After schooling students come to the first major career crossroads. Which stream to opt for and invariably math and science streams find favour.For hundreds of years parents aspired that their wards would become either an engineer or a doctor. A few wanted their wards to be collectors or judges.

Govt. jobs were and still are high on the priority list of most parents who would like to see their wards ‘settled’. (read that as dead and buried),growing fat and old. dull and stupid pushing the same files day in and day out. But that is tolerable even preferable because a govt. job affords security and a pension after retirement.Sane line of thinking, no doubt, but to live most of one’s waking hours of our entire life waiting for the clock to strike five to escape the drudgery of work is too severe a punishment to inflict on oneself or on our wards.The only thing that is certain in life is that everything is uncertain.

We plan for a rosy future full of youthful zeal and enthusiasm, but the cruel hand of fate has other plans and a healthy young life is nipped in the bud.If one is inclined m\ore towards the arts and literature one is free to opt for it at the undergraduate stage.But let us look at the important factors to be considered if we are to be happy and fulfilled in an activity that we will be spending most of our waking hours on, our job.Make you hobby your career and you will not have to work for a single day goes a saying. How true. A hobby is something you indulge in during your spare time in order to refresh yourself or renew yourself after a hard day’s labour. And it’s an activity of love. Nobody pushes you into it. You take it up because you enjoy it.The same yardstick should be employed when you are planning your career.

Not only will you be happy in your job, but the chances that you will succeed in your chosen field is more or less assured.That is the power of love.Another factor that you should keep in mind is the kind of skills and abilities you are endowed with. Take the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT)that any psychologist will be able to give you.It will give you a fair indication on skill levels in motor abilities, that is, the skill with which you can wield your body and limbs. A high score in this area and you can happily look forward to a career in sports, dance or even as a stuntman!Numerical ability is another area that is tested. A high score in this area and you know what you can do. Maybe train yourself to be anotherShakuntala Devi! You could make a good chartered accountant or a banker.

A high score in verbal ability could guarantee success in the areas as diverse as soft skills trainer to being a successful writer or poet.Abstract reasoning is another area that is tested and a high score in this area is necessary for success in any field but especially in the fields of architecture, scientific research and product development.Apart from these high levels of proficiency in communication skills (get trained at Uni-Y orYoung Orators or Toastmasters International, if there is one nearby), is mandatory to basket a hi-profile job.A cheery disposition, good body language, willingness to listen, belief that learning never stops, being a team player are some of the other factors that will take you speedily on the road to success.

*The writer holds a Master’s degree in psychology and is a former journalist. He is presently working as Consultant Editor in the National Council of Rural Institutes, Hyderabad.He can be contacted via email:maverickroy@in.com

Some Education related Quotes
Albert Einstein: It is a miracle that curiosity survives formaleducation.
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Alvin Toffler:The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. [Futurist]
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Anatole France:The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards
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Anne Frank:Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.