Takeaways from "The Uncertainty Principles of Careers"
Takeaways from “The Uncertainty Principles of Careers”
The most important moral of this story, to my mind, is that 18 or even 21 is too early an age for most people to make up their minds about what they would want to do. By saying this, I do not mean that they are completely clueless; just that in this age of super-specialisation, one often doesn’t have enough information to make an informed choice. One sometimes has to admit one’s mistake in career choices and take the courageous step of changing one’s area. In economics, there is the notion of a sunk cost, which is an investment that has gone bust. The situation is not exactly the same because one does internalise something, however subconsciously, while studying a subject.
The second point I want to make is something that is not emphasised enough. Your enjoyment of your classes in a particular subject (and maybe even your marks in the exams) does not necessarily correlate well with your research abilities in that subject. This seems like a tautology in sports or the arts. Just because you are a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar, Anurag Kashyap, Tyeb Mehta, or Mahasweta Devi does not mean you can play cricket for the Indian cricket team or direct an inspiring film or draw a beautiful painting or write a thought-provoking short story. Why should it be the case that because you got good marks in your introductory biology class, you are a budding biologist?
The last, and related point, is a converse to the second one. If one excels at something and finds (often to one’s surprise) others either not very interested in it or just plain terrible at it, there is a good chance for a career in that area. Of course, the actual “success” or “failure” (whatever that means) depends a lot on circumstances. For instance, if you have a natural aptitude for programming in Python, you would have had a far better chance of success doing it for a living in the early 1990s rather than now.
To conclude, my personal take on education is that it is nothing but a voyage of self-discovery. As Aristotle said, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” If you have learnt something about yourself that you did not know before you started the journey, then consider it a success!
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, BANGALORE
To read the full article, check out the 4th edition.