During my undergraduate studies, I was late to a class. Once I walked in, my lecturer threw me a question, what is the difference between a job and the job? While everyone’s eyes were on me, I gave my answer. Surprisingly, he let me to have my sit. Let me just put it into simple words. A job means any job while the job means a particular job.
An ordinary person will reach a peak point of his/her life where he has to decide on his career. It’s all about the willingness to perform any job given or waiting for a perfect match. Any job here means career that is not really related to your field. For example, you studied for human resources but ended up working in a sales department. How about waiting for a perfect match? It’s the case where you studied law and wanted to become a lawyer. That makes sense much. Obviously everyone wants to become what they studied for. But the question is, does the particular market is large enough to absorb all of you? To an extreme extent, do you think that you are qualified enough to be marketed like hot cakes? Think twice.
There is a study done by a professor in University of Malaya in 2011 with a title of "Graduates’ Characteristics and Unemployment: A Study among Malaysian Graduates." The study claimed that young graduates, in specific, experience difficulties in securing their first job and a high percentage of graduates hold a job that does not resemble their education and expectations. According to the study, greater attention has to be paid to the labor market prospects due to the expansion of higher education since imbalances may be formed between higher education and labor market demands.
Besides that, we always think that doctor is the most secure career. Doctors are everywhere as they play a crucial role in this society. So our naked eyes believe that the demand for doctors will always be there. But, ‘No jobs for medical grads next year’, title of a local newspaper article dated on 10th November 2013 changed my thought on this issue. <Read more>
If you have made up your mind that you are going to work in a field that is related to you, do some research before you put a first step into the university. You may check the present hottest high paying jobs, most in demand careers or those which have the prospects of doing so. Based on that mini research, you may choose a field to study. But you can never assure that the hottest or the most demanded will preserve its crown all the time.
Thus, instead of getting ages waiting for your perfect match, do what the world offers you first. I’m not saying that this is the best decision, but a smart move indeed. Life always involves opportunity cost where you have to let go something in order to get something else. You might forgo your wants and desires in order to go on with your life. Only some are fortunate enough to do what they love. But who knows if someday in the future, you will love what you are doing and be thankful. Whatever it is, life is yours. You do your own sketch.
