When you’re at school you receive a well-rounded education, studying a range of mandatory subjects such as Mathematics, English and Science. However, when you’re thinking about university it’s a completely different ball game. It’s not about what you have to study, as now you have the choice – it’s about what you want to study. If you’re currently playing guessing games with yourself because you’re unsure of the answer, don’t panic. Something so important shouldn’t be decided within a matter of seconds. It’s ok to take your time – just don’t miss any deadlines in the process!
Truth be told, choosing your degree can be tough. But rather than getting caught up with loads of different ideas about what you think you can and can’t do, see the situation as a similar scenario to when people asked you “what do you want to be when you’re older?” because now it’s time to make what used to be a dream, a reality! Alternatively, even if you’ve always been in the position where you’re unsure what it is you want to study, or what you want your future job to be, it is time to discover what you want to be and become. When going through the process myself, I didn’t think about a particular job title I wanted, as I wasn’t going to be graduating for another 3-4 years. Therefore, I only thought about what was I going to study as that needed to be decided sooner rather than later.
For that reason, I sat down and first thought to myself, what are my main interests? Whilst noting everything that came to mind on paper, I started to put together and consider everything on my list. Firstly, it was apparent that I had a passion for sport, because I had been playing sport for most of my life. Secondly, it was evident that I had a desire to study business, as I had not had the opportunity to do so before and it was a subject I was very interested in. As a result, I decided to see what courses were available on UCAS that incorporated both sport and business together. This was the starting point for my course search and after a couple of day’s research I decided that I wanted to study BA (Hons) Sport Management.
Although this was the process that I followed, combining different personal interests, you may want to do something a little different, depending on what works for you. Perhaps try and gain some inspiration from others? I don’t necessarily mean celebrities or anything of the sort, as some inspiration could be closer to home. Maybe someone in your family has a really interesting and enjoyable job that you may like yourself. Ask around and a relative of yours may surprise you.
In the grand scheme of things, no matter what, you’re going to have an overwhelming amount of options, so there’s a guarantee that there is something out there for you. Just leave yourself with plenty of time to consider all the options available for you. Once you know what best interests you and what can be delivered academically, as long as you feel comfortable, apply for the course of your choice. During your studies the future job title that you want will become apparent, if it hasn’t done so already. Throughout the whole process don’t forget, don’t be the pessimist, be the optimist !
Written by,
Tom.
