Another advice to high school graduates
When you were young, how many of you have heard your parents asked: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Of course, you may say: “I want to be a doctor, a scientist, or a hero.” Now as high school graduates ready to go to college, that question is getting more serious than ever before.There are many advices such as “Do whatever you want to do.” Or “Follow your passion.” Or “Learn something fun.” Or even “Study anything as long as you graduate from college” etc. But in this competitive job market with high numbers of unemployed college graduates, those advices may not be valid as you must be more practical to prepare for your future.
As high school graduates, it is important for you to investigate several fields of study and plan your career as soon as possible. Few years ago, a student told me that he wanted to “follow his passion.” I asked him: “What is your passion?” He hesitated and listed many things from music, arts, photography to literature so I asked: “Since you have many interests, which one do you want to do for the rest of your life? And which one do you think you will earn a living from?” He could not come up with an answer. Basically many young people confuse between what they like and what their career would be. A career is a profession that requires efforts and training which helps you to make a living. What you like are activities that you pursue for enjoyment and these are not considered a career. You can be a doctor as a profession but play music instruments because you like music; or you can make a living as a software developer but you like photography as a special interest etc. Many students also do not distinguish the difference between a job and a career. A job is something you do to get paid, while a career is about a lifetime fulfillment profession that allows you to provide for yourself and your family. Anyone can get job as it usually does not require an extensive education but a career often requires a lot of trainings and efforts.
Deciding on a field to study in college and future career are difficult, especially for students who are just finishing high school. It can seem “impossible” to determine at the age of eighteen on what you want to do for the rest of your life, but choosing a field of study early will help you to set the right direction for your future. As high school graduates, you may want to work with your school’s advisors to select the field of study. You must check with the college‘s career office to get information about its graduates and how they are getting job offers relating to their education. The best way is to ask students in the school that you are interested in enrolling to learn more about certain programs before making a decision. Last year a student wrote to me that although he thought Computer science, Software engineering was good fields of study but he was afraid that they were difficult and required a lot of works. I answered him that it would be much more difficult and require much more efforts to find a job if he chose something “easy and fun” in college. I also told him that he could spend four years working hard then enjoyed the rest of his life or enjoyed an “easy and fun” life for four years then spent the rest of his life looking for work.
Today the best fields of study are in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) because there are not enough graduates in these areas and the world needs more people in these fields. Why there are fewer students studying STEM? Because many of them are afraid of something difficult and they do not want to work hard. Many college students believe that the time in college is the best time to enjoy, having fun, to party and to get into special relationships etc. These are notions that they get from romantic novels, movies, music and other fictions. Last year a student from China told me: “When I was in China, watching American movies I saw that everybody was enjoying life and it seemed that nobody was working until I came here. It was shocking to see that everybody is working so hard, much more than in my country.” I told him: “Imagine that they are making movies where everybody is working hard then who are going to see that kind of movies? Movies, music, romantic novels are for pleasure, for enjoyment but they are far from the truth.”
As students, you must be proactive to investigate the right fields of study to pursue. Go to the internet, check out some educational websites, and attend technology events such as workshops and seminars to learn more. Speak with other students who are enrolled in the schools that you are considering. Being proactive in your search for a field of study that can help you to build a strong career in the future. After all, it is your life; it is your future and your career.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
