The Perfect Guide for Choosing a Career: Psychologist's Perspective

     Most movies (Hollywood or Bollywood) give us a very rosy idea of following our dreams, choosing a career that you are really, really passionate about. I am sure there was once a time in your life where you came out of a movie theatre feeling confident about pursuing your dreams.

    But what happens when you don't really know what you want to be or worse you know what you want to be but just don't know how to take the next step?

    In my role as a School Counsellor, one of the common concerns of students and parents alike were career-oriented. Psychologist, specifically those in the field of career counselling have devised a refined way of understanding career choices. In the following article, I am going to give you a glimpse of what we as Psychologists do to help a client understand their career trajectory. 

    While there is no magic formula to this question but if you understand a few things about yourself, you might be able to make a well-informed choice in this regard.

Interest

    One of the first things, like most movies would tell you, is finding your passion. You need to understand what is it that interests you the most -Is it being a cricketer, a singer, an airline pilot or a doctor? 

    Sometimes, finding your interest might be difficult. I remember one of my students telling me that they opted for the Science stream in their high school not because they liked physics & chemistry but because they didn't enjoy studying subjects in the humanities or commerce stream. Here, the choice of higher education was made by eliminating options. Another way of deciding is to observe one's own behaviour, is there a particular subject that you enjoy studying? Is there a sport that is an integral part of your life? There is usually some element that is driving your behaviour- a subject, a sport, an activity that you would do even if you were in a bad mood- reflect on it. It is equally important to note some of your dislikes. For example - I knew from a very young age that I am not good at Mathematics and I will never enjoy a career that would be based on this subject. Understanding your dislikes will help in elimination and arriving at a conclusion.

     Next task would be listing your 'Why' Why do I enjoy studying History? Why do I enjoy playing Basketball? Why do I want to become a Doctor/Engineer/Pilot/Airhostess? Without a reason for your passion, your journey towards a successful career might be unfulfilled. Understanding the driving force behind your interests will help you connect with your goals in a better manner & help in envisioning a future for yourself. Just listing out that I will do a Bachelor's in Psychology because I am interested in Psychology is not enough, listing out the reason like "I find the subject interesting", "I feel that I would be good at understanding other people's problems because I am an empathetic and patient person", "I want to have a role that impacts community welfare" is important.

Aptitude 

    Aptitude is your underlying ability to grasp the skills of a particular field. This basically means exploring if you have the mental capacity, the personality type, the right mindset required for doing the job of your interest. Exploring if you have what it takes to be in the profession. For example - a person who is an introvert trying to pursue a job in sales. A salesperson has to constantly engage in conversations with people, convince them to buy certain products- an introvert by nature would not prefer talking to a lot of people constantly. In such cases, one's personality will prevent them from acquiring the aptitude required for a job profile. 

    There are pros & cons to choosing your career based on just your interest or only on your ability to acquire skills (aptitude). Let me explain why using a simple example -Raj is incredibly interested in becoming a cricket player. He even listed out his WHYs, "I enjoy watching Virat Kohli play", "I am the biggest fan of  Indian Cricket Team", "I love reading about the history of Indian Cricket Team" - but does Raj have the motivation to get up every morning and train for 8-10 hours, what would his reaction be when he encounters consecutive defeats in a game and is not able to qualify for the nationals, is he a team player. Such skills are required for becoming a good sportsperson. On the other hand, let's say that Raj grew up seeing his father bat for the Indian Cricket Team. Raj admires his father's ability, precision and has no shortage of training when it comes to cricket. The only thing is that he is more interested in music than cricket. Do you think that by acquiring an aptitude for the sport he will be able to excel like his father?

    Aptitude, while necessary, will soon lead to burn out at a job if done without interest. Similarly, interest, passion, your driving force, will fail you in every profession, without having the ideal skills (aptitude) for the job. 

Ideal Career  =  Interest +Aptitude

    Real-life is much more complicated than just pursuing your interests or having the right skills for the job. If you belong to India, you might have a lot of pressure from your family to pursue a career in the sciences. As a 16-year-old, confused about career, it is difficult to understand where your parents might be coming from. It makes no sense as to why your parents are forcing you to become a doctor or an engineer with taking their perspective. If we try to think from their perspective- becoming an engineer, doctor, lawyer does guarantee a stable source of income throughout your life and are jobs well understood by our society. If you have a stable lifestyle, your parents will not have to worry about you. Once you understand their perspective it helps you comprehend their reality.

[Note: I am not trying to generalize. I understand that there are many Indian parents out there who give their children the space to pursue their dreams.]

    If you are someone who wants to pursue a non-traditional career path and are finding it difficult to convince your parents about it, try out the following steps. I have used an example of a makeup artist to explain the process. 

• Do a thorough Google search about the career. What is the exact role of a makeup artist, what are some of the best institutes in India that offer training, make a profile on LinkedIn and interact with people who have passed out from these institutes, check with them about the scope in the industry, how much do makeup artists earn, will the income help you become financially independent etc. See for yourself whether you will be able to pursue a career or not. If possible write down all the information you can about it.
• Make a pros & cons list of the career you want to pursue.
• Talk to your parents once you have done a thorough research. Parents may dismiss the idea of becoming a makeup artist because they don't know the job profile, while they know the job profile of an architect and they may ask you to pursue that. If you present your research in a convincing manner wherein you lay out a direction for your career, it will give them the confidence to see your reality.
• If you and your parents both are in a state of confusion about your career, schedule an appointment with a career counsellor. They will help you find a direction and the right institutes offering a course of your choice.

    As human beings, we often restrict ourselves when it comes to career options. A doctor might think that their life purpose is to help people. This might be true, but it doesn't mean that you cannot pursue alternative career pathway. Humans are creative beings, explore your passion, your skills as much as you can. Don't be bound by age or what stage are you in your career. Save & invest before making a career switch, but please allow yourself to explore. 

Mental Health Professionals in India

Mental health concerns are on the rise as the pandemic hits the world. In such unprecedented times, it becomes important to understand the kind of mental health services available in India and how to access them.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay 

Navigating the right resources for mental health can be difficult amidst stigma, misinformation aboutthese services in India. Let's understand which professional will benefit you using an example -

Amrita is a 23-year-old girl. She has a degree in economics and a well to do the job in the field. After the lockdown was imposed, she like everyone else adapted to working from home. Soon after she lost her job as her company could no longer afford to pay her. She was devasted but determined to find a new job to support herself. Due to changed circumstances, she could not go out to meet her friends and family. She felt lonely. Whenever she opened LinkedIn, she saw all her batchmates posting about their flourishing job roles and going on Instagram and seeing friends living with their family made her feel worse. Soon she started feeling as if it was her fault that she lost the job. She felt as if she is incapable of doing anything and stopped applying for jobs. She didn't feel like eating and her sleep cycle was disturbed as well. She cut off from most of her friends & felt hopeless about the future.

[Name & details mentioned in the above case study are fictional and only for educational purposes]

Now let's see how different mental health professionals will approach her problems - 

Psychologist

Psychologists are trained to provide a safe, judgement-free, confidential environment for the client to express their feelings. Once the client has expressed their concerns the psychologist will attempt to understand the reasons why the client is experiencing blocks in their functioning through their specific psychological orientation. The origins of Amrita's feelings like loneliness will be traced through a joint effort by both client and the psychologist. For instance- Maybe Amrita is feeling lonely because of the lockdown and a lack of social contact, maybe she feels a need to compare herself to her peers because her mother always used compare Amrita to her peers, she has only learnt to appreciate her success by measuring them to her peer's successes. These hypotheses will be tested out with the client and a range of empirically researched techniques will be used by the psychologist to help out Amrita. Validating her feelings, understanding the roots of her need for comparison, establishing a routine which incorporates regular video calls with her family members are some of the primary techniques which may be used to improve her mood. 

All psychologists have a Masters degree in Psychology in India as a minimum criterion for practice. A psychologist typically spends 50 mins per week with the client understanding their history, behaviours, emotions, thought process and use research-based scientific methods to improve the functioning of their client.

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist will also provide a safe space to Amrita to express her self. An attempt will be made to understand the problems being faced by her and try to gauge whether these fit into the criteria of a particular disorder. A detailed past history of current symptoms and a family history of both psychiatric and medical illnesses would be taken in order to arrive at a provisional (temporary) diagnosis. Based on the diagnosis & a medical history of the client, medication will be provided by the doctor. Psychiatric medication impacts the neurochemical levels of the brain. In the case presented above, if the Psychiatrist comes to the conclusion that Amrita is going through an episode of depression, they might prescribe her with Anti-depressants. From a psychopharmacological perspective, one reason for depression is low levels of Serotonin Neurotransmitter. Anti-Depressants will impact the levels of serotonin in her brain thereby improving her overall functioning. 

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor with an MBBS and a Post Graduate degree in psychiatry. A psychiatrist typically spends around 10-20 mins with their client and meet them bi-weekly/ monthly to check the progress. 

Who should you go to?

An ideal setup would be where a Psychiatrist & Psychologist are working together for the client. However, after the initial intake session, a Psychologist and a Psychiatrist would most likely guide you towards a suitable health care provider. In some circumstances, the client will benefit from psychological services alone and would not need medications but in other cases (for example in disorders like schizophrenia) a regular course of medication is required before a psychological intervention. Enhancing your mental health is a long process. Recovery is never linear. Some medications/ therapeutic interventions will suit you some may not. 

If you still feel confused, ask your Mental Health Professional about their opinion for a suitable course of treatment. Don't hesitate in asking them about their qualification and experience in the field. 

Mental health concerns take time to understand and treat. Please don't lose hope!

Mental Health is as Important as Physical Health

Take the first step!

Disclaimer: The case presented above has only been developed for this topic. The intention of sharing this blog is purely for creating awareness. If you are experiencing any kind of distress, please contact your health care provider.