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Hello Team Liquid.
I am a Business Studies Student year two, although I could have gone straight to year 3. I didn't do so because of finance, and instead I am going for industry work experience in year three.
In Scotland, getting a degree takes four years. However I have already studied what we here call college, a work-skills inclined middlestep between school and University.
But to get to the point.
My first semestre was very imbalanced. I never studied economics adacemically before, and I went straight to Intermediate level. That was fun, but the other two modules -Business and Management challenges and Introduction to HRM were somewhat boring and obvious.
This semestre I have already chosen Economics of Transition, which I know is going to be fun, but moderate reading time will be involved (I reserve weekends for this one). Next one is Strategic appraisal, shich I had to take in order to prepare for my placement.
But with the third module I am somewhat struggling. Basically the choice of what you study is affected by these factors:
Interest in the subject.Is it going to be enjoyable experience? Am I going to read journals and articles in the area even though can easily pass assesments without doing so?
Importance of the subject towards career. How relevant is the subject? How direct is the use of it in your future career?
Time requirements/Challenge How much time is required to study the subject. Very important for part-time job which many of us need, and the other unpaid job- Starcraft.
Studying university and identifying the balance and importance of certain aspects of the studies is difficult.
Why am I here anyway?
University should be a platform for your future career. The degree will enhance your employability, and provide you with the possibility to choose and understand the real practical issues of a job.
But university is not only about that. People have different urges, and one of them is the urge for knowledge.
Did anyone of you have the tickly feeling when you came across an old paper or book written by a legend of your discipline? Einstein, Peters, Boxer, Keynes, whoever. You want to know and understand more, gain the never ending secrets of knowledge and principles of whatever you are interested in.
Another thing is FUN. University is not only about studying. Many people need to be a rock star at some point of their life, and the women, alcohol, never ending parties and specialised circles at the campus provide that. It is the youthful crazy things that you need to do in order to be able to sink into a specialised serious career, and not regret that you dodn't do what you could do.
And This is the dilemma I am having right now. My third modules can be:
1.Developing your Potential
-Very little time requirements/Low difficulty. Medium career importance. Low/medium enjoyability.
2.Business Law for Managers
-High time requirements/medim-high difficulty. High Career Importance. Low/medium enjoyability.
3.Behavioral Issues in finance
-High Time requirements/high difficulty. Low-medium career importance/extra high enjoyability.
Taking module 3 that I would enjoy the most would almost certainly make me study very hard, and with part-time I wouldn't have time or resources for the rock star life.
But the career implication is much lower than in the case of no 2.
On the other hand, taking 1 would mean I would be able to enjoy other activities, be a goddamn rockstar as it has only 6 hours lectures per semestre and lets me focus on whatever I want using the personal effectiveness tools and planning. But I would miss hard on real knowledge and the said tickly feeling would be simply gone.
So Teamliquid, what is the real reason why you are/were/will be studying. What is the most important that university gives you, what is the general purpose of a degree and your overall goal at college?
 
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Germany1596 Posts
i am studying philosophy and I strongly oppose your view on university. Universities are institutions which primarily have the function of education, NOT job training. So needless to say, I advice you to take module 3. If you don't care about education and see university as the place that sets you up for your big $ career, module number 2 is the obvious choice though.
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It depends on your personality. If it were me, i would take the most important one and take an easy one because my time is very limited and if i was required to work then i can schedule accordingly. If i take two subjects that requires high amount of time then i'm fucked.
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On January 21 2009 23:49 damenmofa wrote:
i am studying philosophy and I strongly oppose your view on university. Universities are institutions which primarily have the function of education, NOT job training. So needless to say, I advice you to take module 3. If you don't care about education and see university as the place that sets you up for your big $ career, module number 2 is the obvious choice though.
Only if you want to be a scholar/academic or you really really really dig the stuff that you study. For most, university is just a place to meet future colleagues and get that great GPA to put on resume.
sad but true.
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United States12607 Posts
On January 22 2009 00:54 haduken wrote:Show nested quote +On January 21 2009 23:49 damenmofa wrote:
i am studying philosophy and I strongly oppose your view on university. Universities are institutions which primarily have the function of education, NOT job training. So needless to say, I advice you to take module 3. If you don't care about education and see university as the place that sets you up for your big $ career, module number 2 is the obvious choice though. Only if you want to be a scholar/academic or you really really really dig the stuff that you study. For most, university is just a place to meet future colleagues and get that great GPA to put on resume. sad but true.
Either way, you'll do better by taking the courses that stimulate you most - I've found that my grades and my interaction with fellow students are both directly proportional to my interest in the course.
damenmofa is right to say that universities are for education, not job training. No employer expects you to know the specifics of your job when you are a new hire - most college graduates will go through a training process once they are hired that sometimes rivals their college education in breadth and quantity of content. I agree with him and think that the best advice is to take the course you feel peaks your interest. You'll be happier, more productive, and more social with your classmates.
One more thing: employers generally do not care what courses you took in college. What they are looking for is someone who works hard, is sociable, and appears bright and eager to learn. The best way to develop/demonstrate all of these qualities is to take the third module. If any employer ever questions your choice, I'm sure you will impress them by laying out this argument in your interview. Do you seriously want to walk in and tell them "well, I did want to do module 3 because it caught my academic interest and was most challenging, but I decided to do module 2 because I thought it was easier and would get me a high-paying job. So hire me."
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Thanks jwd, I needed to hear that.
I have already an industry placement in year 3 out of 4 so I will just take what inerests me and what I will pu the most input into, and just rely on the placement to fetch me a better job.
The trademark of Napier (My university) is no.1 employability in 1 year from the university in the UK, and the campaign kindof went into my head.
They offer so many co-curricular modules like developing career, planning your personal finance, pursuing market research etc. ('bullshit modules' according to my Management lecturer) so they make sure they achieve it every year.
But as I always saw it, University is about developing interests, getting the brain working etc. And all those employability skills will just come naturally with the jobs. So I will simply let the future training do it for me and focus on trying to be a scholar for now 
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United States12607 Posts
Sounds like you'll make a good choice. Good luck!
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EPT
