We are told that our studies are very important since our future depends on it. And that’s pretty easy to understand, but a point where we go the wrong way is when we choose to go down a career path because of a misunderstanding.

And the misunderstanding is that the main reason for us to study is to be able to get a job that brings in a lot of money. This leads to a student asking, “Will I earn more money in this job or not?” when deciding what to study.

Before making a career decision or deciding which subjects to choose, we never think of what we’re good at. We always go looking for careers that are considered financially secure, which bring in a lot of money.

These days, it is very common to see youngsters talking about careers which will help them earn a lot of money. This is where we go wrong as our chosen path may lead to failure because it may just not be what we are good, at or what we really want to do.

Sadly, life has turned into a race and we have become robots. We don’t like it but we do become part of this race. The importance given to money has forced us towards things we would have otherwise never done.

In my opinion, we and our country would be the best in every field only if we did what we’re best at. We can have the best doctors, politicians, teachers, lawyers, policemen, scientists, etc.

The point is that we need to guide each other towards the right way. We have to make the decision which would be ‘the best’ for us and do something that actually makes us happy. And at that decision making point of our lives, we need to be guided by our elders, such as parents, teachers and relatives.

Our elders should think about our happiness in terms of not what is best for us, but what makes us happy and what we are good at. Schools too should focus more on guiding students and career counselling than just finishing their syllabus and conducting exams.

To the readers, I would only urge them to ask one question to themselves, “Am I good at it or am I only doing this for the money?”

The answer to this question is the key to our future.

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 23rd, 2019