Women students today have a multitude of options when it comes to careers and doing what they want to joyously.
A casual tête-à-tête with Rasika threw open options which we may have never known of before. “When I finished my Plus Two, I knew that I could follow any of my passions and qualify with a professional degree. I could become a radio jockey, a graphic designer, a fashion stylist, an art director for feature films, a sound recordist ….just about do any of these and still have a qualification which is recognised anywhere in the world. I am happy to be living in these times unlike those which belonged to my mother who could have an arts degree or get into engineering or medicine.”
Globalisation and a definitive transformation in the attitude of hiring young women across industries have brought about a change in the courses being offered to students these days. For girls who may want to follow a career path which would complement their marital status and give room to raising children later, there are any number of ‘work from home ‘options like - being a web designer or an interior designer. In this constantly changing world you have so much to take your pick from when it comes to a career.
Suneeti was raised in a rather conservative Gujarati family, where girls were married off after they had completed Plus Two. In Suneeti’s words – “I knew that I had two options before me – get married and still do what I want to do or rebel and hurt my family. I chose the first. Just after my honeymoon I enrolled into a distance education program for designing clothes. Simultaneously, since I did have spare time I started a small catering set up at home to cater to the working men and women in my town with homemade, hygienic food. I love to cook and soon I found that there were enough orders and people did not fuss about picking up food from my home. The profits were good and helped me pay for my education as well. I was also able to support both my parents as well as my in laws with their medical expenditure. My husband is thrilled with my success and now he wants me to open a regular take away in the heart of the city during evenings after my children come home.”
Once you know your mind and what you may want to do it is important to also prepare your parents with the information as they may not know how the new age careers function. Once this is done the buy in becomes simpler for after all they too want you to do well all through your life.
“In fact the options of having successful careers along with a happy marriage seem to favour women more than men these days,” says Prof. Joshi. “Follow your heart and passion and you will without doubt be successful and happy as well,” is her magic mantra.
| - Gita Nair (views expressed in the article are that of the author) |