Short Article: Choosing your Course

                                            Choosing your course

The moment the invigilator said  "time's up, please stop writing. Papers will be collected from the front to the back, students to remain quiet and seated", I've never tasted freedom better than before. Heck, it was an incredible feeling, better than when I had the briyani at the Nasi Kandar Restaurant right after that.  Each and every student among us who has sat for their final high school examination will know how indescribable it is to be freed from books, exams and worse, tuitions. It is not that we hate school or anything, perhaps the expectations gets to us, most of the time. Oh, and also the probability of screwing up our future career moves, is one of the major reason why freedom after exams is and out of the world experience. So what if you're from Belgium, Alaska or Vietnam. Regardless, every grown adult will still remember that auspicious day, a day that can't be felt again once you step into the life of a working adulthood. Ironic isn't it. Well, some would argue that you'd never feel like your're at work if you're working on something you actually like or are passionate about. Thing is, not many of us know what we would like to pursue. Sure, a doctor sounds nice, something like Dr Meredith perhaps. Or, a lawyer, like Gabriel Macht and work my way up like those episodes on Suits. 

What not many people, specifically parents know about how we (the clueless self proclaimed, freedom fighting, young adult that we are) go on deciding what we want to do in life is easy, we fall back on what we know, or what we think we know. In other scenarios, what we want to know. More like trial and error where our inner monologues goes  "Don't think I like tourism, it's too much with public relations"  or "perhaps if I brainwash myself to like it, I'll be fine". These are the two ends of the spectrum when it comes to deciding career paths to be honest. Of course, excluding other contributing factors such as socio-economic status. As the author of Ghost and it's Shadow says, “you need to spend time crawling alone through shadows to truly appreciate what it is to stand in the sun.”. Perhaps someone from an unprivileged or poor family setting would instantly know what hardships are all about and come into conclusion about what he wants to do in life and then decides based on that basis. The burning desire to change his fate no matter what field of work he is offered a place to study, he would do it with a burning desire. But then again, not every kid from a deprived livelihood are open to whatever's thrown at them. And to say that a middle class kid not have the similar burning desire to take up any courses offered to them at a whim is unreasonable too, don't you think so. So then, where did the universe go wrong in helping a young adult choose their desired career paths? 

   

                  You see, education isn't cheap. We've come to this enlightenment, long before the Trumpian era. News on suicide rates among students and the burden of heavy students loans are major risk factors in the realm of young adults who are lost in the sea of courses offered by universities. Laura Warner, a blogger who reflects on the UK government’s higher education quoted that "as much as we like to challenge the idea of students as consumers, arguing that they are “learners” and that universities are not just “service providers”, education is progressively becoming a commodity that we are buying into". In fact, it seems like it isn't more about what you're passionate about, it's how much you have in your bank account that matters. Think about it. If one day, you realised you abhor the course you enrolled yourself in, and decided to change route to another, it's going to cost you. On the other hand, time plays a crucial role too. Imagine, being stuck in a course then deciding it isn't for you because you kept pushing and convincing yourself that it is actually for you when in fact it's not and at the end of that 5 year course you took, you accept it as fate. (More like Emily Blunt on Devil wears Prada chanting 'i love my job, i love my job, i love my job.........). How then do we decide folks?

1. Ask everyone, everything. But what do I ask? Here are a list of questions you could use:

- what is the upcoming job trends

- can i merge my interest with the job 

- what are the job's future prospective

-  will i be able to use my skills with it 

2.  Financial Aid

- look online for scholarships available

- apply to them

3. Go for it with a mind wide open

Why? because life's an unpredictable journey. What if you realize your interests differs from the course you're actually pursuing, a problem with payments due or worse, failed a module.  

And so shenanigans, go with a believe that you'd ace anything you put your heart, soul and mind into. That's all I have my brain juice for. And I'm still in nursing. 

 

 

 

 

By Jessica John Posko