Factors that Influences your Career Choice: 7 P’s of Career Selection

Career selection is an important stage in a student’s life. It influences a number of decisions that he/she takes based on their career choices. Choice of a subject, a university, an institution, a company, a job profile depends on the career one chooses to pursue.

Nowadays it is quite certain to find students confused or unaware of their career path, even after having completed their graduation. They seem unsure of the degrees they hold as it doesn’t given them a clear vision of what they want to do.

Career Planning is no more a one time occurrence which would end with the decision of the right university or college. It extends till we get the right job and get a satisfying work profile.

After completion of schooling, one tends to select a stream based on their previous best performance. If a student scores 90 percentile in Science he/she wants to become an engineer/ doctor and likewise they go for commerce and every other subject. In more than 90% of the cases, it turns out to be haste or a wrong decision. The basis on which we evaluate our career choice remains unjustified.

Students who face exam anxiety and fail to perform up to their standard in the classroom tests are left out in the race. They are treated as a non-performer or a below average student. Similarly there are few who manage to excel just by rote learning. Some depend on their families to take the right call; well, some choose to follow the crowd. There is no clarity of one’s self interest. This is the first wrong step that can lead them to a wrong path.

A wrong career choice can also increase the investment cost of a student in his/her education. Every time when a student’s career vision oscillates it calls for unnecessary expenditure. Most of the students invest huge amount of money as well as time in getting clarity over their career choice. They keep changing their subjects, even after having done majors in a particular subject they end up choosing a totally different profession.

What is most important is to have a good and clear career choice at an early stage so that it allows one to excel and achieve better in the chosen profession.

Brig. S. N. Setia, the Director of the ICT who has been associated with the Manav Rachna International University (MRIU) for long , has carved out 7 most common factors that influence the career choice of a student, which often swerves them from making the correct choice.

Parents’ Desire/Parental Pressure: Choosing a career just to live up to the parents expectation is the most common decision taking by students at an early stage, which they tend to regret later. Most of the students from business families are by default expected to choose commerce and hence B.Com or BBA as their suited career course. Some who resist submit to the parental pressure leading to an unsuccessful career graph. Such influences under the garb of adhering to their guardians wish are considered unfruitful for the students in long run.

Peer Persuasion: This is the easiest way of getting away from taking self decision. Most of the students want to follow the crowd to get to their destination. ‘Follow your friends’ is the most trending exercise visible during the selection of a university/college. Majority choice is considered the best choice. This mindset has increased the count in the mediocre group where students fail to succeed in their career and just keep on it with an average performance.

Past Performance: This is in fact the most unjustified and distorted basis of analyzing one’s performance and interest area. In India, we are not only churned in an old education system of rote learning but we believe in the numbers to prove our caliber. This practice of determining one’s interest field based on one time exam performance has often led to a wrong career decision.

Potential: Potential of a student can be legitimate criterion for choosing a career. Very few are able to identify their potential and choose their subject of knowledge based on it. A career selected on the basis of one’s potential has greater prospect of assuring success.

Placements: We wish to choose a profession that can provide for our bread and butter. 

Placement opportunities in a particular university are thus considered most important factor for the students when they harp about their career choice. Good placement options are an important motivation driver for students in their Career Planning.

Personality Driven: Most of the people choose their interest field on the basis of their personality and character. It can be the other way around also,  when a career chooses them based on their personality. Here personality includes not only the outward presentation of a student but the perception he/she holds about society. A good communicator, who has good command on his/her language skills, is more inclined towards a mass communication stream. Similarly, a good leader who has the capacity to influence masses chooses a management field. Personality traits always help in deciding a good career, for it is easy to hone the skills we already acquire.

Affordability (Paisa): This is the basic and the most essential criterion for most of them who set out to make their career. Affordability or Paisa in lay man’s language determines the purchasing power of  individuals who dares to dream. In India, when Right to Education aims to ensure education for all, it fails to distribute the standard quality of education. One, who can afford it, can only receive the ace quality training, knowledge and plum opportunities. Most of the students neglect their interest and choose a career that fits their pocket well.

Brig. Setia says” Career choice should not be based on any particular model or concept. One should choose his/her career on the basis of his interest in a particular area. The above mention model of 7 P’s can only be an influential factor in the career selection process, it should not be the criterion for Career Planning”.

Career Planning is essential to ensure a successful and enriching work life.