By Dr Asangba Tzudir
The HSLC and HSSLC results are out and without going into the statistics, attention is drawn into a very significant aspect which is choosing career paths. Choosing a career is not just about finding a job, rather it is about discovering a path that aligns with your unique combination of skills, interests, and values. This requires knowing oneself and for which certain questions needs to be considered. In context, the question of career goals takes primacy followed by your core values; favorite activities and hobbies; the subject/s that interests you, and your abilities and strengths. Finding the answer to these questions will help you objectively define your career paths and also ensure they align with your preferences and remain achievable as you advance.
While choosing a stream and subject specialization becomes an immediate concern, it is also necessary to create long term plans. This can start with the narrowing down of your choices and create suitable career paths keeping in mind the possibilities while also understanding your personality and aligning accordingly with the various career choices. Understanding personality will help in recognizing your interests, what you love to do and what you are good at, and accordingly build your strengths and objectives based on them, including your career goals. Such an evaluation will enable you to compare your education to job requirements, the need for specific educational eligibility for a particular profession. Instance, the coming of the FYUGP under NEP-2020 has opened up the requirement for additional qualifications, skills and even specialized fields of study. All these and more makes it imperative for anyone to get career guidance from professional career counselors.
Along the process of education and the pursuit of knowledge, acquiring any form of skill is an added advantage in the vast pool of competition, and learning a skill aligned with your area of study is an ideal one because it will help you gauge your aptness for the field. IN all these, passion is the driving force not only for sustenance but also to enjoy your profession each day of your work. This is where your values matters the most in the fulfillment of a fulfilling career. On the whole, your values should be attached to responsibility towards the creation of meaningful acts. Otherwise, just having a job and getting salary does not count much while considering the society at large.
Coming to the choice of a stream, while many may take up a stream of study most assuredly, there still will be many students who are unsure of which stream to major, and not to mention those who will not be able to pursue the subject of their choice because of low grades and await in hope for a seat in whichever stream or subject that remain ‘not taken.’ So, for those who are not sure of which stream to major, it is better to look for a broad education and keep choices open and then pursue specialization later according to your interests rather than opting for a specific subject.
Under the new education policy 2020, the FYUGP has started and it has opened various vistas of learning and career pathways. As such it is pertinent to be properly oriented about the system. And while it is multidisciplinary in its approach, the core subject remains. So for those entering college and especially those who are really focused on academics and higher level studies, it is very important to study the subject one is interested while also in consideration of one’s strengths and weaknesses. Otherwise, through various circumstances, studying a subject not of one’s interest or choice is really going to come in the way of one’s career paths and equally weighing down will be the implications arising from studying a subject one is not interested.
(Dr. Asangba Tzudir writes a weekly guest editorial for The Morung Express. Comments can be emailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
