Mirror Magazine

 

Finding your niche
By Harendra Alwis
Just after you're A/Ls? Nervous to find out whether you have made it into University or not? What if you do make it?

If you enter University, that's great. However, any career guidance counsellor will point out that a university degree alone (as much as it is a powerful tool you could use to build a successful career) is not enough to do well in life.

There are many other attributes in your personality that are needed. A university degree is only as important as qualities like honesty, dependability, responsibility, leadership, patience, humility, management, the ability to work together as a team and the desire to be helpful and sincere (the list goes on).

So what if you don't enter university? Is it the end of the world? Definitely not! There are plenty of alternatives.

A large percentage of students who complete their secondary education have some sort of hope of pursuing a tertiary education as well. First you need to identify that there are four types of tertiary education available.

1. University Degrees (Science, Arts, Law, Medicine, Engineering etc.)
2. Professional qualifications (Accountancy, Banking, Marketing etc.)
3. Diploma and licentiate courses
4. Certificate courses on Vocational aspects

The options that are available to you now and their flexibility will amaze you because if you go back just a couple of years in time you wouldn't even have been able to dream of pursuing a university degree course while having a full-time job! By the time you graduate, you will have the degree and plenty of work experience as well. But with so many options available, it is wise to carry out a fair bit of research before you commit yourself to something.

You must choose your tertiary education depending on the career you wish to pursue in life.

Now, in selecting the course of your tertiary education, you are about to make a more serious decision. It requires more thought because you will be placing more emphasis on your career choice as well as many other factors. These 'other factors' may include academic skills, aptitudes, your likes and dislikes, desires, creativity and leadership, and the resources available to you. It may be wise to start off by asking yourself "If money wasn't a consideration, what would I like to do in life?"

Most of us don't have much of an idea as to what one is expected to do in a particular profession. You should get an idea about the functions that the professionals perform and the type of qualifications they have to possess before you make up your mind.

Once you have given fair consideration to these factors, making a decision will be much easier. However remember that the decision itself is not the most important thing, but how you continue to stand by it. Whatever decision you make will be a gamble you will be taking in life. Once you decide which path to take and once you set your eyes on a goal, never take them off. Always keep yourself focused on your goal and you will eventually get there.

There are many valid substitutes for university degrees that could take you very far in life, depending on the amount of commitment you are willing to demonstrate on your part. They could be professional qualifications as well as vocational training programmes. The qualifications range from "Attorney-at-law" to Chartered Accountant and they cover subjects ranging from Automobile Engineering to Guitar Making.

The Sri Lanka Law College usually accepts applications in the month of April for prospective entrants to sit for the entrance examination in early September and those who plan to apply usually start preparations about a year in advance. If you are interested in mechanics, the German Technical College may help you get your 'dream machine' in working order.

I may not be able to provide all relevant information on all possible career options and details about how and where you can pursue them, but if you are interested and if you want to know more about the options that are available to you, feel free to write in to us.

Scholarships, grants? Check them out
Some foreign universities conduct 'Education Fairs' from time to time. They give you the opportunity to meet officials from those universities and discuss your chances of continuing your studies there. As much as they are a valuable source of information, they don't give you the whole picture about all the options you've got. As always, the best deals don't always come easy and fall on your lap. You have to go in search of them.

There are also various local agents who can help you gain entry to some foreign universities. Their services may extend to making the necessary travel and visa arrangements as well, so it is something you may want to look into.

Studying at a foreign university could cost you anything up to Rs. 2 million per year and in some rare cases, even more, but the good news is that some of these universities offer attractive scholarships and grants based on merit and/or demonstrated financial need. These scholarships could cover even up to 98% of your total cost of studying at the particular university including accommodation and food expenses. Naturally, this also means that they are very competitive since the opportunities for 'foreign students' (that's us) are limited.

Relevant information can be obtained from any of the respective High Commissions of these countries, from the British Council, US Fulbright Commission - Flower Road - Colombo, US Information Service - 44 Galle Road - Colombo 3, Australian Center for Education - 312 Galle Road Colombo 4 and of course the Internet.

Useful websites:
http://icdl.uncg.edu/
http://www.britishcouncil.org/srilanka/
http://www.usembassy.ro/studyus.htm
http://www.austudies.org/
http://www.idp.edu.au/countryoffices/srilanka/default.asp
http://www.info.lk/jobs/
http://www.careers.org/

Note: some of these websites that cater to non Sri Lankans are listed as they contain information about the nature of specific careers and jobs and the required qualifications. It may help you direct your education towards achieving your career objectives.

Private Colleges - how do you choose
There are many private institutions that are conducting

degree courses affiliated to universities abroad and their numbers are growing. It is a matter of deciding what is best for you. Here are a few specific details you need to look into first.

  • Make sure what sort of qualification you will be getting at the completion of the course. Is it a degree? If so, from which university? Is it an external degree or an internal one? How is the university that is offering the degree monitoring the quality of the education you are receiving and how are they monitoring your progress? Who is going to be marking your exams and who is going to assign you your grades? Are there certain standards that are supposed to be maintained by the institution as required by that university? What type of degree will you get at the end; is it a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree?
  • These institutions recruit students in batches on a regular basis. Yet the facilities that are available may not expand at the same pace. For example the number of books in the libraries and the number of computers in the computer labs may not expand with the same speed as the student population.
  • Find out whether the institution offers any extra curricular activities in the forms of clubs, societies and sports. The education you receive should not be limited to your curriculum by any means because books alone cannot teach us how to overcome the challenges that await us in the world outside.
  • Look at the lecturers too. Are they qualified and do they possess the necessary experience that is required to be able to teach Degree level courses? Are they skilled in the art of imparting knowledge and are they the sort of people who can inspire you to mould yourself into the kind of person you want to be in life?
  • When you visit the institution, inspect the classrooms and the teaching aids that are available. Also (as bad as this may sound) check the sanitary facilities. If you are going to be spending your whole day there for the next three or four years, you might as well be sure that you will be able to do so without any hazard.
  • Another aspect could be the time-table that you have to follow. Do you want to follow the course on a full-time basis or part-time? Does the course schedule allow you time to do something extra... maybe work part-time or follow another parallel course of study?
  • The cost is another issue. It will be relatively easy to find out whether you can afford it or not, but is it worth the money you pay? As I pointed out at the beginning, a degree certificate alone is not enough to do well in life. Does the institution provide you with a background that helps you develop the other qualities that you should have in life?

These are a few factors that you need to consider before you make a move, but there could be much more that you need to look into, depending on your interests and course of study. Most of these institutes (if not all) are situated in Colombo and its suburbs. So if you are from the out-stations you will have think about accommodation and transport as well.


Back to Top
 Back to Mirror Magazine  

Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Webmaster