Q: Are you currently a college student?
A: ‘Yes’
Q: Do you have a single career path in mind?
A: ‘No. I am considering multiple career options’ or ‘No, I am confused about what to do in life’
If the above dialogue represents your situation, then this article is meant for you!
Today, we, as students, have a plethora of options in front of us. We are simultaneously interested in many things and at the same time aren’t sure about what to do ahead in life. Many students make the mistake of not working towards anything specific because they aren’t sure about what they want to do. That can be very detrimental to your career.
How else can we tackle such a situation? Let’s take a look.
Phase 1: Exploration
Engage yourself in a wide range of activities. Explore academics, research, and different fields and sectors. Read about them, talk to your seniors, faculty, and professionals in those fields. You can also engage in events, projects, and internships. It is essential to move beyond your comfort zone. Typically, the exploration phase can last until the year before your pre-final year.
Phase 2: Narrowing down pathways
In your pre-final year (or even before that), based on the above exploration, you have to cut it down to 2, maximum 3 different career paths. Consider both aptitude and interest at this stage. Keeping more than 3 career pathways will not allow you to build a credible profile for yourself in any field.
Phase 3: Multi-tracking
Starting from your pre-final year (or even before that), you need to start multi-tracking between these 2 (or 3) pathways that you have identified for yourself. What this means is that you need to build a credible profile for yourself in each of those pathways. Pick your activities, internships, projects such that you are simultaneously building your profile across those 2 (or 3) domains.
This will help you in two ways:
It will keep you in a position such that later on, whichever path you decide on, you will have a credible profile already built for that field
As you engage in in-depth activities in each of the 2 (or 3) domains, it will also help you identify and decide which path is more suitable for you
Phase 4: The final choice
In your final year, you have to make a choice between the above pathways. You can do it either before you start applying or after getting multiple offers. The best way to go about it is to prioritize at the start of your final year, one pathway as your main plan, and the other(s) as back-up plan(s). Put most of your time and effort into applications/entrance exams for the main plan and considerably lesser effort on your back-up plans.
The methodology discussed in this article has multiple benefits:
It allows you to defer the decision until you have sufficient time and experience to make the decision
It allows you to make the decision based on actual in-depth experience in the fields
It creates a system with a back-up plan in case your plan A doesn’t work
The above system has been used by successful students across different fields and domains. You should adapt and use such a system for your own growth as well.
Further Reading:
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All the best!
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