Field of Study: Choose Wisely

The horizon of career opportunities has expanded and students are now spoilt for choice. But choosing the right field of study still puts a student in a tight spot

Before India witnessed economic liberalisation in 1990s, the Great Indian Dream of every student was either becoming an IAS or a doctor or an engineer. The opportunities were limited and government jobs highly coveted. Choosing the educational stream was not too difficult as ultimately all that mattered was clearing the competitive examination for the job.

Arts were for the romantics and science for the one who reasoned. Commerce was not too exciting as the scope for entrepreneurship was limited by the Licence Raj.

But the situation is altogether different now. There are a zillion courses to choose from and specialisation in any particular field of study is mandatory to climb up the ladder in professional life. So how exactly does one choose what to study?

Students are often confused. More often than not, they decide to follow their friends in this matter. Medicine and engineering are still deemed as bankable career options in non-metropolitan areas and much pressure is exerted on the child to take up any of these. This makes the life of many teenagers harder than necessary. After all, such a decision decides the direction of your life.

The following are a few tips that can come in handy in selecting the appropriate field of study:

• Contemplate: Talk to yourself. Which is that quality that makes you stand out in crowd? Find out about your strengths and weaknesses.
• Passion: Try to figure out things you are passionate about. If you like the idea of justice, you could study law or if you like helping those in distress, you could study disaster management. The idea is to know yourself, your qualities and then research all career options that can realise your potential.
• Favourite subject: If there is a subject you ardently like, then the matter becomes relatively simpler. Just go for it. Remember, knowledge never goes to waste. Every field of study has potential to give you a rewarding career if you have the desire and will to excel.
• Vocational or educational: If you are generally clueless about yourself, then ask whether you would be interested in vocational courses or an academic field of study. Vocational courses are focussed on imparting skills required for professionals. If you are a dynamic on-the-job kind of a person, research the variety of vocational courses. Academic courses are those that teach you theories, ideas and facts. If you are into research or teaching or wish to acquire knowledge, then this is the option for you.
• Offbeat: There are a thousand careers which are virtually unheard of. There is always a high demand and low supply of skilled professionals in these areas simply because of lack of awareness. Photography, film studies, professional blogging, textile designing, pharmacy, environmental sciences, video editing and many other such courses can yield you wads of money and fame.
• Choose suitable college: No college can claim to provide outstanding education in all the courses. Select the college on the basis of reputation of your chosen course.
• Read prospectus: Order a prospectus from each of the shortlisted universities. Read it thoroughly. You might find other interesting courses about which you had no previous knowledge of.
• Excellence: Remember that whatever you choose to do, no matter how little known or high paying the jobs are, at the end of the day, you need to excel.
• Career counsellor: If you still cannot decide what to study, it is best to make this decision in consultation with a teacher from your school and a professional counsellor. Seek your parent’s advice and take your time to reach a decision.

Ideally, you should start thinking about your options while in class tenth. But it is never too late to begin. You can succeed quite easily once you are sure of your goals in life.