A career in career counselling

​Do you want a level of income to fit your lifestyle or a lifestyle to fit your income level?”
They say that the longest journey of the world starts with a single step. But what about choosing the first step in the longest journey of the professional life and vocational career? And, most importantly, how to choose that very crucial first step which makes the stepping stone of the career building? The answer is pretty simple-it is career counselling.

In fact, a career counselor is a person, well-qualified and professionally trained, whose job is to guide the aspirants what jobs they have been best suited and what career they have been tailor-made for. That is why, a career counselor’s job is to know the talent and various traits of candidates and guide them to choose their most-suitable career accordingly.

Why do we need a career counselor?
Often what happens that we commit mistakes making career decisions purely on the basis of unrealistic evaluation of ourselves? We also get unduly impressed with the phony attraction of the various career options surrounding us.

Sometimes, we also buckle under the parental pressure and get swayed by the social showing. In this awkward situation, a candidate ends up choosing a career for which he is not at all suitable and nor mentally inclined. You will be surprised to know that this sort of mistakes in choosing the wrong career option occurs because of the inadequate knowledge, emotional factors, peer pressure and parental pressure.

In fact, this is a very pernicious situation. Basically, our perception and psychology does not let us identify the individual differences which are so naturally found in each child. The days of the customary job opportunities like those of a doctor and engineer are on the gradual decline. In the post-reformed-induced-information technology age of the 21st century where the whole world has turned out to be a global village, it is really very soothing feeling that now there is no dearth of job opportunities across the countries in the world.

As per the socio-behavioural and genetic differences in ability, personality, attitude, bent of mind and interests in the Homo sapiens, each person can find himself fit for a score of job opportunities which have unfolded before the present generation. Therefore, the basic role of a career counselor is extending much-needed assistance and professional guidance to the people to help them choose the career as per their unique curricular and extra-curricular interests and personality traits.

However, in the wake of increasing demand for such type of counselors, career counselling course has been incorporated in syllabus and there is essentially a career counselor in the schools and colleges. These career counselors are responsible for providing the guidance to the students for their balanced physical, mental, psychic and psychological development so that they may move ahead towards the right career path at right time with right attitude and much-wanted success.

What does a career counselor do?
A Career counselor performs the following important functions-

1.Helps individuals develop the self-awareness which will further help to prepare them for the better development of interests, capabilities and personality traits.
2.Prepares the children for taking career decisions as per their choice, interest, ambition, personality trait and inclination of mind.
3. Makes students aware of the various jobs opportunities and career options to best suit their interests and capabilities.
4.Assists the aspirants with the professional guidance of managing the challenges born out of changes in career and grooming them for the professional perfection.

Mandatory skills required for a career counselor
The job of a career counselor is not easier than what the people do understand. It is more the job of sensitively understanding the human behviour and psychology than the academic excellence. That is why a career counselor must be a good human being to sympathetically understand the natural capabilities and inherent disability of the people. Besides, a career counselor must-

• Possess thorough knowledge of current job trends and availability of career opportunities. He must also have very perfect knowledge of various institutions, courses offered by them, courses’ fees, provision of scholarships and financial assistance programmes.
• Have updated information of the changes in the areas of education, emerging career opportunities in the country and abroad as well and scope in the years to come.
• Possess very good listening skills.
• Be a man of immaculate character, integrity and commitment. *have immense patience and better understanding of human behaviour and psychology.
• Have perfect knowledge of the job policies and socio-political condition of the various counties across the globe.
• Have very sound analytical power, communication efficiency and sensitivity.
• Have motivational power to easily inspire the people.
• Possess the leadership qualities to lead the candidates to the right path of career choice and job opportunities.

Educational qualifications
Majority of the career counselors pursue this profession with the background of psychology as the main subject. Because this subject provides the much-needed insight and understanding of the human behaviour and natural instincts of the people.

However, there is no special course as like that of career counselling but all the guidance and counselling courses have career counselling as the conspicuous part. Any candidate with post graduation degree in any subject is eligible for applying for a diploma in counselling. However, an array of universities and institutes prefer Master’s degree with psychology as the background.

Teachers with a few years experience are also eligible for taking up the course of career guidance and counselling.

Institutes offering post graduate diploma courses in guidance and counselling

• National Council of Education and Research Training –NCERT, New Delhi (www.ncert.nic.in)
• Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Tamil Nadu (M.A. Career Counselling, www. rgniyd.gov.in)
• Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu (annamalaiuniversity.ac.in)
• Karnataka University, Karnataka-www.kud.ac.in

Where Are The Jobs?
The job prospects of a professional career counselor have no limit, especially in the global world of today where the job opportunities are even more increasing every day. However; following are the main areas in which a career counselor is most sought after-

1. Majority of the career counselors get the jobs in schools, colleges and various other educational institutes. In the wake of the fast rising stress and consequent rise in the cases of suicides of students and adolescents across the country all the educational and coaching institutes have career counselor.

2. A career counselor can also work at a career information centre. He can also work at a career education programme.

3. A career counselor also works as a professional for providing help to the students for the preparation of job interviews.

4. Helping the candidates in the development of skills is also considered as one of the important jobs of a career counselor. He also helps writing an immaculate professional resume. Assisting the candidates with the key guidelines for group discussion or interview is also considered as one of the jobs of a career counselor.

5. Advising the students on choosing the right and suitable subjects at school and college levels. They also tell the students about the requirement of various documents for admission and entrance examinations of various courses.

5. A career counselor also guides a candidate through various means to finance the course fees.

6. A Career counselor also works with the placement agencies and counsels the candidates about the career development.

7. With the globalization of the world economy, the overseas job opportunities and the responsibilities of a career counselor have even more increased. A career counselor advises the students on the job opportunities available in various segments across the countries in the world.

How much does one get?
In the beginning a career counselor can get the monthly salary in the range which falls between Rs 20,000 to Rs, 30,000 per month. Majority of the schools and colleges have the regular posts of career counselors which pay them along the line of formal pay scales with all the allowances permissible time to time.

But the career counselors who work as freelancer or as a part time, they can earn even more than this. Many of the career management and employment agencies too recruit career counselors and offer them a lucrative pay package.

There is no denying the fact that the job of a career counselor is concerned with sensitive understanding of both the brain and heart. So, one must give a serious thought to this perception before making a decision to go for a career in career in counselling.

By: Shreeprakash Sharma
The writer is a PGT Economics, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Birauli