My Way To College

In the last years of high school, almost all students keep on wondering: what should I do after graduation? If I decide to go to college, what field and career should I choose? How would I choose it correctly so that I won't regret later. Standing at a crossroads, how do I know which road to take? Looking around for help, there is no shortage of people willing to help, but can I trust them? Friends of the same age are as inexperienced as me. Parents normally stereotype "be a doctor, or an engineer" so that you will be “rich and have a happy life”; or they simply cop out: "it’s up to you; we don't want to interfere with your life". Does anyone want to ask what you like to do? Yourself, do you know what you want to do? If not, then just pick anything and you will probably suffer from your thoughtlessness!

An Irreversible Choice?

Will your career choice tie you down forever, without a way out? Actually, no. But, if you later change your mind, or choose a different field (to study or to work), then you will waste your precious youthful years, and the moneys spent on college fees, accommodation, books... for those years that you “went the wrong way"! Let's look at the case of Mr. Dinh Vo Hoai Phuong, a cum laude graduate of engineering from Ton Duc Thang University, who quit his professional job after three years of work to go "wandering", creating vlogs, sharing personal pleasure with millions of people. Please see the video clip below.

As another example, Mr. Peter Diamandis, an engineering graduate from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and a medical doctor graduated from Harvard University, has spent most of his life on the space exploration program; founded and run Singularity University to recruit and train world-class technical and commercial talents; traveled the world preaching "our world is accelerating exponentially" and "many development opportunities are waiting to be grabbed".

These are the clear evidences that choosing a career at the college level does not necessarily force you to pursue it forever. Knowledge that reaps from college years will make it easier for you to move on (if you know how to use it properly). Success in the post-graduate period depends on personal preferences of lifestyle, passion, and perseverance. After all, the college diploma is just a certificate that the student has completed the course according to the university's requirements. It does not certify the talent of the named person, nor does it guarantee any useful contribution that the person can make to society.

Some people drop out of college, without a diploma; but they are very successful in life and contribute greatly to society, as in the case of Mr. Steve Jobs. But, the diploma is usually a stepping stone for students to get to higher levels in the learning process at the university; for example, from Bachelor to Master, Doctor. While talking about study for a PhD, you might want to take a read of two articles about whether to study for a PhD: Pride on a PhD degree and 5 Reasons It is Worth Getting Your Degree, After All. Some people even asked the question: between a doctoral study and a job to direct a PhD to carry out the research that you want to complete (without you spending 3-4 years required for a PhD degree), which one is better?

What Do You Study for?

That is the question that millions of students around the world must face every year, when they are about to complete high school. Those who cannot go on to higher education fall into the exception, hence no need of further discussing.

Learning to expand knowledge? Not necessarily, because at the (average) age of 18, after 4 years in high school, everyone can learn by themselves, without the need of going to college. But self-study without registration to a college cannot lead to a diploma which is something that everyone thinks will lead to a bright future. But even with a diploma, you may get nowhere if your field of study is not in demand in the market, let alone thriving for excellence.

What Should You Study?

Generally speaking, the more specialized field you take, the easier it is to get a job; for example, between Science and Engineering: Engineering is more specialized; engineering graduates will have more practical knowledge and they can find jobs more easily. Whether or not it is easy to find a job depends on supply and demand in the market. Years ago, when the Information Technology (IT) industry flourished, people rushed to study IT. A few years later, the market was saturated; IT graduates could not find the jobs they wanted, they had to switch to other jobs.

Prior to going to college, how can you predict the market situation in the next 3, 4 years? Answer to this conundrum requires a careful study to understand the current supply and demand (at the local and national levels) and its potential growth. You would need a lot of credible data and a good speculation. No one can know for sure what the future will be like; but following this “thoughtful study”, your choice will definitely be better than the risky, thoughtless pick!

Planning Your Future

Before deciding what to study, think of how you want to live after graduation. Some people want to always make money; to others, money is not their priority. Some people like to be leaders; others do not mind being subordinates. Some people want to take challenges in new jobs, new businesses while others are happy and satisfied with the same job, year in and year out. Some prefer to have 9-to-5 job and spend the rest of the time with family; others like partying and socializing. Some are willing to share and help others; others always want to keep everything for themselves... Which of these people are you? If not, what type of person are you? You should take some time to analyze. Whatever you come up with will be good for the time being; 5 and 10 years later you might change your lifestyle and you will need to re-analyze your situation.

For sure, you must like certain professions. So, make a list of careers that you think you like; then pick the 3 careers you like best. Maybe you only have a vague idea of ​​your favourite career; now is the time to find out more. For example, if you like to be an engineer, but you don't know what kind (Chemical, Electrical, Civil ...?), their day-to-day work, responsibilities, typical salaries, promotion requirements... You can get information from experienced people such as teachers, engineers; or you can search for them in libraries or on the Internet.

Ability

Once you have sufficient information about the profession you like, this is the time for you to find out whether you have the ability to pursue such career. For example, if you want to be a successful engineer, you need to have curiosity (to find out principles and their applications), to have an analytical mind (for innovation), to be creative (to invent new products)... Lacking these skills, you will encounter hardship in your career, and you will probably be discouraged!

On the other hand, you should consider whether you have enough background and knowledge to move on to the profession. For example, if you want to study engineering, you must score highly in science and math in the last years of high school. If so, you can go ahead with your choice. Otherwise, you should think twice: either brushing up your knowledge, or abandoning this choice and choosing another profession.

Towards the Future

At this point, hopefully you have found 3 fields of study that you love the most, including the knowledge of the time needed to complete college, as well as the potential for good job in the future. Now it's the time for you to pick your best choice. 

Next, you need to pick your college and plan your life for the coming years.

The most important factor in choosing a college is often its reputation because everyone hopes that after graduation, they will inherit the college’s fame and will be sought after (?). With too many applicants for admission, prestigious universities often filter applications very hard. With your academic achievement, do you think you have a chance? Since there is no guarantee of admission, you need to apply to 3 universities!

Speaking of "reputation", a reputable university usually has a staff with reputed professors in certain disciplines, or adapts certain unique student training techniques. For example, in Canada, the engineering department of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, decades ago pioneered the coordination of the curriculum at the school with the factory practice program in parallel. As a result, graduates from this school had more hands-on experience than graduates from other schools. But nowadays, many engineering departments at other universities in Canada have followed the model of Waterloo University; this university is no longer able to maintain its "unique" position! Keep in mind that the school only teaches basic principles; experiences and expertise will be accumulated through working. During a job interview, the skilled interviewer can quickly find your weakness and "ignorance", and also quickly discover your talents and experiences. They pick you, not because of your diploma (or the "reputation" of your university); but because they think your talents and experiences will be an asset of their company!

Choosing the "best" school is no longer an essential element as it used to be, because today you can find educational materials on the Internet completely free, available 24/7. Teachers are free from the time-consuming task of preparing their own lecture notes so that they can focus on real teaching, emphasizing important points, and answering students' questions. You can find examples of such materials from Open Educational Resources, Open Course Ware, Vietnam Open Course Ware, MIT Open Course Ware (Notice the advice "should read the lecture note before going to class" so that students have time to ask teachers).

If you do not want to choose the best school, then which school would you choose? Most people tend to not choose the "not so-well-known" colleges in small cities; hence they prefer colleges in big cities. This means living away from home, in the dormitory, or sharing room with fellow students, having to take care of own meals, laundry... For most students, this might be the first time they will have to leave their families, parents, brothers, and sisters and have to take care of themselves. Therefore, in addition to the expenses for living in college, students will encounter emotional "shock" for separation and homesick. They would not choose colleges too far away from home so that they can save time and money for home coming trips.

The next point worth considering is money for tuition, books, food, accommodation, monthly expenses... The monetary estimates for the 3 universities will make it easy for you to choose, in case you get admitted to 2 or 3 schools.

The last point of concern is the application deadline and the required documents for each school (such as academic records, certificates of merit, certificate of volunteer work and recommendation letter from the teacher...). Remember: don't miss the deadline. Then, just wait for the admission letter, choose the school and prepare for the first day in college.

Once you are in college, try to study well so that on graduation day you will be proud of your achievement ("I did it!"). In order to reach good achievements, you need to have passion for what you study. Whenever you feel tired or depressed, use your passion to empower your body and spirit to help raise you up. With passion, you have the urge to learn better. With passion, you can climb up the ladder in your career.

Another point you need to remember is that the world is always changing. Every day there is a novelty. You should take some time to learn more about what is going on around you; not only in your own expertise, but also in other disciplines. Your decision to go to college is probably the best decision at the time; but it may not be so in 2, 5, 10 years later. You can make a move and try other disciplines to suit your situation at that time. Life is not like immutable religious teachings.

Hopefully by now you have some ideas that help you find your way to college. But, if you still wonder and worry about whether or not you have chosen the right direction for your life, about how your future will be like: successful or unsuccessful, happy or unhappy, encouraged or discouraged, satisfied or dissatisfied..., then listen to the following messages from some individuals who want to share their success advices.