In conversation with, Mr. Abhishek Gupta, Founder & CEO of INACE and High School Moms

Abhishek Gupta

How do HSM and INACE help high school students?

High School Moms and INACE is the perfect amalgam that is needed in these times of despair and competition for the students. Opting for a perfect career and working profoundly towards achieving it definitely needs a planned procedure and a strong driving force. High school moms promises the inclusion of mothers in their child's personality building because Mothers know their child the best. They know every inch of their behavior and dreams and therefore they will understand their career choices more than everyone.

HSM is a one stop destination for all the high school students. We have almost everything they might need in these growing years. What makes us a wholesome package is inclusion latest technology and apps, networking with professional, details about lesser known career paths, importance of mental health, variety of scholarships and internships and so many helpful classes and sessions for individual personality development.

We make sure to help students from the basics like tying the shoe laces to complex issues like mental health and LGBTQ awareness. We deal with it all. Beside the mothers' involvement in their child's personality growth ensures a safe and sound comfort zone for every child.

What are your key learnings as a career counselor in India?

India being a diverse cultured country brings us diverse and wide range of students. We have inspirations and possibilities everywhere, we just need to find and focus on them. I have learnt that inclusion of parents in career building is very necessary to keep them intact.

I believe all actions stem from thought, so it is the thought that matters the most. From career counseling for high school students, to motivating young entrepreneurs and coaching startups, I personally emphasize more on the thought process. Everything else is secondary.

Everyone needs an expert to guide them while they create a blueprint for their success path. A lot of brainstorming, research and choosing the right way goes behind a young mind's dream. The planning needs a 360 degree approach in order to include every important aspect and areas of life before starting to fulfill a certain dream. Success differs for everyone, someone might feel successful in just securing a 9 to 5 job with decent salary, whereas someone would still be working towards a bigger goal everyday even after having a luxurious lifestyle.

Is career counseling one of the immediate requirements for students especially during the pandemic?

With the pandemic and multiple lockdowns, education in India has never been more messed up. Students from every age group hardly find zeal and interest in studies. The lack of teacher-student interaction and communication due to online classes has made it even more difficult. Students are missing out on so many lessons of life such as teamwork, empathy, classroom environment, friendship, compassion, confidence.
With such degrading spirit of students, career counseling is very important and somewhat the solution to the apathy that's been spread over the students and rest of the society.

Can you talk about some of the trending courses today?

You have to just decide what areas are you interested in and whether or not you shall be willing to put in all your hard work. If you get a yes for an answer, you can pursue the course of your choice.
For example if you have an eye for creation and technology you can go for career in illustrations, liberal arts, UI/UX/Game designing, industrial designer and architecture. Similarly people who are into travel must go for career options like archeologist, travel blogger, cruise ship worker, flight attendant, international tour guide, foreign services worker etc.
Apart from these, subjects which are usually looked down as lethargic like philosophy and psychology, too have many options for building a successful career around them. Philosophy helps you to get into journalism, professor, counselor, academia and research analyst. Psychology on the other hand gives you options to be different kind of psychiatrist and psychologist like neuropsychologist, engineering psychologist, forensic, counseling and sports psychologist as well.

What according to you are your competitive advantages over other career counselors in India and how do you carve out a niche for yourself?

My personal experiences and exposure are wide set from tutoring school kids in Gujarat to starting my own venture and then being awarded for best innovative career counselor help me a lot. It has been a very adventurous journey full of different experiences. It is my experience which gives me perspective and a positive approach to do everything in life.
Whenever I listen to a child talking about his dreams, his future, his career choices ; I think of every possibility to make it come true. I try to dissolve the dilemma regarding career choices , confusion regarding subject and stream choices, options for studying abroad, the right courses for their specific career choices, building the right outlook and profile of the candidate, admission requirement of top colleges.