Keep an open mind, and pursue your passion rather than choosing your courses based on peer or parental pressure, experts in various fields told students at the 21st edition of The Hindu Education Plus Career Counselling event on Saturday. The event, which was held at Sri Jagadguru Renuckacharya College, received an overwhelming response from students, parents, and teachers alike.
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Hundreds of students and parents flocked to the auditorium where the guests spoke about various career options, while also visiting the stalls set up by colleges and universities. The detailed information provided in the fields of engineering, medicine, and UPSC was hugely appreciated by those who participated in the event.
Higher Education minister M. C. Sudhakar said that there is a need to provide career guidance to students from a younger age itself, rather than doing it after the 10th or 12th grade. “ We need to instill this concept of deciding about our profession much earlier. In Western countries, a lot of career opportunities and ideas have been instilled in their minds as early as in 5th or 6th grade. In our country, we need to relook at all these concepts. Probably at the high school level, we need to think of introducing career counselling options to start igniting the idea of what a career means.”
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He also said that the Higher Education department will take steps to conduct programmes which can create job opportunities and also change the curriculum to suit the industrial needs.
Time management, strategic thinking essential for UPSC
Soumyalatha S. K., IPS, Superintendent of Police, Railways, Bengaluru, listed four important points to crack UPSC exams – preparation, hard work, strategy, and positivity. She advised the students to be careful while choosing their optional subjects for UPSC and also told them to cultivate the habit of reading three to four newspapers every day.
She also said that keeping a backup plan, in case of UPSC exams not working out, is also very important.
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Have long term goals, explore various branches in engineering and medical field
K. N. Subramanya, principal of R.V. College of Engineering, said that even though the engineering field is going through a lot of changes, the fundamentals and basic concepts would have to be learnt right.
“Engineers make the world. Even Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require engineers. Everybody in the world is looking for young engineers to provide solutions. You have a bigger role as a youth to see what changes you can bring about. Do not go with the masses, and look at your own passions and decide your path. Your skill and knowledge should be balanced,” he added.
Speaking about the medical field, Dr. D. V. Chalapathy, Medicine General Surgery, COO, Vydehi Superspecialty Hospital, asked students to not limit their options only to MBBS and dentistry. “You must plan your career for the next 20 years. Even as a doctor, you can branch out. You can club it with another specialty like law, MBA, or civil services as it can give you more career opportunities. There is also great scope for nursing, physiotherapy and allied specialties,” he said.
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CET guidance, shedding light on new career options
H. R. Shivakumar, Administrative officer, Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), explained in great detail the various aspects of the CET examinations including the counselling process, available courses, ranking system, and eligibility criteria.
Ameen e-Mudassar, career counsellor and CEO of CIGMA educated students about the various career options like degree courses in adventure sports, foreign languages, and animation courses which are not usually presented to the students. He even spoke about options like video journalism, content writing, and app development which do not even require any prior educational qualification like 10th or 12th exams. He also advised the students to consider both online and offline educational courses while also making it a point to learn a foreign language during their graduation for wider career opportunities.
Tumakuru event
The Hindu Education Plus Career Counselling will take place in Siddaganga Institute of Technology in Tumakuru on Sunday. The speakers are: Shivakumaraiah, CEO Siddaganga Institute of Technology, H.R. Shivakumar, Adminstrative Officer, Karnataka Examinaitions Authority(KEA), Bengaluru, Dr. Balakrishna Shetty, Pro-Chancellor, Malla Reddy University, Hyderabad, Sangappa S.B., National Executive Council Member, ISTE, New Delhi, and career counsellor Syed Sadathpasha, UPSC Coach will be speaking at the event