Indian Students and Their Career Choices

Did you know that, according to India Today’s survey, 93% of students are aware of only seven career options? When this is the case, who do you think is responsible—schools, parents, or the students themselves? Well, this situation arises more due to a lack of awareness than an intentional restriction on students’ choices.

In earlier years, Indian students were largely expected to become doctors, engineers, or government employees. However, in today’s ever-evolving world, career options are expanding rapidly. New-age technology is breaking barriers, enabling students to adapt to these changes and make their mark on the world.

With more options comes greater confusion. From stepping into the digital revolution to leading a company of their own, Indian students now have thousands of career paths to explore. But what influences their decisions? How do they perceive their career choices? And how is career counselling helping them navigate the right path?

Let’s explore these questions in today’s blog. So, without further ado, let’s get started!

Indian Students and their Career Choices

In earlier days, the only career option Indian students had been of becoming a doctor, engineer, or a government official. However, now, the world is transforming, and digitalisation is making a remarkable appearance; hence, students are opening their options.

The new age generation is aiming to achieve goals that took years for their elder generation to accomplish. For instance, as per Teen Economy Report 2023, Indian students by class 10th start monetising their skills. And as per another survey conducted by The Economic Times, 80% students believe that gaining work experience during their education can lead to better-paying jobs after graduation.

So, if you are all set to make a mark in this world, then what are you waiting for?

The peer pressure? Parent’s influence? Or any other reason!

In the following section, let’s look out what are some of the common factors that influence Indian student’s career choices.

Factors Influencing Indian Students’ Career Choices

Let’s start by asking you something. Are you following the career path you are passionate about? At times, we all are Rachel from Friends, doing a job that’s remotely related to the field they are interested in. However, unfortunate are those who are following a path that someone else has carved for them. In India, students do follow career paths that are carved for them by someone else. In this section, we are discovering what are some of those influential factors affecting Indian students’ career choices.

1. Parental and Societal Pressure: One of the common factors that influence Indian students’ career choices is parental pressure. Parents always want their child to have the best future with all the facilities they want. However, in this pressure, sometimes, parents force their children to pursue a career path that is not the perfect fit for the children. Hence, students have to take up a job they are not passionate about but is parents driven.
2. Peer Influence and Trends:Another influencing factor that led Indian students make a career choice on someone else’s wish is peer pressure. Picking a stream based on what your elders did, or your friend has taken is one of the common scenarios in India. This sometimes become a wrong choice as every student have different potential. Hence, making informed decisions is crucial rather than regretting one.
3. Job Security and Financial Stability: Having a stable and good paying job is another reason influencing Indian students’ career choices. Most of the times Indian students are asked to pick a course not out of their passion but to provide them a stable lifestyle. Many students pick stable income over risky jobs to have a stable lifestyle even if they are unhappy in that job.
4. Global Exposure and Opportunities: In today’s time, going abroad for higher studies have become a common phenomenon amongst Indian students. The best opportunities through practical learning and part-time work options are attracting Indian students to study abroad. The trend followed by others is surely influencing many Indian students to study abroad in case they fail to find anything reputable in homed.
5. Digital Influence: One more thing that is influencing the career decision of Indian students is the digital world. Nowadays, the world of opportunities has grown out so much that even a kid can start earning by becoming a vlogger. The introduction of digital platforms and technology has opened thousands of options for students. From channelising their creativity in digital marketing to utilising their skills in artificial intelligence, students are breaking the old trends and carving their own new paths.

Top Career Options for Indian Students Today!

In this technology-integrated world, some of the top career options that are becoming the new trend are listed below.

How Career Counselling is Helping Indian Students?

The new age trends are transforming faster than the speed of light. Gone are those days when medical, engineering, and government services were the only accepted options in India. As we saw some of the new age trending career options for Indian students in the above section, now, let’s find out how career counselling is helping Indian students in picking the right path and making informed decisions. So, let’s give a quick glance to those points.

1. Expanding Career Awareness

As we have mentioned above that 93% of Indian students are aware of only 7 career options. It is not their fault that they are unknown, it is because they have never been told. To break those boundaries and making students aware of the thousand other career options, there are career counsellors. Through career counselling (or a psychometric test) these experts help students understand their strengths and find out what is the best new age career option for them.

2. Identifying Strengths and Interests

Another way in which the career counselling and psychometric test are helping students is by identifying their strengths and interests. Many times, you have heard people say that make your passion your profession, but how do you do that? This is where the career counselling help you understand. Every student has unique skillsets and to understand them, they need to take a psychometric test. This scientifically curated assessment is a way to understand every individual’s personality a little better. With the help of this test results, counsellors make you understand your strengths and interests.

3. Helping with Course Selection

Once you have identified your strengths and interests, the next step in the career counselling process is to create a future plan. Choosing the right courses based on your career goals is crucial. Many students who are unsure of what they want simply choose courses that seem right at the time. For example, an Indian student taking PCMB after Year 10, only to later pursue a career as an English teacher. To avoid such misguided decisions, it is essential to make informed choices that align with your goals. This is where career counselling helps—guiding students in selecting the right subjects and streams that best suit their aspirations.

4. Navigating Competitive Exams

India has a very competitive education system with exams like JEE, NEET, CAT, UPSC, and more. As majority of the students take each of these exams every year, many of them fail to even clear these tests. This is because either they are forced to take these tests, or they don’t know how to clear these exams. This is where career counselling comes in the picture. To help students understand and create a concrete study plan, taking a psychometric test in 10th or 11th grade becomes crucial. By the test result and career counselling students get to know what test they have to take, what are their weaker areas, and how they should plan their studies. Besides this, through career counselling, students can also have various career options ready in case they failed to clear any competitive exam.

5. Reducing Stress and Anxiety

One of the common traits of Indian students or students in general is taking academic stress. When you don’t have a clarity of what you want to be, your stress and anxiety level reach new levels the more you get closer to finishing your high school. Where most of the students across the world know what they want to be in future, Indian students lack the clarity which affects their mental health. To reduce this stress and provide students the required clarity, there are career counselling sessions. As no occupation in this world is a small, hence, to help students find a stable-paying and future-proof career option, the career counsellors’ layout a step-by-step future guide for students.

Make Clear Career Decisions with MetaApply Career Counselling

We understand the anxiety and pressure students have to face in their teenage years. The parental, peer, and societal pressure can make a student anxious and break their confidence. The fear of letting down your parents might stop you from attempting something you are really good at.

When you don’t pick a career based on your strengths, you need to figure out the rest of your life how to get success. However, by taking career counselling in school life, you determine that every step you take in your future is the one you are passionate about.

Hence, to make students empowered and ensure they make right, informed decisions, MetaApply Career Counselling is right here. The future path you will decide today, will determine how you will be living throughout your life. To help you understand your strengths, weaknesses, interests, passion, personality, and more, we, at MetaApply Career Counselling, ensure you get the right direction.

So, if you are interested in singing but your parents want you to become a software developer, then let’s find you a path and a career action plan that helps you. Connect with our expert counsellors today and take the first step towards success.