Herd Mentality has been the bane of even the best students’ career decisions. Opting for certain subjects in senior classes and therefore indirectly defining a career choice is not a function of ability and interest for most. The students’ choice of subjects or career, something that is going to define a major part of their adult life, is influenced more by what ‘people’ think; what is considered respectable as a job; or even what most of the peers are applying for.
Consequences of herd mentality – poor performance, mediocrity, dissatisfaction
Herd mentality or hive mentality is all about how people take decisions based on the influence of peers or even others around them, impacted by what is largely considered the norm. Our school and college environments are rife with examples of herd mentality but here we shall talk about those that influence choices of subjects and therefore careers.
Humans have a natural proclivity to be part of a large group, and it may not be so damaging after all, except when one is making a choice of higher studies and colleges and career. Most students often neglect their individual thoughts to follow what has ordinarily been the trend among friends, family, school and their immediate environment – city, state or country in general. The results of following something that you’ve chosen on its general acceptability or respectability later shows itself as poor grades or anxiety and then as mediocrity at work or dissatisfaction with the job.
How to avoid herd mentality – Define a career goal first
The starting point for any student should be to define a career goal that is meaningful, impactful and personal. What do you think would be best suited to your aptitude and inclination? What is it that you think you really excel at? What is it that excites you? Is STEM your calling or is it Economics and Philosophy that can have you engrossed for hours? Are you choosing law because you see yourself being able to present sound arguments?
Each individual is different in ability and needs to give a long hard thought to what career would suit him the best. The questions young students need to ask themselves are, “What am I really good at and what career can I seek with that particular subject?” Or “If this is a career I am seeking what subjects do I need to pursue?” Once you are able to define a career goal, you can work backwards and plan what you need to do to prepare for that career goal.
Thinking beyond the obvious – Engineering, Medicine – Reasons
Medicine and engineering have long enjoyed a hallowed status in our country; and even till today most students are choosing these subjects because this would eventually lead them to these professions considered upmarket and respectable.
This blind following of a trend, this herd mentality is what one needs to be cautioned against.
There are many reasons why our students do not need to conform to a certain pattern of expectations when it comes to choosing their subjects or careers.
Unique abilities and aptitude
One, we have all evolved as informed, educated people to understand what multiple intelligences entail and that it isn’t necessary that scientific temperament is in any way superior to a literary one or fine arts is shades poorer than accountancy. The point here is that each individual has a natural aptitude to excel at a certain craft and it is important that we identify that aptitude and guide students to make choices in accordance with that. It is quite natural for parents to steer kids towards careers which pay better than others, but they need a reality check on how many students give up college mid-stream when they realise the subject doesn’t excite them or isn’t something that they wanted to do but were subliminally influenced to pursue.
Many curriculum and career choices available
Two, the choices of careers have expanded manifold. From content and marketing and design to media management and liberal arts and advertising, there is a piece of pie for everyone beyond the standard tech, medicine and finance which have long been touted as the be all and end all of career choices.
Also there are many curricula and examination boards now, which offer students the unusual mix of subjects which do not classically fall into a science or arts background. You could have a Maths major with literature as another subject. Or you could be pursuing business with philosophy, or for that matter computer science with art. The either/or combinations have now become ‘and’ combinations. This gives a huge playing field for students to exercise their choices and opt for subjects that truly excite them. The idea is to not follow a pattern that has become a pattern because everybody made a beeline for a profession that is considered lucrative and prestigious but to follow one’s own inner voice, with conviction that what one is really interested in is something that one will automatically be diligent at and therefore excel at.
Opportunities to study abroad
The third reason why we would advocate against herd mentality in higher education is the availability of choices beyond the perimeters of the country. In India the competition to get into a college of repute is really intense. In 2020, 1.5 million students took the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) to qualify for 13,000 seats in 23 IITs across the country — in other words, for each seat there were 115 aspirants. It would serve parents and children well to look at other options, even if outside the country, because within home the problem is not that of the child being not good enough to get into a good college but that of too many people aspiring for that one seat in that college.
The Internet has brought the world home. Information on colleges in UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Singapore are all available on the college websites and studying abroad is no longer the distant dream that it once used to be. All that one needs, is to understand the mandatory requirements for different colleges and prepare well in advance to fulfil those to get into a college with subjects of one’s choice. And while the costs may seem forbidding, financial institutes offering loans and universities offering scholarships make it feasible for parents to support their children’s education in foreign universities.
Structured approach to Career and College Planning
Admission to colleges abroad is a multi-year preparation process. It should ideally start earliest by the start of Grade 9 and latest by start of Grade 11. Stellar grades in academic courses are definitely the basic prerequisite for any college abroad, but there’s more to it than just being an academic genius. Colleges are looking at a consistent interest and pursuit of sport or extra-curricular activity, the student’s passion through certain initiatives and his commitment to use his intellect and knowledge for the larger good of the community.
Preparing an authentic profile needs time and consistent effort. There are counsellors and teachers who can guide students to work towards building a profile that would gain them admission into a subject and college of their choice. Having a structured program to follow month after month can get you ready with an impressive profile for admission into a college abroad.
Build a Career in a field that has a promising future
In the VUCA world that we live in, we have to deal with the uncertainties and disruptions of the job market and it is important that we align our career goals with what is going to be promising in the future. The students need to learn about the opportunities in Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare, Climate Change, Sustainability, DIgitala Marketing and the like.
Conclusion
It is the student who understands his potential and passion the best and the societal perception of what a successful career looks like should be nowhere on his list when it comes to parameters that determine his career choice. It is important that students break free of the herd mentality to pursue subjects or careers which excite them, make them feel fulfilled and bring meaning to their lives.
This article is co-authored by Prachi Joshi Johar and Prabhat Kumar Tiwary