University lecturers "advise" how to choose a major and school

MSc. Duong Minh Tu – Deputy Dean of Business Administration Faculty, Dai Nam University

Choosing a career and choosing a school to study are very important decisions, especially for students who are entering a turning point in their lives. Because these decisions have a great impact on their future. The question here is how to choose a career and a school that is suitable for them. This article will suggest some tools to help students have more confidence in making the right decision.

How to choose the right major?

In reality, many students choose their major based on their own interests. In addition, some students follow the guidance of their families or are persuaded by their friends. Some even choose based on their feelings, such as "seeing that major is strange or interesting" and immediately choosing it without careful consideration. It is these ruts that lead most of the students mentioned above to feel disappointed with their choice. So, what is the solution?

The Hedgehog Concept originates from a Greek fable between a hedgehog and a fox. The fox, although cunning and knowledgeable, always loses to the hedgehog, who is a bit slow but understands its strengths very well. The above fable aims to demonstrate the fact that focusing on your strongest points will give you a competitive advantage.

To apply the Hedgehog Theory, you need to answer three questions, corresponding to three circles.

First, what industry or field do you really like?

For many students, this question is not difficult to answer. Because when they reach secondary school, they have begun to form interests in some common professions in society such as doctors, teachers, soldiers, etc. However, for some students, by grade 12, they still do not really know what profession or job they like. For these students, they need to talk to themselves more and be really serious to find a job they love, or simply are interested in.

Second, what are your strengths?

Before answering this question, you should find out what qualities and abilities are required for the career you love above. Then, be aware of yourself and write down your strengths. Note that these strengths must be related to the job you love. For example, when you were in high school, you were an active, active class leader, confident in communication, then those could be plus points when you study business administration. Or if you are good at literature, have good writing skills, and the ability to speak attractively, then that is an advantage if you choose public relations, communications, etc.

Third, what professions and fields are in high demand in society?

This question is probably the most difficult for every high school student. Therefore, you should consult more information from your parents, teachers and reliable channels to have a view on job trends in society. For example, you notice that the media always talks about "Industrial Revolution 4.0", which means that the demand for jobs in the information technology field is very high. Or like the information that every year Vietnam welcomes tens of millions of foreign tourists, not to mention the number of domestic tourists. That information shows us the wide open opportunities for job positions in the tourism sector...

In short, the career that suits you is the intersection of the three circles above. These are the factors : You like, you are good at and society needs . If you choose a career that satisfies the three criteria above, you will definitely succeed. To reinforce this conclusion, we can take many examples in reality. For example, the case of player Nguyen Quang Hai, the number 1 brightest star of Vietnamese football today. Obviously, he chose the right career according to 3 criteria: he really likes football, his personal skills are very skillful and especially the football career is very "hot" because the number of professional players calculated according to the population ratio is very small and Vietnamese people are very passionate about football.

How to choose the right school?

After choosing a suitable career, the next step is also quite difficult for students: choosing a school to study. The school is not only the place where you will spend 3-4 years of your youth, but it also has a great impact on your future abilities. So how to choose a school to help you go in the right direction on the chosen career path?

No matter who you are or what industry you work in, you always have to make decisions in life and work. The “ Rational Decision Making ” model is often applied by politicians and administrators to improve the quality of the decision-making process. Of course, students can also apply this model to their personal decision-making. The model consists of 6 steps as follows:

We will not go into the details of the theory and go straight to how to apply this model in making decisions about choosing a school. Let's follow the steps below:

Step 1: Identify the problem

This step is quite simple, you have to clearly define your direction. You will choose university, vocational school, study abroad or other options. Suppose here, you decide to choose to study at a university in your country.

Step 2: Identify decision criteria

List the criteria that a university must have to ensure the quality of training. Note that these criteria must be clear and specific, for example: Teaching staff, facilities, training programs, employment rate of students after graduation, tuition fees... (You can visit the website of each school or contact the admissions department of the school for official information)

Step 3: Evaluate the criteria

You need to arrange the criteria in step 2 in order of priority and attach weights according to their level of importance. For example: Criterion 1: Teaching staff (0.5); Criterion 2: Facilities (0.2), Criterion 3: Training program (0.2); Criterion 4: Tuition (0.1).

Step 4: Propose solutions

It is you listing the schools that offer training in the profession you choose, of course on the basis that you are qualified to study at that school.

Step 5: Evaluate the options according to each criterion

This is the step of comparing and scoring the schools. For example, if you score University A according to the 4 criteria in Step 3 with the scores of 8,9,8,6, the total score of that school will be: 8*0.5 + 9*0.2 + 8*0.2 + 6*0.1 = 8 (points). Do the same with other schools. Note that in order to score the criteria, you must find out the exact information related to that criterion.

Step 6: Calculate the best and decide

After scoring in step 5, you now have a list of schools and their rankings based on your assessment. Now you have an important basis for making a decision.

In fact, some students choose their majors and schools based on their feelings, that is, without using any tools. However, these decisions are often of low quality. Therefore, each student and parent needs to consider carefully and use tools before making decisions, especially important decisions.