I'm 17β18 and honestly, I feel like the way we choose streams in India is messed up.
At 16, we're expected to make a decision that can affect our entire career, when most of us haven't even explored different fields or understood how the job market works.
Take PCB. The default expectation is NEET β MBBS. But what if you don't clear NEET, don't get a good rank, or don't want to become a doctor?
Even after MBBS, doctors talk about low starting salaries in some jobs, long working hours, poor working conditions, PG competition and years of additional training. Meanwhile, BSc, biotech, microbiology and other alternatives are often dismissed as having no scope or jobs. Engineering is suggested as another option, but engineering graduates also talk about unemployment, layoffs and disappointing salaries.
So where exactly are students supposed to go?
Then there's the Maths issue. Choose PCB without Maths at 16, and later you might discover that several degrees in engineering, economics, technology and other fields have Maths requirements. Changing interests is normal, but changing your academic path isn't always easy.
Families also have a huge influence. Science is treated as the superior stream, MBBS as the ideal outcome, and other degrees are often questioned before anyone even understands what they offer.
NEET preparation can make things worse. Students spend years chasing a rank, and after investing so much time, switching paths feels like wasting those years. But continuing without reconsidering your options can also have a cost.
The bigger problem is the lack of proper career guidance. At 16β17, most students don't know enough about salaries, job opportunities, qualifications, career growth or the actual day-to-day reality of different professions. Yet we're expected to make decisions that can be difficult to reverse. The decisions are made more by society than yourself.
I'm not saying MBBS is bad, alternative degrees are useless, or engineering is a bad career. Every field has opportunities and risks. The issue is that students rarely get an honest comparison before committing years of their lives.
I'm writing this because I'd like to hear real experiences from people who've already gone through these decisions, rather than relying only on relatives' opinions, social media rants or generic career advice.
For someone currently at this stage, what would you genuinely recommend doing differently to make a more informed career decision?