Educational institutions should actively encourage their students to choose fields of study that will prepare them for lucrative careers.

The claim that educational institutions should actively encourage their students to pursue fields of study which would lead to lucrative careers is actually two-fold: 1) Students should choose their major based on its job prospect and 2) Educational institutions should step in when students are making that choice. I found both claims problematic.

Concerning the first claim, I concede that job prospect should be taken into consideration when a student makes the often once-in-a-lifetime choice, especially in an increasingly competitive society like today’s. For occupational education, basing the choice on career prospect is quite legit; while for universities that aim at cultivating professional talents, assuming that higher education is solely for pragmatic purposes goes against the very nature of education, which is to enlighten and to fulfill. Students should therefore consider whether the field of study they choose attracts them, makes them more intellectually engaged and ultimately makes them more enlightened men while contributing to the society based on what they have learned.

Thus, students should mainly take their talents and interests into consideration when choosing their field of study, which job prospect as a supplement. The renowned movie “3 Idiots”, which depicts the college life of several students from the most prestigious engineer school in India have shed light to this problem. The protagonist Farham has been drawn to photography and wildlife since his childhood, but his despot-like father insisted that Farham should become an engineer, the highest paid job in India. Farham followed his father’s will but struggled in college with passing grades and tremendous mental stress. Although a happy ending is granted in Bollywood movies where Farham stood up to his father and pursued his dream, in real life, this could be the end of the story. One famous quote from this movie says “Go for excellency, and success would come to you.” For young students who haven’t figured out about their lives, going for money and fame seems like the quick and easy answer, yet often the alternative turns out to be the road to happiness and fulfillment.

Concerning the second claim that educational institutions have a say in students’ choice, I have to strongly disagree. It is the student’s freedom to do whatever they want to do with their lives, although institutions can provide guidelines and information. There should be a fine line between “actively encourage”, as in the claim, and imposing ideas on students. However, in practice, the line could too delicate to tell. To what level can and should an educational institutions encourage its students to make particular life choices? And how would they do that? By instilling ideas without the students’ notice, or by “mentoring” them into believing the values held by the institution? Either way seems like a violation to student’s freedom, and they both go far beyond the limit of an educational institution’s responsibilities.

In sum, I strongly disagree with the claim that educational institutions should actively encourage their students to pursue fields of study which would lead to lucrative careers. Although students should take job prospect into some consideration when choosing their field of study, and educational institutions may provide certain guild and information when they are making this choice, ultimately, students should put their talents and interest in the first place, while educational institutions should never step over the line and interfere with their choice.