What I wish I knew Before Gaining Admission.
When I was in secondary school, I wanted to become a Doctor. Oh, before that, I wanted to be an Engineer, Pilot, and even a rapper!
But I got into secondary school and because brilliant people are supposed to be in “Science class”, and well, all my friends were there too. So I joined.
The hustle-bustle of preparing for Jamb came and I almost swore I’d become a Doctor. The reason was not clear, but I knew I wanted to earn a lot of money and be very respectable to society. C’mon! Who doesn’t like the white lab coat of these doctors😅
So, yes. When I didn’t get the medicine course after graduation, I threw a fit and said I would rather wait another year. Then, the next year, my Jamb Cut off mark cut off my chances of entering the well-acclaimed prestigious department.
At this point, I had become desperate! Lol.
My “ mates” were in 300level and I was still stuck at home waiting to get admitted into a department I had the wrong orientation about.
No one begged me to take the Microbiology admission offer when it came the following year.
Sometimes, I wonder how things could have shaped differently for me if I had the right orientation.
Most of my classmates who wanted to become doctors then are all now in one unrelated field or the other with zero regrets.
There are several factors that lead to choosing the wrong course choice. Among them are trying to please our parents, peer pressure, and lack of orientation!
In fact, in a study conducted in 2015 by a US organization, nearly 500,000 out of 1.4 million students believe they chose the wrong course.
There are several factors that lead to choosing the wrong course choice. Among them are:
1. Trying to please our parents: While parents are the people we most look up to in life, and we mostly want to please and keep them happy, a student may end up enrolling in a course to please them. Perhaps they simply encouraged you to pursue it, but you just went along with it out of fear of disappointing them.
2. Peer pressure: I must admit, I had the option of going to the art department, but that’d mean losing most of my friends.
3. Lack of orientation: It’s because, with information so easily accessible, there’s a wealth of inaccurate information, which leads to an influx of woefully ignorant teenagers who have no idea what they’re in for because they’re relying solely on information they read on some obscure website or misinformed adult.
Imagine me trying to become a doctor because I wanted to be respected and I thought it was the only way I could make money!
There are over 12,000 careers in the world! Why do secondary school leavers still think careers are limited to just Doctors, Lawyers, Judges e.t.c?
Imagine a world where orientation in our education system is prioritized.
If I could change one thing, I’d create non-profit organizations around the world whose sole purpose is educating teenagers on the right career path!
