Should we choose courses base on salary prospects?

You might think that it’s quite a staggering number, but have you ever questioned yourself why you are majoring in this course instead of others?  Well, there is always a variety of factors contributing to a decision that has been made, but apparently not all of them seem to make sense to everyone. Just like what the title has suggested, it is definitely acceptable and reasonable for some people, but for some other people, it is absolutely not.

As reported on the Wall Street Journal published on 17th March 2014, President of USA, Barack Obama has unintentionally caused an uproar among the public in January, when he questioned the value of a degree in Art History based on the employer needs.  He then has put a stop to the stir by sending an apology note to the institution concerned.  

Measuring the courses with the future salary as the scale, to some extent, can lead to the distortion of the definition of higher education. Undeniably, salary prospects do matter but is it appropriate for us to take it into consideration all the time, especially when it comes to course selection?

Before we proceed to the rest of the article, you might need to get a picture about Malaysia’s Top 10 highest starting salary jobs for fresh graduates.

(Data adopted from JobStreet.com)

Concern 1: “Only this field can guarantee my future and lead to an easy life.”   

Well, it sounds fair enough if the future is solely based on economic success.. Nevertheless, easy life never comes easy, with or without money. Will you still find it easy when you start to feel that the course you’re majoring in is not really your thing after all? A recent study from Pew Research Center reveals that choosing a wrong major is one of the major regrets among college graduates, which has made those who claimed to have encountered this problem, think that they should have picked a different course instead, in order for them to get an ideal job.

(Data adopted from Pew Research Center)

Concern 2: “It’s always easy to land a job with that university degree that is expected to have a good salary prospect.”

This really depends on the demands for that certain profession in a particular nation. According to the Star Online, an approximate number of 5,000 doctors are predicted to be unemployed for the coming year in Malaysia. You might need to be aware that as you are majoring in a popular course, the competition within industries, of course, will be comparatively more vigorous.

(Data adopted from eduspiral.com)

The majors that you think can make you a lot of money usually cost you a lot of money.                                                         Concern 3: “So what? There are quite a number of student loans I can apply out there.”

Well, of course it’s not a big deal if you are really passionate about the things you’re working on, but what if you leave the major halfway? At that point, you have to make sure you are able to manage the debt as well as come up with a workable solution to cope with your current situation.

To concatenate my thoughts, future salary definitely has its significance when selecting a university degree. Nevertheless, higher education should be worth more than this. Remember, apart from the salary prospects, there are some other factors out there you might need to take into account.  Similarly, a good job is not just about the pay. Good jobs bring you happiness, and this kind of happiness comes from the job satisfaction, achievement and accomplishment at work. Thus, whenever you are making a decision, just try to follow your heart.