College students should be encouraged to pursue subjects that interest them rather thanthe courses that seem most likely to lead to jobs.

Many college students feel confused between choosing a major that is more likely to lead to better job prospects and choosing a major that they interested in. I recommend that one’s interests and talents should be the primary factor in deciding one’s field of study, since it is where the student’s passion lies in. Meanwhile, the information of related career prospects can also be a supplement in decision making.

First of all, a student’s interests drive heto explore deep in the subject and talents enable heto excel more easily. Without interests, one has no motivation to work hard on his subject; and without talents, one has to struggle with the onerous research works, which may further frustrate him. In universities, I often see students who study simply for passing exams. They copy others’ homework in order to submit it before deadline; or perhaps more egregiously, they cheat on exams so that they can earn a diploma, in spite of barely obtaining knowledge and learning professional skills. As a result, they could have at best average performance in the courses they choose, which negatively affect their employabilities subsequently. Therefore, student should not choose majors they are neither interested in nor good at, just because of the promised potentially lucrative jobs.

However, a student must also be aware of the unemployment rate of his chosen majors. If one chooses a subject that is interesting but unfortunately leads to very bleak jobs, he might suffer a lot after four years of hard work. For example, parents might tell children that they cannot get a job with an English degree, might advise them that a practical degree is the safe bet in a rough economy, might crack jokes about them working at Starbucks while writing a novel in the basement. This is quite hurtful for students who have passion in literature. For the majority of students who come from middle-class families or even poorer ones, it would be utterly cruel to encourage them to learn those esoteric Shakespeare’s works, while knowing that they might end up earning meager wages. Thus, it can be said that students should not choose subjects that might lead to unemployment and financial difficulties after graduation. This might seem in conflict with my first point.

In fact, the unemployment rates do not vary so extreme with majors that a student should weight it more heavily than interests and talents. This is because the job market is constantly changing and usually unpredictable as it can be affected by a myriad of factors, such as the development of related industry. Consider the computer science major. Ten years ago, the number of students choosing this major surged due to the booming computer industry; then suddenly this figure dropped because students were worried about outsourcing to distant regions as IT engineers; but now with students’ awareness of the potential of network and artificial intelligence, such number climbed up gradually again. If a student bases his major choice on job availability, he would be at a loss when this field changes fiercely after four years’ college study. It is even more insecure than following his interests and talents. For some students major in subjects with less job-specific skills, such as literature, they can double majors to land a job with the second major and wait until their dream jobs come.

In a final analysis, I would encourage students to pursue the major where their interests and talents lie in, rather than blindly going with the current job trend. As discussed above, interests and talents serve as the motivation that can guide a student to be diligent and persistent, and it is hard to foretell what kind of jobs will be profitable in the future. So I believe that keep chasing our dreams and we would lead a self-fulfilling life one day.