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Should I Push My Creative Son Towards Competitive Exams?

Nayagam P P |6867 Answers |Ask -Follow

Career Counsellor - Answered on Feb 24, 2025

Nayagam is a certified career counsellor and the founder of EduJob360.
He started his career as an HR professional and has over 10 years of experience in tutoring and mentoring students from Classes 8 to 12, helping them choose the right stream, course and college/university.
He also counsels students on how to prepare for entrance exams for getting admission into reputed universities /colleges for their graduate/postgraduate courses.
He has guided both fresh graduates and experienced professionals on how to write a resume, how to prepare for job interviews and how to negotiate their salary when joining a new job.
Nayagam has published an eBook, Professional Resume Writing Without Googling.
He has a postgraduate degree in human resources from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Delhi, a postgraduate diploma in labour law from Madras University, a postgraduate diploma in school counselling from Symbiosis, Pune, and a certification in child psychology from Counsel India.
He has also completed his master’s degree in career counselling from ICCC-Mindler and Counsel, India.
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Asked by Anonymous - Feb 23, 2025Hindi

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From Tamilnadu - My son (9th grader) is a creative person with deep interest in tech, electronics and music. From his young age, I see him scribbling designs of various machines, it started with car designs, then robo design, laptop and now he develops good electronic projects based on Arduino. As far as competitive exams and problem solving skills are concerned he isn't natural but with practice he can do. He scores above 90% in cbse exams but I never asked to write any competitive as I felt it would pressure his creative side. Now, my question is should I put him through this competitive jee race or I opt for a Tamilnadu state board school where he has less complexity more rote learning and can get through within top 10 anna university based colleges just with his board cutoff. I am highly sceptical about jee- being a general category male student, it highly discourages me to take the gamble as it may affect his mental health. Also, after all the effort, there is a high chance that he may have to go to a deemed University based on management seats. Now my question is problem solving and competitive focus of jee and conceptual learning of cbse are going to help him anyway in the future in his workplace? I am afraid that he will lose his hobby and strength in the rat race. Kindly advice.

Ans: Admission through the TNEA counselling process at reputed TN colleges like Thiyagarajar and PSG can be challenging for CBSE students. I also noticed you haven't mentioned if he has joined a coaching centre for his JEE preparation. Regardless, my suggestion is to have him take a psychometric test as soon as possible. This test will help identify his strengths by assessing his aptitude, attitude, interests, orientation style, and personality traits, and guide him toward the most suitable career options.

Based on the psychometric test results, he should start applying for the relevant entrance exams or participate in counselling for fields like Architecture, Design, or other areas aligned with his strengths. Consider management quota only as a last resort and if it is financially feasible. Ultimately, success in any domain depends on continuously upgrading skills and maintaining a genuine interest in that field. All the Best for your Prosperous Future.

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