Out of school, into professional life: An academic education is still considered the best prerequisite for later making a career in the workplace. But which course is right for me? And how do I find out? In order to find the right course of study, you have to answer a lot more than just your inclinations and favorite subjects. After all, it is always about the fundamental decision as to which life you would like to lead one day. Here are a few thoughts on how to take another exam with yourself between high school and university.
Use decision aids
To get straight to the point: Tests offer very good orientation in order to find the right course of study. But not right at the beginning of the decision-making process, rather at the end. That's why you'll find a short compilation of some tests at the end of this article, which not only give you security in your decision, but also provide some further information.
Before that, you might want to think about a few things. Because the technical qualification alone does not make a professional career (if you want to make a career at all). Rather, it is also about life plans that also contain very private aspects. And about options that you would like to keep open for the future.
Find study by interest
The question of the right course of study is therefore far too short-sighted. Because the university education is not an end in itself, but just a train that you jump on to get one or two crucial stations forward in your life. Then you leave him again. Most likely forever. Whether you are in the right place at the time does not depend on the equipment in the train compartment, but on the planning of your route.
Therefore, the question of your basic life plan comes before the question of a suitable course of study. In short: What are you planning to do with your life anyway? If you see your studies as the cornerstone of your career, you need to get an idea of your future work. In addition to the technical qualifications that you will learn through your studies, there are also human qualifications. However, these soft skills are shaped much more by your nature than you may realize. However, they should definitely be taken into account when thinking about your course of study.
How you will work later
Employed, civil servants or self-employed: These are, for example, very different working models that serve very different characters. And regardless of the technical discipline. As an entrepreneur in a managerial position, leadership qualities are of course important, while as a self-employed person you must have considerable all-rounder qualities. When it comes to research, you will most likely need strong abstraction skills. A talent that you will probably be less happy with in social professions.
Perhaps it is a good approach anyway to define oneself less in terms of academic performance and more in terms of the soft skills that correspond to one's personal nature when choosing a career. An A in chemistry can point you in the wrong direction when choosing a major if you would actually much rather get involved in society.
Keep development opportunities in mind
However, one should not completely ignore the professional development opportunities that the respective course of study enables. Anyone who studies mathematics to become a teacher has relatively few opportunities to later switch to a profession outside of educational institutions, while a business administration degree leaves a whole potpourrie of options open. And that is not an uninteresting quality for an agile job market like today.
Because there are things that don't even exist. At least not yet. And strangely enough, this includes far more than half of the jobs in which we will be working in twenty or more years. At least that is the opinion of some renowned institutes that have dedicated themselves to researching future working environments. This means that you should not adopt an overly rigid attitude when choosing your course of study and the associated professional perspective; after all, it may be that your future field of activity is just being invented.
Find a course: test for the right choice of course
If you have already given some basic thought to your professional positioning and your wishes, a whole series of tests will help you to find the right course of study - according to your interests. We hope you enjoy making the decision.
A 20-minute test that determines which areas of interest you have and which courses they correspond to. Interesting for everyone who still has little orientation.
This test for looking for an apprenticeship or university place can be compared to online dating: you create a profile. The program analyzes your strengths and checks which points you match and which you don't.
This test asks more abstractly about your interests and inclinations. The result of the analysis is shown in a bar chart. Matching positions for your result are also displayed immediately. However, you must enter your e-mail address for this.
A comprehensive test that takes a more in-depth look at your preferences and behavior. Along with the evaluation, you will also receive information about courses and professions.
The test by the Ruhr-Uni Bochum is more of an internet consultation than a test. At the end you will receive concrete recommendations for action and a selection of courses that match your inclinations.
Maybe a good test to find some new aspects for the choice of study and to discover new sides of yourself. By the way, it is nice that you do not have to answer all the questions, but only those that you consider relevant.
Explorix asks about your interests in activities and professions as well as a self-assessment of your skills and characteristics. At the end you will receive an individual result report, which costs 12.50 euros.
Stangl-Taller: Self-Assessment Test
This test is a good help to get a good self-assessment in a simple way. Not least because he deals with situations at work and in his free time. Incidentally, it was also rated “good” by Stiftung Warentest.
With 72 questions from six subject areas, this test gets to the bottom of your interests. And at the end provides you with a personality profile and makes suggestions as to which courses would correspond to this.
Abitur and studies: choice of studies
A fairly simple quick test in which you use sliders to vote for different departments. It is quite spontaneous and intuitive, so it should be compared with other tests.
Testedich offers more casual entertainment than hard analysis. But that has its significance, even if this test is more for inspiration.
Check-U is a really useful help from the employment agency. The test helps you to identify your skills, interests and professional preferences and finds subjects that correspond to them. The special feature: You can discuss the result with a careers advisor from the employment agency. So take your time for the test.
