Is your major no longer popular? Netizens create their own "Regret" group for mutual assistance and suggestions | Professional |? net friend

Recently, Zhang Xuefeng, a postgraduate entrance exam training teacher, sparked a heated discussion on his professional selection proposal across the internet. In fact, discussions about some non popular majors have been on the internet for a considerable amount of time and scale. In the Douban online community where young people gather, netizens have established over 40 "University Regret Study XX Major" groups, covering common university majors such as law, medicine, journalism and communication, and accounting.

Experts believe that there is really no "perfect" major, and college students have roast about their majors, one of the reasons is the gap between ideal and reality. Before choosing a university major, students should first clarify the purpose of attending university. In addition to considering personal interests, they should also consider the needs of the country and society.

Netizens create "regret" groups to discuss professional "pain points" and share experiences

There are over 40 groups named "University Regret Study XX Major" on Douban, with the top three groups having over 40000 members, while the fourth and fifth groups have between 30000 and 40000 members. Netizens gather here to discuss the pain points of their major in learning and job seeking, and share their experiences and provide suggestions.

The "University Regret Study XX Major" groups on Douban provide a place for students from various majors to vent their emotions, and each group is like a tree hole, allowing students and practitioners in their respective majors to have a place to express their difficulties and difficulties encountered in their studies and careers, while also resonating with other netizens, comforting and encouraging each other.

Seeking advice from senior colleagues with a mutual aid mindset, "Be more cautious when changing careers"

In the major "university regret learning XX major" groups of Douban, in addition to roast, many netizens joined in the spirit of mutual help, asking experienced professional seniors for advice or providing professional guidance for the younger generation in the bottleneck period.

There are a total of four divisions in the "University Regret Study Law Major" group, three of which are related to experience exchange and mutual assistance: "Career Change Discussion", "Experience Sharing", and "Striving for Self Help".

Among them, the discussion post shared by the girl Zhu about her career change has been collected nearly 1500 times. Zhu Zhu originally studied law and later obtained a Master's degree in project management and computer science abroad. She has had internships and work experience in law firms, courts, and companies, and is currently a backend software development engineer. Starting from his own experience, Zhu Zhu analyzed the necessity and feasibility of transitioning from law to computer science, and pointed out the "clear path" for netizens to switch careers.

Zhu Zhu said that at the time of her job search, as long as her education and technical level were basically up to standard, she had the opportunity to enter factories and foreign enterprises. But nowadays, it is difficult for fresh graduates and those with zero experience to secure positions in the job market. In addition, corporate recruitment values not only academic qualifications, but also work efficiency. They hope that employees can have more mature work abilities from the beginning of their employment, without the need for the company to spend time and energy cultivating them. Zhu Zhu also reminded netizens that they need to be more cautious when changing careers at present.

Another scenario may confirm the "wall effect": what one has not learned is a "good major". A classmate from the "University Regrets Learning Small Languages" group shared her experience. She missed her dream of majoring in journalism by only one point in the college entrance examination. After struggling with the difficulty of Russian language courses and difficult job prospects, she began to ponder whether to switch to journalism.

And an eight year student majoring in dentistry wants to switch majors and make cakes. Below the post, netizens expressed envy for her professionalism and advised her to "calm down" on the grounds that the dessert cake shop was extremely unstable.

Make rational decisions based on information and experience after brief complaints or teasing

From June to August each year, the "New Biography of Regretful Learning in Universities" group will also open the "College Entrance Examination Season" special area within a limited time, providing students with a window for help in choosing universities. Recently, a Hunan college entrance examination student named "rebeccca" posted in the special section, asking netizens to help her choose universities. She expressed that she enjoys being exposed to new things and believes that journalism and communication are more in line with her interests. She is currently struggling between the Data Journalism major at the Communication University of China and the Media major at the Chinese University of Hong Kong when it comes to filling out her application.

There are over 70 replies in the comment section of this post. Some netizens believe that she was a physics major candidate in high school, and her total score in the college entrance examination is also good. It is best to choose an engineering major; Some netizens suggest that if you want to continue your studies in the future and have more advantages in studying abroad, you can choose the Chinese University of Hong Kong. If you want to enter the central level media industry, Communication University of China is a more suitable choice; Some netizens also pointed out that her interests and hobbies do not necessarily need to be realized through her journalism and communication major, and she can reconsider her professional choice; Some netizens have provided more specific suggestions based on the academic background of "rebeccca" - to enter the field of computational communication and do public opinion analysis work. At the same time, you can also choose universities based on your preferred city.

Overall, after a brief complaint or joke about their major, everyone will still return to their normal track. From the division of each group and the setting of essence posts in the group, rational solution to practical problems is more popular than emotional expression. Whether continuing to pursue further studies in one's major or transitioning to other more promising and preferred majors, it is necessary to make more rational and mature decisions based on information and experience.

Continuous adjustment of major settings in universities and establishment of majors urgently needed for national strategic development

Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the professional settings in Chinese universities have been constantly changing and adjusting. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, various industries needed talents, and at that time, the setting of majors in universities was basically based on social needs. With the development of the national economy, the shortcomings in talent cultivation are gradually exposed, so professional adjustments are needed. The main basis for professional setting and adjustment is the type of talent urgently needed by the country at present.

Dr. Yang Rongwei from East China Normal University pointed out in his article "Research on Professional Setting and Regulation in Higher Education Institutions" that in the development trajectory of majors in Chinese universities, the three forces of government, universities, and the market play a role in mutual game and coordination.

Before 1949, Chinese universities did not have majors, and the division of departments and disciplines in specialized fields at that time had a similar nature to later majors; In 1952, the Ministry of Education followed the Soviet model and carried out a large-scale departmental adjustment of universities across the country, setting up departments, disciplines, majors, or new colleges that were urgently needed for national construction. Due to historical reasons, the Soviet Union's directory of higher education majors was basically adopted at that time; In 1953, Chinese universities began to offer 215 majors, including 11 categories: engineering, agriculture, forestry, medicine, normal education, humanities, science, finance, politics and law, sports, and art.

In the following years, the number of majors continued to increase, and by 1965 it had increased to 601. In 1992, market forces intervened in the establishment and regulation of majors in universities. Since that year, major adjustments have been made in universities, expanding the scope of majors and implementing classification by category, with a total of 504 majors classified into 10 categories.

In recent years, the intensity of professional adjustment in Chinese universities has been increasing. In March of this year, the Ministry of Education and five other departments issued a notice on the "Adjustment, Optimization and Reform Plan for the Setting of Disciplines and Majors in General Higher Education", which clearly pointed out that by 2025, about 20% of the disciplinary and professional positions in universities will be optimized and adjusted, a new batch of disciplinary and professional positions that are suitable for new technologies, new industries, new formats, and new models will be established, and disciplinary and professional positions that are not suitable for economic and social development will be eliminated.

The "2022 Undergraduate Major Filing and Approval Results of Ordinary Colleges and Universities" released in April more clearly shows the strength and results of the professional adjustment of the Ministry of Education -333 colleges and universities have canceled 925 undergraduate majors, added 1641 new filing majors and approved 176 majors. The Ministry of Education actively guides colleges and universities to set up related majors urgently needed for national strategy and regional development. This time, 21 new majors have been added, including earth system science, biostatistics, future robots, safety production supervision, national park construction and management, medical engineering, and rural governance. Up to now, the undergraduate professional directory contains 93 professional categories, 792 kinds of professional. For the map/visual China

dialogue

When choosing a major or university, first ask yourself "what is the purpose?"

Regarding the selection and adaptation of majors for college students, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily had a conversation with Guo Yuanjie, Deputy Researcher of the Institute of Education Theory at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences. She believes that there is no universally applicable standard for choosing a university major. Students should consider their personal situation, combined with factors such as city and university level, and pay attention to national demand, employment situation, and other factors before making a choice.

There is a gap between ideals and reality

Beijing Youth Daily: What do you think of online students' roast about their major?

Guo Yuanjie: Students roast that their majors are not unique in China, nor are they educational phenomena unique to a certain major or class of students, but rather a relatively common phenomenon. Traditional majors in universities have a certain degree of stability, while newly established majors have a certain degree of flexibility. Generally, students find it difficult to make long-term predictions when choosing a major, so they may face employment risks.

On the other hand, there may be a gap between ideals and reality at the student level. There are so many universities and majors in our country, and it is almost impossible for individuals to clarify all majors before making the best choice for all majors and universities. The reality is that at the beginning of choosing a major, many people only have a vague understanding of their professional knowledge and future employment direction. Whether a student's major matches their future career aspirations affects their evaluation of their major.

Talent cultivation must balance efficiency and stability

Beijing Youth Daily: What are the main factors that universities consider when setting up and adjusting their majors?

Guo Yuanjie: The adjustment of the national talent training structure is due to the needs of economic and social development, and is closely related to the future employment of every young student who is about to enter university. The matching of national talent demand and cultivation is a very important issue.

The professional settings in our country have been continuously adjusted and optimized for many years. After entering the stage of intense technological competition, the shorter the talent training cycle, the better. But undergraduate talent training has a minimum four-year training cycle. In this situation, talent cultivation must balance efficiency and stability.

Professional selection cannot be blindly followed

Beijing Youth Daily: How should students choose their majors?

Guo Yuanjie: When choosing a major, everyone should first ask themselves - what is the purpose of attending university. This issue cannot be pushed onto parents or blindly followed by others. Secondly, in the process of choosing a major, students' personality, hopes for life, personal needs, and family risk resistance are all factors that need to be considered. Finally, while considering personal interests, it is also necessary to consider the needs of the country and society. Only by matching personal interests with the needs of the country and society for talents can it be a mutually beneficial choice. Otherwise, it is inevitable to face the dilemma of unstable employment after four years of undergraduate education.

Overall, choosing a major is a matter that varies from person to person, and there is no universally applicable standard. Relatively speaking, first tier cities and high-level universities have gathered more high-quality resources, and information is also more abundant and mobile. Previously, the popular online ranking of university major selection factors, such as urban development level, university level, and professional strength, made some sense, but it did not apply to everyone.

Beijing Youth Daily: How much is a person's long-term development related to their profession?

Guo Yuanjie: The major a person studies determines their knowledge structure and way of thinking. Schools provide relatively more conditions to accumulate professional knowledge and cultivate professional abilities, and after entering society, they rely more on the working environment and personal efforts to obtain some resources. If you get more exercise in school, you will have less adaptation and faster development after entering society.