VietNamNet Bridge - In Vietnamese eyes, only shy students not capable of studying natural sciences would register to study social sciences.

 


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Pham Nhu Hoa, a 12th grader, wrote to VietNamNet to ask for advices about what she should study after finishing high school. 

Hoa said writing is her hobby and is what she is keen on, but she has been told by parents not to study social sciences because the studies won’t bring good jobs after graduation.

“They said I’d rather become a worker at factory than a history professor,” Hoa wrote in the email to the editorial board.

The majority of Vietnamese students turned their back on social sciences in the last few years because they found that the jobs in the fields are not promising. 

An educator noted that studying economics is the biggest choice for the majority of students, while less capable students would register to study natural sciences. 

In Vietnamese eyes, only shy students not capable of studying natural sciences would register to study social sciences.
The students who feel they cannot compete with others to enter economics schools register to attend C-group exams, literature, history and geography.

However, Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of the HCM City Labor Market Forecasting Center, said that students are wrong about social science training majors. 

Tuan said the problem is that students always follow the crowd when choosing study majors and their future jobs. 

Five years ago, students rushed to study finance & banking and economics related branches because of the promising good jobs with high pay. This has led to the oversupply of economics university graduates, many of whom cannot find jobs.

Meanwhile, the jobs that require knowledge in social sciences now need workers as the supply has diminished.

According to Tuan, social sciences and humanitarian branches were one of the nine groups of jobs that attracted most workers in HCM City in 2014-2015. 

He believes the tendency would continue at least until 2020-2025. From now to 2025, the group of jobs would need 8,100 workers every year. Meanwhile, the pay is attractive.

There are many schools in HCM City which provide social sciences training majors, including the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Van Hien University, HCM City University of Education, Saigon University and the HCM City Culture University.

The HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities is the biggest center of this kind in the south. 

According to Pham Tan Ha, head of the school’s training division, media and communication, English linguistics and international relations are the ‘hottest’ training majors which always require very high exam results from students.


NLD