Dr. Asangba Tzüdir
Even as students who have appeared this year’s Nagaland Board exams wait with bated anticipation for the results, thoughts about career and choice of stream of study will keep them engaged. For sure, it will be a disturbing dilemma where the same dilemma is bound to have different constraining effects on each student because of various factors, considerations and limitations. And thus, it will also naturally confuse the students.
Education and the pursuit of knowledge is not simply for acquiring a job but education is for life and thus choosing a stream becomes very crucial. As crucial as it is, it is also important because to a large extent the choice of a stream will influence the professional course that a student will pursue and which will also provide a solid grounding for building ones career.
Coming to the dilemma, it also gets compounded by certain factors like parent’s ‘forcing’ upon their choice without actually considering their children’s interest. Choosing a particular stream out of peer pressure or pressure from parents and not going by one’s interests and potential will ultimately become the ‘burden for life.’ There are also financial constraints that discourage students from opting the subject and the place of study of their choice.
Further, with an alarming increase in the number of ‘educated’ unemployed and ‘unemployable’ youths in the state, choosing the right stream and career becomes more challenging. This may even discourage one from studying the field of his or her interest due to limited job prospects. Sadly, education is viewed from the prism of job prospects and ‘employability’ rather than applying education as a tool to unlock the mind towards envisaging ones potential and worth.
Choosing the right stream and career will have a long lasting impact during the pursuit of education. The ‘will’ finds its place where there is real interest and motivation. A wrong move in the choice of a particular stream often leads one to quitting their studies entirely or shift to another stream midway which does not augur well in the process of building one’s career.
Being part of a life process, first and foremost, ‘knowing oneself’ will add value and meaning to life. As such, self awareness becomes the vital conduit to knowing oneself even while choosing one’s career path. This involves identifying ones interests and understanding ones skills and aptitudes. This analysis should form the basis while taking a decision. Identifying ones interest can be the most difficult thing. In this age, it is easier to trigger and develop an interest which may not yield productive results in the long run. It is important that one’s interest should not be blind and one that is necessarily backed by a sense of responsibility.
Yet, there are people that may not have found their interests in life while there are those who may have too many interests. But, choosing a career path is for life and livelihood too, and this should set one’s interest/s in perspective. Also, a thorough strength-weakness analysis is needed to bring out the right combine of Interest, Skill and Aptitude. This will go a long way in choosing the right path towards building ones career and also a successful living.
There will be clash of interests and other considerations that requires serious deliberation. As such it is necessary to take educational counseling and guidance from seniors, teachers, career experts and parents and have proper discussion so as to enable a student to take the right decision with clarity of thought.
No stream or field of study can be said to be good or bad, superior or inferior, and a lot of opportunities are there in every field. It is all about choosing the right stream giving due consideration to the dilemmas, issues and challenges at hand, and this requires the coming together of ‘will’, knowledge and wisdom. After all, nobody would want to be placed in a wrong career path that will make one’s life ‘wasted.’
(Dr. Asangba Tzudir is a Freelance Research Consultant. He contributes a weekly guest editorial to The Morung Express. Comments can be mailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
