Selecting the Appropriate Course

When conversing with friends, the topic on future plans never fail to appear, at least for the last few gatherings that I attended. Approximately 8 out of 10 will share their intention to further their studies. And their reasons range from a simple wish of upgrading themselves to a more ambitious one of switching to an entirely new field. Having been taught since young on the importance of education, it is always heartening to hear people who have left their student lives, say that they intend to attend school again. Believe me or not, it is actually not easy to convince yourself to return to school when you have been working for some time because the outflow is high while at the same time, there is little or no inflow.

Suppose you manage to convince yourself to take that courageous step, the next thing on your mind would probably be the course that you should pursue. To answer this question, you have to ask yourself just 2 very simple questions: 1) What is my interest? And 2) What do I intend to do upon completion of the course?

I can’t think of a better way to express the importance of interest besides saying that interest determines whether you complete the course or not. For many of you who laugh this off as nothing more than common sense, I would like to say that it is precisely this “common sense” mindset which causes interest to be taken for granted. When someone tells us he will be pursuing a degree in biological sciences for example, we assume (without asking him) that he is interested in biological sciences. In reality, that may not be the case. He may have enrolled in the course because of purely herd instinct or because the government is strongly promoting the course in line with its economic strategy. Very soon, he may realize that the course is not his cup of tea and begins to find excuses not to attend the lectures as well as tutorials. As time passes, his results will get from bad to worse and he may drop out altogether from the course.

If you think that being academically smart will help in completing the course despite having no interest in it, I would advise you to think again because forcing yourself will only result in a waste of precious time and perhaps, a paper certificate you will not value.

The job that you intend to take up upon completion of the course also helps in deciding the course that you should pursue. For practical reasons, it is not necessary to pursue courses beyond the requirements of the job because it will result in over-qualification and waste of both money as well as time. As an example, if you intend to be a certified freelance translator who works from home, a diploma in translation will probably suffice. If you intend to work as a translator who accompanies the head of state on his visits, then a master or even a PhD in translation may be necessary.

If you have the answers to these 2 questions, deciding the course to pursue will be a breeze.