Of course, I have no right to offer suggestions or advice (although I always do that anyway—it must be a trait inherited from my mother), but—but!—perhaps it is worth listening to someone who (not all that long ago) went through all of this firsthand?
The world is changing at a frightening pace. Whereas once the range of professions to choose from was smaller and—let’s be honest—more obvious, because every profession required specific skills, now a significant proportion of jobs involve a whole range of diverse abilities. Moreover, the dynamically changing labour market often makes retraining necessary: increasingly rarely is a teacher a teacher for their entire life, or an accountant an accountant. One thing has remained unchanged—to live in a cosmopolitan world, we need to know at least one foreign language. And no one will be surprised that the minimum is English.
Of course, each of us is different, and some people know what they want from a very young age. However, the vast majority of teenagers have no idea what they will do or what their true passion is. They still have time to discover it and can experiment. Choosing a narrow, specific field, however, effectively prevents this by limiting the possibility of making changes in the future. I personally know many people who, after two years of studying in the—incidentally, currently very fashionable—chemistry and biology programme, discovered that it did not attract or interest them in any way. That becoming a pharmacist was not nearly as fascinating as it had seemed, and certainly did not involve any particularly significant financial benefits.
Meanwhile, knowing a foreign language offers unlimited possibilities. Above all, the ability to communicate with practically anyone in the world opens almost every door—not only that, further specialised education can be pursued abroad, at a point when one is much better prepared to make such a choice. By choosing a mathematics and physics, biology and chemistry, or humanities programme, one can of course decide to go abroad later, but in the end, knowledge of a language will quickly prove essential.
What is more, by studying a language intensively, a young person can tutor others, travel freely and build valuable connections; they can go abroad during the holidays and earn extra money. Importantly, they can take any job abroad, because most employers organise courses and training to prepare their employees for the work. All it takes is… knowing a foreign language! There you have it—the secret of success!
Public Oxpress High School
Al. Tysiąclecia 48, 59-700 Bolesławiec
tel. 75 732 50 55 (Tyrankiewiczów building)
tel. 75 783 38 99 (Tysiąclecia building)
e-mail: oxpressdm@gmail.com
www: https://oxpress.edu.pl