"70% of students don't know what to study after Class 10, 12": Education Expert

At the NDTV Education Conclave, education expert Viral Doshi stated that approximately 70% of students are unsure about what they want to pursue after school.

Why most Indian students are uncertain about career choices

"I would say 30% do and 70% don't," Doshi said.

Many Indian students are uncertain about which career path to choose after Class 10 or 12, even though a wide range of courses and career options are available today.

"Eventually in life, it's not your undergraduate degree that matters most, but your postgraduate qualification. If you study something you enjoy during your undergraduate years, you will excel," Doshi said.

To prove his point, Doshi gave examples of successful personalities such as Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra, who studied Film Studies as his undergraduate course.

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, studied English Literature.

While Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, pursued Metallurgical Engineering.

Despite their unrelated undergraduate degrees, all of them followed their interests, excelled in their fields, and later earned MBAs from top business schools such as Harvard, Wharton, and others. 

According to the education expert, a postgraduate degree based on individual interest matters the most.

"What you study in your undergraduate years and where you study is honestly irrelevant. What matters is how well you do," Mr Doshi said.

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A plan for students to find the right career path

To help students find the right path, he suggested a simple four-step plan: [Source: NDTV Education]

    1.    Psychometric Testing - A test to identify a student's strengths, interests, and aptitude.
    2.    Career Research - Reading about possible career options that match the test results.
    3.    Talk to Professionals - "Speak to three digital marketing experts," he suggested, to gain real-world insight.
    4.    Job Shadowing - Spend a day or two observing professionals at work to better understand different career options.

The expert also discussed global education trends and why studying abroad remains popular, especially in countries like the US, UK, and Canada.

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