Introduction
2 big suitcases, 23 Kg each. That was the maximum baggage capacity my sister was allowed to carry. As I watched my father help my sister pack all the essential items, a rather interesting thought traversed my mind; to the left of my vision was my father, who has worked for the same company for 32 years; and to my right was my sister, who is about to leave for Canada to pursue her masters and, well, basically start a whole new life from scratch there. I wondered, what was the career landscape like, back in my father’s time? Were they allowed to dream the “dream?” Just how uncommon was it for someone to consider going abroad for their higher studies? Speaking of my father, he actually did go to Dubai in search of a job, back when me and my sister where very little. He stayed there for 18 months, before ultimately deciding to come back to India. He didn’t want to miss the pivotal growing years of his children’s lives.
While I understand that was solely his personal decision, this fact helps build perspective about how back in the day families automatically gained precedence and importance over careers. Understanding the evolution of career choices over the decades is actually quite interesting, and I’d say also important for people lying on either side of the generation spectrum, so that the next time a child and a parent sit down for a career talk, it results into a fruitful conversation, rather than an argument going nowhere.
The Role Of Indian History – The Partition Trauma
The partition of India, as historic a moment as it was for our country, was also a deeply scarring and sensitive period. People lost their sense of livelihood forever, as they were uprooted from places and communities where they had lived for generations. This made Indians after the British rule become a fearful and emotional society. They preferred staying together in joint families and close-knit societies, primarily because it made them feel safe. As a consequence, maintaining respect and dignity in the society became quite pivotal for them. Hence, most Indian parents began micro-managing their children’s decisions, anything that could even remotely damage their hard-earned status.
Its important to note that trauma like this has lasting consequences – Centuries of being ruled over by the British broke our forefathers confidence, and this risk-aversive attitude was passed down for generations. Venturing and doing something on your own was considered a risky endeavour and not the Indian way of doing things. In fact, till the 1990s, India was like a communist state, with the government being the supreme leader, and being a government employee was a symbol of status, pride, and financial security. As a result, things like hobbies, passion, and interests were never taken seriously and families groomed their children into taking the well-known safe careers as their default choice.
Role of Cinema And Media
How can we not talk about the massive influence of what’s considered the golden era of Bollywood – from the 70s to the 90s?
With no internet back then, movies were considered the primary source of information, and had a lasting impact on the lives of people.
The parents often used to get influenced by the role played out by a certain film character, or by their job and their societal status in the movie. These messages got psychologically embedded into their minds and either consciously or subconsciously got passed down to generations. The male lead characters in movies like Hum Apke Hai Kaun, Maine Pyar Kiya, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge to name a few, all had secure careers, selected by their parents or influenced by their family situation. Also Bollywood glamorised certain careers like Police Officer, Lawer, or a Doctor. So, if we put two and two together, this influenced people into understanding the importance of having a secure career and the primary and perhaps the only way one could establish a secure career was by either being a lawer, doctor, or police officer.
Movies also frequently showed the lead characters’ parents pass away due to the inability to pay medical expenses. This made the Indian parents subconsciously desire their kids to become doctors.
So, this fairly large group of parents, who were groomed into believing that lawyer, doctor and police officers were the only viable and respectable career options, who were always taught to play it safe and never take risks, who were made to belive that career is something whose sole purpose is to support your family, who always remained confined to the shackled gender-based stereotypical roles of the society, who never dared to question their family because that was against their values; these fairly large group of parents gave birth to Milenials and GenZs.
Milenials And GenZs: Assemble
Milenials and GenZs were born in the era of the Internet. The Internet was growing at an astronomical pace and it brought with it a massive surge of jobs. There was a massive boom in the private sector, and people seriously started considering jobs beyond the government sector. Information had never been more accessible. So with increased access to information, people became more aware of the various emerging careers and jobs. Information started flowing in from all directions, especially from the West.
The Influence Of The West On Career Choices
The concept of finding your passion, of taking risks in your career, which was not known to the Indian middle-class came to life. Earlier, a career was mostly seen as means to help pay off your bills and support your family. Now, there is a shift in mindset as to what a “job” should suffice. There must be room for growth, and the job must align with your long-term goals. People are striving for jobs having better work culture and a flexible work-life balance. Earlier, it was almost normal to have a crappy boss. Now, there is a pressing need to feel psychologically safe in a work environment. Just because you’re paid well, that doesn’t mean you need to remain tied to the job. If any of the above job requirements fail to meet, people consider switching their jobs. It’s no more the case of fitting your career around your family. People consider moving cities, countries, away from their families in search of better opportunities and jobs.
The continued influence of movies and media, this time from the west too, has brought about significant “Westernisation.” The stereotypical Indian timeline that you’ve got to be married by 25 and settled by the age of 30 is being debunked. While there are still ways to go, stereotypical gender-based roles are being debunked as well. The concept of dual-parenting is becoming a growing trend, and I would even say essential, considering the increasing standard of living over the years. Overall, the biggest evolution when it comes to career choices is the transition from being less of a family decision to more of a personal choice.
Conclusion
Of course, staying in India, it’s difficult to get rid of the typical Indian middle-class mindset. Parents feel the need to make all of their children’s important decisions because, according to them, “who knows them better than them?” But this is where I feel parents have failed to keep up with our generation. I believe the single most important role of a parent is to enable their child to make these important decisions themselves. Parents along the way need to keep up with the rapidly changing career trends, because the world in which they grew up in, has undergone a significant change. The significant evolution of career choices has opened numerous doors to be successful in life, and that, by far, is the biggest positive.