College, please don't just… go to college!

Struggling at the crossroads of the future

Ms. Dinh Thi Tuyet Bong (Dong Phu Ward, Dong Hoi City) said that since her son entered 10th grade, the family began discussing school and major selection. In nearly three years, her son has changed his plans many times, and now he has narrowed down to two majors and is gradually preparing for the journey of choosing his future.

“Compared to before, our children have more opportunities to study, but because of that, choosing a school and major becomes more difficult. If you don’t research carefully, it’s easy to make the wrong choice, wasting time and money. My family respects my child’s choice, but also always accompanies and seeks information to guide them in a direction that is suitable for their abilities, strengths, family conditions and especially future job opportunities,” Ms. Bong shared.

Sharing the same sentiment, Ms. Cao Thuy Duong, a parent whose child is studying at Vo Nguyen Giap High School for the Gifted, said that she has spent a lot of time accompanying her child in the process of choosing a career. According to Ms. Duong, with many changes in enrollment, especially the 2024-2025 school year, which is the first year of organizing exams according to the 2018 GeneralEducation Program with many new points. Although she has tried to orient the career in accordance with her child's abilities, interests and family conditions, she is still concerned because the career guidance work at school is still too formal and not really effective, while the labor market is unpredictable.

A career orientation session at Dong Hoi High School.

Sharing his plans, Cao Dinh Hieu, a non-specialized 12th grade student at Vo Nguyen Giap High School for the Gifted, said that although his parents want him to pursue engineering, his dream is to study e-commerce. Currently, Hieu has been preparing the necessary and sufficient conditions, carefully researching and choosing a school. "This school year, there have been changes in enrollment, so I am also worried, especially because the major I choose has a very high admission score. I have prepared two options and hope to get the expected results," Hieu said.

Besides families and students who have accompanied and prepared carefully, there are still many students who choose their majors based on trends, friends, or leave it entirely to their parents. There are also many parents who impose on their children, leading to the fact that instead of going to university with a clear career goal, many students "study for free" just to get a degree, to please their parents. It is not uncommon for students to retake the exam after 1-3 years of studying to choose the right school, suitable for their academic ability and job opportunities, showing that choosing a career without consideration and direction not only costs money but also affects their psychology, motivation to study and their future.

The concern of parents in rural areas when choosing a major and school for their children is even greater when economic conditions and the ability to grasp and update information are limited, especially when disguised invitations to study abroad or export labor "surround" during the university admission season. Wrong orientation can turn into a risky choice, not only losing material things but also trading youth and dreams.

Career story

The above reality requires that career guidance work must be carried out systematically, practically and closely to the needs of the labor market right from high school. Sharing about current career guidance activities in schools, teacher Hoang Van Hai, Principal of Dong Hoi High School, said that career guidance work has been included in the curriculum, designed appropriately so that homeroom teachers and subject teachers can participate. In addition, the school has also paid attention to coordinating with universities, job placement centers, etc. to organize career guidance sessions for students.

Besides those advantages, Mr. Hai also pointed out difficulties, such as: Career guidance work still lacks assessment tools, lacks in-depth investment in the teaching staff; the trend of students choosing careers based on the crowd, trends; parents lack information and do not really accompany their children, which are also difficulties affecting the quality of career guidance work.

Many opinions from teachers, parents and students also agree with the assessment that career guidance in many schools is still too formal; the content of the advice is still general, focusing on school introduction, lacking in career depth, many teachers do not have career advice skills; there is a lack of connection between schools-enterprises-labor market. The above reasons have led to wrong choices, causing waste; unemployment or unemployment after graduation, or working in the wrong profession has increased.

“Choose responsibly”, a common message for young people.

Career guidance is not a consultation session, but a process, so promoting career guidance activities early, right from junior high school or the beginning of high school is necessary. Choosing a major and career must be oriented systematically rather than choosing based on instinct or pressure. Therefore, it is necessary to organize training and foster teachers to do career guidance work; invest in a set of assessment tools to improve the effectiveness of career guidance work. This process requires coordination with businesses and alumni; organize career experiences. Parents also need to clearly understand the role of guidance instead of deciding for their children, or letting their children "swim on their own". It is time for career guidance activities in schools to be done for real, touching the needs of students, connecting with businesses and the labor market, instead of just stopping at a movement that makes university study sometimes become... university study.

Ngoc Mai

Source: https://baoquangbinh.vn/xa-hoi/202506/dai-hoc-xin-dung-hoc-dai-2226960/