Suitable Career Vs Popular Career. Which one to choose?

Introduction 

Choosing the right career can be a tough task for a lot of students as many factors have to be considered such as their strong Interests, Finances, Peer pressure, Demand and Opportunities available in the career option, and many more.

Another important factor that influences the decisions of students while deciding their career is whether to choose a career that is best suitable for them based on their profile or to choose a career that is extremely popular among their peers. For example, A student who is good in accounting should choose to pursue Chartered Accounting as their career or choose a career that is extremely popular among peers such as Management, Design, Hotel Management, Engineering, Computer Application & IT, Media and Communication. 

Though traditional careers are still holding their ground, However, new career options have emerged and started to become extremely popular among students. Having so many viewpoints around It gets difficult for students to choose the perfect career option for themselves. So to remove some of the confusion let’s compare both the suitable career ( based on their profile) and Popular career options based on several factors and see which option a student should choose:

1- Future Certainty 

This is one of the biggest factors which is considered while choosing a career as the bright future of the career reflects the value of that career option. If one chooses a suitable career option based on their profile they will generally have a clear idea about what the future holds for them as they will continue to work on it throughout to excel in that area. On the contrary, when students choose a popular career option they usually don’t have a clear idea about the scope as there is never a certainty that the career which is popular today will remain popular tomorrow. So it’s better to choose a career that fits your profile and you can continue to update your skills to offer future stability. 

2- Career Goals 

Students' career goals also influence the decisions of choosing a career. If the career goals are clear and it matches the career option chosen then it doesn’t matter whether it’s a suitable career or a popular career. But if the career goals are unclear then it is always beneficial to choose a career that is suitable for their profile as it will provide a better career scope. 

3- Income Opportunities

Income opportunities are the factor that attracts a lot of students to become part of a herd mentality and choose popular careers over suitable careers. Since popular courses provide or showcase immense income opportunities at the time, many students decide to take up or even switch their current career to a popular career. For example, a person studying engineering can switch their career to Management seeing the income opportunities it presents. However, if one chooses a career based on their profile and interest they will anyhow become professional in a related field resulting in immense income and growth opportunities. 

4- Interest 

When it comes to a Career, always choose a career in which you are interested in, otherwise, the daily tasks you will perform in your job will soon become monotonous, your productivity will start to decline. You also won’t be happy or engaged in the work which you will have to do every day. Popular careers do attract a lot of students but if they just choose this by considering its income only, it will negatively affect the career. Hence it’s better to choose a career based on your interest as you will be more happy and satisfied with the work you will do.

 5- Competition 

Popular Careers do attract a lot of students so the competition is generally high which automatically will make the demand decline in future. For example with Management, a lot of graduates were attracted to MBA. Seeing the career and income opportunities more and more students started studying MBA, but very soon the demand dropped and now MBA is considered as a normal degree which doesn’t add much value unless it is completed from a well-reputed institute. 

Conclusion 

One should always be clear about their interest and goals before selecting a career as interest plays a vital role in career selection. If one is not sure about their interests or goals students should consider taking a career test or career clarity test as it will provide them with valuable insights in these areas and will help one in deciding the career which will be a perfect fit for them.

ReplyForward