A niche in life

Many of our students (and potential students) pick their major, or their courses, based on market demand. Of course, since they are not yet on the job market, they are basically picking it based on projected market demand, trying to extrapolate 2-3 years into the future, when they will be on the job market. I am interested, for example, in knowing what the business faculty's admissions figures will be like after this stock market crash.

Today, I went to the horticulturist's to buy some fertilizer for our plants. The place is run by a father-son combo -- the dad learned his trade from his father, the son graduated with an M.Eng. from a well-known UK university. Working in a nursery would not be a job that one would expect an M.Eng. student to get into, even if it were the family business. However, between the two of them, they have carved out a niche for themselves, importing high-quality and exotic plants, high-tech equipment and artsy accessories. And since the son speaks fluent English, they have also managed to corner a steady clientele of expats living in the New Territories who're desperate to recreate their own gardens from home.

It mayn't be a glamorous job, and certainly it's an unconventional choice of career, but I couldn't help feeling that the young man had made the correct choice in life. He clearly enjoyed what he was doing, he had expertise in his area, and he had managed to find himself a niche in life.

I wish that our own students would stop for a moment to think about what they *want* to do, and what they are suited to doing, rather than obsessing on what would make the most money or provide the most stable living!