It’s exam season, kids. And as you’re cramming bio notes and sculling energy drinks in the library, you may also be thinking, ‘What on earth am I gonna do now??’.
Choosing a degree is hard. I say this as a person who always knew what field they wanted to get into but still found myself tossing up every single career choice in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, my friends chose their engineering degrees like they’d been waiting for that moment their whole lives.
Not only are you deciding how you want to spend the next three-to-five years of your life, but you’ll probably be hoping for a career at the end of it. It’s a lot of pressure. If you know you want to go to uni (tbh, it’s 100% worth it) but aren’t sure exactly which degree to commit to, then here are some hot tips to figure this whole nearly-a-real-life-adult thing out.
Avoid picking courses because of your friends
Not to sound like your mum but if all of your friends jumped off a cliff, would you jump too? Obviously this is an extreme metaphor but mums can actually be right sometimes. Picking a university course is a super personal decision. While you can always switch courses or take a break, you should still be starting off in a degree that’s right for you. Not your on-again-off-again best mate or even a high school sweetheart. This is your future we’re talking about.
How do you want to make an impact on the world? Figure out what you want to do because as we’ve seen in every High School Musical movie, chasing someone else’s dream is not it.
Can you make a career out of your interests?
Speaking of interests, in between all of the studying and muck-up days, maybe sit down by yourself to map out how you enjoy spending your waking hours. Because if you’re picking a full-time degree, let’s just say that you’ll be doing a lot of it and even more so when you enter the workforce. It also doesn’t have to be so black and white. Just because you love maths, doesn’t mean you have to become a mathematician.
Can you use your passion for numbers in data analytics? Do you want to share the maths love by becoming a teacher? Work backwards from what you enjoy (or are at least interested in) and see if you can slot into a degree that you feel motivated by.
Keep your options open
Like I said before, choosing a degree is tough at the best of times, let alone during the middle of a pandemic (that’s especially rough). One way to give yourself a bit of breathing space is to start broad. Pick a degree that gives you multiple options to choose from. Unis like ACU offer courses in business and arts where you can study a heap of interesting subjects to figure out what it is you enjoy.
How do you want to make a difference?
Rather than worrying about what your friends are up to or how cool a job title will look in your Instagram bio, ask yourself how you want to make a difference in the world.
While graduating into a pandemic and climate crisis may feel paralysing, you can also use it to motivate yourself. As Whitney Houston once said, “I believe that children are our future”, so it’s your time to shine, graduating class. By enrolling in a course that you’re fired up about and by receiving the right care and support throughout your degree, you can go on to make this world a better place.
