“Career counseling is a process that will help you to know and understand yourself and the world of work in order to make career, educational and life decisions.” This is the first definition that will pop up when we type “what is career counseling” on the internet. How simply put; career counseling is not something new to most of us and to some extent we have an idea of why it is important. In Nagaland, there are some schools and colleges that have started giving career guidance to students but is it really implemented properly or is it just given for the knowledge that is deemed important?
We all know that we have many talents in our state, be it in sports, dance, music, art, etc. but we fail to understand where these talents would stand outside our state because these talents are not supported or nurtured in a way for them to stand out in the outside world. We the people of Nagaland need to know that there are other career paths along with science, arts and commerce.
India ranked 139 out of 149 countries in the annual World Happiness Report 2021. And of numerous factors that contributed to this love happiness index, job dissatisfaction is a major factor, some are unemployed and some are still struggling to come out of the wrong career path that they have chosen.
This is where career guidance would help us if it is really implemented well. Now, in Nagaland there are schools and colleges organising career counselings which have reached out to students but this will not suffice. When and what time career guidance should start is also important. Career counseling should be a three way process; including the students, teachers/counselors and parents. The information or knowledge should go hand in hand between the three for choosing a correct path for a child.
Parents should actively participate in career counseling before their child receives it so as to help them discover various paths of career and to match them with the interests and talents of their child so that when their child receives counseling it will help the child to nurture their talents and interests. It is important because not every parent is updated or educated to guide their child. These three ways of counseling will allow them to understand other career paths and scopes. In addition to that, the counselor should be well informed and educated to have 2:1 as well as 1:1 counseling so as to understand the thought of the child and the parents to help them choose an ideal career.
Times are changing and there are different career paths which need to be explored. The mentality of making your child a 'Doctor, Engineer or Civil servant' may lead to your child’s talent to drown without even being discovered. A child for instance, may be more interested or talented in designing rather than research in medical science but due to lack of practical knowledge in the field of designing, which was supposed to be a gap that could have been filled by parents' support and knowledge, would choose a career path that he does not excel in. A child is mostly confused due to lack of knowledge on what to do next or either confused with the limited options and they end up choosing the wrong career due to lack in career guidance.
Let us be more open to different types of career paths so as to choose a right path for ourselves and our children. Let us help to nurture talents and choose an ideal career by being open to unexplored as well as explored paths that a child can excel as well as be happy in. Many schools and colleges are providing career counseling to aid students. There are also specialized career counseling centers that have experts on psychology and career guidance to help the students all over India and the waves have reached Nagaland too which, if implemented properly, will be an eye opener for all the youths in order to tackle unemployment to an extent. As the Italian proverb says “ the same shoe does not fit every foot”, we should be open to possibilities of finding the shoe that fits us as well as a career that is a passion for ourselves.
Atoto Chishi
BA 4th Semester
Modern College, Piphema