The sudden outbreak of the pandemic has brought critical disruption to all the sectors and education is no exception. The first-paced digital learning environment has replaced the traditional offline classes. The significant communication gap between the students and teachers has become prominent.

Reports suggest, the majority of the students are/will be leaving schools without the required skills. The virtual learning platform has grown significantly but has changed the entire education scenario. Consequently, students especially those of the lower grades are not getting enough interest to invest their time in online classes. 

Suggesting them with the perfect career ideas is the need of the hour. This is where career counselling sessions for school students are significant now.

Current Scenarios of Career Counseling in Schools 

Today, India has significantly one of the largest student populations in the world. The approximate figures of students might reach up to a massive mark of 300 million. There are abundant career opportunities present today that need a specific set of skills and dedication. However, many Indian parents or students find it hard to choose anything else but the conventional career paths like engineering and medicine. It deprives the potential candidates of having the opportunity to establish a brilliant career in some other field, where they would have been an excellent fit.

The fact that many engineers go unemployed and the medical field has too many poor professionals, isn’t a secret anymore. It is because tons of low-quality students are graduating in these fields. Who knows, if they could have done way better in a different course? This mainly happens due to the lack of professional guidance. The students need to realize their capabilities and make decisions accordingly. That is where career counselling is important.

Talking about the current scenarios of counselling in schools today, we can address several points. Honestly speaking, most of the schools are busy imparting academic knowledge to the candidates and running after conducting examinations. This has been an age-old process. It is significant to remember, academic knowledge needs to be bridged to the world of careers to help them understand the weightage of a prominent future. Especially in this growing digital world where doors to many innovative career opportunities are open, students need guidance to choose their career paths wisely.

Students spend their maximum time in schools. Yes, the post-pandemic scenario has been different due to the emergence of e-learning classes. But there’s no denying the fact that students spend a considerable time in association with their school through online classes. Therefore counselling in schools isn’t a luxury, a need rather. It is the perfect way to shape the future world, helping the candidates to move ahead with ambition. Career Counseling is nothing but assisting the students in ‘self-realization’ and ‘self-discovery’ that aid them in choosing a life filled with purpose.

How Career Counselling is Helpful for School Students

Every school student needs career counselling irrespective of their school name or location. There was a time when people opted for career counselling only before getting into a professional world. However, as time has changed, people can realize how counselling at an early stage can be helpful and suggest better ways to plan career growth.

Career counselling is vital for school students especially for the ones of higher grades who are on the verge of choosing a new stream or specialization. It helps them choose the stream based on their interest and capability. Surveys state, there are many instances where lack of correct guidance has demotivated the student causing them to leave their streams halfway. It is nothing but a complete waste of time.

Let us explore how useful is career counselling for school students and how it helps them in significant ways:

• Making a Firm Decision: Career counselling sessions take the students through different topics, explaining the pros and cons of different streams and subjects. The students will get to understand how things can turn out for them in the future. For example, an aspirant might be very good in science and wants to pursue a career in architecture. He might feel being an exceptional science student is everything and there’s very little to do withdrawing. However, this is certainly a misconception. Career counselling aids various such misunderstandings among the students, giving them a prompt reality picture. Henceforth, they can make firm decisions.

•  Ensuring Job Satisfaction: Choosing the path of your choice and investing time in your favourite job is satisfying. If you are engaged with something that you hardly enjoy, you can’t have a fulfilling career, I’m afraid. That’s why career counselling for school students is crucial as it helps them figure out their capabilities and move forward accordingly.

• Making the Right Use of Your Abilities: Career counselling will help you analyze your core strengths and utilize the talent in the right place. Like for a person, who has supreme command over English, teaching might not be the only fit for him. There will be various other opportunities too, that he can explore.
   

How to Find a Career Counselor for School Students?

A career counsellor is someone who will take the student through a series of events and explanations that will help him understand his capabilities and interest. Eventually, he will be able to make a firm career decision. Now, comes an interesting question. How to find quality counsellors who will help you or your children to understand the self-capabilities and get ahead accordingly.

Before looking for a career counsellor or coach, make sure to note a few things. I have listed some effective tips below.

• Always do a proper background check of the counsellor you are choosing. By no way do I mean to demean anyone here, but the fact is the scam rate has increased considerably over the last few years in every sector. Therefore make sure you do a thorough background check before fixing an appointment with the person concerned.

• You must be sure of the timing as to when taking the counselling session will be helpful. Career counselling for school students is usually recommended for higher grades since they have the upcoming thing of selecting a particular stream. A session right on time will be significant as it helps the candidate choose their respective specializations accordingly.

• Whether you are the student or the parent, one thing is mandatory while undergoing a counselling session. Its patience. Yes! Yielding fruitful results takes time and you have to be very patient throughout the procedure. A little deviation from the track or slight miss concentration might be responsible for ruining the entire thing.

Now comes the question of finding career counsellors for school students. There is a list of common ways that you can try out to reach a qualified professional. However, cross-checking every piece of information is mandatory, as discussed in the points above.

• Reach out to Friends or Acquaintances: A popular method of getting in touch with qualified counsellors is through common connections. You can reach out to a friend, relative, or acquaintance who has sought these services before and get the name of the counsellor.

• Social Media: In this digital world, the best way to collect information or track anything is through social media. You can browse over several names from popular sites like LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram and get references for many eminent professionals.

• sarthiclasses: Here comes the last and most efficient way to get connected to a professional. That is through sarthiclasses! Yes, the largest career counselling platform in India brings at your service the chance to meet or schedule counselling sessions with qualified experts from all over the country. Follow some simple steps from your laptop or mobile, and boom! You get going.