How about you

For several years, Korean college students? number one anxiety has been “preparation for employment.” HUFSans are no exception. To be of help to HUFS students who have the same concern, HUFS Seoul Campus newly opened a class called “HUFS Career Design” this year. However, this brings up one question: Did it really help the students as it intended? In the December issue, The Argus looked back at how HUFS Career Design proceeded and heard various opinions on it from four students who took the class this year.


HUFS Career Design is…
What: “HUFS Career Design: Defining Career Path & Development” is a course that aims to help students map out their career path that fits their aptitude and prepare for employment more efficiently, based on their major and characteristics. It is a two-hour weekly class worth one credit and is a Pass or Fail course.

Why: Its purpose is to provide an opportunity for students to think about and design their career path earlier so that they may not rush to prepare for employment without having clear future career prospects when they become juniors or seniors. Moreover, HUFS opened this course to reflect the Ministry of Education’s guideline to strengthen career counseling in colleges.

How: The class progresses by invited outside employment consultants. The curriculum of this course is mainly lectures on analyzing characteristics of individual enterprises and positions in, and self-analysis by Holland Aptitude Test and drawing a career map are given as assignments.

When: The course was opened in 2015 as an experiment for a year and officially designated as a mandatory subject for sophomores from 2016. Only students in their sophomore year can register for the course, and they must complete the course in either spring or fall semester. For those who cannot or did not take the course during the regular term, the only other way to take it is through a summer or winter session. Registration for summer and winter sessions is available for all students regardless of their year in school.


I think it is an essential course for college students who ceaselessly worry about their career paths. It provides a good opportunity to seriously consider future careers for students who are not sure about it as I am. The class would also be helpful to the students who have decided on their career because when they realize that they do not fit in, they would be able to think about other possibilities.
Moreover, I learned about various duties inside companies that I was unfamiliar with, so I could think about what position would best suit me. My hope was to become a schoolteacher but I entered a totally irrelevant major. However, through this class, I noticed that I have an aptitude for being a teacher and concluded that I should work in the personnel department of an educational organization. The dream that I could have abandoned became more specified, so it was very helpful.



I think the class is meaningful in the sense that students can explore their future career not vaguely but specifically. I could not find my exact career path through the class, but I could gain a lot of information such as what kind of duties are in enterprises and various websites where I can search for employment related data. Also I could know what my aptitudes were clearly through the test I have done in class.
In addition, the professor’s advice on value systems, happiness, or how to live life wisely was very beneficial for me. It motivated me to live and think better. I usually do not have much time to think about my future since I am busy with studying and club activities, but HUFS Career Design was a good opportunity for me to think about my career path once a week.



The course is focusing too much on joining enterprises. Currently, I am dreaming of becoming a journalist, and I took this class to gain confidence about my future hopes. However, it fell flat because the class was more about analyzing enterprises and duties than exploring my career path. The lecture may be helpful to those who are hoping to join normal companies, but I am doubtful if every sophomore student should take this course mandatorily.
Also the aptitude test we did during the class was no different from the career inventory I did in high school. The progress of self-analysis was very inadequate, so I think it should be reinforced  systematically.


The purpose of the course is good but I think it should focus more on career finding than being confined to joining enterprises. Simply explaining duties in companies does little to help students to choose their careers because it does not embrace various careers. There are a lot of students who are hoping to enter international organizations or have jobs through certain state examinations at HUFS. I think inviting different people who are working in various occupational fields and hearing their stories would be more effective and fun. Then, it would be of help to not only students who have not defined their career paths but also those who have decided. Consulting about career design in a small group would not be bad either.


Associate Editor of Campus Section

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