Every student knows that in Finland you get accepted to a university with hard work. You can’t buy a study place with money, and you can’t buy a degree with money. In Finland, everyone carves their own study path, but there’s also the possibility to get support for that. Students can get support for housing, economics and health services, among other things. In addition, support is offered by different student associations, student union and educational institutions to create a social network. Whether you use or not those services is up to you.
I’ve had many different work tasks in my life. The list includes physically heavy tasks such as strawberry picking. It also includes speed and pressure tolerance tasks like postal officer work in Christmas rush. I still remember when I was notified about my first summer job in the strawberry field. Me and my friend jumped excitedly in the school gym and yelled, “Anna got a job”! Already then, the feeling of having a job seemed insanely good.
When you think about young adults applying for work, and job search in general, one of the standard sentences for requirements comes across often in job advertisements: “compatibility for the work or having a suitable degree”. Before I got to study, I started to notice in my job that I needed a broader international understanding and tools to bring out my insights. Thoughts filled my head all the time, but I couldn’t put them into words. I wanted to expand my thinking. Not only because I could then move forward in my career, but also because without the challenge and tools given by studying it was not easy to develop my own thinking. I noticed some worrying shortcomings in my ability to innovate as well.
My reasons for choosing University of Applied Sciences
The reasons why University of Applied Sciences has been the best choice for me are many.
- The first feeling of being in the right place became in the meeting with Mrs Mari Rupponen, a study instructor at Metropolia. She made us fresh students feel like we were the most important of all students. Mari gave us the feeling that we were the chosen ones and promised us a nice future.
- In working life, you will become familiar with the tasks of your own position, but it is difficult to detach from them. I couldn’t understand or put myself in my manager’s position before and therefore I didn’t understand his tasks, for example dealing with the company’s strategy at team meetings. As my studies progressed, I started to see the tasks of the organization more widely and understood many of the goals of my supervisor. I have learned to put myself in the position of another person. My studies also help me to evaluate future interesting jobs.
- My third important reason for applying to University of Applied Sciences is internationality. As the studies progresses, a student has the opportunity to seek exchange studies. I read about the exchange programs and decided to apply too.
- Fourth and perhaps one of the most decisive reasons for choosing a University of Applied Sciences as my own training path was the opportunity for continuing education to a Master’s Degree Programmes or to a university. I think that if I want to move forward professionally, I will have to continue studying. Studies at the University of Applied Sciences require commitment and good grades, but the reward will be paid later. There is also a chance to extend studies to many different educational fields.
- The fifth, but not the least, reason is the community spirit, and wide and close collaboration between businesses and the Universities of Applied Sciences. A large network of businesses built over the years allows students not only find internships but also safe routes to work life right after graduation. By community, I mean all the new most likely lifelong friendships I’ve made and will make during my studies.
Anna Linho
Member of METKA’s Board
This article is a part of University of Applied Sciences Students in Finland – SAMOK’s 25th anniversary campaign. Read all articles written by METKA here.
#siksiAMK #ylpeästiAMK
This post is also available in Suomi.