Why career counselling is more valuable now than ever before
Academic excellence
is often a pursuit that puts students in the race to get good grades, making
them so engrossed in their activities that they dangerously ignore the
importance of orienting themselves towards a career path. Due to the
preconceived notions students have regarding the career path that will be best
for them in their professional lives, most students tend to enroll in
programs that are biased towards those career paths.
Because of societal
pressure and peer expectations when it comes to choosing
an “acceptable profession”, it has become a norm in today’s
competitive and cut-throat environment that students often harbor guilt
for pursuing their own interests. Career counseling is a tool which can be very
effective in allowing students to realize their true potential and
find work that aligns with their natural inclinations. The best time to
give students an exposure to the idea of career counseling is when they
are at the start of their degree programs. Career counseling is not a quick
fix; it is a process which takes time and understanding as the
counselor needs to get attuned to the capabilities of each student.
Inexperience on part
of the student highlights the need for proper guidance through qualified career
counselors. Academic institutions regularly hire psychologists as career
counselors. However, more and more academic institutions are
hiring experienced professionals from the corporate arena to serve as
counselors and mentors to guide students. This allows the student to
see what will be expected of them in a certain career, which makes it much
easier to determine if that career path aligns with their personal career
goals. Students often harbor unrealistic expectations of certain
fields. Getting corporate professionals to help guide students allows them
to better understand the realities of a certain career, enabling them to change
their career choice if they find that career does not fit their personal goals
and interests.
Once a career choice
is made by a student, a counselor can be of invaluable help. Counselors
are great at teaching students to make relevant connections between their
interests and possible career paths. This type of guidance acts as
a supplement to the knowledge students gain through their academic
pursuits.
Career counseling can also help students make sound financial
decisions. Many students get overwhelmed by student debt, which they see
as a burden on themselves. As a result, students begin a
career that will aid in paying off their debt faster, rather than a
career that they actually want. Counselors help students gain a foothold
by teaching them the importance of a step by step process to stability and
debt repayment, which allows students to pay off their obligations in
an efficient manner. Unfortunately, many students end up with anxiety,
depression, and other ailments later in life because of a bad choice they
made earlier on in their careers. Career counseling is invaluable to students and it is highly advisable that teachers and parents get their
students to engage in it at the start of their education in order to get the
most out of it.
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