Planning your Future:- Choosing Subject Combinations

For many final year students, it is time to face the pressure. Not just the pressure of having to do well for your exams, but also the pressure with choosing what subject combinations you want to do in college, or even in University. For many students, they are still unsure which career path they want to venture into, and hence, at a loss at what to choose.

From a personal perspective, I will always encourage students to choose the combinations that they truly like. I have always believed that passion in particular subjects remain the true drive and motivation for the student to eventually do well.

However, I believe that some parents may want to step in at this point to disagree. Some parents may prefer their child work towards a goal, as that "professional goal" can give more career prospects, and their child will definitely benefit from it. Who else, other than parents, truly want the best for their child?

I understand the concern of the parents. They have been through this part of their life, and they hope that their child will not make the wrong choice based on "passion", only to regret at a later stage because at that point in time, the student is not matured enough to understand what true passion is. Even if that's their passion, can this "passion" solve future bread and butter issues realistically enough.

I thought a lot about that before. I have been wondering how life will be different if i dictated my own life back then and enter universities based on my personal choices that I am truly passionate about. I love chemistry, I like mathematics. I wanted to do either financial accounting or chemistry. In fact, I had a chance, because at that time, I was accepted into Melbourne University with a double degree in Science and Commerce, where I could specialize into chemistry and accounting. However, due to certain constrains, it was better for me to continue my studies locally in Singapore. Hence I had to choose again among the courses in NUS.

As my passion lies in Chemistry, I wanted to pursue further studies in faculty of science. However, my parents tried to dissuade me, as they think that science is a very wide subject, and unless I can study till masters or phd, science courses may not offer too many career prospects for myself. Hence I followed their 'advice' and chose Chemical Engineering. I was fortunate to be able to enter that course. Perhaps many people was truly happy for me, as at that time, Chemical Engineering was seen as a prestigious engineering course. However, that was also the start of a rather torturous 4 years of my life, haha. I always wondered, what would happen if I entered science, and major in chemistry or biochemistry instead?

I graduated with average results in University. 2nd lower honors. I strongly believe that if i major in Chemistry, I could graduate with 1st class honors. What I hope to help students and parents understand here, is that passion is a very strong driving force. I sincerely hope that all parents can take a step back, and let your children choose for themselves what they want in life at a later stage. Would you hope for them to be an 'average' in a prestigious course that they do not life and do not have the motivation and drive, or 'excel' in an average course where they love and are passionate to excel further? Parents, nonetheless, can always help to guide, and help their children uncover their passion. However, I hope all parents can leave the final decision in the hands of your child, as they will be living their own life after they graduate. I believe all parents hope that their child can grow up as a confident individual, and pursue something they like in their career, and live a life of no regrets, because, they truly live a life of their own choice.