Wondering what course to enroll in college? This blog is for you.
Hi! I'm Kenn and I'm a teacher who's based in Philippines. I'll be sharing to you "real" things to consider in choosing what course you should take in college.
I decided to write this guide because here in the Philippines, our senior high school students are about to graduate this May and somewhere in June or July (for public schools). So if you are a graduating senior high school student or you knew a friend who's one, this is for you and for them.
Let's begin!
Let me start by saying this harsh truth that in choosing what course you should enroll, you must be practical. Being practical means, considering the financial capacity of the people who are supporting you or your own financial capacity (if you're self-supporting). Aside from financial aspect, you also need to consider the available resources that you have because there are courses that would need a lot of resources for you to keep going.
I remember my past-self while I'm writing this. When I was 16 years old (that was when I graduated high school) I really love to enroll in a university that offers Mass Communication course. However, the universities that offer this kind of course is too far from our house plus the tuition fees there are big enough to exceed our financial capacity during those time. So instead of pursuing that very first dream course of mine, I jumped off to my second option which is teaching.
If you knew someone who didn't pursue the very first profession they wanted, this could be one of the reasons. This is the reality of life. There are times that we can never really get what we always wanted (at the moment we wanted it the most).
For me to elaborate the first tip, let me tell you now the second advice that you need to hear: Know your strengths. Listing all your strengths down in a piece of paper could be a great help so that you can properly assess each strength. This technique will guide you on what course/s available in the school you are planning to apply with that is/are aligned to your strengths and skills.
After listing down your strengths and the courses that would best fit into it, you can rank them down from the top course you ever wanted to the very least course you wanted. This will give you now the list of courses and options if you can't enroll with the very first course you want. In this way too, you will feel less frustrated of not getting the first course you want since the succeeding options are still under your league. Thus, you'll feel less frustrated of being practical.
Like if you are good in Mathematics, your first option could be Engineering, second option could be Accountancy, third option could be Mathematician or Math teacher, and the list goes on.
The 16-year old me also tried this one. Since I love to socialize, inform, and educate other people and I am somewhat capable of doing it, my first option was journalism and/ broadcasting. Teaching profession was my second option while being a politician was the third one. Gosh! I felt nostalgic remembering those days.
Anyways, what I want to emphasize is that doing this technique is effective because I have tried it myself.
The list won't be completed without this advice: Consider the future. I wish I had someone to tell me this before.
You must think of what are your plans in the future before enrolling a certain course or a major. Perhaps, this advice would also be superficial that time because the 16-year old me was too ignorant of this college thing/ stuffs before. But, dude, I want you to realize now that considering your plans in the future is really important so as not to commit the same mistake like what most of us (college graduate) did.
So what do I mean when I say consider the future?
(1) Are you planning to stay here in the Philippines for work or you prefer working abroad?
(2) In relation to number one, in what particular place here in the Philippines (or in your country) or abroad will you be residing after college?
I want you to think whether you'll work here in the Philippines (or your country) or not. Simply because there are some courses offered here in the Philippines that are not in demand abroad.
I have talked to a many friends already about this situation. They really told me how their college degree didn't help them when they migrated. Others also said that for them to work abroad and to get the job they desire, they need to enroll to short courses and to series of trainings. This is totally an additional expenses for them. On the other hand, I have also known some people who were able to use their college diploma (which they earned here) in abroad because their degree is aligned to the in demand job abroad.
So for now, try to look up at your ceiling and think of what you really plan in the future. Would you stay in your country five years from now or would you migrate and stay in another country for good?
(3) Do you have other passion that you want to pursue (like writing, blogging, and vlogging, etc.)?
All of us do have other passion aside from the course we will be enrolling. What's the good thing about your generation now is that there are too much doors of opportunities available for you. The world wide web has a lot to offer to all of us now compared to the older generation.
If you love writing, here comes Hive with its affiliate sites. There are also companies that are looking for freelance writers. If you love editing videos, you can try 3Speaks or Youtube and even become a freelance video editors and the list goes on. You are just going to register, went through the assessment, and start working and earning.
These things can be reached by just one click now. You can even do it during your break. In that way, you are hitting two birds at the same time --- you're pursuing your passion and you're pursuing your studies. Plus the fact, that you are also earning. You just need to explore the world wide web, try it, and try to learn it and you'll reap what you sow in the future.
Conclusion
These are the things I want to share to you today. This guide was made due to the experiences I had in the past. It may be applicable to some and may not be applicable to others. You can also modify these when you apply it to your life.
I also want you to remember that there's no best course in the world. There's no perfect school same as there's no perfect company built in this world.
Never forget that success differs from person to person. At the end of the day, you are the ones who will decide which road you are going to cross someday.
But for now, I hope that these information is a great help to you.
See you on my next blog!
Thank you so much for the support!