The thinking about careers is mostly linear. However reality is that in today's fast changing global context there are always fundamental shifts in demands for skills and careers. Therefore one has to be ready to have a different perspective when it comes to the way one looks at a career.
Consider this - when it comes to deciding shortest and best way to cover the distance between two points one would logically prefer a straight line. However when it comes to careers it is not always necessary that a straight line be the best choice between the point you are and where you want to be. Further when context changes it is all the more relevant.
One should be willing to take risks and consider best alternatives. So the fact that one looks at non linear ways to the destination or goal. If one is staring in face of declining demand for jobs in a given field then it makes sense to prudently chose an alternative career. .
Why? The career market has definitely undergone shift. In UK there have been alarming increase in number of unemployed young people. Also post college there is no surety of a relevant job opportunity. India has the worlds highest number of graduates. In the engineering field alone the country produces over 500,000 engineers annual and over a quarter of them don't get placed and keep adding to the pool of unemployed. Take the case of Philippines, In the past 4 years the global recession and dip in demand for nursing professionals world wide caused a dramatic rise in the unemployment among nurses. Estimates indicated about 400,000 unemployed nurses today. How long do these nursing graduates wait to get a job in a hospital and work hands on in a profession they wanted to pursue.
There are always alternate careers. However they should not be random choices. That way you end up with a sub optimal one and also leads to frustration. However if the chosen career is some way related to the core profession then it can be very enriching. How and What do you do is something we'll see in coming posts.
Consider this - when it comes to deciding shortest and best way to cover the distance between two points one would logically prefer a straight line. However when it comes to careers it is not always necessary that a straight line be the best choice between the point you are and where you want to be. Further when context changes it is all the more relevant.
Why? The career market has definitely undergone shift. In UK there have been alarming increase in number of unemployed young people. Also post college there is no surety of a relevant job opportunity. India has the worlds highest number of graduates. In the engineering field alone the country produces over 500,000 engineers annual and over a quarter of them don't get placed and keep adding to the pool of unemployed. Take the case of Philippines, In the past 4 years the global recession and dip in demand for nursing professionals world wide caused a dramatic rise in the unemployment among nurses. Estimates indicated about 400,000 unemployed nurses today. How long do these nursing graduates wait to get a job in a hospital and work hands on in a profession they wanted to pursue.
There are always alternate careers. However they should not be random choices. That way you end up with a sub optimal one and also leads to frustration. However if the chosen career is some way related to the core profession then it can be very enriching. How and What do you do is something we'll see in coming posts.
