The road ahead
Have you ever reach an intersection with several roads but do not know which road to choose? You know that you must make choice whether to turn left, turn right or go straight ahead and one of them will get you to your destination but the other will make you get lost. You know that you must make decision but you feel uncomfortable because you are not sure. What happened if you already have a map and have reviewed it carefully so you know what road to take and by the time to reach the intersection, you do not have to guess. You need that map before you go to the intersection just like students must prepare for college before they enter college.
Many college students never plan ahead and often make poor choice when entering college. That is why we have many college graduates without a good career or not be able to find jobs. Preparing for college should start earlier than most student thought; it must start in high school. Students must plan for the field that they want to study as early as possible by conduct their own research, investigate market trends, asking school counselors, discuss with parents and relatives but they must make their own decision after carefully review all of their options. Many students often receive advice such as: “Select the study field that you like then everything else will be fine.” It is logical because no one want to study something that they do not like. However my question is “Do students really know what they like?”
For many years of college teaching, I met a lot of students who did not know what they like and often not sure about their choice of study. For example, a student told me: “In high school, I got good grades in history so I decide to study history in college.” I asked him: “What do you think you will do with a degree in history and what kinds of job you will get? The student did not have the answer. I explained: “There is a difference between what you learned in high school and what you will learn in college. Having good grade in high school does not guarantee good grade in college, you cannot decide your future based only on what you did in high school. You need to carefully investigate more when choosing a field to study.” Although I teach science but I love history, especially ancient history but I believe that unless you have a passion for history and intend to pursue advanced degree to be a historian, it is difficult to get a good job with just a bachelor’s degree in history.
Another student told me: “I do not like math so I avoid science because it requires many courses in mathematics. I will select any field that does not require math.” I asked her: “Tell me where can you find some fields that do not have math? Math is not just numbers or formulas, it is also logic, it is about thinking and analyzing. You always need math in life so you must overcome the fear of math. You do not have to avoid something because it requires math. Sometime the reason that you are afraid of math because you do not have a good mathematic foundation. Maybe you did not do well in arithmetic when you are in elementary school, but it does not mean you have to avoid math.”
I also met several students who study something because of family pressure. A student told me: “My parents want me to be an engineer so I study engineer even I did not do well. I only do average work but after a year, I feel tired and barely learn anything. I stop attending class, I stop doing required readings, and even stop turning in homeworks. I am planning to quit school.” Of course, I understand the reason that he did not do well because he had to do something to please his family instead of taking the time to figure out what he really wanted.
Going to college sometimes is like being thrown into an ocean where you either swim or drown. Some students will succeed and some will fail but it should not be that way. Going to college is about learning and building a foundational knowledge so students can develop skills. Going to college is also the time for students to grow, to mature and take responsibility for themselves, for their family, for their society, and their country. That is why it is very important for students to take time to discover what is important to them before select what to study. They need to take it seriously and consider many factors before starting college. Only by knowing what their strengths and weaknesses are; what they can and cannot; what they like and do not like; before making decision then it will increase the chance that they will be happy with the results achieved after four years of college.
I found that many students did not investigate about their choice of study. Few would do research to understand about the field that they are getting into. Many selected what their friends have selected so they can be with their friends. Many also selected what their parents want them to study and many parents also did not investigate the field carefully. Today, the world is changing rapidly due to technology changes and globalization. What work well in the past may not work well in the future. It is important to do research to identify the trends as well as the market needs. Even though you know what you like but you must still investigate to identify different options within a field, because there are many subfields and specializations available.
A degree in biology does not necessarily mean you will be staring into microscopes all day. There are some fields within biology involve working outdoors, caring for people, creating and modeling chemicals, and much more. A degree in computer does not necessary mean you will be writing codes all day. There are fields within computer involving working with customers, reviewing quality, designing system, managing database and monitoring networks. Depending on the college, there will also be a different approach taken to every subject. My advice is you need to investigate to see if the college that you want to attend have the type of education and training that you are looking for. You may want to see whether a bachelor’s degree is what you want or you may want to continue for an advance degree? You also need to determine if your education will help you establishing a good career and stable jobs in the future. Does the college offer a comprehensive training that suits your personality? These are all important questions that should be considered when thinking about going to college.
When considering these factors, you must make sure that you are being honest with yourself when looking at all the roads ahead, all the fields that you can select and determine which one would fit your own personality. It is easy for students to be biased and inflate our positive strengths and ignore the negative ones, but there is no point of lying to yourself about what you are good at and what you are not good at. Basically, you cannot cheat yourself because making the wrong choice you will hurt no one but you.
A person told me: “The best ways to learn in life is to make mistakes and learn from it.” The issue is somebody may learn from it but many may not. And I do not want young students to make mistake, especially at this tender age. Somebody can overcome a failure but many may not. However, in every college there are students who have made mistakes and some of them are willing to help you avoid the same mistakes. Listening to college students who are in their second, a third or fourth year is one of the best ways to decide what degree to pursue. You may want to ask: Are they happy with their choices? Do they like their field of study? Are they having trouble maintaining their grades? Even if you only know a few people in college, and even if they are not interested in the same subjects you are, it still might be valuable to ask for information regarding what they think of college life in general. Sometimes you will be surprised by how much you learn.
Deciding what field to study can be a very difficult decision; but if you take time and begin your investigation, you will find that there are many people who are willing to help you make the right decision for your college education. Please go and ask them then be prepared so you do not have to make hasty decision when you go to college, you already have a roadmap.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
