One of the big questions we consider as students attending the University of Idaho is what the future holds. This institution offers over 300 degrees to its undergrads and graduates. We decided to take the time to ask current students on campus about how their majors would play a role in their future careers.
Many graduates across the nation end up working in a field completely unrelated to their undergraduate study, and some students have no idea where they want to end up after they finish their degree. These UI undergrads gave us some insight into what career they are currently wanting to pursue.
Achiraya Anantachote is completing a bachelor of science in virtual technology and design. She is also working towards a minor in Spanish and a certificate for entrepreneurship. She is hoping to one day work in virtual or augmented reality and change the way that people live.
“I’m thinking about working with virtual reality in the education field or to create training applications for the medical field, the military, or some other career,” Anantachote said. “I also really enjoy photo and video editing, and I would be happy to do something with that too”
Anantachote believes that there are many challenges she will face in her field, but one of the biggest is the rapidly-developing technology.
“Keeping up with all the technological changes throughout the years in order to maintain a career will be a challenge for sure, especially for more competitive fields,” Anantachote said.
Many people assume things about others’ careers without having much knowledge on the subject area. In the realm of virtual design and technology, a lot of people immediately think of the connection towards the entertainment industry. Anantachote brought up that there are many benefits that could come with the continued development of technology. She has completed research about how virtual reality can assist in the medical field to train professionals without needing to use real bodies. It has the potential to help in education for forming more individualized schooling.
“Some companies have already come out with augmented reality apps to allow users to test their products remotely, such as IKEA’s augmented reality app that allows users to see exactly how IKEA furniture will look in their homes in real-time,” Anantachote said. “Overall, I am excited to see how technology and extended reality develop over time in several industries.”
Anantachote’s degree will be directly useful in her dream field, regardless of what sector she chooses to follow underneath it.
Megan Lolley is in her third year of study, completing a double major in English and secondary education. She is hoping to continue her education in a master’s program and to become a teacher.
“I want to be able to engage students in learning and aid them in acquiring skills that are helpful and relevant to real life,” Lolley said. “I want to inspire conversations that ask why and how instead of teaching young adults to regurgitate information.”
Lolley feels that the biggest challenges she will face within her career choice will be adaptation to curriculums and lesson plans for accommodating all learners, as well as managing a classroom as a young woman.
In the future, Lolley sees advancement in technology being a factor in helping make education more accessible to everyone and accommodating to every kind of student. Concerning the assumptions surrounding the field of education, Lolley brought up many points regarding the views that others have of a teacher’s workload.
“People believe teaching is an easy job, but it requires a lot of passion, patience and perseverance,” she said. “Hours extend well beyond the school day, teachers are always under evaluation and some degree of pressure, and it’s a challenge to be able to adapt curriculum to benefit all your students who have different strengths and funds of knowledge.”
Samantha Salinas is studying general mathematics and statistics: Finance and actuarial science at the UI. She states that her greatest inspiration within her field of interest was her high school calculus teacher, Mr. Byon.
“He made me realize how much I love math,” she said.
Salinas has many ideas about the potential areas she could end up in with her degree, but she thinks that it would be an interesting experience to do finance and accounting for a new business if one of her friends wanted to work with her.
Some of the challenges that Salinas expects are the exams she will have to complete to become certified, but it’s nothing she won’t be able to handle. She completed undergraduate research over the past summer with one of her professors and sees many changes occurring, especially within the medical field.
“I think we will see a change in the medical field because of what mathematicians are working on today,” Salinas said. “There is a lot of math behind the medical instruments and technology we use that I don’t think people realize.”
When asked about assumptions people had concerning her future career, Salinas said she doesn’t agree with the assumption that math is boring.
“There is so much fulfillment when you are able to complete a problem and find a definitive solution, which you don’t get in a lot of other fields,” she said.
On a similar note, another UI student is also pursuing a statistics degree. Abigail Moody is looking to obtain her bachelor’s degree in general statistics to one day become a professor at an institution where she can both teach and join research teams. She would like to work with the social sciences and be a statistician.
“I love learning a bit about everything, so this career path is perfect for me.”
Abigail Moody
Moody believes that it will be difficult for her to find a program or a job in the subject field she wishes to pursue within statistics, but she does feel that there will be an increase in the need for the career she is pursuing.
“The theories behind statistics are continually growing,” she said.“There is different software being made to help us better run tests and analyze data. It’s exciting!”
Something that others may not be aware of within this career is how applicable it is to other fields. “Statisticians have the opportunity to work in medical, biological, social sciences, agriculture, natural resources, and many other areas,” Moody said.
Students all across campus are figuring their path toward the future. Not everyone’s path looks the same, but even in your neighbor has different goals from your own, you can still be supportive in their ventures.