Hyderabad: At 32, despite holding a PhD, Divya* is still searching for her true passion. She has spent years trying to fulfil her parents’ dreams, hoping it would bring them happiness — but it hasn’t helped her find direction.
She pursued a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in marketing, tried her hand at Zumba, and has now taken up flying — but she still hasn’t settled on a career path.
“I did a PhD in marketing strategies because it was my mother’s dream to earn a doctorate, but she couldn’t. After completing my PhD, my father was disappointed that no one in the family was continuing his profession — flying. So, I enrolled in a flying institute. But I feel I’ve taken up the wrong profession just to keep up with family tradition,” said Divya.
Though frustrated at still not having discovered her ideal career in her early thirties, she hasn’t given up on the idea. “My parents never forced me, but I wanted to ensure they had no regrets,” she said.
Divya’s story reflects a larger problem faced by many Indian students — pressure from parents, lack of career guidance, and limited exposure to different career options.
Take Devesh Bhatt, founder and CEO of Click Eat Repeat — a food and product photography, videography, and styling firm — for example. It took him nearly eight years to land his dream profession, which might have taken much less time had he received proper career counselling in his school days.
Before settling into his business, he tried his hand at sales and even ran a cloud kitchen.
“I took maths, economics, and commerce in Intermediate, did journalism for my graduation, and worked as a sales professional. Then I wanted to start a food business and successfully ran it for four to five years. During this time, I realised that the Indian food and beverage market was strong in serving tasty food, but weak in presentation. That led me to start my own firm, and I finally realised that this is what I want to do,” said the 30-year-old.
Career Choices Driven by Parents and Peers
Not just Divya or Devesh — majority of youth in Telangana and across India face similar dilemmas while choosing a career path after class 10 or class 12. For most students, career choices are influenced by parents or peer pressure. Another major factor is blindly following the crowd.
“I can say 75% of careers are chosen due to parental or peer pressure. When it comes to the remaining, a majority are crowd followers,” said Simi Nagi, academic director of Delhi School, Kompally, who has been providing career counselling to students for over two decades.
“In Telangana, students are made to think there are only two professions — engineering or medicine,” Nagi said.
She said it’s unfortunate that parents blame schools when they expose students to different careers through talks or seminars, as their only goal for their children is to study engineering and settle in the US.
“I have had parents come to my office and yell at me for organising a lecture on wildlife photography or encouraging students to indulge in sport or arts,” Nagi said.
Many millennials and Gen Z students echoed Nagi’s views, saying they had to forgo their dreams when choosing their undergraduate courses.
“I wanted to be an astrophysicist, but after my second year of Intermediate, my father was hell-bent on me taking up computer science engineering. There was no way I could convince him. So now I’m studying CSE — even though I have zero interest,” said VS Akhil, a first-year engineering student.
The Way Forward: Early Exposure and Career Counselling
Academicians and professionals in their early or mid-career stages believe that the only way to help students discover their true potential and passion is by introducing them to various careers from a young age.
“I would have easily saved eight years of my life if I had access to career counselling, said Devesh. “I studied at some of the best schools in the city, but no one helped me understand my strengths or narrow down a career path. I feel students should be exposed to at least 10 professions aligned with their interests starting from class 7 or 8.”
Some top schools are already taking steps in this direction. Along with offering career counselling to class 9 and class 10 students, they are also providing summer internships and organising talks and seminars to expose students to different professions.
“I can say many students have benefited from this approach, as they’ve picked up career paths such as sport management — which would otherwise have been unimaginable — after attending counselling sessions,” said KV Praveen Raju, founder of Suchitra Academy International School.
However, Raju pointed out that many schools, including his, do not have the bandwidth or resources to provide counselling to younger students.
While some CBSE, ICSE, and other private board schools offer career counselling, the concept is almost absent in most state-run schools or junior colleges in Telangana, leaving students clueless about their next move.
K Suresh, a government lecturer, said: “I can say career counselling is mostly missing from Intermediate colleges, especially state-run ones. Most students study just to pass Intermediate but have no goal. Even their parents aren’t in a position to guide them, as they live from hand to mouth. But career counselling at this level could bring real change and inspire students.”
*name changed