| Monday, May 19, 2008
Choosing your career path
This is the time when many students have to make crucial choices
regarding their future course of study and careers. If you are
confused, do not worry, here’s help for you as we explore
different options
This is the season when many students and parents have to make
crucial decisions in respect of choosing the courses of study.
Many students are at a crossroads in their academic life. There
are indeed three important crossroads — after Class X,
after Class XII, and after the degree.
When you are at a turning point in your life, even a slight
error may result in loss of great opportunities. There are defining
moments. Many people do not pay proper attention to the process
of selecting a course of study. When they realise the error,
they would have advanced so much that a course correction might
not be feasible. Any passenger intending to board a train or
bus would enquire about its destination and the route of travel.
However in the matter of an important journey in life, many
of us hardly show such discretion. We join a course of study,
complete it, and then raise the question, “What next?”.
Factors that should decide the course
Several significant factors have to be considered before arriving
at a wise decision in the choice of courses. The decision
cannot be a casual one. Many parents make a decision based
on their desire to realise their unfulfilled dreams, through
their children. A parent may think, “I did not have
the money to go for the MBBS course, when I was young. Now
that I can put my daughter to the medical college, why shouldn’t
I do so?” Another parent may push his son to an engineering
college to secure a B. Tech., though the boy has no mathematical
sense. The children concerned may not have the aptitude for
pursuing a course of study in medicine or engineering.
They may give in to parental pressure and take up the study
without full commitment. Perhaps they would have done very
well as an artist or public relations officer, or financial
analyst, had they been given an opportunity to develop their
favourite skills through academic courses. So the moral is
that the parent should necessarily consider the aptitude of
the child before deciding the course of study. The diverse
factors to be analysed before identifying a course of study
are the following:
• Aptitude of the student
• Learning ability of the student
• Financial capacity of the family
• Duration of the course
• Proximity of the educational institution
• Opportunities for higher education
• Quality of the institution offering the course
• Gender factor
• Potential of the programme for early placement (relevant
at certain levels only) .
After Class X
A large number of students go for the higher secondary courses
after they finish Class X. They will have to choose the optional
subjects wisely at this stage. If an error is committed at this
point, they may not be able to come back. There is a wide variety
of subject combinations for Class XI. A few combinations are
indicated below.
A. Science Group
1. Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology.
2. Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science.
3. Physics, Chemistry, Home Science and Biology.
4. Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Home Science.
5. Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Electronics.
6. Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Geology.
7. Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science and Geology.
B. Humanities Group
1. History, Economics, Political Science and Geography.
2. History, Economics, Political Science and Sociology.
3. History, Economics, Political Science and Geology.
4. History, Economics, Political Science and Music.
5. History, Economics, Political Science and Statistics.
C. Commerce Group
1. Business Studies, Accountancy, Economics and Computer Application.
2. Business Studies, Accountancy, Economics and Mathematics.
3. Business Studies, Accountancy, Economics and Statistics
4. Business Studies, Accountancy, Economics and Political Science.
These are only examples. The combinations may vary from State
to State, or from Board to Board. There may be opportunities
to choose subjects such as psychology, Hindi, French, and
Sanskrit. The choice of optional subjects in Class XI has
to be decided, after considering the desired path for higher
studies. One could say that the student should have a dream
that tells where he / she would be after another two years,
five years, ten years, and fifteen years. Perhaps all dreams
would not be realised. However, a course can be chosen wisely
only based on the dream. A person without such a dream is
like a boat without a rudder; it may be tossed aimlessly in
different directions. Imagine the chaos that would be precipitated
if there were no timetable for the railways.
We know that trains hardly ever reach the stations at the exact
time shown in the table; but we know how late the trains are.
Just as there would be deviations in the actual time of arrival
from the hours and minutes in the railway timetable, there would
be differences between the dreams and their levels of realisation.
The dream of a student should be merged with the various factors
we mentioned above.
Let us now look at the opportunities promised by the different
options of subjects.
The combination that offers the richest opportunities ahead
is the science group: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and
Biology. A student who goes for these four subjects at the
Plus-Two level can undergo further studies in engineering,
technology, physical science subjects such as physics, chemistry,
biochemistry, mathematics, statistics, medicine, dental surgery,
nursing, physiotherapy, agriculture, veterinary science, fisheries,
forestry, ayurveda, homeopathy, siddha, etc., and biological
science subjects such as zoology, botany, microbiology.
Courtesy: The Hindu - Education Plus
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