From Confusion to Confidence in Choosing a Major: 3 Big Questions Answered in the First Livestream of “Gen Z Understand Your Field”

That is also why the first episode of the “Gen Z understand your field” livestream series is built as a companion space, where students’ very real concerns are recognised and resolved in a down-to-earth, practical way. 

“Why do many students get more confused about choosing a major the closer the exam gets?” – Understanding in order to start from yourself 

Not stopping at providing admissions information, Gen Z understand your field also aims to help young people understand themselves better, gain more data to make a choice and, most importantly, feel more confident on the journey of choosing a major. The first episode runs through three “stations” – Understanding, Reality and Happiness – corresponding to three big questions that any student has asked themselves at least once at the threshold of university. 

Opening the programme, MC Quang Thiện posed a seemingly simple question that immediately drew empathy from many students watching the livestream: why, the closer the decision-making stage gets, do many students feel more confused rather than clearer? 

According to M.A. Chung Quốc Phong – Head of the HUFLIT Admissions Office, the pressure of choosing a major today no longer comes from a lack of information but, on the contrary, from young people standing amid too many sources of information. They have access to countless data about fields of study, career trends and labour market demand, advice from teachers, parents and friends, and even AI orientation tools. But among all those “voices”, the one most easily forgotten is the voice of oneself. 

That is why, instead of starting with the question “which major is hot?” or “which major makes it easy to find a job?”, M.A. Chung Quốc Phong believes young people should return to the root questions: “Who am I?”, “What am I truly interested in?”, “Where do my strengths lie?” and “What am I willing to spend time pursuing in the years to come?”. 

From there, the programme recalled a familiar principle in career guidance – the three-circle model of “what I like”, “what I am good at” and “what society needs”. When these three factors intersect, students have a better chance of finding a choice more suited to themselves. 

“What if I like a major but feel I am not good enough at it?” 

This was the question that received the most interaction in the first livestream session of Gen Z understand your field. M.A. Chung Quốc Phong believes this is not a sign to give up but an opportunity for young people to look at themselves more seriously. Perhaps you need to invest in more skills, perhaps you need more experience to verify, or perhaps in that process you will discover a different, more suitable direction. 

Personality tests such as MBTI, Holland or career orientation tools were mentioned as a useful starting point, but M.A. Chung Quốc Phong also emphasised that these are only support tools. The final result does not lie in a test but in each student’s ability to listen to themselves. 

“If you don’t yet know what you like, what should you do?” – Only experience gives a real answer 

After the story of “understanding yourself”, MC Quang Thiện continued to lead the programme with a very common worry: if many students still do not know what they truly like, then where should they start? 

According to Thanh Mai – a second-year student at the Faculty of International Relations and Communications, HUFLIT, the shortest answer is: step outside and try. Many students tend to sit and think for a long time to find an answer for themselves, but in reality, quite a few answers only appear when they actually step into an experience. 

You might think you love Marketing because you see it as a dynamic and creative field, but only when you try taking part in a communications competition, carry out a small project or directly work in a team do you understand whether you are truly suited to the pace and nature of that work. You might be curious about the Tourism field because you like to travel, but only when you try organising an activity or standing in front of a crowd as a guide do you know whether you really want to pursue this field over the long term. 

From the perspective of a student who has just been through that journey, Thanh Mai shared that she too once fell into a state of vagueness like many students today. What helped her find an answer was not reading more and more information but giving herself the chance to take part more – from clubs and competitions to extracurricular activities. It is those experiences that helped her realise what truly excites her, and what she once thought was suitable but turned out not to be. 

From there, the conversation expanded to the factor of the learning environment. Quang Thiện raised the issue: if you have chosen the right major, does the university environment still matter? And the answer given by M.A. Chung Quốc Phong was quite clear: it matters a great deal. Because a university is not only a place that provides professional knowledge but also a space that helps young people build skills, gain real-world experience, connect with businesses and gradually perfect themselves. A suitable environment may not determine all of a student’s success, but it will certainly be an important “launchpad” for learners to go faster and more confidently on the path they choose. 

“How do you know you are choosing right?” – Choose what makes you happy enough to stay with it for the long term 

In the final part of the livestream, MC Quang Thiện raised a rather familiar question, but perhaps also the thing that troubles many students the most: how do you know today’s decision is right? 

Interestingly, the guests did not offer a “formula” for that question. Instead, they chose a gentler perspective: choosing right does not mean choosing the easiest major, and certainly not choosing the major most people are pursuing; it is the choice that makes you happy enough to stay with it for the long term. 

“Happiness” here does not mean the road ahead will be free of difficulty. Every field of study has pressure, and every profession requires effort. But when it is a choice you have spent time researching, experiencing and deciding on for yourself, you will have more motivation to persevere when you face challenges. 

In this part, the programme also touched on a topic very close to Gen Z today: can AI help choose a major? According to the guests, AI is certainly a useful tool. It can help students synthesise information, analyse career trends and even suggest suitable choices based on input data. However, AI cannot answer for young people the most important questions: what makes you feel motivated every morning when you wake up, what makes you feel valuable, and who you want to become in the future. 

Closing the programme, the message Quang Thiện sent to students was also the spirit running throughout the first livestream episode: it is okay if you are still unsure today. It is okay if you do not have an answer right away. What matters is to give yourself time to understand yourself better, to experience more and to trust your own choice enough. Because choosing a major is not a race to make a decision as fast as possible, but a journey for each young person to find where they truly want to belong.