Expert tips for university students from SCG’s “Future Engineers Program”

  Students attending SCG Future Engineer Program.

Mr. Kiti Madiloggovit, Corporate Human Resources Director of SCG, said: “It can be difficult to make the right choices when leaving high school, so having some perspectives from experts in this matter can be of huge help.”

“We had many fantastic speakers at the SCG Future Engineers Program. Those students that attended the event were able to learn about choosing their majors, preparing for exams, and managing their time, amongst a range of other interesting and useful topics.”

One of the first issues that students will deal with when making the jump to tertiary education is selecting their career path, which can be quite a daunting choice.

Mr. Le Chi Thong, Dean of Training Department at the HCMC University of Technology, said students often don’t think deeply enough about their study choices, which can result in disappointment.

“When we choose a career, our first priorities tend to revolve around personal interests; however, we should try to think in more specific terms than this,” he said.

“For example, some people choose IT as a major because they love playing computer games. However, IT doesn’t just consist of playing games, but it incorporates many different disciplines. You need to look closely at the components of what you’ll be studying, and try and line them up with your expectations of your career.”

Certainly, choosing the right degree and majors is an important factor, but there are also other things that should be considered to maximize chances of success while studying, as well as after university.

One of the main suggestions was learning a second language, as it can provide broader study options, as well as increasing the chance of employability post-study.

“I was really lucky to have a chance to study English from my early years. When I got into my Biology major, all the books and study materials were in English. It was an advantage to have a good base of English as it supported me in my major subjects,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen Chau, Assistant Manager of Business Supportive Office in SCG Trading at SCG.

“English also gave me a chance when I went to work—I was picked out due to my English ability, and as such, I got a chance to work in SCG’s sales department.”

Once students have commenced their studies, many will choose to pick up some part time work in order to pay for tuition fees and living expenses. While this is often a good idea, Mr. Dinh Bao Anh, Business Support Office Manager at SCG, suggested that students need to be careful about not letting it affect their studies.

“In my first year at college, I chose to have a part time job so I could save some money for tuition fees,” he said.

“I worked for three months, from the afternoon until midnight. In the morning, when I went to class, I felt really sleepy and couldn’t focus on studying, and therefore, after the first semester, I failed two subjects. I was quite shocked by this, so I chose to give up my part time job to focus on studying.

“My advice is, if you want to get a part time job to earn some money, you should manage your work and studying so that they don’t affect one another negatively. However, you should always focus on your studies first.”

But sooner or later, many students will run into difficulties while studying. According to Mr. Nguyen Phuc Hung, Dean of the Mechanics department at the Ho Chi Minh University of Industry, around 10-20% of students drop out of school, due to that fact that they can’t get used to a different environment and style of study.

He said: “The University of Technology has recognized this problem and now holds classes to help students with studying, organizing timetables, or improving their time management. Additionally, there are also 3rd and 4th year students on hand to help support freshmen with studying.”

Services such as this can be found at many universities, and can really help students to deal with many of the problems associated with moving to university life.

Students did not only get the useful tips from SCG employees and professors but also attend the mock up test to prepare for the entry examination required to get into engineering courses.

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