CHOOSING CAREERS.

Hokitika Guardian, 10 December 1927, Page 4

CHOOSING CAREERS.

The choice ui a career was always a problem which harassed the majority of parents and puzzled the majority ol sons. In these days, when the inheritance of a comfortable income or an assured position is only for a very lew, when competition in every profession is more abundant and severe, and specialisation is such that to turn from one to another is almost impossible, the i mportance of making a wise choice, and making it in good time, is recognised with general anxiety. When the Provost of University College, London, undertakes to advise us he speaks with authority. The head of an institution so large and with so many departments has special opportunities ol knowing what are the best careers which the world has to offer tit the moment to educated youth, and in what points of character and intellect our young people are unequal to the demand. Sir Gregory Foster’s chief complaint is that the rising generation arc suffering from the cult ot “ safety first.” We have heard before that young men and women now prefer a career in which they can obtain a secure though humble position rather than the more interesting hut adventurous professions. It is probably a mistake to infer from this tendency any decadence in the spirit ot youth. Nowadays a great many young people are receiving a University education who cannot afford to enter a profession which does not offer an immediate livelihood. The number of those whose resources allow them to wait lor a problematic success is smaller than of old, and very much smaller in proportion to those in residence at the Universities.