Students seeking a second opinion

With results due shortly, serpentine lines are popping up outside counselling centers this year with students seeking opinion of experts on what courses suit them best

With results due shortly, serpentine lines are popping up outside counselling centers this year with students seeking opinion of experts on what courses suit them best
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With the Bachelor courses beginning this month and International English Language Testing System (IELTS) due at the same time, students are seeking guidance like never before and putting in extra effort to make sure that they make the right career choice. Over 4,000 students have been recorded outside career counselling centers to be guided in making the appropriate choice for courses.


Making the choice? Counsellors state that parental intervention still
dominates career choices. Representation pic

"Bangalore has the highest number of students heading abroad to pursue higher studies and so the need for extra guidance is highest here. The city has over 200 career counselling centers adding to the counsellors hired by various colleges," explained Veera Shetty, a career expert. Around 2,000 graduates from the city take the IELTS each year and with the 2011 results due this month, many students are using the interim period to get some expert guidance.

"A counselling session starts with an aptitude test, devised using psychometric tests to assess a student's inherent interest and abilities. Some career options are then given to the student, based on which, the right course can be picked," says Lipika Varma, a psychotherapist.

Many counsellors state that parental intervention still dominates career choices in the city. "Mid-segment institutions have introduced aptitude tests at the school level, but parents still guide their wards towards safe courses like engineering and medicine," Lipika added.

Money over interest?
Many counsellors state that while student choices in the city are largely based on their interest level, parental intervention cannot be ignored. Asha Sidd, a career counsellor from Banjara Academy explained, "There are two categories of students, some want to be rich and famous and others want to steer clear from the tried and tested path. An aptitude test helps them to conclude whether they are really capable enough to do what they are interested in." Online interest inventories too have played a large role in student career choices this year. Popular portals have evolved their career tests, based on choices an Indian student can make.

'Need the nudge'
The large student community in the city feels that while choosing the right course at the pre-university and graduation level is simple, for many career counselling gives them a nudge ahead. "I knew writing was my passion, but the aptitude test gave me a perspective. It helped to reinforce my notion about what would be best for me," said Kavitha Menon, an advertiser.u00a0 Maninder Pal, a student, believes that career counselling is the right way to go. "There are a few genuine career counselors, who helped me figure out what was the best suited for me. I had four varied options and was confused. Counselling helped me," he said.

However, others remain skeptical about counseling and Karthik Rangarajan shuns the idea. "By the time I completed my graduation, I knew what would be best for me. Students who end up confused need to list their interests and chose a profession that would make them happy," he said.