Sometimes we know exactly what we want to be and sometimes we don’t. Some persons chose wrongly and few years later, they realised it. Whether we chose the wrong career in the beginning of our journey, it is never too late to make a u-turn depending on the resources and opportunities available to us. When choosing a career, we have to put a lot of things into consideration to avoid the feelings of regret. I met someone at Students For Christ Camp last year in Russia and I got to have a conversation with him. My curious self asked him what he studied and he replied Computer Science. I gasped and said, “you must be making a lot of money considering that the world is going technological and there is high demand for tech personnels.” He said no that he is not making use of the certificate and he barely survived in school. According to him, he would do better in art courses. He went on to tell me that he is very creative in art. I was like wow. In order to avoid graduating from school with regrets, we need to consider a lot of things which I will be mentioning below.
What are you good at?
Not everyone in high school has the privilege for career classes. Also not everyone that already graduated from high school had the opportunity to attend career classes, maybe because it was not made available in their various schools. I wish that secondary schools will look into this and arrange career classes for students to enable them choose better before writing their final high school exams.
Knowing the courses you are good at will help you have a clue of what you can study in the university and eventually practise that profession. If you are good at science subjects like Mathematics, Biology, chemistry, Physics, Data Science and English language, then you can consider choosing Engineering courses, Medical Courses or Computer related courses. Whereas, if you are good at art subjects like English Language, Literature, Government, Commerce, Literature and others, then you can consider choosing art courses like Law, Banking & Finance, Acting, Creative writing and others. There are so many art courses and so many science courses, you can do your own research to find out more.
Knowing your abilities will help you choose better. You will be sure that you will read and understand and also be able to pass your exams. Knowing the theory is a step to knowing the practicals. Therefore, studying a course with ease or less difficulty will really help you understand the theory better and hence, understanding the practical aspects once you start practising.
Know your background
The kind of family you come from really matters in you career choice. Maybe you are from a rich home, average home or poor home, just know that it will affect your career choice. If you are from a poor home or an average home, you would have to consider a profession that pays higher; professions like medicine & surgery, nursing, data analysis, law, banking, computer science, and engineering. Anyone that studied any of those professional courses is sure of getting a job to help his/her family’s financial issues.
Someone from a rich home would not consider money that much because money is not his/her problem. Having money gives you some kind of connection, you will get to know lots of people in high places. A person from a rich home can decide to study just music in the university and still come out to be richer. The person can decide to study fashion and design and get a job faster because he/she has connections. There are things that are not fully understood but just bear in mind that the world operates in a kind of way that can be biased at times. If a poor student has connections, then he might decide to choose just any course without considering job opportunities for that course but you and I know fully well that it is rare for a poor student to have that kind of connection. So consider your family background before choosing a course.
Check your pocket
Once you have decided on the course to study in the university and eventually practise the profession in the future, you need to check your parents’ pocket. Do estimate of your tuition fees and auxiliary fees for the program duration. The fee for different courses varies, for example, studying medicine & surgery is more expensive than studying nursing. So be sure that your parents can put you through the university before embarking on that journey. If peradventure, your parents will not be able to foot your bills, then you can consider applying for scholarships. Hopefully, if you get awarded a scholarship, you can continue your studies with ease. Alternatively, some schools are less expensive than the other, so find the universities offering the course you want at an affordable fee.
Choose again
Just incase you are already in the university and you just realised that you chose wrongly, just bear in mind that as long as there is life, there is hope. There is always room for us to correct certain mistakes. I am sure that having known that you chose wrongly, you are sure of what you really want now, so write those entrance exams again and start all over. It is better to work everyday in the profession that you love so much than a profession that you don’t love or suck at. Bear this at the back of your mind, you will never get tired of doing what you like doing. It is better to get fulfilment in a job than frustration for the rest of your life.
I wish someone relayed the information above to me, I would have started university education with so much confident of what I want. Nevertheless, I made the right choice, I am studying the profession I love without regrets. I wish you all the best in your career journey. If you want a personalised advice on your choice of career, you may contact us, using the menu above.
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