A critic may argue that the future depends on unknown circumstances. A young man chooses an industrial career but he becomes a teacher. Another young man wants to be a doctor but he becomes a lawyer. Again someone may argue that one does not know one's capacities any more than one knows the circumstances of the future. A man chooses the career of an engineer. But he is weak in mathematics. His weakness is not fully revealed until he has come to the advanced courses necessary for engineering. A learner chooses the medical line. He thinks that it will suit him best. But he has not stopped to consider that he has his aptitudes for literature rather than for any one of the sciences. Most men reveal their capacities late in life. For them, an early choice of a career may give misdirection to energy and be thus a source of mischief rather than of profit.
The above arguments are true in some respects. But they are fundamentally unsound. They proceed from a policy of drift. There are various fields open to us. If we do not make a choice early in life, we shall jump from one business to another. In this way, we cannot be the master of none. Our energies will be scattered wand often wasted. In the modern world, every field of activity requires specialised training. Most occupations are here highly complex. If we do not fit ourselves for our vocation early in life, we shall not be able to acquire mastery of our craft.
The thing can be looked at from yet another point of view. In the old days occupations were more or less fixed. Then a carpenter's son would be a carpenter and a blacksmith's son, a blacksmith. But now a-days the old rigid customs are gone. Now anybody can become anything. Because all occupations are open to us. So there is none that we can call our own. If we cannot push our ways in, we shall be pushed out by others. Therefore, we must make fit ourselves for the competition of life. Otherwise, we shall not able to make any progress.
What are the considerations that should ordinarily guide our choice? First and foremost, we must consider our own aptitudes and tastes. There are many professions that are lucrative, respectable or casy. But if we have no aptitude for them, we should not rush in. It may be said that tastes will grow with experience. But this is partly true. Very often tastes are revealed very early in life before the necessity of choice arises. If a boy is put into a profession for which he has deep-seated aversion, it may ruin his career. Even he will not feel happy and his work will be hampered. Parents and guardians should not impose their own choice on the shoulder of their children.
Choices differ from person to person. Different men have different aims in life. Doctorship, engineering, business, teaching burocracy, high office and politics are greedy professions to choose. But one should very carefully select them. Because a suitable profession is like a torch to go ahead for anyone. A suitable choice can make a man successful in his life. So everyone must be allowed to choose a proper career for him.
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