COVID-19 steamrolls the gateway to a ‘secure job path’

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In India, the avenue to secure a good-paying job for many youngsters has been to opt for an MBA course straight after graduation or enroll in a good engineering college. For many, an engineering degree is a matter of prestige and even if the college is sub-standard, they will get enrolled.

The set template for many years has been—B.Tech + MBA or B.Com + MBA. Even the 2008 financial crisis did not have a major impact on this school of thought despite the salary offers shrinking for a brief period.

But the coronavirus pandemic has mowed down a majority of those who invested in this ‘educational route’.

As soon as the lockdown restrictions were announced, the real impact was felt by organisations, that were grappling with operational challenges and trying to deal with the turn of events.

There were many reports of companies not honouring job offers or delaying the onboarding process indefinitely.

While the top students who get into IIMs, IITs and other top institutes were not affected, the rest were dealt a sucker punch.

Saddled with educational loans and staring at a future bereft of the usual trappings of a corporate job, they are now contemplating if the struggle was worth it.

Maybe, this ‘rude shock’ can act as a trigger for entrepreneurial ambitions among many youngsters.

‘In the midst of every crisis, lies great a opportunity’, Albert Einstein had said. A majority of Indians for long have been comfortable in settling for a salaried job and not give wings to their creative aspirations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has stymied the trajectory of a majority of students who were looking to enter the professional world.

But for how long can we afford to follow a set template? Majority of top MBA colleges get engineers as their applicants. Even those from medicine background now opt for it. Nothing wrong with it.

But wasn’t MBA meant to primarily help students from a Commerce background get better career prospects? I won’t mention Arts students in great detail here as many would take umbrage at that. Unfortunately, that is how we have been trained to think!

Those who missed out on the job bus can easily hop on to the startup train and build enterprises that benefit society.

The journey will be arduous but will go a long way in demolishing conservative mindsets.