As of late, I received an email from a rather distressed member of the youth community. He wrote in to me about his dilemma concerning his studies and his future career pathway. With his permission, I have decided to share with you his e-mail, and with it my two cents' worth on this issue.
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When I was growing up, I have always believed in investing my life in building people.
Coming from a full-fledged Engineering background, however, all I ever had my hands on building were mechanical gadgetries. Maths and physics were my constant companions throughout my academic days. Halfway through my degree, I realized that I was not getting anywhere near to realizing my dreams. That being said, however, I continued to persevere and did not call it quits. I gave it my best shot and finished it off.
The rhetorical question recurs: Do I regret studying what I did? Not at all.
In fact, I did enjoy the tutorials, lectures and even (some) exam papers. I believe that to a very large extent, what I studied constructed my current personality and perspective on life. As an engineering graduate, those years spent in the labs has trained me to be a meticulous, rational and logical person. On a positive note, I heard its easier to score in engineering subjects as compared to business ones. (I remember quite fondly scoring a 98% for a first year subject, Computing Engineering)
As person driven by passion, I did not let my degree deter me from pursuing what I am passionate about. As much as a paper qualification is a springboard to better job prospects, I never allowed the certificate to be a determining factor to my career path. Therefore, during the 3rd year of university, I took up the challenge and started my first business venture in a field totally unrelated to Engineering. I co-founded a company that provided outsourced marketing and promotion services. At the initial stage, my business partners and I faced countless setbacks due to the lack of experience. As every failure led us closer to success - by the 2nd year of operations we had a comfortable office, a sizable group of staff and ample amount of funds stashed away.
I'm sure all motivated individuals, including myself, take pleasure in being ahead of others. However, one should constantly bear in mind that patience is in fact a virtue. My tertiary education spanned acrossed 5 years. The fastest way to finishing off your studies may not be the best way to succeed. Instead, include your education experiences as part of your learning curve. Do remember life is a journey, not a destination. Pick up the movie
Click and identify the values of appreciating life as a journey through the show. (Bonus:
Kate Beckinsale is quite a sight too)
Lastly, do make sound decisions in your studies to ensure better job prospects, but don't let it determine your future - as learning is a lifelong process which doesn't stop at your graduation ceremony. Be willing to take up challenges and gear yourself towards adapting to new environments. The stronger your will to take on more responsibilities, the further you'll go in the learning curve.
"Education is the fundamental stage to building one's life, relationship and career. The hunger of acquiring knowledge in addition to possessing a strong determination to learn will constantly give that little extra to succeed in all aspects of life" (www.joelneoh.com)
For those of you who have more to add, do feel free to share your point of view.
To be frank, I’m quite exhilarated.
