Failure Of SNMPTN Is OK, Because Campus Is Not The Sole Determining Factor For Success

SNMPTN Announcement Website (Source: announcements-snmptn.ltmpt.ac.id)

JAKARTA - Many high school students have received good news because they passed the National Higher Education Entrance Selection (SNMPTN) test yesterday. On the other hand, the number of those who failed the SNMPTN was certainly more. But take it easy, for career matters, your favorite campus is not a single factor of success. Even those who don't have a single title are very likely to have a fancy career.

Yesterday was probably the most thrilling day for 854,599 high school students to register for SNMPTN. Of these, only 110,459 people passed, the rest died.

There are five State Universities (PTN) that are most in-demand at SNMPTN. As summarized on the Instagram page @input.snmptn, Padjadjaran University was in first place with 42,034 registrants.

Based on the 2019 selection data, the most favorite department for the Padjadjaran University Science study program is Animal Science with 1,654 enthusiasts. Meanwhile, its capacity is only 160. Meanwhile, in the social and humanities group, namely the department of law, with enthusiasts reaching 1,766 with a capacity of 160.

After Padjadjaran University, followed by Brawijaya University as the runner-up. The number of people who registered on the campus reached 41,716 people.

As is known, the most favorite department in the scientific group of Brawijaya University is Agroecotechnology with 2,202 enthusiasts. Meanwhile, the capacity is only 367. In majoring in social science, there are 2,584 lawyers with a capacity of 222.

Then the third rank of favorite campuses based on the most SNMPTN applicants is the Pendidikan Indonesia University (UPI). The campus which is located in Bandung is registered by 41,716 people.

While the favorite department at UPI is in the science major with the highest interest, namely computer science with 1,011 enthusiasts. Meanwhile, for the department of social media, the highest interest was management with 1,765 enthusiasts.

The tight competition in the PTN selection certainly makes many students not pass the selection. However, students should not worry. Because not going to a favorite college is not the end of everything. From a career perspective, for example, the alma mater is not a single factor that determines a person's future success.

Illustration (Source: Pixabay)

Not a single key

Ir. Dadang Danusiri who once served as the main commissioner of PT. KHI Pipe Industries in 2018 said the alma mater was not too influential for job career success. According to him, the influence of the alma mater on the success of being accepted to work is probably only about 50 percent.

"Many companies often open recruitment in well-known campuses, because they believe their human resources are good. But the influence of the alma mater is not that dominant. Maybe only about 50 percent of the alma mater", he said when filling a public lecture at Solo State University (UNS) three years ago.

Dadang did not castrate the role of the alma mater in the recruitment process. However, according to him, this only happens when many decision-makers in the company come from the same alma mater as the applicant.

The rest said Dadang, the applicants will be assessed from the aspect of hard skills and soft skills. In fact, according to him in the world of work, intelligence is not the main determining factor for a person to succeed.

"According to research, IQ ranks 21st in the list of determinants of a person's success. Meanwhile, GPA or grades are in 30th position," said Dadang, as quoted by VOI on the official website of UNS.

He then emphasized how important it is for college graduates to have skills to manage themselves and others. Because this is the most important determinant of someone's success.

"The key to success from the first research is honesty. Because if he is not honest, he will not be trusted by his superiors or colleagues. Then be disciplined, have the ability to get along with other people, have good leadership, work harder than others, and love what they do", he said.

Meanwhile, to improve soft skills, Dadang has tips. One of them is actively organizing. By being organized we are trained to interact with many people, make important decisions, cooperate and determine priorities.

Dadang then advised the students to practice their soft skills since they were in college. The hope is that after graduating, they can immediately apply in the world of work and have increasingly bright career prospects.

Illustration (Unsplash / Dom Fou)

Work without a degree

Many people ranging from parents, extended family, teachers, even friends praised the course of college and getting a job in the company as the only path to happiness. Even though the reality is not that narrow.

Studying at a university, let alone one that has prestige can indeed be an extraordinary experience. However, having a degree is no longer a guarantee of getting a high-paying job.

For some sectors such as law and medicine, having a bachelor's degree is a prerequisite. But, the choice is definitely not just that, right?

Unfortunately, what we have to admit is that not everyone has access to study at university. And competition for the best universities is not the only option.

There is one important fact that needs to be known. According to Phil Edelston, one of the managing directors of the company Dylan Marketing Recruitment, said someone who has been in the job for three years and can demonstrate real skills offers much more employable potential "than someone with an unrelated degree", said Edelston in his writing quoted by The Guardian.

According to him, even in some jobs, experience in the real world counts far more than just dwelling on campus. According to Edelston, an example in the field of digital marketing and social media is growing all the time.

Edelston said a person can actually look for job opportunities right away without having to go to college. Although he also said this step would be more difficult to pass. But it is still possible.

In the first step, Edelston thought this would be difficult. But persistence pays off. According to him, what can be done is to send applications to companies by showing the initiative, expertise, and skills they have.

Also, talk to recruitment consultants, local job centers, and youth centers for direction and also use a network of friends and family. Edelston says that a network of friends can be the perfect person to help us find work, "so just ask".

Especially now that the times are all easy with the existence of LinkedIn and Twitter. With the help of social media, we can build professional relationships that can connect us to the right people.

Indeed, for many people, campus life is more than just getting a degree. It's an opportunity to get to know ourselves better, develop ourselves and get the opportunity to learn what fields we like. Universities can shape us, provide some life experiences and form opinions about what fields to study.

"So if you've planned to go to college, congratulations! But if not, there's no need to worry. The world isn't that narrow", concluded Edelston.

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