Abu Dhabi: Choosing subjects, worrying about grades and working out how to pay for university are among the concerns weighing on students as they plan their futures, a career counsellor told students and parents at Edufair Abu Dhabi, the two-day education fair.
Dr Mauli Mahajan, founder of MyCompassToday and 3E Worldwide, said students often know only a small set of popular careers, even though more than 1,000 options exist.
“Girls and boys of your age select from only 10 to 12 options they have. And out of this 10 to 12, two three are related to their parents' careers,” Mahajan said, adding that another two or three choices are shaped by perceptions of future prospects.
“So nowadays everybody wants to take up AI and robotics, even though they are not interested in it,” she added.
Rather than treating career choice as a single decision, Mahajan encouraged students to approach it step by step: identify their interests and strengths, research careers linked to subjects they enjoy and try relevant activities or work experience.
Five common concerns
Mahajan outlined five common worries among students:
Which subjects to choose;
How to decide on a career when friends seem to have already chosen theirs;
Whether their marks will qualify them for university;
Whether they have enough certificates and achievements;
What further education will cost.
Knowing a subject, Mahajan said, is not the same as understanding the careers to which it can lead.
She gave the example of students who enjoy mathematics and physics, saying they should investigate the range of professions those subjects can open up.
“I have so many students coming and telling me they want to take up medicine, and I ask them why. All of them tell me because they like biology. Not a single one has told me till now they enjoy the field of medicine,” she said, asking interested students to learn about the field itself.
She also urged students to connect extracurricular activities to their interests and document what they learn from each experience.
An internship or project can offer more than a certificate, she said. Writing a reflection can help students identify the skills they gained, including research, writing and critical thinking.
A step-by-step timeline
Mahajan suggested beginning career and subject exploration in the earlier school years, followed by profile-building and more focused research. She emphasised ‘reflection’ as a way for students to demonstrate learning and skills beyond certificates.
By Grade 11, she said, students should begin planning for university by comparing countries and programmes and considering family finances, noting that there is a university for every budget.
Grade 12 should largely focus on applications, required documents, visas and entrance exams.
Parents as facilitators
Mahajan encouraged parents to facilitate exploration rather than dictate choices. Instead of telling a child which career to pursue, she said parents should ask what interests them and which experiences could help them explore it.
“Do not make decision for them,” she said, arguing that families should help students investigate their options and identify the next step rather than expect them to have every answer immediately.