What to Study?

For those young readers who are reaching the end of their school careers choosing what to study after school is daunting. How can you choose what career to go into when all you know is your home-town, the school you go to and your friends? The world is so big and there is so much to discover; so much opportunity.

So how do you decide what to study? Personality tests are good; aptitude tests are good. These tell you where your interests lie and what you are good at, but also of importance is whether there is a market for your preferred career. What is the point of studying to become an elephant whisperer if there is no work for such a field in your country of residence? If you want to live in India, great become an elephant whisperer! But if you stay in Italy you are unlikely to find work after your gruelling three years of studying.

Here is my tip. As you start coming to the end of your school career take the personality test and take the aptitude test. But also look at the job market. Brows internet sites such as pnet.co.za or jobs.ac.uk or russianjobsonline.com. Don’t just do it once, go back every week for a couple of months. This will indicate who is employing and what vacancies there are in the job market. Sure, the job market changes over the years, but if your interest lies in design, study graphic design instead of fashion design if the job market is that way inclined.

If, however, you know exactly what you want to do go ahead! Follow your dreams, work hard and your passion will make you successful.