A career decision, especially post completion of class 12, is a decision for a lifetime. In the past, career options after Class 12 were limited to medicine, engineering and chartered accountancy. Education involves graduating in the fields of Humanities, Science or Commerce.

Determining Career Choices

A career choice should be determined by considering the personality of the individual. Some points should be kept in mind to facilitate the best career decision.

• Interests – A career should be based on the interest of a person. Your passion will determine your future life choice and impart mental clarity behind your decision. Suppose you have a passion for healthcare and are service-oriented, a promising career in Geriatric Medicine would be a worthwhile pursuit.
• Understanding the Curriculum – Before enrolling in a course, it is essential to have detailed knowledge about the curriculum, pedagogy and training variables. Career Counsellors are adept at helping students understand the demand of the course.
• Future Prospects – It is good to understand the prospects of the job market before choosing a career. It is crucial to know whether the opportunities are available nationally or globally, whether higher studies and specializations can be considered in the future, and the tenure of the career one opts for. For example, a career in the hospitality sector as an employee and entrepreneur is viable if one is oriented towards customer service.

The Traditional Career Approach

It may be understood that the Traditional Career had three components:

• A career ideally represents our expertise, profession, and ultimately, our identity. A job defines who we are and what we do.
• A career is seen to be built and endured over time. In our chosen career path, there lies an opportunity to progress, advance and attain dignity over time.
• A career offers financial and psychological rewards, providing a livelihood, a purpose and a meaning to life.

Career Paradigms in the 21st Century

The career paradigms are very different in the 21st Century:

In the 21st Century, organizations are learning organizations, where skill upgradation and innovation are crucial elements. Organizations encourage continuous learning, improving individual mobility and fostering a developing paradigm for every individual. Critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity skills are highly sought after in the modern age.

Traditionally, a graduate intern was hired and given training and experience, which helped them move up the corporate ladder until retirement. Today this model is disrupted. Interns with the requisite skill sets, especially in technology, may occupy higher positions over their experienced colleagues.

As technology advances, the culture of part-time work emerges, where careers are considered duty tours for employees to be productive. The challenge to organizations is to help their employees learn faster and be engaged to outperform, out-innovate and out-execute their peers. Expertise has a shorter shelf life, the idea of a single life long career is a thing of the past, and employees are surfing careers from wave to wave.

As technology evolves apace and more of us work part-time, these trends are only accelerating. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman believes that careers are simply tours of duty, prompting companies to assume people will only stay a few years.

With a growing demand for soft skills at the workplace, communication, interpretation, design and synthetic thinking are emerging skills. For instance, the increasing trend of Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning in the healthcare industry has carved a Chief Patient Officer position in the pharmaceutical sector. Hybrid or Renaissance Jobs are trending by mixing of disciplines. The primary role is the technical domain skill combined with the expert skill of project management, design or client interface.

Ruby Park Public School: Where careers are defined

Ruby Park Public School aims at educating and nurturing students to become leaders of tomorrow. With a holistic curriculum, the students are taught life skills via an education pattern, supported by a counselling and disciplinary system that cares for the mental health of the students.

Being affiliated with the CBSE board, it visions to impart 21st-century skills to its students and maintain a delicate balance between traditional values and modern ethos. The stimulating and peaceful learning environment has motivated the students to successfully achieve the highest standards of discipline and excellence in their educational endeavours.

For more information, visit www.rubypark.com