Off the beaten path

I was wondering if someone would like to look at anything beyond Engineering or Medical after class 12. So here is a list of career options which I believe is better than becoming a BAD ENGINEER/DOCTOR.

Teaching(both School and College level): My most favourite, because I am also a teacher. I could have also taken the same path as most of my friends did (no offence please) and could have done BTech and then followed it up with an MBA and then become a FINANCIAL ANALYST or a MARKETING MANAGER or a HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER in some MNC (Strange combination, isn't it??

But this is exactly what most people end up doing after ENGINEERING !!!), ending up doing gross injustice to the very degree of Engineering for which they had fought tooth and nail with other aspiring candidates. I sometimes wonder what happens to
the engineering knowledge that is gained by these guys.
Anyways this is not something one should be talking about because, as stated in the movie 3-IDIOTS, these DONKEYS know well what they want to do with their lives!!!!! All I am saying guys that if you don't have the passion and aptitude to be an
engineer and if at the end of the day you want to do your MBA from IIMs then please for God's sake don't waste a precious seat in some prestigious engineering institution. Also look at teaching as a career prospect. It is the only profession where you GET THE TIME TO SPEND WHATEVER YOU EARN and also get enough time to be what you really are. Moreover it will give you the first hand chance to shape the country's future and will be in the thick of affairs all through your career. it is more interesting and fun to be a teacher then become a DONKEY!!! (no pun intended). And this piece of suggestion is open to both class 12 passouts as well as engineers because after the training in engineering one will be rich in subject knowledge and
will be in a better position to teach.

Publishing: This is one industry which is rather small in size and very less explored. I stumbled upon it rather by accident and trust me now I know the amount of time and effort it takes to make a book. It pays well and if you are a book lover, nothing better than this profession. You will not regret getting into this profession.

Editing: You will require a sound knowledge of your subject and an eye for errors.
Content Development: You will require a sound knowledge of your subject and flair for writing.
Commissioning Editor: You require a knowledge of publishing process and good inter-personal skills.

There are subdivisions too, of which I will talk about later.

Research: Of course it is not everyone's cup of tea. But it pains me to see that good minds who are capable of being researchers, inventors, etc., becoming human resource managers of some MNCs. If you love your subject and you like to think-
out-of-the-box or you are always curious to know why- and how- of things around you, better try out your brain in solving some of the mysteries and problems of science and technology.

There are a plethora of options a student can take after class 12 or BTech, etc., of which I will talk about in times to come but all this will require you to think whether you want to walk the beaten path or would love to take a different route for your career. Remember the choice is yours and you have to decide for yourself.

Is everyone capable of becoming an engineer????

I have been thinking of writing this but never really found the time to do so. Now a days students, specially the ones appearing in class 12th exams, or BTech final, etc., have a very few options open to them, or so they want to believe. For those who are opting class 12 exams with as their subject are made to believe that Engineering / Medical (E / M) are the only options left. Strange. And unfortunately teachers and parents alike want them to believe that anything other than E / M is like committing a crime. Very strange. I sometimes wonder whether it is a stupidity that people in general commit themselves into by mistake or by choice!!! Whatever it is, no body is ready to look beyond.

The life beyond E/M is where the life now a days really starts. When I was taking my class 12 exams we had a mere 4 engineering colleges around; today the count stands at more than 50. We are doling out engineers with impunity without thinking for one moment if they all are worth being called engineers at all.

According to a research done at Harvard University in early 80's, human beings have 7 types of intelligence.

Linguistic: everyone has this. People with more of it can learn lots of languages. also they are good at writing stories etc.

Logical: Related to mathematics and reasoning and related areas.

Musical: We all can sing a bit. Most of us can learn to play musical instruments too. But not everyone can create music. For that you need musical intelligence.

Spatial: People with this are good at gauging depth, length and height of objects; can easily visualize a system at work.

Kinesthetic: It is related to the control of body movements. Give a paint brush to MF Hussian and one similar brush to me. MF Hussain will pull of a masterpiece and I, a disaster. Similarly almost all athletes and players have this intelligence.


The other two are Inter-personal and Intra-personal intelligence.

The most important thing is that to be an engineer one would require a combination of Logical and Spatial intelligence.

How many of us you think has these two in right combination?

Not many actually. and yet every Tom, Dick and Harry is out to become an Engineer. I wonder what they will end up becoming.

The most important thing is that everyone should be given a chance to figure out the right type of intelligence that they have and grow accordingly.

I think it is a very important thing that all teachers and parents should keep in mind. and obviously all students should try to see what they are good at.