I am 22 years old and have completed B.E. in electrical and electronics engineering. I am good at aptitude and reasoning. So I decided to prepare for bank exams. But this is not the actual reason for my decision. My passion is cricket and I have represented my college. After that, I did not get a chance to showcase my talent. I have never represented my district or state. I am feeling lost. I belong to a middle-class family, and cannot afford to take the risk of pursuing my passion without any backup, since we have only one earning member. I can get a job in my domain which will give me income to invest in my passion. But, I fear that once I get into the job, I will never be able to pursue my passion. Please help. — Anand R.

Dear Anand,

Your clarity is so profound. I understand your dilemma. Cricket, in our country, is not a sport but a religion. It is almost impossible to make it to the big league without having exceptional skills and having tasted some success across district and state levels. Securing a job in your own domain and saving up to pursue your passion, as a serious, steady hobby seems to be the best plan going forward. You only need to make sure that playing cricket will become a non-negotiable commitment that you promise yourself as a self-care ritual and will find the ‘me time’ to pursue it irrespective of a busy work life.

I am 20 years old and currently in B.A. second year. I am confused between a career as a civil servant and an MBA. I feel that if I pursue MBA and get a decent paying job, I can settle down soon and also have a backup while attempting the civil services exam later. But I am least interested in preparing for CAT because of the subjects involved. I could not score well in my class XII boards either, due to which my selection into the IIMs is difficult. I am in a dilemma about whether I should opt for coaching for the civil service exam or CAT as I just have a year left. Please help me. — Anushka Rao

Dear Anushka,

You seem to be sitting on the fence with two difficult choices — coaching for the civil services versus CAT preparation. It is interesting that you say you aren’t really interested in the CAT but keen as it will ensure you getting a job sooner than making it to the civil services and once you have a job, you can prepare for the civil services. I am not sure if that is the right criteria for selection. Please understand that both are tough exams and rightfully have a gruelling preparation procedure.

What do you see yourself doing in life at 25? What do you want to be and what do you enjoy the most? Please make your choice based on that and not merely on what is easy and doable and what isn’t. Every job, career, and work schedule, however interesting, has some percentage of boring tasks and that doesn’t matter once you enjoy most of what you choose in life, as it brings immense happiness and joy to you.

I am a B.Tech student currently in my seventh semester. I am interested in joining IAF as a pilot. I fulfil all the requirements for being a pilot but there is only one issue — I have scored less than 60 in math in class XII (CBSE). Kindly guide me on how I can amend this since I am keen on achieving my goal. — Vaidehi Sharma

Dear Vaidehi,

It is indeed an honour to join the IAF as a pilot. Please apply for your class XII math exam privately and secure a good score to ensure that the process is smooth.

I was so passionate about getting into St. Stephen’s that I worked 10 times harder than I ever had in my school life but, unfortunately I only managed to get about 90% which broke me so much that I didn’t even fill the admission form. I didn’t take admission in any other DU college and settled for Central University of Karnataka which doesn’t have a great faculty or any societies. I am helpless; I don’t know if I should waste one year and apply for other universities next year or stay here and waste the three most important years of my life. I am desperately looking for some advice. — Meha Gupta

Dear Meha,

I am so sorry that you had to go through this. What do you want to do? What course and what subjects do you wish to study? 90% is a good score, but yes, perhaps not sufficient to warrant admissions to St. Stephen’s or DU. So what? There are a lot of other good colleges across the country that would love to have you with that score. Why would you want to waste this score and your talent? I would urge you to meet a good career counsellor who can profile your choices and help you select and shortlist a course of your choice at the earliest. Good things await you; please move quickly.

Disclaimer: This column is not a substitute for long-term therapy. It is merely a guiding voice. Some issues may need medical intervention.

The author is a practising counsellor and a trainer. She will answer questions sent to eduplus.thehindu@gmail.com. The subject line should be: ‘Off the edge’.

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