How do you decide where to go after School?
Hey guys, I’m wondering how many of you know where you want to live, and what career you want to get into after you graduate from University?
I’m not in any particular hurry to decide since that’s still a long way from now, but this question has come to me often, usually when you meet old friends and family and I know it’ll come up when I visit family during the holidays.
Do you stay in your home country, or go overseas or are there any other options?
I Googled around and found those interesting stats on TCKs:
- TCKs are 4 times as likely as non-TCKs to earn a bachelor’s degree (81% vs 21%)[27]
- 40% earn an advanced degree (as compared to 5% of the non-TCK population.)[28]
- 45% of TCKs attended 3 universities before earning a degree.[28]
- 44% earned undergraduate degree after the age of 22.[28]
- Educators, medicine, professional positions, and self employment are the most common professions for TCKs.[28]
- TCKs are unlikely to work for big business, government, or follow their parents’ career choices. “One won’t find many TCKs in large corporations. Nor are there many in government … they have not followed in parental footsteps”.[28]
- 90% feel “out of sync” with their peers.[29]
- 90% report feeling as if they understand other cultures/peoples better than the average American.[30]
- 80% believe they can get along with anybody.[30]
- Divorce rates among TCKs are lower than the general population, but they marry older (25+).[28][31]
- Military brats, however, tend to marry earlier.
- Linguistically adept (not as true for military ATCKs.)[28]
- A study whose subjects were all “career military brats”—those who had a parent in the military from birth through high school—shows that brats are linguistically adept.[32]
- Teenage TCKs are more mature than non-TCKs, but ironically take longer to “grow up” in their 20s.[29]
- More welcoming of others into their community.[26]
- Lack a sense of “where home is” but often nationalistic.[26][30]
- Some studies show a desire to “settle down” others a “restlessness to move”.
- Depression and suicide are more prominent among TCK’s.[29]
January 6th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I guess I didn’t look hard enough but the tuition is more than my parents could afford, excluding living expenses. As an international student it’s no different wherever I go…maybe coz I’m a Taiwanese citizen…
(Is this spam?)
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:48 am
OK I never knew about the TCK thing until recently and when I read those statistics, I was so surprised because I could relate to most of them. I never knew that my choices were affected by travelling.
Well, my father is a professor in Geology; my mother is an entrepreneur (teacher by profession). I never wanted to be like them because I wanted variety in the family. In primary school we were once asked to write a composition of what we wanted to be when we grow up, most people wrote about only one job, I wrote about 5.
I want to do everything!!! Guess that’s why I like Leonardo da Vinci.
By the time I finished secondary school there were two main fields I wanted to get into - Science and Art. So opted for Architecture but I lacked support. I then picked Medicine because I do love helping people and I decided to keep Art as a hobby.
At first I wanted to study abroad. So I started A-Levels for Cambridge and London exams because it would improve my chances. However, I stopped it when I got a place at University of Zambia (in my home country). There I ended up doing Microbiology for 2&1/2 years. But I was bored with my course.
So I left when I got an opportunity to go to Czech Rep. to do Medicine. After intensive Czech lessons for a year, I got a place to study in English at Palacky University in Olomouc. I stayed there for one week and then transferred to Charles University in Prague to study medicine in Czech with scholarship at the largest and most prestigious faculty. Then after a year of being a med student I changed faculties because the environment was way too stressful for me.
Now I am still at Charles University in Prague but studying Public Health at a smaller faculty. There are only 20 students taking PHealth (I’m the only foreigner). But I LOVE my course, my uni, my classmates - a smaller group is a lot better, more student lecturer contact and less stress. In 2yrs I’m finally going to graduate (I will be 26yrs old by then).
After I graduate, I want to support my degree with an International/Global and Tropical Health degree (I believe it’s a one year course in Germany). Then I would like to work for an NGO or who knows maybe the UN? I have no idea where I’m going to settle.
But when I have to retire, I will dedicate the rest of my life to Art and writing.
It’s a plan I just hope it works.
(Is this spam?)
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:16 pm
“Pollock and Van Reken describe this well, as a constant “migratory instinct.” Everything always feels temporary and they are often unable to settle down. There is a certain dissatisfaction—what is happening in the present is never quite good enough, for something is always lacking. They always expect the next place, the next phase of life to feel like home, and this feeling always keeps them moving. In further study done by Dr. Unseem and her colleague Dr. Cottrell, they found that only half of the TCKs that attend college complete a degree. Also, on average they will change colleges twice. They usually “stop out” during their college careers to pursue further international travels.”
anayawa, oh wow~. you have outnumbered the average number of changing college!
peter and cynthia, if i am not mistaken education in Europe is usually free for the citizens and thus schooling is expensive for foreigners, no? please correct me if i am wrong. >_< nick, i too am a bit confused about choices of studies. i think my motive is driven by the desire to utilize the experience i’ve had in various places and to help people out there. as a college student, i have been studying pre-medicine to become a doctor without borders. then, i switched into international studies to pursue my career in international business. it worries me at times whether international business can meet my holistic approach. now, i am 2/3 into college years and don’t want to change my major.
(Is this spam?)
April 4th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Miyon,
OK, I know I’ve over done it, but this time I am determined to graduate no matter what.
From what I have seen, well in Czech Rep., if a foreigner is studying in Czech language, they do not pay for tuition - it’s free and they are treated just like native Czech students. If you want to study in English, well then yes you have to pay an amount of money for tuition.
In my case I’m studying in Czech (no tuition fees) and on scholarship which basically covers the cost of living and health insurance.
(Is this spam?)
April 4th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Anayawa,
I think it’s great that as a foreign student who studies in the Czech language you get to have free tuition! If I sounded rude or judgmental in the previous comment, I am sorry. I had no intention of doing so. I had a very strong feeling that you must be very intelligent and I really look up to your spirit of trying something new every year!
I still don’t have the guts to move very often during college years although I would like to try out different programs in a different country.
I sincerely wish that your studies down the road will lead you to success as I assume you have been acknowledged by professors and colleagues!
(Is this spam?)
April 5th, 2008 at 7:05 am
Cau anayawa jak se mas? To je dobry ze chodis na Karlovu Univerzitu. V minulosti jsem tam taky chtel jit, ale pak jsem se rozhodl jinak.
miyon…for most countries on continental Europe, education is free even for foreigners, if they study in the language of the country. So if you want to study in places like France, Germany, Sweden or the Czech Republic and you learn the language of the country you can study for free and actually get privileges over local students, like preferential housing in some cases…etc. In Sweden you study for free even if you study in English. This is the opposite in Canada where I studied. There you pay international tuition and get variously discriminated in favor of “local” students. (even though many “local” students lived in Canada a lot less than I did) In Europe as far as I know, the countries that have differential tuition are the UK and the Netherlands. Maybe some others.
(Is this spam?)
April 6th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Peter, thank you for clarifying things! My first reaction to your comment is “That’s soooo cool!!!”
Now I wish I had known how to speak all these European languages and study for fee! hehe XD
(Raising a hand) I have a question. Do you know if any Spanish-speaking regions in Europe offer free tuition when studied in Spanish?
(Is this spam?)
April 6th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Wow, I love this thread. I’m 19, in my second year of University (although currently on a 6 mo internship so no classes) and graduating next August (so in one yr…). I think for me I have been trying very very hard to do it all at once and quickly so that I don’t get bored/frustrated/change my mind etc and end up transferring. I knew before I knew of TCK that I was bound to do something international…so natuarally I picked international relations (I never even really thought of it. It was really just that or photography, and my fam threatened to disown me if I did photography
).
But now I’m starting to regret it/think twice. I should’ve done something like medicine. I’ve always wanted to but my math/basic hard science wasn’t good enough and I didn’t want to spend years in school, wanted to start working and doing something useful.
For me, International relations now seems kind of bogus…really interesting and teaching a lot of skills but utlimately kind of bogus (no offense to people studying communications but I think it’s kind of like communications- “oh, so you studies communications….sooo…..you learned to talk on a phone….great”).
In any case, I don’t know what I’m going to do after. I’m studying in Boston, US but I’m definintely NOT going to stay there (although it is a nice city). I could go back to Europe but I’ve been away for so long that I don’t feel at home there (nor do I in the US)…so I pretty much assume that i’ll be stuck roaming the world, avoiding any long stays in the US or Europe, and finding jobs somewhere or anywhere that will make me happy.
Oh and Jeff, those stats completely fit my profile… I’ve considered all of them and will probably end up doing development work given my studies and my experiences so far.
(Is this spam?)
April 6th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Oh, I’m also freaking out because I have to start considering getting a real job and acting like a real adult….which I want and have been wanting for a while but is suddenly looming over me…maybe I should just stay in school (not
).
(Is this spam?)
April 7th, 2008 at 6:32 am
hello Marie,
I am one month away from finishing the third year of college. I think what has been helpful to me was focusing on what I truly enjoy. There are so many things I don’t know about myself and I did not know where my passion lied when I entered college and it wasn’t until recently that I have finally found certain things. Can you think of anything that excites you so much that your eyes tear up? Think about what makes you happy.. is there something you vividly remember from your childhood? what you remember the most about your childhood can be the indicator of your heart/desire. Once you determine what it is that you want to do with your life, I suggest meeting with career advisors/counselors to discuss your situation and ideals.
Then, they will direct you what you can do to get to where you want.
(Is this spam?)