“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” One of India’s finest engineers, Sir. M. Visvesvaraya believed in this famous quote of English writer Douglas Adams.
Making a reference to this quotation, at the first day of The Hindu EDGE Career Counselling 2019, Aswath M.U., Principal, Bangalore Institute of Technology said, “It is not the course, job or the package that has a real impact on your career but genuine interest in a particular discipline. This alone will take you to newer heights, also preparing you to serve people in meaningful ways as propounded by Sir. M.V. Join engineering only if you are willing to put into practice what you learn in social settings.”
The career counselling session at NMKRV College auditorium, Jayanagar, Bengaluru, was attended by about 250 students, eager to take the next step after class 12/ PUC. The chief guest of the South Bengaluru chapter of The Hindu career counselling was K. Annamalai, DCP, Bengaluru South Division.
Career option
Addressing the gathering, he said, “If you have clarity about your career at this stage, it is wonderful. However, if you don’t, don’t bother. Because for some, like me, career decisions happen late in life.”
Narrating his story, the officer recalled how he was pushed into engineering after class 12 and how he realised that his interests were in social sciences. After his Bachelor’s, still in the search of the right career, he left for IIM, Lucknow. “It is in Uttar Pradesh that I realised that civil services would suit me. By that time, I was already 25,” he recollected. “Get into any course or stream but make sure you have a great college life and never stop discovering yourself,” he said.
On civil services as an option, Mr. Annamalai said, “As we are witnessing lateral entries of experts at the top level, civil services is undergoing a seismic shift. Therefore, do not restrict yourself to only civil services, as in the coming years the quantity of intake might go down.” Addressing over a hundred parents who had accompanied their children at the session, Ameen-e-Mudassar, Bengaluru-based career counsellor, said: “It is not ‘what they want to become’ that needs to be asked to children in their growing years, but ‘what all they want to become’.”
Multiple interests
“Currently youngsters are not any more stuck to one kind of job. They are exploring a variety of works, including those that are not related to their disciplines,” he observed, advising parents to think of their children’s long-term career.
Mr. Ameen said, “The number of toppers used to be fewer in our times. The fact that it is exponentially increasing by the day is worrisome, as even 99% is not bringing contentment to students.”
The focus of education, S. Kumar, Chancellor, Sri Devaraj Urs University, Kolar and Executive Secretary, COMEDK emphasised, “should always be knowledge and not tactics to score high.”
There is a high concentration of students in very few streams of study. “As a consequence, certain disciplines, like environmental engineering, which are most sought-after elsewhere in the world, unfortunately, take a back seat in India,” observed Mr. Kumar. The last hour was dedicated to procedural aspects of professional entrance exams such as CET, COMEDK, NEET etc.