WHOA! ITS RAINING CAREERS!!

I am in a happy space now, doing what I love doing and doing what comes most naturally to me, which is music and languages. Even as I speak, I have managed to build a small but steady career teaching the nuances of a foreign language to school and college students and parallelly dream of teaching music too. These were the gifts that I was born with so to speak. 

Back then a career in music was not popular and not encouraged as it wasn’t so lucrative, and I am very sure that a many a bright career in the creative fields and the performing arts was aborted even before conception.  The only avenues open to the “bright students” were medicine and engineering. So even as we “mutually agreed” to enter the hallowed precincts of medicine, my heart was for the ARTS; more so for languages, music, dance and everything pretty much creative. 

Life has come full circle now, and by a stroke of good fortune and a happy turn of events, after a long and successful career in medicine as a Radiologist, music and languages are now at the forefront in my life.

As I reminisce about the career choices that I and my other contemporaries made back then, I realise that they were driven by 1). What was currently in demand, (which seems reasonable, given the demand and supply theory)  2). The marks that one obtained in grades 10 and 12 (which is also practical) 3). The sound advice given by parents based on their likes , dislikes and opportunities that they had missed out in their lifetime (to be fair to parents, they didn’t want us to struggle the way they had/or their friends or relatives had to, and were hence rooting for us to get a lucrative career) 4).  The need of the student to get approval from authority figures viz parents, successful/ famous rich uncles, aunts etc. (I think that’s unfair?)

They were seldom based on the 1). The natural aptitude 2) The interests and 3) The personality of the student, and whether these matched the career path that the student was taking and making.

But what about professional Career Mentoring, one might ask? Huh? Career Mentors? Well, that breed was unheard of  and the very idea of career mentoring, perhaps, did not exist! 

So, all in all, career choices which sounded exotic and made in heaven in the beginning, soon lost their charm as the years progressed and many people found themselves stuck in a job that they did not like and did not resonate with what they were. While there were some who went along blithely attributing it to fate and destiny and all struggles to the decree of God, ignorant of the choice available to them, there were others who rued the day they chose to pursue that path against their better judgement. In later years, after they had hung up their boots, with the mighty universe nudging them on, some managed to finally do, what they had been longing to do all their lives!

Ofcourse everything is not as black and white as it seems because there were some who did what they wanted to and were still not happy.  But that is another tale for another day!!

Cut to the present and one is impressed with the immense opportunities and matching careers that are available to students. It appears to be literally raining careers!  Coupled with this what has set the ball rolling in the right direction is the increased general awareness that one must choose according to aptitude and interest. And to add momentum to this movement, qualified /certified career Mentors are available to guide the parents and the students to bring out the best possible for all concerned.

I think times are good  our platters are full, and we must go ahead full steam and make the most of what we have.

Meanwhile…. Enjoy life! 

Adieu until the next blog!

The author Dr.Preeti Parekh has dabbled in Medicine, Music, Writing and Painting. Above all, she believes that every heart must find a way to tells its own story.