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How to choose the stream wisely post Class 10: Laying the foundation to a promising career
Highlights
The 10th standard is the beginning of the most crucial point in the life of a student in India. Once they reach the milestone, they head towards making the tough call of choosing their stream. It is that initial phase when students start planning their career and are left clueless and confused with many questions about the stream they must select, which will help them to fulfill their career dreams in the future. Most of the times, students ignore their personal interests either going by the previous year\'s trends or try fulfilling their parents\' choice of subject.
The 10th standard is the beginning of the most crucial point in the life of a student in India. Once they reach the milestone, they head towards making the tough call of choosing their stream. It is that initial phase when students start planning their career and are left clueless and confused with many questions about the stream they must select, which will help them to fulfill their career dreams in the future. Most of the times, students ignore their personal interests either going by the previous year's trends or try fulfilling their parents' choice of subject.
This may result in unintended consequences to their long term career prospects. Today with a wider choice and ever-increasing competition, one needs to plan one’s career wisely and at the earliest. Such important decisions demand prior attention during this phase. The biggest challenge that confronts the students, post the completion of their 10th standard is to find answers for the three questions ‘Which out of these three streams to choose, i.e. Science, Commerce or Humanities?', ‘Which course to choose?' and ‘How to choose it wisely?'
Choosing a career in a particular stream right at this point of time has a long lasting impact on a student's future. Most students tend to ignore the futuristic approach while choosing a stream early on. It is essential for them to know that choosing a particular stream defines the field for them and where they might end up working all their life.
It would be unfortunate if they realize it gradually that they don't have an inclination towards that field and their aptitude points out to some other field. To avoid such circumstances, a student must be aware of what a particular stream has in store for them. Let's begin with Science, ‘the much sought-after subject by every parent in India'. This stream offers very respectable and the highest career options to students after 12th. It opens career options primarily in engineering & Medical sciences. However, students can gradually shift to other professional and vocational career options. No wonder, it has always been the most fascinating & lucrative stream for students.
This is followed by commerce, a yet another popular stream among students these days. It can be specified as the study of business or trade. Concepts of commerce consist of a wide range of inter-disciplinary branches including Accountancy, Business Administration, E-Commerce, Finance, Economics, and Marketing. It gives students a wide arena of career options to pursue, which may lead to career dynamism as well as financial stability. Humanities or Arts are an apt choice for students who are yearning to walk towards the creative path. A wide range of subjects offering great career opportunities await them in the end.
‘Which Course is to be chosen' comes as the next big question. Once the stream is determined, the combination of subjects is supposed to be chosen wisely. For example, a student must decide whether he/she should go for commerce with Maths or opt for Physics-Chemistry-Maths or Physics-Chemistry or Biology with Computer science or Economics or Physical education. This choice of subject combinations should solely be made based on the career option that students are keen on. For instance, a student willing to study Biochemistry or Biotechnology should opt for P.C.B. along with Maths rather than Physical education because a lot of mathematical concepts are used during Biotechnological researches.
Finally, one ponders over the question: On what basis are the subjects or a stream supposed to be selected? Many a times, students follow the traditional ways of choosing their stream like:
· Compulsion by parents to opt for a specific stream or subject as per their own desires and aspirations.
· Streams allotted by schools on the basis of the student's past academic performances.
· Opting for a stream on the basis of the school's cut–off range so that they can take admission in their desired school. Average students are often left with no option but to take up the stream allotted to them by the school.
· Choosing a stream based on a friend's choice or due to peer pressure.
Unfortunately, all these reasons don't help in the long run. Students gradually lose interest in the subjects in between which results in poor performance and may even lead to a condition where they might even struggle to pass. Therefore, rather than following the rat race or fulfilling other's wishes, students should thoroughly look at the factors mentioned below –
· Identifying their preference, strengths & weaknesses - Every child is gifted with a strong character and if one identifies that, it becomes easy for them to decide what exactly they wish to do when they grow up. Hence, students should start analyzing their liking towards various subjects / streams and their strengths & weaknesses revolving around them.
· Examining the basic skills & attributes required for a stream – A student must analyze the basic skills & attributes required to excel in a stream and do the self-assessment on those parameters. For example, a student opting for the science stream must be comfortable with science & maths. Numerical ability, estimation of data, observance and reasoning ability are some skills that a student must possess if opting for the science stream. Similarly, a student opting for commerce must be good in data crunching, calculations, computing skills & time management skills etc.
· Taking psychometric tests – It is always a good idea to undergo a psychometric test before selecting any stream as it assesses a student in three areas, i.e. aptitude, personality and interest.
To acquire a smooth transition from the 10th standard to a well-defined career, a student must get this fact clear that no stream is superior to the other as there is no dearth of courses and career options in any stream. Hence, the bottom line is that before selecting a stream, analyze every criterion and select it wisely rather than going with public opinion. Deciding the right stream for oneself will give a boost to one’s career. However, it is up to the student to decide how to go about it. The small steps taken at this juncture will serve as important milestones in the journey towards one’s dream career.
By Aakash Chaudhry, Director AESPL (Aakash Educational Services Pvt. Ltd.)
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