Couple of days back I met a
15 year old. He mentioned that this summer holidays, after his GCSE
examinations, he would like to do a short internship in a bank or a tech
company to get a feel of what life is like in these professions. He is
interested in economics and technology and he figures that such an exposure
will get him a better sense of what pursuit of these subjects can later lead
to.
In their book ‘Decisive’
authors Chip and Dan Heath describe what this young student wants to do as
‘ooching’. Ooching is dipping your toes to test the waters before you dive in.
You may have pre-conceived notions about a job or a profession – the glamour of
being an actor, or the money in finance but rather than basing an important
life decision on your notions it is better to test your assumptions, to the
extent possible.
'Decisive' authors highlight that some colleges are making it mandatory for
students to get some work experience to become eligible to apply for a course.
For example, Hunter College at the City University of New York, for the
undergraduate course in physical therapy, does not admit students unless they
have spent at least a hundred hours observing physical therapists at work.
Ooching sounds great but I do
not know how feasible it is for a 15 year old to get a summer job in a bank or
a tech company. He is a minor and large corporates will have strict rules and
regulations about engaging a minor even for a short, unpaid internship, plus
they will probably not be very keen to take on the associated hassles of
insurance and other legal and risk issues.
But today there are several
other ways to ‘ooch’ what different professions feel like. A tech or a fin-tech
start-up might be a more conducive place for a minor, as would be many
non-profits. In fact, I personally think for a young person volunteering their
skills and talent for a good cause is excellent experience.
Or, perhaps this young person
could request mentoring meetings with professionals and if he can frame the
right questions he can get good insights into what a day in the life of that
profession feels like, what it entails to get into that profession and what it
takes to succeed. To make this mentoring meetings more disciplined this young
person could perhaps start a blog. Writing and editing what he learns in an
interview will lead to more introspection. Each new interview will also improve
quality of questions asked. The ‘Cut to the Chase’ interview series we
had run last year had the same objective – to give a feel of a profession, what
it takes to get into that profession, what it takes to succeed and how the
profession might change few decades from now - http://timelesslifeskills.co.uk/interview/
This youngster could also collaborate
with his friends, conceive an idea and crowd fund it. The idea could be
development of an app, or a tech project for a non-profit, given that IT is an
area of his interest. Or, he could do crowd-based fund raising for a charity. I
know someone who, for her Diploma in Rural Management, is planning a crowd
funding project to get Android Tablets for a rural school in India. While such
a project might not get insights into a profession and it might even fail to
raise the target amount, it will definitely give useful experience of
conceiving, planning and executing an idea – great competencies to have in the
21st century.
In today’s world reputation
matters. The open-source hardware movement has led to large communities forming
around electronics and micro-computers. Arduino and Raspberry Pi communities
are two examples. This youngster could actively participate in such
communities, imagine and share innovative, problem-solving projects and guide
others. This way he will gain experience, have a portfolio of projects and
build an online reputation - stuff that is pretty useful for college admission.
And, imagine all the fun he will have!
Or, this young person could
take inspiration from Amol Bhave. 17 year old Amol, from the small town of
Jabalpur in India, did MIT edX’s MOOC on Circuits & Electronics and scored
97% The follow-up course on Signals & Systems was not available as a MOOC
so Amol, along with two friends, created their own online course combining
videos lectures, discussion boards and elements from MIT courseware. 1100
students from around the globe enrolled, enough to impress MIT to offer him a
place for the class of 2017.
Reality-testing different professions and your perception about these
professions is definitely a great way to improve your decision-making about
your career. And, the second decade of the 21st century offers many ways to
ooch.
