A MOTHER and her son came to see me last week to discuss the latter’s future plans.
I asked the young man what he wanted to do with his life, what his likes, dislikes and passions were. Before the young man could answer, his mother said that they just wanted a good education for the son. I asked what ‘good education’ meant to them. The mother said an education that gives the young man a good job.
It was not the time to get into a discussion on what ‘good education’ could mean, other than as a way of getting a good job, though this is definitely an important part of a good education. So we stayed with what could lead to a good job. And then the mother said she believed that her son should do something in computers. I asked the young man if he was interested in computers. He shrugged his shoulders and did not seem too enthusiastic about it, but parroted the idea that computer science was where the jobs of the future lay.
He had little idea what computer science was all about and what sort of career one could take up after studying some area in computer science and IT. I could not help him much. Yes, computers are very important for all workplaces and will be even more so over the coming years. But which knowledge and skills will survive AI, which sub-fields will die (some people say programming is already dead) and which new fields and sub-fields will emerge? It is hard to say right now. Or, at least, I did not have the expertise to guide the young man on this.
Very few schools have academic counsellors and academic counselling offices.
What was also interesting was that the young man appeared to be more interested in business studies and a career in marketing, but the lure of computer science and his mother’s strong perceptions were making him opt for computer science.
It is admission season and many young people completing their A-levels, IB and Intermediate examinations are selecting universities, degrees and majors. But, based on the discussions with 30 or 40 young people and/or their parents whom I met in the last three months, there seems to be a real lack of information and guidance available to young people to make informed career choices.
Computer science is all the rage. And maybe it makes sense, given the hype and apparent demand. But what is good for some might not be good for all. If a child does not want to study computer science, and is not excited by the prospect of studying math, logic, engineering and, later, advanced courses in related areas, forcing him or her to go in this direction will be of no service to either the student or the subject. It is true for any area of study where perceived demand drives career choices.
The apparent demand for computer science and data analytics has skewed university offerings as well. Where computer science and related departments see an increase in applications and are expanding to accommodate demand to the extent possible, many subjects and areas are witnessing a drop in applications and enrolments.
Universities are responding by starting all sorts of in-demand programmes to cater to the shift. In one university, there was no demand for a physics programme; the university rebranded the programme as ‘physics and robotics’, or something similar, and students are now opting for it.
But what are they hoping to achieve since the faculty is the same? When it is actually a watered-down version of physics and robotics? This will have a medium- to long-term impact on students, university structures, programmes and the quality of education. Few universities seem to be taking that into account.
There are significant issues that young people should think through. What career do they want? Is a Bachelor’s programme what they need for that? What should the degree be in? What university and programme is best suited to their needs? They should definitely focus on careers and their future, but should also have a deeper and broader look at issues.
One might be spending 40-50 years in a specific area. It should be something you want to do. If you have to force yourself to come to work every day, 40-50 years can be a long time and can lead to a lot of frustration.
But the question is, given that very few schools have academic counsellors and academic counselling offices, how can young people get advice? Going to private companies and private counsellors is expensive, and they are not widely available beyond three or four of the larger cities. Besides, some are also not really suited to be counsellors. There seems to be a significant gap in the market.
Life was easier some years ago. Young people wanting to pursue a career had the option of medicine or engineering at the top. Other options were explored if a student could not opt for these areas. Management studies started changing things three decades ago. For the last couple of decades, computer science has seen a lot of demand and expansion.
Careers and jobs are more flexible and mobile now. Economies are changing fast. People no longer see jobs as a 30- to 40-year commitment. They change employers and jobs much more frequently. In most industries, jobs have also become less permanent. Manufacturing, in many countries, has stopped expanding. The expansion of the services sector has contributed to and accelerated the process.
Today’s youngsters, who are thinking of higher education and careers now or will be doing so in the next few years, need to know much more about possibilities, opportunities and threats than previously. But where educational opportunities and options have increased, we have not seen a commensurate expansion in counselling services.
Too many of our youth make important decisions about higher education and careers under severe information asymmetry and uncertainty. Universities and higher education regulators need to remedy the situation.
The writer is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives and an associate professor of economics at Lums.
Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2025