Why is there so much pressure to do an ‘impressive’ degree?

“In the future, I hope to work in science and achieve something for women.”
A fairly standard, somewhat ambitious and blatantly incorrect yearbook quote from my 18 year old self. Three years ago, I had my heart (or at least my mind) set on completing a Bachelor of Health and Medical Science at university.
With a few simple problems: I had no interest whatsoever in health, medicine… or science.
Other than these slight inconveniences, the degree seemed like a perfect fit. The entry ATAR was high, but achievable; the name sounded impressive and I’d heard that you could make a lot of money working in science.
That’s all that matters to an aspiring tertiary education student, right?
As a student at a selective high school, I was surrounded by aspiring lawyers and doctors; students who were competing to enter some of the most competitive courses in the state.
It’s hard to not want to keep up, and even harder to not feel the unrelenting pressure to keep up.
Three years on from high school, I’m a semester away from completing a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in marketing and public relations. A world away from where I thought I would be, and at times, a world away from where people expected me to be.
My degree is by no means an unimpressive one, but at times I face questions and comments that suggest it is.
“So Commerce, like finance and stuff? You must be really smart.”
“Not quite. Marketing and PR, actually.”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard everyone picks marketing because it’s easy. You should think about that”
During my first year of university, conversations like this were a frequent occurrence. Making me question whether my choice of degree was a real and valid one. Making me feel like I’d taken the easy uni route.
And I don’t think they stopped, I just stopped listening.
It’s ridiculous to think that a university degree could be classified as ‘easy’ but when people keep telling you so, it’s easy to let the idea manifest in your head.
I’m glad I moved beyond the temptation to want to impress people with a fancy degree name and entry mark. To do something I enjoyed, felt passionate about and felt wasn’t the path that was possibly expected of me.
My time at university would have been vastly different if I hadn’t. There is no way that I would have thrown myself into the deep end to learn and experience as much as possible if I had made any other choice.
