With overseas Universities offering more than 500 different courses, cost of Education going up to $40,000 per year (Rs 25L per year), there is a significant challenge in selecting the right course which does ultimately help in building a successful career for the student. This is the biggest challenge which the Indian parents face once their kids enter the 8th grade. The question is which course and which faculty ? There have been number of cases within the family that there is a complete breakdown in terms of the Careeer path selected by the student against the Career path selected by their parents. Both may be right or both may be wrong. The challenge is to find the scientific way to find the best suitable career path for the students. Thank God the answer is ‘Yes’ this is where the role of ‘Career Counsellor’ fits in. The job of the Career Counsellor is to understand the personality of the student, match with the interest & aptitude that will lead to the selection of the ‘best’ suitable course for the student. There is the most scientific methodology and let me explain:
Step 1 – MCMF (Personality test) – My Choice My Future (MCMF) is a scientific and career guidance solution to help the students identify the right career path. The test taker obtains tangible insights into dominant career-related personality traits, to make informed and purposive career-related decisions. Parents understand salient aspects of their child’s evolving personality in relation to career interests, and support their child’s personal development and career-related choices. MCMF is developed in collaboration with senior professors and researchers at the Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. These tests are ideal for the students from the 8th grade & above.
Step 2 – CDM (Interest test) – Career Decision Making – Once you go through the personality test, the next step is to match the ‘interest’ of the student with the Career options. This test also helps the Secondary & Higher Secondary School students select the right subject stream in preparation to the career option. Choosing a career or further education linked to one’s ability and values leads to more professional satisfaction in later life. The CDM reports six interest area scores, each corresponding to one of the six RIASEC themes which include:
1) Crafts 2)Scientific 3) Arts 4) Social 5) Business 6) Office
Ideally this test should be taken in the 9th grade before selecting the key subjects for the 10th grade and above.
Step 3 – DAT (Aptitude test) – Last step – Differential Aptitude Tests for Guidance – DAT for Guidance assesses eight different types of ability or aptitude of students, which can be related to success in different areas of future employment. The eight aptitude tests that comprise DAT provide an eight- point profile which indicates relative strengths and weaknesses in a student’s key aptitudes relevant for future professional roles.
The eight abilities assessed by DAT for Guidance are:
- Verbal Reasoning
- Numerical Reasoning
- Abstract Reasoning
- Perceptual speed and accuracy
- Mechanical Reasoning
- Space Relations
- Spelling Language Usage
This test is ideal for the candidates from 10th grade & above.
When you combine all the above three reports the Parents & the Career Counsellor understand child’s career preferences and capabilities for their preferences. Secondly, the most important, the parents achieve a better financial planning for their child’s education
The days are gone where the choice of a higher education degree or course is, more often than not, influenced by family, friends and significant others. The Career Counsellor plays a crucial role in steering the child in the right direction by helping the child make an intelligent decision by combining the scientific tools assessing his personality strengths with the current work trends and prospective lucrative careers.
Sources
http://pearsonclinical.in/PAI/my-choice-my-future/
Your Career designer 
Excellent piece of pragmatic information. It’s absolutely correct what u say and I’m on the same page. Well done and welcome to ur first blog and wish u the best for more to come frequently. Keep the good work on and wish u the very best !!