College is not the only way
After the 2025 high school graduation exam, many candidates decided to switch to vocational training instead of continuing on the university path. Nhat Binh - a student in Hai Phong plans to submit an application to study electrical engineering at a college near his home. Binh shared that his family is purely farming, his parents work in the fields all year round, their income is unstable, and sending their children to continue studying at university is a big burden.
I know my academic performance is only average. Even if he tried to take the university entrance exam, it would not be a good result. Meanwhile, the electrical engineering profession is now in great need of human resources, the salary of good workers is no less than that of an office worker" - Binh said.
For male students, a professional degree and practical skills are more important than a university degree, because it is a "ticket" for them to proactively step into life. The vocational training path may be shorter but opening up a direction suitable to family conditions and personal abilities. Binh believes that he does not feel self-conscious because he did not study at university because working honestly and earning money through labor is a valuable profession.
Unlike many of her classmates who chose to take the university entrance exam, Yen Nhi - a contestant in Bac Giang decided to apply to a beauty care college in Hanoi. Nhi shared that since childhood, he has loved to beautify, often wear makeup, and give his mother and sisters in the neighborhood hairpins on holidays, Tet and weddings.
Nhi's parents understand that their daughter's education is not too outstanding to take the top university entrance exam. Moreover, for Nhi, university is not the only way to have a good future.
Choosing the profession of beauty care, Nhi also cherishes the dream of opening her own small spa, both beautifying everyone and creating jobs for herself and young people with dreams like mine.
I think people's need for beauty is getting higher and higher. If you have good skills and serve wholeheartedly, you will not worry about running out of customers" - Nhi shared.
Good allocation helps students promote their strengths
According to Ms. Le Thi Uyen - a teacher at Nguyen Thien Thuat High School (Hung Yen), counseling and career guidance work is of great significance to students personally and the whole society.
For students, career orientation helps them to be aware of their interests, abilities, personal values, and at the same time better understand the world of work to have the right major choice. This contributes to minimizing the situation of choosing the wrong major, depression, and dropping out of school halfway.
Effective career diversion and consultation contributes to providing human resources suitable for the needs of the labor market, avoiding the situation of less than a teacher and wasting training resources. Thereby, promoting balanced development of industries, improving labor productivity and competitiveness of the economy" - Ms. Uyen said.
The female teacher believes that the ideal time to start consulting and orienting students' careers is from the end of junior high school, especially in grade 9, when students begin to have a clearer awareness of their own abilities. When entering high school, this work needs to be further promoted from grade 10 to grade 12, through hands-on experiential activities, helping students consolidate and clearly identify the appropriate direction.
However, Ms. Uyen also said that when faced with the choice of career, many students are still wondering which industry is suitable for them due to lack of knowledge about the labor market; being pressured by family when choosing a career according to trends instead of preferences; worrying about job opportunities, income after graduation; lacking information about new professions, requiring specific skills; even worrying about financial capacity to study.
To overcome this important stage, Ms. Uyen advised students: They need to carefully research the professions they are interested in, listen to themselves, consult teachers, parents and career guidance experts. Consider vocational training if you want to work early. And parents should be companions, listeners, understanders, help their children search for multi-dimensional information, do not impose subjective wills and encourage them to experiment with many areas before deciding.
