We’ve all been asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” or “What would you like to do when you finish high school?”
Some are always ready with the 5 or 10 year plan and some, like me when I was in high school, don’t quite know what they want to do when they finish school. Once I had eventually figured that out with the help of my Grade 12 career guidance counsellor, we then had to hope and pray that the subjects that I had taken from Grade 10 onwards would get me into the course of my choice.
It is one thing to duck out of doing Mathematics, as it was called in my day, because you didn’t like the subject or the teacher, but if you’re considering going into the field of Engineering or Architecture – it would be better to just stick it out and invest in a tutor to ensure those grades are good. Also, selecting your future career based on the “popular” choice amongst your peers is not advisable as you may realise that you are not that interested and passionate about the choice you have made, and by then, you could be well on your way into your university journey.
If you are not sure on which subjects to take and also what career you should follow, consider the following points to get you going:
Career guidance
You can never go wrong with asking for help. A lot of schools and community centres do offer career guidance counselling for young learners as well as adults. The counsellor can help you identify what particular strengths you may have, areas of improvement and also help you look at what options you have available to you based on where you can study, what you can study and the career you may pursue thereafter.
Parents
You’ve heard the stories where a young adult has their heart set out on becoming a painter, dancer or a pilot but they are met with disapproval and are faced with studying a course they have no interest in for family sake or rebel and pursue they’re interest regardless of what their caregivers / parents will say. They sound extreme but it does happen. This is why it’s important that parents start having those conversations with their children about what they would like to do after high school, as well as ensuring that their children are exposed to as many options as possible and to also speak to people who have pursued those careers that they are interested.
Do some research! This is one of the best ways to learn more about careers that are open to you, the subjects you need to have and also which companies out there could possibly hire you once you’ve completed your qualification. Why not take it a step further and try make appointments to go see someone in that organisation that does what you would like to do one day – hear it from them how they got started, the academics, starting out in that industry and also how one can grow as time goes.
There is no reason whatsoever, in this day and age, that one cannot make informed decisions concerning their subject and tertiary studies choices. It’s all a matter of asking for help, reaching out to those who may know more and doing a bit of research – you can make a success out of your life, whilst you do what you love and are passionate.
You might want to read about how to prepare Millennials for university.