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MindFusion
April 9th, 2010, 02:58 PM
Hi everyone.
Now I know that I don't know all of you, but I'm in a difficult stage of my life; I'm 17 and I have to choose what I want to study next year. Now first of all, I live in Belgium, and the Belgian educational system is quite different from the American or English system. I have relatives in the UK that say that they only had 4 courses in high school, which they chose when they were 16. In Belgium, this is not the case. In Belgium everyone has to take AT LEAST 15 courses (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, French, German, Dutch, English, Physical Education, Esthetics, Geography, Religion, History, Spanish, Economics/Classical languages/Psychology) from when you're 12 'till your 18. This has always been this way, and a lot of you will probably think the Belgians are mad taking 15 courses every week. Well, most courses are only 2 hours each week, and we have about 34 hours of school each week so that pretty much figures.

Well anyways, you might make a remark now that there is very little choice, but that's not quite true as well, you can choose how much of each main subject you want (in terms of hours a week) with a minimum of 3 hours and a maximum of 8 hours. I've chosen mathematics 3 hours for example and classical languages 8 hours. This means that I'm ahead if i want to study some language direction at university, but far behind if I want to study anything with maths at university.

Now for all those who've managed to read my intro, I'll begin now with the real question. I've wondered a long time now what I should study next year at university, and I really have no clue. My interests are languages, computer, history and films. These are some possible directions:

-Applied IT-science (applied because the regular IT would require a lot of mathematical background)
-Russian studies (features russian and german)
-Law
-History
-Art History with a master in Films

Any other suggestions are welcome...

Please help!

Tristam Green
April 9th, 2010, 03:01 PM
You sound a lot like the interests I have. I really wanted to graduate with a degree in History, with focus on the Middle Ages, and minor in computer science.

My dream career? Helping movie studios make films more historically accurate. :)

I don't have much advice other than to do what you want to do, and don't wait too long to change your mind. You may get stuck doing something you don't like :)

cespinal
April 9th, 2010, 03:08 PM
From a completely capitalist perspective. Go for IT...I know dream careers are compelling, but then, when you are on them and you find it hard to get good jobs, maybe you will look back and reconsider things.

I totally love my career, I doing what I always wanted to do and it doesnt seem I am getting a nice job in the near future... Am I happy? yes. But worried, too.

jfreak_
April 9th, 2010, 03:31 PM
Do whatever is possible , you like it and there is a career future ($$$)
:lolflag:

c00lwaterz
April 9th, 2010, 04:49 PM
study the things that will make you go further. look forward and see the vision on far far way. I mean think big.

dragos240
April 9th, 2010, 04:52 PM
What about UNIX. I bet they have a UNIX class.

standingwave
April 9th, 2010, 09:16 PM
Applied Mathematics: Partial differential equations; Fourier series and integrals; Bessel functions; Calculus of variations; Vector calculus

LowSky
April 9th, 2010, 10:18 PM
I'm know nothing of foriegn undergraduate studies, but it really doesn't matter. Do what you love. Forget the money, unless of course you don't have any love of work, then do the best job for the money so you have enough to do what you love as your hobby.

Ruzbeh
April 10th, 2010, 12:35 AM
If you haven't already, read stuff about people who are in the fields you are considering. If you consider history, read up on some famous historian and read why he/she became a historian, and so on. Something like that might inspire you. And believe me... inspiration is very important. I was in your position when I was your age, and it was terrible. I got out of it, but I'm very sad that I did not realize who my heroes were when I was younger.

squilookle
April 10th, 2010, 12:53 AM
Hi everyone. <br />
Now I know that I don't know all of you, but I'm in a difficult stage of my life; I'm 17 and I have to choose what I want to study next year. Now first of all, I live in Belgium, and the Belgian educational system is quite different from the American or English system. I have relatives in the UK that say that they only had 4 courses in high school, which they chose when they were 16. <br />
<br />

I can confirm those differences between the Belgisn and UK systems: I'm from the UK and my fiancee is Belgian, and I've heard about it. :)

There is already some great advice in this thread.

Good luck making the right choices.

lisati
April 10th, 2010, 01:05 AM
Is there anything you have a passion for or strong interest in? Failing that, check out languages. Growing up in the Netherlands, my Dad learned Dutch, English, German and French. Later on, his work took him to a number of countries, and the language skills came in useful from time to time.

JDShu
April 10th, 2010, 01:21 AM
I'm know nothing of foriegn undergraduate studies, but it really doesn't matter. Do what you love. Forget the money, unless of course you don't have any love of work, then do the best job for the money so you have enough to do what you love as your hobby.

+1,000,000

I went into finance thinking that it would give me a stable job. Now I've graduated in the middle of a financial crisis, plus I've come to realize I love working with computers a lot more than derivatives. A career that you think might be stable, could very well go out of fashion. This is why doing what you love is so important, even if you have trouble finding a job at least you'll be enthusiastic about finding one.

MindFusion
April 10th, 2010, 10:12 AM
Hmm yeah, well my strongest passion would be films and making films, but then again, my parents already told me that the chances for me of finding work for it are very slim.. so I don't know what I have to do, especially because I think the future isn't so bright, we get doom scenario's each day on the news, global warming, exploding vulcanoes, financial meltdowns,...

pf

Khakilang
April 10th, 2010, 02:23 PM
I think you should study what you passion of and also take a look what are the job opportunity like in the future. What you love may not put food on the table. So choose carefully and best of luck to you.

V for Vincent
April 10th, 2010, 04:23 PM
What do you mean by Russian studies? If you're referring to taal- en regiostudies you should be aware that those are not centred around translation. There are a lot of kids who feel that a degree as an interpreter isn't good enough, even when that is exactly what they want. Don't make that mistake.

That said, it's true that you should do what appeals to you the most. Just make sure you think things through. It's not just about what's interesting now, but about what you see yourself doing, as well. Not for financial reasons or anything, but it can be tricky to make the distinction between a hobby you love and a subject that you are less passionate about but which gives you a greater sense of fulfilment. It's hard to put into words. Just don't choose anything that doesn't interest you, no matter how large the payoff may be. But don't go for something that looks like a clear dead end, either.

Also, go to a couple of info sessions. Talk to some of the current first-year or second-year students and get clear-cut answers to whatever questions you have. For instance, if you ask an art historian whether they learn a lot about contemporary art, you'll probably get an ambiguous answer, but I know for a fact that, in Leuven in any case, they really don't. Same thing if you ask a linguist whether they learn a lot about translation.