How to choose the right university degree to study in 2021

Many school leavers choose the wrong qualification to study at uni, often pressured into preferences by other people. Here’s what you should do instead.

School leavers contemplating what course to study next year are urged to ignore outside pressures to apply for a particular degree and choose the path they know is right for them.

Education, Skills and Employment department figures show 23 per cent of students who enrol in a university course drop out of it.

About 16 per cent re-enrol in a different course and about 7 per cent never return to university study.

Some students are pressured by family and others to choose a particular course, are steered towards applying at a university seen as more prestigious than others, feel an obligation to change their preferences if they receive a higher or lower ATAR than expected, or choose a degree based on current worker shortages.

Career Confident director Helen Green urges students who are preferencing courses for 2021 to follow their own interests.

“Do the courses on your list serve your interests, values, preferred learning style and aspirations – at least at this stage?” she says.

“I have witnessed many students enrolling in courses either to please others – usually parents – because they feel pressured, or because they achieved a high ATAR enabling them entry to a highly sought-after course.

Career Confident director Helen Green urges school leavers to follow their own interests, not those of their parents.

“Do not feel you must select the highest ranked university course in your field of interest if you have good reasons to prefer another institution.

“A course is only better if it is better fit for you.”

The Career Development Association of Australia national president Wanda Hayes says students obtain the most value from a degree when they choose one that aligns with and builds on their interests and natural talents.

“People are more likely to be successful in finding jobs if they focus on their strengths and interests,” she says.

“Employers want motivated, engaged and productive workers, and that is most likely to happen when people pursue study pathways they are genuinely suited to.”

Even if students have already made their course applications, there are opportunities to change preferences during the offer rounds.

Students should research courses, and also consider the campus and course delivery.

As well as course content and employability on graduation, services such as counselling, clubs and recreation facilities may be a consideration.

Green urges students to list several preferences, even if they feel certain they will be accepted into their desired course, just in case they do miss out.

“Many students ask me if they should choose courses linked to occupations or sectors earmarked for future growth,” Green says.

“Yes, but only if these occupational sectors genuinely interest you and are suited to your strengths.

Tim Crowe has gone back to university to study something he is interested in after dropping out of a business degree. Picture: Tony Gough

“However, avoid choosing a career path you are not interested in because you think you should, or it is prestigious – even if your ATAR allows this.

“Rarely is the outcome positive.”

Meanwhile, Green says it is okay for school leavers to be unsure about their career path.

“It is perfectly fine, arguably advantageous, to have multiple interests,” she says.

“You do not need to know what you want to do with your life at 18.

“Research indicates your generation will have five or six careers, with transferable employability skills being fundamental.”

Tim Crowe, 22, dropped out of a Bachelor of Business after his first year of study and has worked full time ever since.

He was advised against doing a gap year straight after school.

“I felt a bit pressured to pick a degree and picked my brother’s one (business) because he didn’t mind it and I thought it sounded okay,” he says.

“I got one year in, I didn’t see the value in the career and didn’t think it would make a positive impact on my life.

“I took a gap year, it’s two years now, worked full time and saved money until I figured out what I want to do.”

The experience in his telecommunications retail job has made him realise he enjoys working with and helping people.

So he re-enrolled as a mature-age student in a Bachelor of Psychology.

“(At my job) I had to learn how to conversate and deal with people’s problems on an emotional level, people come in with different moods, and I’ve enjoyed being one-on-one with people,” he says.

Originally published as How to choose the right university degree to study in 2021