What am I going to study? It is the question that many fifth or sixth year high school students ask themselves in their last year of studies without having a clear answer.The decision could mean a good job prospect and a competitive salary, or unemployment and the need to reinvent oneself to access a job.
In the current digital era, regardless of their area of training, professionals must adapt to the changes proposed by new economies, technological advances, demands of the labor market or even aspects related to interests and goals in order to adequately join the labor market.
And, although it is well known that technical careers are emerging as those in greatest demand, students do not always choose those areas of study.This has generated a high demand for professionals in various STEM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), which would continue for at least the next 5 or 10 years.
Not a direct relationship
There is not necessarily a relationship between job demand and student preference. On the contrary, vocational guidance is expected to take precedence over work reasons, because although finding a job is of utmost importance, the fulfillment of the person carrying out tasks that satisfy him or her is even more important.
In this context, upon encountering a labor market that differs from their expectations, graduates of academic careers could find themselves in a context of professional reconversion, in which they have to adapt to new trends in order to find work faster.
We all need to reconvert professionally at some point, since we live in an era of labor transformation where continuous training is crucial to maintain employability through ‘reskilling’ and ‘upskilling’ as a need to adapt to new job roles arising from digitalization and technology.
So, in light of what companies require, how to seduce young people to decide on technical careers, which in turn satisfy their personal and professional ideals?
It is essential to explore and discover the areas that really interest and motivate the person. The student has to make a good choice so that they are happy with what they do. The key is to align your skills, passions and personal values with your career choice.
Likewise, training students in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, prior to entering higher education, can generate motivational elements to encourage them to discover new environments in which they can develop all their creativity by taking advantage of these innovative resources.
Artificial Intelligence calls us to develop soft skills, which are skills that this technology will not be able to have. AI has not come to take away jobs, on the contrary, it is a complement for different professions.
The careers with the greatest short-term job opportunities:
Engineering and other areas of technical training continue to emerge as those with the greatest job demand in Costa Rica, in a context in which the preference for these by new students could be considered slow but sustained, according to the experts consulted.
For example:
Computer systems engineering, civil, electrical, business, electromechanical, industrial, computer security, telecommunications, environmental, genetics, business intelligence, biomedical, chemistry.Computer science software development, data analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and architecture of computer solutions.
Others:
English language,.architecture, mental health, business administration, marketing, law, psychology, economics, accounting, international relations and primary and secondary school teaching.
