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Like dissolves in like, this statement is valid in chemistry and valid in societal norms. We believe that the path which was chosen by most people is the only correct path. But it’s not true different people have different paths. It doesn’t mean one is wrong and the other is right. The Mob mentality may not be wrong, but maybe it is not suitable for everyone. It means they may have different destinations or they have their unique method to achieve their respective goals. If you are not like others, it doesn’t mean your thinking is wrong. In today’s fast-moving world, a student is under a lot of pressure due to choice of career, studies, the right path to follow, etc.

It is already difficult for a student to find out his/ her choice of career and beyond that, families, relatives, friends, and acquaintances impose their desires on them, which makes the situation more chaotic. The situation becomes worse when your parents stop supporting their kids. They start to believe what Sharma Ji ka beta/beti is doing is right for their children because he/she gets that fame recognition that they want their kids also to get. This affects a student’s mind and also decisions. Many students get influenced by this and they start to follow a path where they have a surety to get the necessities of life in the future.

Career Options

As of January 2021, more than 1 million Indian students are studying in 85 countries outside India. More than 50% of Indian students study in North America. Some of the popular courses for study abroad are engineering, medical, law, business, etc. Most Indian parents want to make their children professional in engineering, medical, and law. Hardly parents desire to make their child professional in the courses like designing, makeup artist, choreography, poetry, etc. This is a social stigma that most Indian families have. In India, families disrespect their children’s career choices if they want to do something out of the box or something beyond the trends in India. Choosing a career of your choice is ultimately becoming a war in itself. Although becoming a doctor, engineer, IAS or PCS is well respected but careers other than that are often termed as hobby-related work. They thought that kind of work or career will not secure their future and risk their life. 

Some of the career option trends

Let’s shed light on one of India’s biggest career option trends nowadays. When globalization in India started with the MNCs’ entry, after the independence of India, the demand for good engineers rose. This gave the origin of the demands of engineering as a career option. A Bachelor of Technology (BTech) is a professional undergraduate engineering degree program awarded to candidates after they complete four years of study in the field. Engineering is one of the most popular courses in India nowadays. 8 out of 10 people you found are doing engineering after their 12th.

Due to inadequate job vacancies, a new trend of doing an MBA after engineering has been started. It became a mob mentality that engineers could easily crack the CAT exam. I saw people who want to do an MBA due to interest in finance, marketing, or any other specialized course and non-engineers as well. But when they tell anybody about their ambition, most people are amazed, they assumed that this is an unfit career option. Even IIMs support graduates who are non-engineers by giving some extra points. This initiative aims to break the mob mentality that this is an effortless task for engineers only. This career option can be chosen by anyone from any background. Beyond this doing CA, medical, teaching, etc are also some of the trends in India. Career selection is also influenced by gender. If you are a woman it is advised to make a career in the teaching field irrespective of your interest.

Impact on students

The average age in India is 28 years. The majority of age comprises young students and youth. Out of these young workers, many are not aware of several career options which they can also put as an option or a backup. According to researchers, India has a variety of 250 career options available across 40 domains covering 5,000 job types and several students are unaware of many of these options. Consequently, this creates unemployment and stress among the youth. It is a very common thing we saw, a doctor’s son/daughter pursuing a medical course, the same thing happens in other types of career options. We are persuaded for opting a career option that is practiced by our family. Many students get inspired by their family’s profession and make their ultimate life aim and follow their path. But some have to fight a long way to follow their dreams because not every option is equal to other options. People prioritize college and money so much that dreams don’t matter at all. Not everyone wants to get those great professions. Every child has a different dream and everyone has a different goal, let them do what they want to do.

In essence

Following your passion or interest is not a piece of cakewalk. It takes lots of effort to go against your family and relatives’ decision to pursue things of your choice. Some got influenced by others and blindly followed their path in search of success. We have to learn that success does not have a defined path, we have to explore it and also determine the actual definition of success for us. We forget that the path to success is not predefined. First, we have to determine what the actual definition of success means to us and then we have to explore it. There can be ‘n’ number of paths to your destination, ‘n’ number of ways to follow those paths, and ‘n’ chances to fail or succeed in those paths. 

Always remember, “If you need to achieve something substantial in life, you need to fight hard for it.”
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