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It is important to do “homework” when choosing studies.
“One of the most important things to do before deciding on your future studies or career is to do your homework,” says A. Railienė. The associate professor would advise you not to be afraid to ask yourself as many questions as possible: who am I? Who I am? What are my strengths? What do I like to do and will I like to do it in the future? “The answers to these questions are very valuable because they help to get to know each other better and make the best decisions,” says the educator.
According to her, when choosing a career, it is important to know the environment, for example, be interested in the labor market, changes in profession, trends in its demand among employers and the supply of study programs. “The useful information found will facilitate the refinement of your aspirations, needs or projected expectations for future activities,” advises A. Railienė.
Of course, the current generation is used to or expects to receive all information easily “here and now”, many times it is guided by emotions and does not think about future prospects or consequences. Young people strive to be independent, to make their own decisions, but older authorities can help them choose the correct information, not only parents, but also other family members, teachers, who can provide more detailed information about ratings, market trends, public employers, reports from employment agencies on the demand for professions and the highest paying professions, as well as other labor market issues.
From the abundance of such information, one can not only turn his head, but can also be overwhelmed with doubts about the appropriateness of his decision. R. Railiene is stuck with the insight of a career advisor that it is impossible to shine where you will not be interesting, where you will not feel in your own sleigh, regardless of salary amount, career outlook or prestige. So, in his opinion, it is necessary to understand that the perspective of each of us depends on the joy that our favorite activities bring us.
Do not judge the product by its packaging.
“It often happens that students pass high school exams, but they still don’t know which studies or their field to choose. I always say that this is not the end of the world if you don’t know what you would like to do in the future, ”says A. Railienė. According to her, choosing a career is not a one-time decision in a person’s life, and all decisions can be changed and adjusted.
“It just came to our knowledge then. One of them is to choose the widest possible range of studies that provide excellent basic higher education and are a good start for future career plans. These could be studies where a lot of attention is paid to development of social and emotional competencies that can be applied in practice and required in different areas of professional activity ”, the associate professor shared her experience in working with students.
Photo by Mykolas Romeris University / Asta Railienė
Many years of experience working with prospective graduates has shown that most of them lack the skills to select the correct information and often do not critically evaluate the content of promotional material. This threatens to get lost in the wealth of information. To prevent this from happening, the interlocutor recommends following one of the basic rules: do not judge the product according to its packaging.
“Generally, students associate all promotional presentations of programs with the names of the study programs, although only one is really suitable. This shows that advertising is often very general in nature, it does not reveal the specificity of a specific study program, – says A. Railienė. “So the main and really time-consuming work should be a detailed analysis of the grid of selected study programs offered at different institutions of higher education.”
According to her, it is important to know not only what study subjects will be taught, what is the duration of the studies, how the organization of the studies is carried out, but also what are the results of the expert evaluation of the study program.
Not out of fear, but out of glasses of opportunity
Another possible solution is to take a break after finishing school and start studying and have more time to think about possible study alternatives. By the way, as the trends of recent years show, the so-called “gap year” is becoming increasingly popular with graduates, when it is taken one year after graduation and graduates try to work, travel, or volunteer.
Of course, the success of such a decision depends a lot on the behavior and motivation of the person who chooses it, because if you spend these years of rest aimlessly, comfortably squatting on the sofa in your parents’ house and waiting for someone to decide something for you. Therefore, it would be convenient to use this period of rest for a deeper self-knowledge and the search for studies ”, emphasizes A. Railienė.
How to realize this is up to the individual. This could be work or volunteering in an area that has been considered as one of the possible study options. It is also popular to choose international volunteering in a new and challenging environment or a long-term journey to get out of your comfort zone to try your hand at unusual situations.
“The most important thing is that before deciding on a one-year hiatus, you have to answer very clearly to yourself, what am I talking about when making that decision? How will I survive this period? What goals do I set for myself and what results do I seek ”, emphasized the interlocutor.
The educator wants all graduates who plan to become students to look at the situation of choosing future studies not out of fear, but through the lens of opportunity: “Any decision will be appropriate if made after considering alternatives, taking the time to gather information. and consider your aspirations. Remember that healthy tension and anxiety is a completely natural state in the transition from a familiar situation to a new, unfamiliar and inexperienced stage of life.
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