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The Risks Attached To Coercion While Making Career Choices
Individuals need to make career choices in their teenage years. While selecting a career stream after the matriculation exam, we often get advised and influenced by relatives, teachers, counsellors etc.
In India, we tend to choose our careers because of pressure from society. We do not think about our likes and dislikes and later while pursuing the degree, we have mental health issues like anxiety and depression due to dislike, incompatibility and stress relating to that degree. Kim Allen also says that almost 90% of people regret the careers they chose due to societal pressure.
Having said this, in India, most people think that taking career choices like engineering and a doctorate are the best choices. Parents also want their kids to fit in the expectations and bars set by society due to which they also tend to force children. Forcing children to make career choices that they are disinterested in will lead them to take bad paths like malpractice during exams etc. Society thinks that taking a career stream like engineering or doctor will fetch them a high-paying job but success and happiness is not limited to wealth. Having a high-paying job but not having job satisfaction will lead to demotivation and low productivity.
Furthermore, Mental health issues are often the leading cause of low productivity and work dissatisfaction. According to a UK report, the main reason for lost working hours is mental health issues and the average length of time off (days) is 18.8. Poor mental health accounted for 19 per cent of all lost working time across the UK.
If people aren’t able to cope with the stress they also are unable to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives.
Everyone has different talents, interests and abilities. Individuals need to identify these three and perhaps make choices regarding careers. If Sachin Tendulkar was forced to study and become an engineer then the world would not have witnessed the God of cricket and if Bill Gates was forced to become a doctor, then there would be no Microsoft. Therefore it is important to have an open mind and not add to the pressure teens already face when making educational and career decisions.
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Written by Geethaa Karanam
Edited by Ananya Narayan
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