whenever I get into a conversation with students here, upon my asking about their ambitions and career path, mostly I got the answer is “Engineering field mein jana hai aur papa chahtey hain k engineer bnoun”
or this “Abu chahtey thaey engineering field mein jaoun, mera apna interest commerce mein tha” This type of mindset disappoints me a lot. Why parents here are so obsessed with engineering and only science related fields?
When I asked students about their ambitions in life, I almost got only one answer – they want to be engineers or doctors. Here what I felt is that your market value is based on what you study. For example, MBA, engineer, and doctor is what most parents want their children to be.
I don’t hold anything against these professions, I’m only emphasizing that your children should be allowed to study or work in a field of their interest as that produces the best results.
And just so you can see the bigger picture, what would this be like if everyone was to follow the conventional career path, we would have no teachers, no entrepreneurs, no wild life conservationists, and so many other meaningful professions.
I see parents often force their children into science streams, but what if a student has no interest in science?
Let’s say, if an uninterested child studies science, he might only get 80 per cent, while he could have achieved 95 per cent in commerce, which could widely influence his chances of admission in the world’s most prestigious universities.
Professional pay scale encourages parents to force their children to study science subjects, believing that graduates in engineering and medicine are paid well. But sadly, we are living in a world where unemployment is more common than high salaries.
The point here is to understand that if your child chooses any course other than something in science-related fields, please don’t take it as like your child is taking an easy way out and is running away from struggles in life.
A profession should not be chosen on the basis of family pride or any other base, but instead, on the basis of one’s capacity and dedication.
I’m not saying that the real-world experience of parents can be put on a back seat, but be a friend to your children and assist them in knowing careers rather than telling them what a right career is. Let them find that answer themselves. The world is changing, let them think of impossibilities & consider the less traveled paths. And you never know they will be successful in their chosen paths. ?
Saqib Azhar