4 Steps To Choose The Right Career

An engineer turned actor, a lawyer turned politician, a teacher turned filmmaker: every one of them has their own stories to tell when they left their safe abode to choose a rather unconventional profession where success is not guaranteed. 

After the PU result, what next is the question that every student encounters. Not that they never had plans. However, the current situation and the result push them to think again. What you are really good at might not align with what you really want to do. Therefore choosing a course out of n number of choices is definitely a challenge which is more severe than Hamlet’s dilemma.   

The following factors will help in taking the right decision in choosing a career.

1. Write What You Are Passionate About: Make a list of things you are really passionate about. It could be as simple as writing, singing to making drones (I am not responsible if the drone reminds you of someone!) or coding.

I opted for Science for my PU education only out of fancy, and I failed miserably in that. Therefore, I changed from Science to Arts when I joined graduation.

2. What You Are Good At: Once you have made a list of things you are really passionate about, in that list put a tick against the things you think you are really good at. When I say you are really good at, you need not be a professional in that. For instance, if you are passionate about public speaking and you always stood first at debate competition at your school and college level, you can consider yourself good at this. If you are just above average, and if you really want to hone your skills, it is just a matter of time. You need to get the help of professionals who could guide you or train you in this area. 

3. What You Are Paid For: Do you have enough confidence that people will invite you for a public speech and even pay for it? If you can’t make money out of it, then you have to choose something that would pay you so that you can at least make your ends meet. You can try public speaking as a freelancer. Once opportunity starts coming at your doorstep, you can pursue a speaking profession on a full-time basis.

Chethan Bhagat is a former IITian. He had worked as an investment banker before leaving his hefty paying job to become a full-time writer. Chethan Bhagat left his job only after he was confident that he could earn his living by writing.

4. What the World Needs: This is something philosophical. If you don’t have a mission, then you are not motivated enough to do your work. Even Lord Krishna had a purpose, to establish dharma on earth. Krishna knew that Arjuna was born to help him in fulfilling his purpose.   When you are passionate enough and even good at any work for which people are willing to pay, you should also have a clear purpose. If the world needs it, only then you can start your day with enthusiasm. One of the reasons that most of the software engineers or any people who work with technology lose motivation to work is due to the lack of knowledge about the end-users. If they couldn’t see their customers directly, and if they don’t get a reward in the form of feedback, they feel lost. 

A true theatre artist finds more thrill in acting on stage than before the camera. Because communication is direct here, and even the feedback is quick. Late filmmaker Shankar Nag continued to direct and act in plays even after he became the star in movie filed. This might be one of the reasons. 

Putting the above four things to practice, you can make a clear decision by writing. For example:

I want to become a doctor because

a) I am passionate about serving people with ailments.

b) I have all the qualities and abilities to be a doctor

c) Doctors are paid well

d) My nation needs more doctors

If you are clear about the four things, you can almost come out with the right career choice. But it is ok to take chance sometimes if you are still confused. As I said in the beginning, an engineer from a premier institute can earn his livelihood by content writing or by being a lifestyle YouTuber. If you have made a choice based on the 4 aspects discussed above, there is a very low chance of making a career mistake. Even if you think you have not made the right choice, you can change it. 

But, once you have made a choice, thinking of all the perks, you have lifted one end of the stick where automatically another end is also lifted. It means, your choice can never balance all the 4 aspects mentioned above. If you want to lead a laid back life, you should compromise with a meagre income. If you don’t want to leave your native town, you have to sacrifice the profession that can be pursued only in metropolitan cities. If you want to make a lot of money, you should not think of jobs that are convenient for you (even if you pursue a profession you are passionate about, you will have to do some chores which seem meaningless and dreary to you).

But don’t forget to avoid a few mistakes while making a career choice which I am going to discuss in my next blog.

(The 4 points are borrowed from the Japanese concept called Ikigai)