Howdy! My name is Benjamin and I am in my second year of a commerce/arts degree at Melbourne University.
I remember the majority of my high school years up to year 11 as quite frustrating. Frustrating because high school was quite dull. I saw the subjects being taught as dry (in the majority of cases), but also unpractical. I almost quit high school at the start of year 9 as I just couldn’t see exactly how six years of education in high school could possibly help me in life.
Thankfully, I didn’t drop out, but grudgingly switched schools as I realised that a VCE certificate might be handy for employment. That said, I messed around a lot academically, deliberately failing many subjects until year 11.
In year 10 I had some vague idea of wanting to become a lawyer, and hence, study law. I talked to teachers at school about this, receiving some helpful and encouraging advice, mostly “you’ll have to study a lot harder”. Visiting the County Court on an excursion helped to further my interest in a career in law. That said, in year 10 I wasn’t really focused on being a lawyer, I just thought it would be fun!
It took me until year 12 to finally sit down and evaluate whether to go to university and what to study if I went there. I decided to go to university because I was studying some subjects that I really enjoyed (especially economics), and concluded that studying and learning more would be cool and lead to a fun and exciting career. Sitting down and evaluating post-VCE options was a tough process, considering that I didn’t have the fanatical vision that some of my friends had for their future career paths.
My family were very supportive of my choice to go to uni, with some of my teachers helping me evaluate my options by being approachable and responding to my queries. The open days at uni were an invaluable resource in determining my future study.
Choosing to go to uni was a fantastic decision. I have made new friends and study in a great atmosphere. Uni is a bit more laid back than I thought (well, in first year at least). Lectures and tutorials are scheduled to your desired times, with far more interactive learning.
After I finish my commerce/arts degree, I am planning to study economics at postgraduate level to get a PhD, followed by some study in biblical theology. These are both now passions of mine. I haven’t created a direct career path for myself yet, but I’m not worried, seeing that study at uni allows me more time to think about my many options.
If you’re in year 10 and thinking that further study is not for you, I would advise you just to think very slowly and carefully about any decision you make. Choose subjects in year 11 that you know you’re going to like and see where that leads you. Further study is not for everyone, but it is also a key resource that’s under-utilised by people who don’t think they could handle it.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a career in mind yet; at your age you shouldn’t be expected to. Heck, I’m still toying with options! If you do decide to do further study make sure it is something that you want to do, otherwise you will find further study quite tough.