Having a clear road map

It is that time of the year when kids have passed their 12th, and started looking for admissions in colleges. Though some people are clear about what they want to do, there are few who are still unsure about their choices. To help out the confused ones, Millennium Post talked to a few people who have been through the same. Read on to learn from their career decisions, experiences and mistakes.

Here are a few general points to keep in mind while choosing a career:

Be certain about what to do: Not always your hobbies can be turned into a career, but there should be some sort of interest in what you choose as a mode of living for yourself.

Sharing her thoughts on the same, Bhawna Khanna, who is an Architect says, "I was always interested in fine arts. But when it came to choosing, I was not really sure if I can pursue it as a career. Therefore, I chose Architecture, where I could still use my creative side without compromising with other factors"

According to her, it is important that one goes on field where his or her passion and area of interest are not killed.

Think if you can do it or not: Once you choose a career for yourself, you need to be really sure if you can do it or not? For example, I had a batchmate in school who scored well in Maths. So, she decided to go for Math Honours. When she was finally pursuing her graduation, things didn't turn up well and she had to drop the course. The girl was always interested in studying the subject and score well in the same, but failed to make it a profession for herself.

Investment/ money for the course: Vashisht, who is an Engineer in a start-up states, "I wanted to do something really big in the corporate sector and I was good in science, so I decided to do my B.tech and then thought of pursuing an MBA. But because of the shortage of funds, I could not do my MBA from a good college – which later affected the pace of my career growth." He feels one should very smartly plan a career looking at the financial availability, as investment is an issue which affects it on a huge scale later.

Career prospects/ opportunities: Generally, when we choose a career for ourselves, we forget to clearly understand its prospects and other things like money, jobs availability etc.

Talking about the same, Akanksha Zaddo, who has just passed out of 12th explains how she is confused between opting philosophy and psychology as a career and is not really sure about which to to go for

The lifestyle you want to live: We are often told that being a doctor is great, one earns a lot of money and respect, but no one mentions the hard life a doctor has. Therefore, one should be very clear in what sort of lifestyle they want to have, before finalising any career.

"I was always an explorer, I never wanted a 9-5 desk job. That is the reason I chose to be a journalist. Being in this profession, I can go out to cover stories, meet new people, explore new things," says a budding journalist, Prisha Sinha.

Moving out of the city/ country: Whenever you select any course which lacks opportunities in your hometown, it is important to be sure about stepping out of your comfort zone and settling in another city.

"I come from a small town and I always wanted to be in cabin crew. So, I opted for it. But now being a mother, staying away from home is difficult," says Namrita, who is an air hostess.