6 Questions To Ask Before Making A Career Choice

'How many jobs will be created when you complete your course?'
'How many people will compete with you?'
'What is the minimum and maximum salary you can expect?'
'Which are the companies that will offer you a job?'
'What skills do you have to develop?'
'How long will it sustain?'

"We have to make our children realise that learning cannot stop, it has to be lifelong," Career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

The concluding segment of a two-part interview:

• Part 1 of the Interview: 'AI Has Pushed India 5 To 7 Years Behind!'

According to the Economic Survey, hiring in the IT sector is unlikely to pick up in 2024.
Also, more than 100,000 tech jobs have been cut so far this year. What is your opinion as a career consultant?

The IT sector will not grow the way it grew in the last few years.

There will be growth, but not the kind of vertical growth you saw five years back.

What kind of career advice you will give to the youngsters of today?

I will say, choose a career looking at the future.

I will tell them to answer six questions before making that choice.

One, how many jobs will be created when you complete your course?

Two, how many people will compete with you?

Three, what is the minimum and maximum salary you can expect?

Four, which are the companies that will offer you a job?

Five, what skills do you have to develop?

Six, how long will it sustain?

Then, they should choose a good college that will make its students future ready.

Another thing students have to keep in mind is, companies look for people who have multidisciplinary skills.

IMAGE: Jayaprakash Gandhi

Where do you see the employment scene in India going in the future?

There will be employment, there will be opportunities.

But today's students have to learn beyond what the curriculum teaches.

If you don't update yourself, you will be outdated.

We have to make our children realise that learning cannot stop, it has to be lifelong.

Earlier you said, India is 5 to 7 years behind the US and China in technological advancement.
If India moves like it is now, won't the gap increase?

The gap will definitely increase, and we will be left far behind. The technological gap that was just 2 years a few years ago, is 7 years now.

Unless the policymakers, universities and industry realise the speed at which technology is moving, unless you make the basic level education strong, there is going to be very, very, challenging times ahead.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com