User talk:Manveen1992

WHY ARE TEENAGERS SO CONFUSED ABOUT THEIR CARRER OPTIONS? Every person has a dream of becoming something big in life. As a child one question that everyone must have been asked by others is that, “what do you want to become when you grow up?”Every child has various fantasies regarding this. When a 5 or 6 year old child is asked this question he may say that he wants to become batman or Spiderman or any other cartoon character he identifies with. But later on when he is 10 or 11, he realises that there is no such profession in which he can become a super hero and save the world. He thinks of more options such as a chef, a singer, an artist, a writer, a movie star, a wrapper, a sports person or a pop star etc. anything that matches his personality or anything that his hero or role model does. These options are ruled out for most while some people pursue their childhood dreams as a profession. It is when a child reaches teenage he measures the pros and cons of an option and thinks rationally and realistically about what career option he should take. Career refers to an occupation or profession. It is what a person wants to do for a living. It is very important to choose the right career option this is because a person spends half of his life pursuing a particular career option. Choosing a right career depends on a number of factors beginning with what persons interests are and what he enjoys doing and is good at doing. This is very important because there is no point working if you don’t enjoy what you are doing. In India after completing 10th all students have to choose amongst 4 subjects arts, medical, non-medical and commerce (Or they can directly do professional diploma courses after completing 10th.). And after completing 12th all the students have to choose a particular discipline in which they would precede their career. This decision is influenced by a lot of environmental and psychological factors. There is a lot of stress involved in making this decision because it is one of the most crucial decisions of a person’s life on which many factors are dependent. The teenagers often get confused while taking this decision. The reasons why teenagers get confused while choosing their career options could be- 1.	Peer Pressure-Peer Pressure is an influence that creates the desire for change. In other words peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Peers are more influential in a teens life and tend to have more powers than parents. Teenagers spend most of their time with their friends i.e. the peer group. In a peer group the opinion of an individual is regardless as opposed to that of the group. Young people are more willing to behave negatively towards people who are not members of their own groups. Most of the youngsters follow their peers decision rather than their parents. This could be because most of the youngsters lack the maturity to handle peer pressure. Another reason could be that youngsters are scared to be chucked out of the group. They have this notion that they need to be a part of the group to be cool or in. Peer pressure deeply influences the decision that youngsters make. Neuroimaging identifies the anterior insula and interior cingulate as key areas in the brain determining whether people conform in their preferences in regard to its being popular with their peer group (Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/pharmacology of the brain. It is a relatively new discipline within medicine and neuroscience/psychology). Peer pressure can also influence a teen’s decision to choose a particular career option. A teenager might choose a particular subject/career option because all his friends are choosing the subject/career option even if he/she doesn’t like it because He/She would like to stay in the group and not be left alone. Thus to make important decisions which are influenced by peer pressure can get confusing.

2.	Parental Expectation- Every parent has certain dreams and expectations for their child. Every parent wants their kids to flourish and do well in life. These dreams and expectations are good in a way for the child because it motivates them to work hard. But at times parents become over ambitious and try to impose their will on their child which in turn mounts a lot of pressure on them. For example- parents might have a dream that their child should become a doctor but the child does not have the aptitude or interest for medical sciences. But as a result of parental expectations the child is forced to take medicine as a career option. Thus parental expectation is one of the key factors that influence the career choices that a child makes. According to me parental expectations can be of two types. (1)	Direct- This category of parents are candid enough and directly tell their child what they want from them and imposes their will on them. (2)	Indirect-This category of parents tell their child in an indirect/diplomatic manner about their demands and expectations. For example if a parent of a child wants him to do engineering but a child wants to do something else parents would say that “It is up to you, you can do whatever you like. But it will be nicer if you do engineering”. Another way in which the parents belonging to this group express their wish is by casually coating examples of people who have excelled in the field they want their child to take. Thus as a result of which the expectations of the parents haunts the child in his subconscious minds and the child is forced to choose a career in accordance to the expectations of the parents

But, there also exists another group of parents who do not force their children or impose their will on them and help the child in doing whatever they want to do. Another aspect of parental expectation is conditional pressure. There are many parents who want their children to follow in their footsteps. For example lawyers want their children to become lawyers, doctors want their children to become doctors and business men want their children to become business men. For example A businessman would tell his son that- “It doesn’t matter what you want to do or how many marks you get because ultimately you have to join my business.” Hence, parental expectations confuse the child at times because the child has to choose between what he wants and what his parents want.

3.	Do not know their Aptitude- Aptitude is the capability, ability, innate or acquired capacity for something. Most of the teenagers are not aware of their aptitude in different disciplines. The main reason for this is that before choosing a particular career option/subject s most of the students do not take the guidance of career councilors and do not take aptitude tests. The importance of aptitude tests has not been fully recognized. Aptitude tests help a person recognize his potential in various fields and helps him choose a career which is apt according to his capabilities. An example of an Aptitude test is the Differential Aptitude Tests or the DAT Battery. This test measures your ability in eight different areas. The testing areas of this test are: -	Verbal reasoning -	Numerical Ability -	Abstract Reasoning -	Mechanical Reasoning -	Space Relations -	Spelling -	Language Usage -	Perceptual Speed and Accuracy Even if they take aptitude tests they are not always the right ones. Thus since most of the students are not aware of their true capabilities and areas of interest it is confusing for them to decide. 4.	Do not know what their strengths are- According to studies every 2 out of 3 people do not know what their strengths are. Most of the teenagers are also not aware of what their strengths are and this is one of the main reasons why teenagers get confused while choosing their career. According to Dr. Alex Linley A strength is a pre-existing capacity for a particular way of behaving, thinking or feeling that is authentic and energizing to the user optimal functioning and development. While a person is using his strengths he or she is relaxed but, focused and energized. Words like ‘I love’ and ‘It fits in’ are used while describing strengths. Strengths are something that a person enjoys doing. Being good at something is not good enough. What if you are good at doing something and don’t enjoy doing. Energy i.e. how do you feel while using a particular strength matters. Use i.e. how often do you get to use it also matters .Thus strengths are something that you are good at doing and enjoy doing. Most of the people do not know what their actual strengths are. Often strengths are confused with learned behavior. Realise 2 model by Dr. Alex Linley

A.	Unrealised Strengths-Unrealised strengths are those strengths that we are good at doing and enjoy doing but don’t get the opportunity to do them/use them. For example bounce back- people strong in bounce back use setbacks as spring boards to go on and achieve even more. We should maximise the use of unrealised strengths. B.	Realised Strengths- Realised strengths are the one which we are aware of and enjoy doing and get the opportunity to do them. For example Work Ethic- people strong in work ethic are very hard working putting a lot of effort into everything they do. We should marshal the use of realised strengths. C.	Weakness- Weaknesses are something that we don’t perform well and don’t enjoy doing. Weaknesses are de-energising. For example personal responsibility- people strong in personal responsibility take ownership of their decisions and hold themselves accountable for what they have promised to do. We should minimise the use of realised strengths. D.	Learned Behavior- Learned behavior is something that we have acquired from the environment. Something that we are good at doing but do not enjoy doing. For example Empathetic connections- People strong in empathetic connections feel connected to others through their ability to sense and understand what other people are feeling.

5.	Social Expectations- There are preconceived notions regarding various professions in the society. For example doctors and engineers have a higher status in the society. Many people also think that medical and non-medical is for intelligent students and arts and commerce is for average and below average students. Even for marriage IAS officers, doctors, lawyers and engineers are preferred over people from any other profession. Thus expectations of the society not only bother the parents but also the teenagers who have to choose their career options. The thought that what will people think if I don’t become a doctor or an engineer or a lawyer always lingers in a person’s mind. Thus now the teenagers have to make a decision whether they choose a profession they like or a profession the society approves of. This often confuses the teenagers.

6.	Lack of knowledge and too many options- In earlier days career options were limited but now with the emergence of various new fields there are number of options for example the event management industry is one of the fastest growing industries. There are so many options nowadays that it is difficult for the teenagers to make a decision and most of them are not even aware about all the career options they have in the respective fields they have chosen. Also there are many teenagers who do not have the knowledge about the subjects they are studying or are willing to take. There are many people who want to take science or commerce as their subject in +1 and+2 but do not know what they are going to study in science and commerce. Later on this lack of knowledge causes a lot of confusion for the teenagers.

7.	To go with the flow-  Many people choose their career option because majority of the people are practicing the option they have chosen. For example MBA, Engineering and MBBS are some of the popular profession. Thus the teenagers feel that it would be safer choosing a profession that majority of the people are practicing rather than choosing a profession they like. 8.	Financial Security- Financial stability offered by some careers as opposed to others is better. Maybe someone wants to become a school teacher but is scared to pursue his dreams because the pay scale of a school teacher is not that good. Professions such as medical and engineering provide better financial security as opposed to other careers. In some professions such as doctors as soon as you are employed you start earning a big packet of money. While in some professions you have to struggle for a while to earn a big packet of money. Even the job certainty of some professions is better than the others. For example-engineers have a very good job certainty. Thus the teenagers have to choose amongst a profession they would enjoy practicing and a profession that would provide them with better financial security.