even a forensic expert, just to name a few. The sky is the limit as far as options are concerned. But it is important that the child knows and understands the pros and cons of each of them. And the earlier he does so, the better it will be because he would be able to then cherry-pick. Adopting a reverse alternative is fraught with inherent risks on grounds that stream selection would be based on typical broad-spectrum knowledge. It is quite likely that a multitude of better options come to be known later. A feeling of remorse being generated under such circumstances will be a reality because he would surely repent for his lack of knowledge years back.

The parents thus are key persons who influence the career options of their children. In consideration of the foregoing, they need to be attentive and well-acquainted with different career options that are available when it is time for their children to select a career.