F There are many colleges and companies that select
candidates on the basis of their rank in various exams.
Suppose a company plans to hire the top 50 ranked
candidates only.
In such a case, the person ranked 50 proves to be a
winner, albeit by a whisker.
Had that person put in even an inch less of an effort,
he would have been overtaken by the guy ranked one
notch below him. That is, the guy ranked 51 would
have scraped through, barely.
This is not a desirable scenario. One should not have
to compete and overtake someone else to succeed.
But that being said, this is how the world is running
these days.
This situation arises because a lot of people are
basically doing the same thing. Things will change the
day people start exploring diverse educational and
career options.
We are not against competition, but how much sense
does it make to decide the future of our youth on the
basis of marks and marks alone?
A decade from now, by the time most of you have
your own kids, the competition will become more
severe. The 100% cut offs that we see in just a handful
of colleges will become the norm, and students with
99% marks will find it difficult to get into courses and
jobs.
We do not want a world like that, do we?
But remember that our economy will keep expanding
for decades to come. That will bring with it new
opportunities to learn and earn.
It will therefore be important to embrace newer career
options, preferably something that you love to do.
For instance, I love writing, and if all goes well I will
leave my current job and take it up full time.
Think about it. We are not sheep who must be led. We
are thinking humans, and we must learn to lead
ourselves. ff