Mariam HassanNo one has their entire life plan figured out even if it may seem like it sometimes. You have probably heard your classmates or friends talking about how they’re going to study this at that university, and they seem like they have everything figured out, but you’re still confused or might even be completely lost.
If you think you’re alone, you are most definitely not. A survey conducted on 500 high school students from classes 2019-2022 by YouScience, an integrated college and career preparedness platform, shows that 41% of the students felt unprepared to make a decision regarding a career or a major choice for university and 42% were only slightly confident in the career path/education that they chose.
As high-school students, society expects us to have our entire life plan figured out. However, many university graduates end up working in a completely different field from what they specialized in during university.
The pressure is big, but it is okay not to know what you want to learn and do for the rest of your life at the age of 17/18. You have very little experience in the different working fields, and probably most of what you know is how to study well because that is how the school programed you to be.
Now, the goal either way is to go to university, but how to choose a major?
Step 1: Find Your Starting Point
The starting point which will pave the way for your university major choice is when you set and know your priorities.
Is your priority to follow one of your passions? Is it to do what your parents want you to do? Is it to make a lot of money?
You should ask yourself these questions and see where your priorities lie. Everyone has a different life and has different goals, so it is important to carefully assess them so that they can lead to a final decision.
If your priority is to study something you’re interested about or are good at but not sure what it might be exactly, taking a CareerExplorer test will give you an idea of possible jobs and careers which you could pursue based on your answers.
After you got your priorities and goals straight, the next question is, where to study?
Step 2: Think of Where You Can Study
This is probably one of the most commonly asked questions and one of the students’ biggest concerns.
Most students dream of studying abroad. Travelling abroad for university is like opening a new chapter in your life. You’ll gain so many life skills and learn many new things from the new environment you’ll live in alone. You’ll discover new passions and opportunities you might have never even heard of before, but not everyone has the chance to experience that and it is okay.
A common misconception that many students have is “If I don’t graduate from one of the top ranked universities or an Ivy League, I am not going to get anywhere in life and won’t find a job and will become a failure.”
While it is a great opportunity to study at a well-recognized university which is known to be the best at teaching your desired major, not everyone can get in. Many factors could be the reason for not going to this dream university of yours, whether because of the grades, financial reasons, religious reasons, or other personal ones.
Sometimes what you want to happen to you is not the right thing for you or might cause you harm, and a much better opportunity will find its way to you later.
If you can’t travel abroad for university and the major you’re interested in isn’t available in the universities accessible to you, try to choose a major that is still in the same field/area and then take courses specialized in exactly what you’re aiming for.
This university degree will not determine the rest of your life. As long as you’re learning what you like, you’ll do well in it and reach something big due to your passion and hard work.
You can always take extra courses online or go to workshops and bootcamps. There are so many ways to reach what you want to reach, and university will only play a really minor role in it.
The way to success is your own hard work and passion, because as long as you fight for what you want, you’ll find a way to get it whether it is through internships or courses.
This is Not the End of Your Life.
An important thing to note no matter the decision you make is that this education that you are going to get next will not be your last one.
Never be scared, you can always try a different thing or switch mid-way to a different major.
No one has everything figured out because life can bring unexpected surprises, but some things to always keep in mind are: you’ll never know until you try, there’s always a different path, life is all about trial and error and learning from it, and only you can make yourself successful through your own efforts.
