Colleges don’t make Career; You Do!!

You must have heard from many people around you that getting into a ‘Good College’ is the ONLY WAY to get into a Superb Career. There are only handful of so called ‘Good Colleges’ in India. Does that mean that only a handful of students would get into Good Careers and other students would mostly struggle? Read on to understand the new relation between College Selection & Career Success.

If we look at historical College Placement data, this argument is partly true.

There are some fallacies in the argument:

Career means only the first job offer you get at College.

All readiness for Career happens only at the College.

Placement data released by colleges is completely reliable.

As a student there are some ‘New Realities’ that you should understand properly.

Reality-1: The University degree is highly insufficient for a Job.

Reality-2: Less that 10% College Students in India get placements through college.

Reality-3: A Career keeps getting shaped as you progress in life. As a person born in 20^th Century you are likely to take up 3-5 completely different jobs during your employable life.

Reality-4: The focus of Job Market has shifted to Skills from Degrees.

Reality-5: The Information Age has brought innumerable resources within your reach to learn & grow.

Reality-6: The learning at any College is not just because of Teaching. Learning from Peer Group plays an equally important role in it.

Reality-7: Most of you in Gen-Z need success now & here. The attitudinal shift towards life is big.

Reality-8: Huge majority of students only enjoy ‘College Life’ and miss on even basic learning.

What does it mean for you?

You have to take charge of your Career Success.

The University degree would roughly play 50% role in your employability.

Look deep into yourself to understand your Interest.

Thoroughly understand the multitude of Career Opportunities in your domain.

Focus on Online Learning & Certifications to get skills that your Target Industry needs.

Your careers would not shape up like your parent’s careers. Don’t follow the same template.

Focus on Practical Working through Internships, Projects, Industry Visits, etc.

To sum it up, it is your life and you are responsible to design it well. Your Parents, Teachers, School, College, etc all have their own limitations & vision. Even money can’t be a reason for not being well qualified today. Create right frame of mind & get into a habit of active learning. With a little systematic effort you can become highly employable while enjoying your college life. These efforts during your college time would reap big dividends throughout your life.