Experts’ Speak: Choose right institute to choose right career

With the average working span of an individual’s life covering around 50 years, it is imperative that the choice of a career should be made with deliberation and precision. “Choose a job that you love and you will never have to work a single day in your life,” the saying goes. When the choice of what work to do, is a correct one – you truly enjoy your work life.

In choosing a career, you may want to consider the following:

• Doing things that you love to do
• Doing things you would do to earn a living
• Your secret life and hence, what you may want to do with strong passion, eventually

Your happiness, in whatever way you shape your life, is what eventually remains critical. Your internal strengths, aptitudes, interests and desires need to be weighed with external opportunities that come your way in the career that you choose to pursue and later, it is true for your job, too. The important thing to remember is that there is a difference between your job and career. While your job is something that you could be doing for a while, your career is a long-term vision, the reason for your existence, your destiny - so that your life is rewarding and fulfilling.

The first step in this entire process is to belong to an institute of higher learning, which has relevant, basic infrastructure, technique and also can facilitate holistic growth. It should be able to provide knowledge, courseware and pedagogy for its application, and also facilitate integration of knowledge. A place where you keep on learning, for your today and tomorrow.

It is imperative to also develop critical skills to be used at various levels. Primarily, the skills would be at the:

• Technical level: Provide an interface with technology at critical junctures
• Professional level: For integrating theory with practice
• Social level: For personal and professional interactions

Most institutes will provide you with one or the other skills but only a few will encourage you to develop all three skill platforms in synergy. Look for the latter institute.

During this learning phase, it is crucial that you, as a student are able to hone attitudes and imbibe soft skills so that you can perform effectively and efficiently from the start. Other skills that need to be learnt and internalised are:

• Imbibing responsibility - response to ability
• Accountability for your work and yourself
• Time and stress management – by learning to prioritise and schedule work and study
• Building a sense of self-confidence and conscientiousness
• Building a positive attitude
• Developing clear thinking

While at your institute, you must be able to build a network of relationships through the school and its alumni, at the various forums and at work during projects and internships. An institute that provides for building relationships continuously over time is high on the opportunity platform.

Nurturing self-discovery – a process of internal rejuvenation and constant realisation of your mission, is the essence of growth. This is achievable through introspection, experimentation and the cycle of experiential learning. Any institute which helps you to grow continuously in this way, is akin to a home and that’s where you want to be.

If you can work your way towards a career that helps you build a future that is aspirational and happy, then it is going to be a very satisfying life at the end of the road.

About Author:

Professor Ramola Kumar is Dean of DSC -The Delhi School of Communication, Saket wherein she was instrumental in helping conceive and launch the programme in the year 1995. Her areas of specialisation include Marketing, Brand Management and communications. Ms Kumar has been educated in the United States of America, Canada and India. She pursued her MBA from the University of Ottawa, Canada and was ranked fourth in the management programme.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha