The importance of making the right career choice
Choosing a university career is one of the most important decisions in life.
At the end of high school, young people begin to think about the opportunities and choices they will have to consider for their immediate future: what to do? What to do: study for a university degree?What to do: study for a university degree, work, see the world?
It is a question that we have all asked ourselves at the end of our high school studies, and that does not have an easy answer. That is why many people at this adolescent age have trouble deciding what to do with their lives from that moment on.
Choosing the right university studies: a dilemma for many people
Most young people are faced with their first their first big decisionThis can cause some anxiety or a feeling of anguish given the importance of the choice and their short experience. On the other hand, many face this moment with a great deal of motivation.
Each case is different
Obviously, it is interesting to individualize each personal case, since behind this first situation of choice there are circumstances that will affect it: the family, the socioeconomic context, the personality... Each person who has chosen to study has lived a series of thoughts and stimuli that, in their global computation, have determined the choice for one career or another.
They usually experience certain family pressure to choose some careers to the detriment of others, since some are more highly valued for "being someone in life". Needless to say, the final choice to study a particular career is not the crucial factor that tells us who is "someone in life". The chosen career will determine the field of study in which the person will delve in the coming years, but building an identity or a reputation will be achieved through other ways that integrate many facets of the person.
Between illusion, vocation and family pressure
However, family and social pressure generate in young people the illusion of a future of recognition and social prestige, which is reached through effort and that can be reached through the effort and dedication of studying. This perception is erroneous in many cases, and is not a good basis for choosing a career over others.
It is not necessary to come from a strict and demanding family to experience these pressures when choosing a career, as there are many unconscious judgments and mental representations that we internalize and that play a decisive role in any decision we make throughout our lives. Sometimes these unconscious judgments can be based on irrational, limiting assumptions.
Choosing a university career: reasons, motives and fears
It is essential, then, to reflect on the reasons for the choice, bearing in mind that it is important to prioritize those reasons that are based on personal enjoyment, and on intrinsic motivations. The pressure to find the vocation that will mark our life often generates anxiety, but it is important to remember that vocation is permanently constructed, modulated and reconstructed throughout life, and it is in very few cases in which it is possible to find the vocation that will mark one's life.It is in very few cases in which the individual is very clear about his or her vocation from an early age.
Many students choose a university career without being very clear about what these studies are about, and finally end up finding their vocation in this field. Some people think they know the contents of the university course they are about to take, and then they find something very different from what they thought. Others wander from career to career without finding their true passion. There are as many cases as there are people in this world, and it is for this reason that the first choice can be transcendental in order to start off on the right foot this university stage.
Some conclusions
In summary, the university stage should not be lived as a race where we must run without stopping and without looking back, but it is preferable to conceive it as a path along which we go steadily, while enjoying the scenery: enjoying the knowledge and the experiences that allow us to live the university stage is the key to finding one's true vocation and enjoying the process.
As happens in many decisions we make throughout life, choosing one option or another may have a high component of arbitrariness. Sometimes we choose more with reason than with the Heart or vice versa, and only time will tell if we did the right thing. In any case, when choosing a university career the most sensible thing to do is to go for those studies that really attract us, paying attention to our intuition.by listening to our intuition.
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)