Some people are skeptical when they see that I have undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in forestry but am doing something totally unrelated to forests right now.
Yes! I received my forestry training somewhere in the Indian foothills of the Himalayas. Those were wonderful adventurous times and will always remain in my heart. So what happened, you ask?
Well! After spending nearly 7 years in and around the forest, I suddenly realized that it was not what I wanted to do all my life.
Anyway, this post is not about me. I was wondering whether the educational background of a person really matters. I ask this question because I see a lot of people doing things quite different from what they had been trained for and they are good at it.
For example, one of my friends trained as an accountant and ended up in the IT business. Another friend who’s a qualified medical doctor is now teaching tourism in a local university. My father’s colleague (and neighbour in Kelantan) was trained in atomic engineering but later on decided to become a medical doctor.
Of course we can’t forget Tony Fernandes, a former Warner Music executive and now Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia.
I don't think the basic educational degree really matter. What really matters in the end is whether you love what you do. If you love it, you will find ways to improve that knowledge. I am not boasting but I honestly feel that I know a lot more stuff relating to information comunications technology (ICT) than some of my friends with degrees in ICT, especially related to web techonology. No offense guys.
So what do you think?
Tags: AirAsia Education Forestry ICT
11 comments:
I always believed you should go to college to prepare for whatever type of work you wanted.
But, Tarzan (whose parents could afford to send all 3 kids to universities) said he chose his major according to what he wanted to study. What he enjoyed learning about, which was geography. His work has nothing to do with it, but he still loves the subject.
Now that I know there's another side to the coin, I do agree with you & with Tarzan. It's best to major in a subject you're passionate about. I think it's more about the learning process & various skills you develop along the way.
i agree with you, adam. one's practical experience and passion in a subject is good enough than all those learning from books and degrees. doesn't mean that a person has to have a degree from the U or college to be good in a subject - her/his experience and passion will made him just as good, if not better.
I say whatever makes one happy :)
Btw log by when you have some time,
i've posted a something that may make you laugh ,,
cheerz
Maybe it has something to do with parents forcing their children to study in fields that their children are not passionate about. For example I have a friend who wanted to study engineering but since her brother is already an engineer the parents fancy having a doctor for a daughter so they told her to take a medical degree... After one year in medical school, she went home a declared that if they force her to go back she would commit suicide... I don't what happened to her after that.
And not many people find their true callings so early in life, some found it after they graduate from college or after they got a job and discover that it was not what they wanted after all... it's a common thing these days, it could be caused by many factors, lack of job oppurtunies in certain fields, work related stress.... or anything! I have a friend who studied IT who is now working with landscape planning and stuff... not because she wanted to but because she couldn't find a job anywhere else. But after a few months doing the job she admitted that she began to like the job and she took many landscaping courses to improve herself... it seems that she might even enjoy working there than doing IT related works and looking at her all I could say is at least she finally found her true calling.
One more thing, have you noticed how our fresh graduates nowadays are rushing to take the KPLI courses?? Strange, if they wanted to be a teacher why not study education in the first place? Why waste time to study in fields that they're not going to pursue when they graduate??
Sometimes I would feel that education is just a piece of cert in which is just sorta passport to get the first job. But after tat, you're on your own. Not many people sticks to the course that they study to be exact.
happy father's day!!!
Thanks for your coments guys.
Bee: Hope I don't make the same mistake with my kids.
Sweetspirits: Going over there right now.
Suanie: Thanks.
Heyya Adam,
I think the specific field/area one gets a degree in is not as important as the experience in getting the degree (especially if one is fortunate enough to study overseas - thus learning not just about that subject, but also about other people, other cultures, etc etc).
For me, for the longest time when I was a kid I wanted to be a vet, but finally talked myself out of it when I realised I got a wee bit too queasy around blood :p
... had no real goal... so when I found I could relate to Chemistry in Form 4 & 5, decided to major in that...
so got my degree... started work in a lab and was instantly bored out of my skull... didn't help that I had wanted to do research or work in the plastics industry but as assigned to something that was essentially signing off on routine tests run by technicians!
Moved to "applied" chemistry, as a "utility technologist" ... in charge of stinking wastewater... ugh!
After 2 years, fought to get back to KL.. and got into an open post on Quality Management... and found that it clicked... I flourished and expanded into Change Management / Organisational Behaviour... ... and realised that despite having missed out on double-majoring in Psychology, I was well and truly working in that field, and had a knack for it.
But it got very frustrating seeing changes that were NOT happening...
quit...
and now i'm choosing to play around with my knack for writing... we'll see if I get anywhere with that...
Lynne: That's interesting. I love writing too and I found one that involves a bit of that. Hope you succeed in what you are doing.
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Well! After spending nearly 7 years in and around the forest, I suddenly realized that it was not what I wanted to do all my life."
I can imagine that was not all what it seems lol. You must have gone a little crazy, I would.
"Another friend who’s a qualified medical doctor is now teaching tourism in a local university."
Also this is sad. He must of spent alot on his education.
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