The job questions – The Hindu

We confront at different points of time certain standard questions from our family and friends about our future education or career. When you are a child, the usual question you face from an adult is: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Psychologists and educationists discourage asking this question as it is likely to pressure children to define themselves by a single job and limit their imagination to familiar roles. Yet, adults continue this practice to hear cute and amusing answers from children, though at times they are disappointed when the young ones hem and haw. Despite the existence of a vast range of jobs in the present-day world, the reply by a primary school child to such a question is usually based on highly visible roles the child encounters in day-to-day life such as doctor, teacher, or police officer.

In modern times, however, children think of new professions such as photographer, film actor, marketing executive, automation specialist, or space scientist as they are exposed to media and social platforms. A pert child who was pestered by his uncle with this question asked him back whether he became what he wanted to be when he was a child. The uncle found himself on the horns of a dilemma: to say yes that was not true or to reveal that his dream of becoming a pilot was shattered!

As you enter your teens, the question encountered metamorphoses into “What do you want to study?” Barring school leavers who seek employment due to family circumstances, boys and girls in their teens start thinking about the next stage of study. One might like to pursue professional studies but might have to be content with a degree course in arts or science as joining a professional course in a government-run institution is next to impossible for an average student of ordinary means.

Though graduate courses no longer guarantee employment, a degree is a minimum requirement for most jobs. A graduate is expected to have gained specialised knowledge and developed critical thinking and communication skills. While doing such a course, a student must make up his mind on the next step — to seek employment, study for a Master’s degree, or join a postgraduate course in fields such as law, teaching, or automation.

Difficult juncture

Once out of the college after completing a Bachelor’s or a postgraduate degree course, the question one is asked by others, or one asks oneself, is: “What are you going to do with your degree?” In India it is a Catch-22 situation for new graduates; they cannot get a job without required experience; and they need a job to gain experience.

According to an ILO report, only 50% of workers hold jobs corresponding to their level of education. In India, a mere 8.25 % graduates have jobs that match their qualifications, according to a survey. Many degree holders, not to speak of school-leavers, remain unemployed or end up in lower skill jobs (clerk, machine operator, gig worker, cleaner), highlighting a significant skills mismatch.

Resourceful people, however, do transit from entry-level roles to jobs compatible with their subjects of graduation or careers that are more paying, by clearing civil services and other government exams, technical training programmes, private sector jobs, overseas occupations, professional certifications, or digital fields.

Once settled in a job, a common question that crops up is “Are you satisfied with the job?” For most of the workers in India, the decision to stay in a job is a pragmatic balance where pay, prestige and security often outweigh lack of satisfaction. However, there are exceptions as in the cases of an IAS officer who resigned from his job and started teaching in a coaching institute, and a lawyer who left his career to become a musician.

Often, one’s aspirations for education and jobs during the formative years do not materialise later due to several factors that include financial constraints, limited opportunities, lack of proper guidance, inaccessibility to reputable institutions, and failure to learn and adapt real world skills, to mention a few. However, developing self-confidence, resilience and perseverance would help view these challenges as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles.

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