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One of the most "lucrative" and "sought-after" careers that many many students aspire for in India is the chartered accountant career. Often believed to be a "safe" career, the CA course offered by ICAI attracts over 1 lakh students each year (source: The Hindu). This career option is often considered to be the Holy Grail for many commerce students. Some of the common reasons as to why thousands of students slog each year to become a CA are –

• It is considered to be an elite and prestigious career option.
• This course comes with a low education cost as compared to various other professional courses.
• It is considered to be an extremely lucrative and prosperous career.
• Once you become a CA, your career is believed to be “set” for good.
• If it is not by personal choice that students enter this profession, then they are forced down this line by their parents and family for they (the parents and family) associate the CA career with the above mentioned glories.

What these thousands and millions of students and parents fail to understand is that a career can be labeled "elite", "prestigious", "lucrative", "prosperous", "safe", and "set for long run" only to the extent that the person working in that career "enjoys" doing what he / she is doing, and, has an aptitude and personality matching that career choice.

Each person is born with certain inherent strengths and abilities. Many people don’t pay any heed at all to their inherent capabilities and end up pursuing those careers which they "feel" are good for them, or which "looks good" on others (their parents, friends, relatives, siblings, neighbors, people they admire and the like).

Eventually what happens is that they keep slogging for the whole of their lives – either trying desperately to clear an exam or get through the degree somehow or to get into a good job by some sheer luck and once they get into a job, they slog the rest of their life trying to cope up with the stress of the work that they are doing, asking themselves everyday why are doing what they’re doing; and ultimately, they end up living a dual life – carrying on with the flow of life under the pretext that they are in a "successful" and "lucrative" career whereas deep inside their heart they hate the work that they’re doing, they hate their lives, and, they begin to hate their own selves too.

And, the career of a CA is one such career option where students are made to believe that their lives and careers will be "set for good" once they qualify the CPT, IPCC and CA final examination. With this eyewash, hordes of students slog each year trying to cope with the stress and tuitions and endless study sessions and exams to become a qualifying member of ICAI.

Before you step into the career of a CA, it is very crucial that you ask yourself the following questions -

• Do you have the aptitude and personality to become a CA? If you are not sure about it, then you must take the aptitude test and personality test available at MapMyTalent to figure out the right career path for you.
• Once you know what your aptitude and personality is, you need to ask yourself whether you need career counseling and career guidance. The expert career counselors at MapMyTalent will give you the best suited career advice to help you build a successful and best suited career path.
• Once you have figured out the above questions, then next thing you must know is - What is CA?
• What is the scope of CA?
• Do you have it in you to become a CA?
• If not Chartered Accountancy, then what?