As I approach the final months of my undergraduate journey, one question frequently arises in many conversations with friends and family: “Ano’ng gagawin mo pagka-graduate mo?”
My answer is always “‘Di ko rin alam eh.”
After four years of higher education, I still find myself questioning what career to embark on and for what purpose could I utilize my accumulated knowledge. I find myself in the same uncertain position as I was when choosing my undergraduate program as a high school senior—only now with limited options to choose from.
Having dedicated countless hours to studying and attending classes, I wonder whether the hard work to earn high grades and accumulate units has been in vain. I feel obliged to continue this journey I set for myself, as if deviating from it would mean disregarding years of perseverance.
Many of my peers in the University and in other institutions also share this conundrum as they reevaluate their future. After a year or two in college, they realized that they were on the wrong path, electing to go through a shift in their growth. Some have transferred schools, others switched programs, and some even forewent their education to immediately start working on their careers from scratch.
Although this situation is an age-old problem that has affected many generations, it has eventually been accepted as a part of growing up—an inevitable learning lesson for many to shape themselves for the better. Research by the University of Queensland in 2023 shows that people change career fields five to seven times in their lifetime. There is the concept of the “mid-life crisis,” where many adults shift careers well into their 20s, 30s, and even 40s, diving into personal and professional limbo.
The journey of finding one’s “ideal” career is a long road; it does not stop at college but also extends into adulthood. The local education system dictates the youth to commit to a path early in their lives. From a young age, students must immediately pick a strand of study—STEM, ABM, HUMSS, among many others—to forge their path going into their undergraduate studies and careers. Although the idea of establishing a career pathway early on gives them the necessary tools to succeed in that specific field and ensure a secure future, it is not a guarantee that it is the endeavor that they want or are able to embark on. The naive and uncertain mind of the youth still remains an obstacle for long-term planning, opening up unpredictability in their life plans.
Around the world, educational institutions have adopted models that allow students to choose a major once they are further in their undergraduate journey. In the United States, universities like Harvard and Yale allow incoming freshmen to temporarily opt for a “no major” and explore many courses and classes in their early undergraduate life to find what truly interests them. After a semester to a year of considering their options, they can finally declare their majors to fully commit themselves to one path.
A crucial change we must embrace as a society is the lessening pressure put on the youth on what our purpose or career should be when the options do not seem viable. Young people are not obliged to immediately have definite answers about what we should dedicate our entire lives to. Instead, we should be given the freedom and support to embrace the unpredictability of our young lives, letting our purpose come to them naturally. When that moment comes, the answer will be from a more fulfilled and assured decision than a mere “I don’t know.”
This article was published in The LaSallian‘s January 2025 issue. To read more, visit bit.ly/TLSJanuary2025.
