Are Educational Qualifications Enough for an Effective Career Plan?
There is always a constant debate in and outside the marketplace on the sufficiency of educational qualifications to warrant an effective career. In other words, are educational qualifications enough for an effective career plan? There are many schools of thought on this issue. It is a difficult issue of contention as different individuals take different sides.
Learning Curve
A child starts to learn the moment he/she is born. The baby learns to cry for feeds and care with a continual expansion of knowledge to survive in a new strange world outside the womb although there may not be words of understanding communicated between baby and adults. As the child grows, motor skills are learned and acquired which get refined as he/she grows. When the child is of age to be sent to school as required by the state educational authorities, he/she undergoes 10 to 12 years of intense learning under the purview of qualified and knowledgeable facilitators called teachers and professors.
As the student learns under the respective educational system in the land, more knowledge and living skills are acquired while the character and personality continue to develop or gets transformed gradually over time; some with refinement while others may undergo certain drastic transformations as self is discovered or explored in a myriad of ways. Along this learning curve, the student is usually encouraged to consider the types of career that would be of interest to carve a name in the chosen or preferred industry. Parents, teachers, relatives, peer groups and other circles of influence may offer their suggestions on career paths which the growing child should consider and converge to that path through specific educational training at college.
Defining Career Success
Every parent wishes their child to be successful in life but there are variants to this wish. Some parents may view a successful life as being rich and influential in society and industry while others deem success in life to have self-confidence to perform or undertake any task with pride and passion.
Different cultures and societies view career success differently. Parents who want their child to be socially and industrially successful might push their child to excel in areas that would put the child in the spotlight to move on to further fame and glory. Parents and guardians may strongly encourage their child to consider certain academic paths that would open supposedly the right doors of career opportunities for career success; especially if certain careers at that era seem to be very lucrative.
An individual in today’s materialistic society is usually considered a success in life by the lifestyle he/she sports; that is, a highly paid position in a flourishing career where money is not an issue is considered ‘successful in life.’
Total Development
Most children may not usually know what is best for them. A lot of their thoughts and decisions have been influenced by those around. As they undergo various situations in life to gain certain experiences, they mature in mind and emotions. These elements would assist them in making more personal decisions with lesser influences from outside.
Proper guidance with an open mind from parents, educators and other circles of influence would help children to learn to think for themselves to achieve the best in life. A good education fills the mind with knowledge but life experiences mold the character while developing the personality.
When a total development happens, the child can determine if the education path sufficient to equip him/her for the desired career. Education equips the learner with the necessary knowledge that may be useful in understanding the chosen discipline of study but there may not be the desired career opportunities upon graduation if the economy is uncertain.
Grabbing Opportunities
A young graduate must be streetwise to be alert to the current economy trends and seize the opportunities that may flit by. The bold and daring might even leave school to start a business venture and sail to the path of glory in business which happened to Bill Gates; but not everyone is a Bill Gates.
It is not easy to identify if an opportunity would carry one to success as there is always the other side of the coin; failure. With it comes disappointment and frustrations. An educational qualification may not necessarily prepare a graduate sufficiently to identify the right business opportunities if there is no business acumen or boldness to step out of the box and take risks.
Conclusion
A structured educational path may equip the learner with certain knowledge to decide on a plausible career path but life experiences and economic conditions bring on opportunities for success or failure.
