Choose a course you like: ZP CEO

The Hindu — EDGE Career Counselling attracted a huge crowd of students and their parents at Lingaraj College here on Saturday.

Resource persons from various fields of higher education spoke to students about their career and higher education choices.

The Next Step , a book with information on various career choices in different streams, was also released.

ZP CEO R. Ramachandran inaugurated the session and urged young people to follow their heart while choosing a course or career.

“Get information on all possible courses before you take a decision. Consult the experts and people who have studied similar courses. But, choose a course which you like and have aptitude in. It should be a field where you enjoy your work,” he said.

The young IAS officer, who hails from Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, described his life. “Till I went to Chennai for my Bachelors degree in science, I could not understand a sentence of English.”

He credited The Hindu with helping him brush up his language skills, develop a world view and mould his personality.

He said that his changed world view made him study law and his charity work in the tsunami-affected areas in Tamil Nadu made him choose civil services. He trained in New Delhi to prepare for the civil services, where he met a variety of students from across the country. “It added to my resolve to become a civil servant,” he said.

He said that he cleared the exams in his fifth attempt and advised students not to fear failure.

“Never compare yourself to any other person. We are all unique. Focus on how you can contribute to the society,” he said.

G.C. Niranjan from the Karnataka Examination Authority spoke about the CET seat selection process in detail.

He asked students to keep pace with the changing rules and regulations.

Mr. Niranjan told students about various categories, and provisions like supernumerary quota and the difference between mock allotment and final allotment. He also spoke about the selection process for agriculture, veterinary and allied sciences. D.G. Kulkarni, director of the management wing of KLE’s MSS College of Engineering, invited students to his college for a demonstration of filling the form for the seat selection process.

He urged students and parents to choose various courses in the wake of developments in the international market.

“Computer science is no longer as sought after as it was a few years ago. So, please opt for it, only if you like it thoroughly,” he said.

He asked girls not to shy away from mechanical and civil engineering courses as they provided large career options in the government and private sector.

He also asked students to learn additional skills like soft skills, and a foreign language to improve their personality and increases chances of being hired.

Fatah Khan, of Cigma Foundation, gave a detailed presentation about various career choices after SSLC and PUC. “A lot of humanities and commerce courses lead to satisfying careers,” he said. “You need to question yourself about what you consider as happiness. Is it money, comforts, recognition, or internal satisfaction or family life? Choose a career based on the answer to these questions,” he said.

M.B. Badbade, retired special deputy commissioner who heads the CMA IAS academy, spoke about civil services. Nayeem Ahmed, counsellor from CMA academy, spoke about the preparation for the civil services examination.