During my days in school and thereafter, I still remember that the only two prestigious career options were either medicine or engineering. Intelligence was defined by taking Science in standards 11/12th and join medicine or engineering. However, nowadays you see many students with more than 90% in Board exams choose Arts or even Commerce stream. For some years later, Management also became an eminent domain. Earlier on it was parents who decided the disciplines that their kids would study in, a doctor parent would always want their kid to be a doctor and so on. However, now a day even school kids are clear on what they want to do later in life. Kudos to the younger generations for thinking ‘हट के (hat ke)!’ You have indeed shown the world that passion can overrule the didactic.
Recently, I met a young girl who loved flowers and guess what? She took her passion to the next level! She turned her passion into something concrete and forged a career in floral designing. She believed in herself, had the courage of conviction and has set up a roaring business now. She caters to the floral decorations of VIP weddings to birthday parties to small bouquets that people require now and then. This entrepreneur is now employing others.
I feel glad that Symbiosis has set up many such institutions, such as the Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts. The students are amazingly talented and under the guidance of Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, they are also picking up the nuances of the hospitality industry. Many students have started their ventures and classes, proving once again that nothing can stand in the way of one’s passion.
Then there are others such as photography. I admire students who dare to spend 3 years in the undergraduate programme in photography at the Symbiosis School of Photography. This school was the dream of ace photographer Gautam Rajyadhaksha and is rated as one of the most popular photography schools in the country!
Similar are courses in event management, game designing, product designing, pet groomers, styling and make-up artists, fitness trainers, and my list could go on. Just like there is no end to creativity, there is no end to dreams, and there is no end to career options. I feel so happy to see the students being conscious of their environment and being aware of such pressing issues as climate change and sustainability. There are students who want to make a career in such issues too.
With the pandemic, employability and job options have changed. We, as academicians are not sure what kind of jobs will be offered by industries in years to come. Job profiles in the industry have also changed. Technology has been an important tool for functioning in any organisation that you work in. So also importance to critical thinking, collaborative work and creativity is given more importance by job givers. Therefore disciplines like Liberal Arts which make you think out of the box and which liberate your mind to think differently are careers that students choose!
I am sure that with the pace at which the students are charting new paths and scaling newer heights, we will see many more career options in the future. When you have the passion, you can excel no matter what your field of study might be. Today’s pathfinders will be tomorrow’s mentors. Your sure-footedness shall reign. However, there is no substitute for hard work. No matter which discipline you study, unless you put in hard work you can never be successful.
So all the best to you!