Parents usually give career advice to their kids, this may be well intentioned but not always appropriate. Ram's mother wanted him to become an engineer and brought him to Quest for career guidance.

His test scores revealed that he was completely unsuited for engineering as a career - it turned out to be in the 'prohibited' career category for him. What the test did strongly recommend was a management course - a BBA followed by an MBA. This result was not something that the mother had bargained for. Her prejudice prevailed and Ram was pushed into engineering.

Ram failed his exams in the first year, and began to develop symptoms of depression. At this point, his mother's friend (who had directed her towards us previously) intervened and suggested that perhaps he should be allowed to do the BBA as recommended by us. The mother relented and he shifted to a management course.

In 5 years, Ram completed his MBA degree and got a high paying job in a leading multinational company. It is unfortunate that he wasted a year and went through a bad time due to his mother’s stubborn ideas that were not rooted in his innate talent and potential.

Why do parents develop such prejudices? Often, a father who is a doctor wants his son to be a doctor too. A mother who is unhappy as an architect thinks that her son should avoid a similar fate. Parents want their children to cash in on opportunities that they missed out on when they were young. Whatever be the reasons, they often impose their own aspirations and prejudices on children, stifling their natural talents.

Ram's case is not an isolated one. Our career guidance tests have made dramatic improvements in thousands of cases where entrenched prejudices played havoc with the careers of young persons.