“It is time for you to choose a career.†This is probably one of the most common statements every college or university graduate hears from parents or guardians. Then begins the confusion which path to choose. The super confused young minds then come across hundreds of career options and eventually get more confused. It is finally an advice from parents that really impacts career choice. But what should parents tell to their children?
True, parents have sacrificed a lot to see their child shine in life, but often they fail to advise their kids in a productive manner. Parents may have brought them up assuming that they will end up being an engineer or a doctor, yes that might have been a pretty status worthy job 20-30 years ago, but to be practical the world has changed today, such jobs may not be exquisite enough for them to carry on life and live happily today. If your son or daughter wants to shift to a different career path, say, banking, culinary arts, music or economics, consult with them and respect their personal preference, maybe they ought to shine in life brighter than they would being a doctor or an engineer. Therefore, before you say, you need to listen to them what they think and on occasion when they collapse between the choices you must be there to guide them as well. Choosing a career is never easy. Let us help them to learn about different career options, help them to identify and prioritise their potentials and passions. When passion becomes their profession, they will be able to give their best and will be satisfied at all times. Â
Elimination works best when choosing between careers. You may help your children to eliminate career options by evaluating three factors: Job satisfaction, lifestyle and money. Now, not everyone will target for all three, some for maybe two and others will probably be satisfied with a particular side. Job satisfaction is all about the inherent quality of what they would work on, the impact of the role, how much autonomy they would have and how much they would learn in doing so. Lifestyle has to do with where they will live, their working hours, how much control they will have over their schedule, whether they would have to commute and general working conditions. Money includes base salary, bonus potential, and perhaps equity or long-term compensation. As per statistics, making out one of the sides is pretty easy, two of three sides can also be optimised, but attaining all three is relatively challenging. Not everyone may be crazy for a big bank balance, some may choose to lead a fulfilling working life and others provide more attention on their lifestyles.
"No sacrifice, no victory," is a common saying. A fruitful future needs to have a struggling past. Or in other words, instead of aiming for a lucrative relaxed job with a lot of job satisfaction, they should instead try to put more efforts for raising their capacity and their productivity, go into a field that pays relatively high and hence, in the long run, they can both attain their luxurious life with a six-or-more digits salary. Another important factor is setting up a relationship mindset where the person would be polite to everyone, or would without second question willingly run an extra mile, not feeling reluctant to do others a favour. The most important objective for them in early age should be to discover their strengths and interests, and to begin learning marketable skills. They should try out as many different kinds of tasks and jobs as possible, and get feedback from peers, friends, and mentors to help them identify what they are good at and what they are not. There really cannot be maps but your encouragement can act like wonders in carving their career path.
The writer is a third year BBA student in North South University, tawhid.islam31@gmail.com
Choosing a career: Role of parents
Md Tawhidul Islam | Published: August 27, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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