Career advice: What is the best way to choose a field that can be pursued as a career after 10th standard in India?

The way education works is that we are all taught the same stuff till a certain level/age and then given little choice to move towards our interests and later we are on our own tracks with specializations and later, if we venture into research, creating new paths. I think at the level of class 10, he should be making a at least a few choices of his own. When given a choice people can either really make their own choices or follow the crown (usually the safer option). For example more than 90% of my friends are somehow working for the software industry (even though they have degrees in other fields of study), a few are doctors and I have no idea what the rest are doing. So, most of us went with the flow and are doing pretty good. You can always tell where the crowd is going so I will not talk about that. Read on if you really what to make your own choice. I would suggest him to list down all the options he is aware of and mark the ones that he is interested in. Then ask him to do a bit of reading or experimenting with the very basic things in that interest. This should give him a fair idea about them and help him make his choices. In India, after class 10 there aren't too many things to choose from. The options I am aware of are: Diploma course Pre-University courses ( Science or Commerce or Arts ) Since you say that he is a bit geeky it will not be a difficult choice to enter into the sciences. Again there are choices to be made here between, biology, electronics and computer science. One might think that a geeky boy should choose electronics or computers at this level, I think that it is good for him to explore biology as well. Two reasons for that, biology is just as fascinating as computers if not more and computers/electronics can be learnt later as well. Please forgive me for my ignorance about the choices in the commerce and the arts. But they can be exiting as well. Try to do some basic things in the areas of interest to get a feel for them, talk to someone (accomplished) in that field and ask them what are the things that they do on a daily basis and what keeps them going, and see if you would like to do something similar. Keep some options open if you are not very sure about what you want to do. Its important to at least like what you do, just make sure it can pay for your needs (basic ones at least). That is all that matters in the end.

The short answer is 'choose what you have an interest in and an aptitude for'.   However, at the age of 15-16, when an Indian teenager is about to make this decision, he/she is generally neither prepared nor experienced enough for such a decision. So let me give you a few pointers how to go about doing this.   There are two scenarios in such a situation. Your parents/guardians may or may not be supportive of an open-minded decision regarding your career. In any case, you must know the right path that you should choose had they been supportive.   Also as you grow, depending on your environment, your interests change, many times they become almost unrecognizable from their earlier forms. That is why choosing a career is not dependent only on your interests, in my opinion.    You have to think hard (with a parent/guardian if they are open-minded; if not ask a helpful and aware teacher) about the following aspects of a career stream (Arts (performing as well as liberal) / Science (Biology / Maths or both) / Sports / Commerce etc): Money/market scenario: Does your would-be-career pay? Is there demand for its graduates in the market? Take the help of your guide (teacher/parent/guardian) regarding this. Interest: Are you interested in this career stream as of now? On pointers how to do this, see the next section. Economic feasibility: Can your family afford to pay for this stream? You will have to guage this out from a supportive family member (could be an elder sibling / parent). Aptitude: Do you have an aptitude / talent for this stream? Consult all your teachers regarding this. In order to find out answers to the above questions, you can Think about your best subjects at school. What has been your favourite till date? Think about any Olympiads / standardised exams / NTSE (National Talent Search Exam) that you might have taken. They can help you analyse if you are good at the subjects they test. Talk to teachers. Narrow down to one teacher whom you personally like and respect. Ask him for his help in talking about your interests and aptitude. Take aptitude tests. There are tests on the internet (search for them!) which can give you an idea of what you could be good at. But not all of them are correct / trustworthy. Talk to seniors and professionals (face-to-face and on sites like Eduxtree): Once you have an idea about what you want to do, ask on sites like Quora and Eduxtree for information on the professions from professionals working in those fields. Find out people from your family and friend circle who may know such people. Take guidance from a professional career consultant / guide: There are career consultants who do this task for a fee. They would take your aptitude tests and discuss with you to advise you on a possible career path. Search on the internet about various professions: Learn about a typical career trajectory (degrees, job profiles etc) of the professions that you are considering. Remember, if you make errors at this stage, it would become difficult, but not impossible, to undo any of them. History has plenty of examples of people who became stalwarts in their fields after starting on the wrong foot in the beginning of their careers.   All the best!

The best option would be to let him choose his field for himself, just tell him to explore himself, tell him to make a list of things he loves to do, It could include less explored paths like painting, writing, sports or the more followed ones like science and commerce, If you don't like his preferences just tell him the up's and downs with them, or make him meet some people who already are pursuing a career on that path, just don't force him into giving up what he likes.

You concern for your brother is really touching. I have been teaching Physics to the age group in which your brother belongs to. One thing I must tell you that if one wants to pursue his studies in Science beyond grade 10 in India, he should be ready to work very hard, have basic knowledge of Maths and over and above have aptitude in Science. I do not want to scare you but my feeling is that beyond class 10 one has to study something in which he has interest. Adeel's advice is also good. You can consult a career counselor. Let me know if you need any help in that regard. By the way I have no tie up with any of them, just know a few because of the kind of job I had been doing.

The career option you choose should be a clear reflection of your skills. Discover what you are good at. Opt for profession that truly recognizes you. Capitalize your strengths. A well-planned and well-designed career track helps to explore aplenty opportunities in the relevant field. Jharkhand Rai University has designed online courses and programmes to provide training and resources and necessary education which would help to improve the option for employment in the later stage of career. You need to take charge of your career completely and go for it.

It should be through a psychometric assessment meant for stream choice: It talks about Interest - Aptitude. An interest - Aptitude graph helps students look through it and not be under influence of friends and peers for making a choice.   Stream Suggestor Assessment can be found here: http://www.counselling.meracareerguide.com/t/what-to-do-after-10th-which-stream-to-choose/1167/5

Hi! If you want a bigger picture for your brother, it is advised that you to make your brother complete his 12th first and you facilitate him to explore more interest in other domains as well  because there is a difference between having an interest in computers and internet and the ability to pursue a career in computers. To do well in Computers as a career, a person needs to have good problem solving, logical reasoning and a fairly good mathematical foundation and a more investigative and scientific bent of mind. In the Indian education scenario, after 10th you only have the polytechnics or ITIs offering vocational courses where students do a diploma in engineering or other courses and earn short term job-oriented course certifications for fast jobs and majority of these takers come from a background of poor financial standing. Regarding which stream or subject combinations to take up after 10th and which career these subjects are leading towards or which career is best suited for the boy, a psychometric assessment on his interest, aptitude and personality and a session with the career planner would really help in this matter. If you need further support, feel free to contact us! iDC is a  Career Guidance company which has been empowering students to take informed career decisions via iDC Career Assessment tool, access to information and one-on-one career mentoring. Visit our website-   http://www.idreamcareer.com/ Phone: http://tel:+911139595064 Email:

If you have any confusion and doubt about your future then i would simply suggest you to download an app from playstore. Basically the best option will depend on your area of interest. There are 100s of options available to pursue after 10th. This is a dynamic mobile and web application for entire student community to discover their interest in different field. This app has 250+ career options available for making bright future and also you will get expert advice on whatever topic and situation. The app name is "CareerKhojj" Here's the link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.careerkhojj.pathfinder&hl=en