Dubai: The majority of students and their parents think only about making money when choosing their majors instead of following their passion, said professors and students at the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (Getex).
Getex was inaugurated on Wednesday by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development.
The exhibition aims to bring the latest programmes universities have to offer under one roof for students and parents to choose.
Students and professors at the exhibition said as a result of students not majoring in subjects they are passionate about, there are many cases of students changing majors or working in areas they did not major in.
In fact, a study that surveyed around 400 Emiratis found that if given another chance almost half of the students would not go back to study the same courses. It also found that two-thirds of graduates end up on career paths unrelated to what they studied at university.
“This generation cares about finding jobs that pay well, not chasing their dreams. Today, at the event, students who approached me asked me ‘are you sure this major will guarantee a job with a good salary’. I have a friend who changed her art major twice at university because she thought the arts would not get her a good job.” said Emirati Hamda Khalid, an international relations student at Zayed University who worked as an exhibitor during Getex.
Hamda said she chose her major because she dreams of becoming an Emirati ambassador and so it bothers her to see youth giving up their dreams for a job.
Dr Sangeetha Vinod, Associate Professor of the School of Business at Manipal University, also said many students are not majoring in subjects they are passionate about, they are majoring in fields that will get them a job.
“They are following fads. If it is a popular major that their friends are enrolled in, they will major in it too. Many of the students who approached us today had no idea what the majors are about and did not know what they wanted to major in.”
Vinod believes that schools should provide counselling to students to prepare them for university and help them choose the right major.
On the other hand, Indian student Mohit Athwani, 17, who goes to GEMS Our Own Indian School, disagreed, saying students should be more practical.
“My passion is football, but I don’t think that there is a high chance that I will work in this field. It is very unlikely that I will be able to make a decent living. Students should also think about earning money, which is why I majored in business.”
Mohammad Vall Mohammad Salem, President of Wollongong University, said parents have a big influence on their children when it comes to choosing majors.
“Arab parents want their children to either become doctors and engineers. As for children from the Indian subcontinent in many cases they have their parents choose their major.”
Changing majors
“As a result we see many students changing their majors. The majority of changes between majors, however, are within the same degree. For example, we see an electrical engineer move to computer engineering,” said Salem.
Maths professor Firuz Kamalov, who teaches at the engineering department of the Canadian University, also said many students do change between similar majors
“Yes, we see students changing majors and I think it is a natural thing. When it comes to engineering I see students move from one engineering major to another because they can’t handle the workload. It is not a problem because our programme is flexible, they won’t lose any credit and so I support them if they want to do something else.”
Dr Cedwyn Fernandes, Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Economics Department in Middlesex University in Dubai, also believed that changing majors is a good thing,
“When choosing a major I advise students to major in things they like and are passionate about. The job will follow later. We do see students changing majors and these are usually the cases where parents chose their children’s degrees on their behalf.”
