Education

Factors Influencing Your Career Choice

200407289-001When it comes to making a decision on your career path, there are several factors that influence your decision. The most common being your passion; that is the one thing that you have desired to be from either childhood, or from the time you could identify to any established person. Whether it's a parent who molded your way of thinking or a relative that you admired, it's clear that the people closest to you play a huge role in determining your career's direction.

Besides your passion, comes in a factor that is generally dependent on you. This is your score level as well as the classes you favor over others. This is majorly seen in secondary school where students have the option of selecting the subjects they want to take. And in the case of those in Yemen, who after passing the General Secondary Education Certificate also called ‘Al Thanawiya’, this determines what courses they can pursue either in college or university. Depending on your preference, if you do very well in your Al Thanawiya, your options were limitless.

Journey to my career

As for me, I did fairly well in my final secondary education exams. At least well enough to pursue my dream course of study. Ever since I was a young boy, watching my father in his engineering firm, I admired the way he would stay up late coming up with ideas to design beautiful structures. He had created a legacy for himself, and I, as his only son, felt the need to at least measure up to this standard he had set. My father was a civil engineer, more specifically an offshore engineer, who was basically involved in foundation design, construction, maintenance and de-commissioning for artificial structures in the sea. I on the other hand wanted to also be a civil engineer, but an architectural engineer instead. So with that I set out to find a school that offered the same, with international standards of accreditation.

Having lived in Al Mukalla all my life, I had never had the opportunity to leave or the desire of the same. However, for my campus education, I wanted a new experience. Lucky for me, I found a well-reputed university in Sana'a (which is also the capital of Yemen). I was sure the city life would be a completely new experience as compared to the one I was used to. Upon admission to the school and payment of the required fees, I set out to my new life.

New life

I have learnt that the first semester of any school experience sets the pace for your learning experience. One of the classes I was taking in my first semester caught my attention. It was an introduction to computers class which I initially thought was irrelevant, as my career choice would seldom need expertise in IT or technology. However, after attending a few of these classes, I understood the relevance that information technology had in respect to not only civil engineering, but in almost all courses in this era.

The class opened up my mind to a new way of looking at things, in a way; it introduced a new strategy of studying to me. Because you see, in order for me to attempt to carry out any given assignment, I required the help of the internet. In order to avoid going through tones of books looking for resource for a project I was given, I only needed to research about it on the internet. This provided either the information I needed or the exact reference book I would need to acquire that information. It was a form of learning that was outside the box. I no longer needed to spend copious amounts of time in the library trying to identify the correct manuscript to use. Life as I knew was simplified, and in a way, was made practical.

Life beyond the classroom

Even in my current position as an assistance architectural engineer in a firm I helped to create, I still find myself reliant on the internet and even some of the basic things I was taught in that computer class, during my first semester at school. That is what I call practical education. The fact that I require programs set up in my computer to be able to easily design the models of building my clients want me to create, is proof of the relevance of technology.

The role of technology in our world today is quickly becoming fundamental to ensuring that we become the best in our respective career paths. Whether it's a doctor or even a teacher, information technology is crucial to sharpening your own skills as well as improving the lives of those you work for. A word to the wise is that if you intend to remain relevant to this era and to this world, you will have to embrace technology.

Shared by the team at al-edu.com.

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