Guidance is like a compass that helps us throughout our lives. It’s like having a map to choose the right path from the time we’re born till we grow old.
Think about your future job – nowadays, everyone is competing to reach their goals. In today’s world, where there are many job choices, having good guidance is like having a clear plan to succeed. We have lots of options for jobs, which can make it confusing to pick the best one.
But if we have proper guidance from the start of our school years, it can help us make better choices.
Importance of career guidance
Academic career guidance is one of the most important guidance that students need to nurture their future. The decisions of early student life have a major impact on their career, which is not just restricted to their academics but have an impact on their social, financial, and personal life.
Students are considered as the future of a country, and for a prosperous future, students need correct guidance, especially at an early stage of their academics.
The correct guidance by an expert career guidance counselor will help the students to understand and choose their career options as per their knowledge, skills, interest, and capability.
Also Read: Career in Physical Education
Career guidance at the stage of secondary education
- India is a very diverse country, and the education system in India is also very diverse and intricating. The central education system is followed in all the states, while the states also have their respective state education board.
- In the ICSE board, ninth-standard students are given the option to choose among the stream of Arts/Humanities, Commerce, Science. Selection of any stream is very crucial as the students have to appear for their class 10th board examination with the subjects in that stream.
- In the case of CBSE and many state boards, this stream bifurcation is done after the 10th standard. Hence we see that there is diversity along with options available for the students at the stage of their secondary education.
- Now, let’s understand how career guidance is important at the early stage of academics. Students preparing for the board exam have a common goal to triumph and succeed in order to obtain the pinnacle in their career.
- With the correct guidance, the goal can be obtained because such an early stage in academics is considered as the ladder to reach the destination.
- The guidance not only helps to select the right stream but also helps in understanding its future benefits. The guidance helps the students to get motivated and not to get distracted while studying.
Career guidance at the stage of higher secondary education
- Higher secondary education is a very crucial stage of students’ academic careers. After a careful selection of subjects, students need to stay focused by avoiding all the distractions.
- The selection of subjects is very important, and one should conscientiously analyze his strengths and weaknesses before selecting the subjects. Complete guidance by a professional career guidance counselor helps a lot to ease the process.
- The importance of the counseling is not just restricted to the selection of the subjects but also provides a complete strategy and execution plan that must be followed by the students. The counselor will provide all the basic information along with creating a positive mindset in the students.
- Higher secondary education gives a lot of options to the students to choose the subjects that are suitable to them as per their interest.
- One important thing that must be taken into consideration before selecting any career option is that it must have better future options. Choosing a career that does not provide better opportunities in terms of financial and social security will be a bad option.
- Hence it becomes important for students to get complete career guidance by a professional counselor before selection of career options.
- In India, after passing the 10th standard, students have options to choose the subjects that are interesting, productive, and satisfy their requirements to achieve their goals.
List of all streams and their relevant subjects that are available after passing the 10th standard:
- Arts/Humanities: History, Geography, English, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy, etc
- Commerce: Accountancy, Business Studies, Economics, English, Mathematics, etc
- Science: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Application, Statistics, etc
Career guidance for high school students plays a vital role because many students start their preparations for the different entrance exams during this stage.
Clearing these entrance exams is essential to get admission to the topmost colleges of the respective field. The burden of study upsurges straight away because the students need to focus on both entrance and board exams.
The simultaneous preparation for both exams needs an extensive strategy to cope up with the pressure. Here the importance of career guidance emerges, and career counseling by an expert career counselor becomes important. Here is the list of entrance exams that students start preparing along with their high school studies:
- Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)
- National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)
- Common-Law Admission Test (CLAT)
- Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY)
- National Talent Search Examination (NTSE)
- Indian National Olympiad (INO)
- National Defense Academy Exam (NDA)
Career guidance after completing higher secondary
- This is the stage where students need to stay focused because during their higher secondary they have already made a career decision.
- The ship has sailed; now, your consistency, motivation, focus, and endurance will help you to reach your destination.
- In many surveys, it is found that many students dropout of college mainly because they are no longer interested in the career option they have opted for in their early stage.
- Hence, the students need to select their career options very wisely, keeping all the pros and cons in their mind. Once a student reaches the college level, it is very difficult to turn back and alter their previous decision.
Also Read: Career options after 12th arts with high salary
- Career guidance after 12th will help the students to develop a general understanding of how the future opportunities have benefits and impacts on social, financial, and personal life.
- Generally, many people end up picking the wrong career option that either does not help them to achieve their goals, or they realize that the career option was meant for them.
- It is important to understand that students have to work in the field based on their studies, skills, experience, and subjects that they have learned throughout their academics.
- To ensure job satisfaction, you need to understand the subjects and excel in them.
Problems faced by the students while selecting career options
- Lack of awareness: Many students want to pursue their careers in a particular field but have no clarity on how to proceed.
- Career guidance and counseling play a vital role in such cases, with an expert guiding you by analyzing your interest, strength, capability and making you able to transition successfully towards a career option.
- Numerous options and dilemmas: When it comes to selecting a better career option, it is not just confined and restricted to stream and subject selection.
- A whole new Pandora box is opened when you start to shortlist your future career option. A lot of questions start to bother your night dreams like which college to select, whether to study in India or go abroad and many others.
- Even if you select a particular field, there are many branches to make your decision more complicated. Career guidance plays a big role in resolving these issues and making your path crystal clear.
- Facts and Myth: Students must stay away from false narratives and propaganda developed to mislead many students.
- Before taking admission in any educational institution and opting for any subject to study, students are advised to do well research and fact-check all the details.
- Impact of surroundings: It must be kept in mind that to achieve the optimum results sky’s the limit. Let not your surroundings have an impact on your career; stay away from pessimist people who are always ready to drag down your morale.
Role of career guidance counselor
- A professional career guidance counselor guides the students to find the best and suitable career option for them.
- This guidance has proved to be prosperous, thriving, and life-changing for many students. A career guidance counselor is like a doctor who can easily identify the problems in the students and guide them in the most appropriate manner.
- Nowadays, career counseling services are available in almost every part of the country. We live in a digital world where these services can also be easily available online.
Career counseling process
- With all modern-day facilities, multiple career options, and a race to reach the pinnacle of the career, one must easily say that career guidance has become a necessity.
- A professional counselor may identify your talent by taking a simple career guidance test. This test will help him to analyze your strengths and weaknesses and provide you a road map for your career path.
- These tests might also include a career guidance aptitude test to understand your ability to perform a certain type of work under given circumstances.
- The result of the test will help to analyze all the options that are good as per your capability. The career guidance counselor will also suggest how to improve on your weaker sections and improve those areas.
Interview Tips
When you consult a career guidance counselor, there are few things that you must keep in mind:
- Be free to ask any question regarding your career options
- Always be truthful with your counselor, and do not hesitate to share your weakness
- Remember that he is there to help you, so share your previous academic difficulties
- You can share your subjects of interest with him and don’t forget to mention your previous experience in those subjects
- If you have any pre-planned career options, discuss all the pros and cons of that career option
- Discuss a backup plan option in case the first plan doesn’t work.
NEP 2020 and how the career guidance will help the process
- National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will replace the age-old education policy of 1986. The Government of India has outlined its vision along with a comprehensive framework for elementary and higher education. This policy is considered to be a revolution in the Indian Education system.
- The previous system of (10+2) will be replaced with the (5+3+3+4) system, and it will give a lot more opportunities to students. Since the policy is new, hence career guidance will play an important role in having a better understanding of the policy.
- Since an age-old tradition in the education system will be changed, consulting a career guidance counselor will be more important than ever before.
Also Read: Alternative Career Options After MBBS
Conclusion on Importance of career guidance
Career guidance will help the students to fulfill their aspirations by setting up realistic goals. As mentioned earlier, career choice will determine the future of the students not only by providing them their dream job but also by providing them a better future with job satisfaction.
Career guidance with an expert counselor will develop a clear road map to fulfill future dreams. A career guidance counselor is an expert in the field of career opportunities and options that students must have, depending on his interest and capability.
A counselor is well aware of the opportunity and examines them from a broader perspective to find a suitable solution for a particular student. From all the above-mentioned details, it must have been clear how an individual can obtain benefits from career guidance.
FAQs on Importance of career guidance
1. Is career guidance important when the students are in elementary education?
Career guidance is helpful at any stage of education. It not just helps to understand better career options but also helps to stay motivated throughout the journey.
2. Is there any special preparation required for the career counseling test?
No, there is no need for any special preparation for the career guidance and counseling test. It is advised that students must have a fresh mind, take a good nap earlier that night and come prepared naturally and not take any stress during the session.
3. Does the career counseling service provide a list of all good colleges?
Yes, career guidance and counseling services provide you all the necessary information that is required from the beginning till the end.
3. What are the documents required for the career guidance interview?
You must have your academic results with you and carefully follow the instructions given by your career counseling service provider.
4. Is online career guidance a good option?
We live in an era of science and technology where work is gradually shifting towards digital mode. Hence we can use the online career guidance facility at our convenience.
