When graduating, many questions come to mind. What should I consider when choosing a university course? Should I try something different, or continue in the field of my diploma? Should I even try for university or should I go straight into the workforce?
These are all very good questions to ask yourself before graduating from polytechnic, but they are also questions that I never had problems answering. Perhaps it was due to my mediocre GPA, or the fact that I am very stubborn when it comes to only doing things I enjoy, but the choices I made after were pretty natural, or so I remember.
So for the poly kids who are still unsure of what to do after graduating, here’s how I eventually made up my mind, and applied for university.
Firstly, did I even want to go to university? I graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a Diploma in Mass Communication, and I was definitely sure that I didn’t want to continue in the media industry. Hence, I figured that I’d try for university.
With media and communications out of the window, what other options did I have?? Considering I was never great at mathematics or science, it had to be something related to humanities. After a quick google search I just settled on Philosophy, English, and Public Policy and Global Affairs at NTU.
I already had strong interests in these three fields of study so they were natural choices to make. I also wanted to study in a public university because it was cheaper, and I ruled NUS’s FASS (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) out because it just looked too broad (plus my GPA was too low).
Did I have a backup plan? No, although I guess it would only be responsible for me to advise the reader (if you made it this far) to try to have at least one backup plan. Back then I just figured that I would cross the bridge when I got to it. But I never did cross that bridge because after an interview with a professor, I got accepted into English in NTU.
So considering how haphazard my decision-making process was, how am I doing now? Great, really! I am thoroughly enjoying my time in university and I wouldn’t have done this part of my life any other way. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that university really is the best time of my life (so far).
I’ve grown to love academia which makes studying less of a chore and more of just fun times all around. Although once again, it would only be responsible for me to inform the reader that many of my classmates and close friends in university do not share my sentiments, with most counting down to the day when they graduate.
I guess if there must be some kind of lesson or take away from my experience, I’d say just pick something you want to do and try it. Try to pick something realistic, or don’t, it really is up to you, but just try something. If it doesn’t work out, try something else.
I think the bottom line of this article is that life is pretty confusing and full of choices, and deciding what to do after graduating is just one of the many choices you’ll have to make in the future. Time waits for no one and whatever you pick it will just keep marching on. As Schopenhauer put it, living is “like a man running downhill, who cannot keep on his legs unless he runs on, and will inevitably fall if he stops”.
Essentially, you will just keep getting older and there is nothing you can do about it until one day you stop getting older and there are no more choices left to make. Whether you pick something or not, it is up to you, but I’d advise you to just go for it.
