AWARENESS AMONG PARENTS AGAINST FORCING CAREER OPTIONS ON STUDENTS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

AWARENESS AMONG PARENTS AGAINST FORCING CAREER OPTIONS ON STUDENTS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

A recent survey on career option awareness among Indian students has revealed that a staggering 93% of the students aged 14 to 21 were aware of just seven career options though there are more than 250 different types of job options available in India.

The average age of India will be just 27 in 2020, which means that the majority of the country will comprise young students and youth. But even now with the clock ticking, the unemployment crisis is raging the country the main reason behind this problem is that there are a huge number of youth passing out from schools and colleges every year, and there are many new career options and job roles being added to various industries in well.

 

And a recent survey by Mindler, an online career-counselling platform, has proved that the majority of Indian students are aware of just seven career paths, even though there are 250 career options that can be pursued in India -- most new and in-demand.

93% of students unaware of more than seven career options

The responses collected in the survey showed that a staggering 93% of the students who participated in the survey were aware of just seven career options -- law, engineering, medicine, accounts and finance, design, computer applications and IT, and management.

One of the most important decisions of life after passing 12th is which career stream to choose and why. Making the right career choice is strenuous as it requires a lot of patience, thinking as you need to analyse various fields as well as different colleges. Being a teenager, it is really difficult to make the correct choice. Most of the students choose a path chosen for them by their parents.

 

But should it be the decision of a child or a parent?

Parents are the factors that act as influential in career development or the career choice of the students. The world is changing at a high pace and the choices to vary accordingly. Children should be given the right to choose the career path they want to and live their dreams but it is again a fact that the real-world experience of parents can’t be ignored of course and this is one of the major reasons why a child trust the decision of a parent more.

So, the question here arises, who should choose the career of the child, a parent or the child itself ?

Every year thousands of students with young fierce minds are confused and stuck on their career choices. On making a wrong choice, the interest of a child is lost leading the child to be frustrated and depressed rather than wasting his time and efforts and later skipping the career choice and looking for a different career option to go for. This is a problem that is not just limited to a child or a parent, it is the problem of the whole education system.

Why a child should choose their career?

Firstly it is the right of every child to choose their career and their right to live their dreams. Moreover, it is the child who knows his choice, his passion, his dreams and his abilities better than anyone else in the world. If a child chooses a career according to their parent’s wish, there is a possibility that they might have a boring academic life as they might lose interest in what they are doing.

College life is one of the best phases in the life of a child, and they should enjoy it thoroughly, but if the career is chosen by the parent, then their college life may get ruined too. To make their college life more interesting they should choose their career path.

 

Why parents should refrain from forcing their decisions on their child ?

Parents have a desire, their child should achieve excellence everywhere be it be sports, academic, or in their careers. But they forget the fact that a child can make a good career in whichever field it goes by simply following his or her passion. The choice of deciding the career path should be left on the students so that they can make their lives fruitful. If the path is chosen by the child, then he stays oriented towards the end goal.

 

Parents should help their child in making the
right choice.

It is the role of a parent to help the child make the right choice, that does not mean that they should pressurize the child for what they feel is right rather they should help the child in discovering his or her potential and aligning their choice as per their potential and their passion.

One of the best ways to do this is to allow children to explore all options of career from dance to music, sports, science, art and what not and wait for them to decide and come up with their own choice. Career is all about the right skills and interest coming together.

Conclusion – The major problem lies in the miscommunication between a child and the parents as the parents love their children, care a lot for them and want them to ace in their career choices, but a child also has his/ her dreams that they might fail to achieve due to the excess parental pressure. Thus, the common ground needs to be established between both the parents and the child to motivate the child to achieve their dreams and have a successful life ahead.