Study Travelling

I thought I’d tell you a bit about myself again today before I take you with me for another journey. If you’ve read my very first post, you already have an idea of why I was given the opportunity to spend a year in South America. But maybe some of you would like to know a little more precisely. How exactly did I end up here and what does my degree programme look like in general? And who doesn’t like to talk about oneself 😉

One Big Question Mark

Anyone who thought that I had planned from an early age that I would one day study tourism in Chile and do a six-month internship in Costa Rica was wrong. In fact, I didn’t know where I would end up for a very long time. I’m not talking about my choice of where to spend my semester / year abroad. But rather the question of what I should do with my life in general.

The foundation for my career in tourism was actually already laid after secondary school. Instead of attending a standard high school, I opted for a five-year college with a commercial focus and vocational training to become a chef and waiter. In five years, I acquired a basic knowledge of business administration, accounting, finance and hospitality. Not to mention a training programme to qualify as a young sommelier.

Afterwards, however, I did not immediately realise that I wanted to continue going in that direction. From the fourth year of secondary school onwards, I was increasingly haunted by the big question: What do I want to do in future? I always had lots of dreams, but never a precise plan. Before graduating, I knew that I didn’t want to start university straight after school. First of all, I had to take a little break. Then there was my wish to go to Peru, but anyone who has been following my posts knows that this never happened.

Instead, I spent a year working towards a future that will probably never materialise. I haven’t really shared this part of my past to this day because I felt like a failure for a really long time. But today I know that everything in life has a purpose and that nothing is truly for nothing.

Sometime between my five years of high school and twelve seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, my dream of becoming a surgeon was born. Fans of the series can probably relate to this. My school grades were always excellent, so I didn’t find anything to stop me. So, the one year wasn’t meant to be a break from studying after all, but to be filled with even more learning material for the big admission test for medical school in Austria. I also worked a few hours as a tutor and as a waitress in a wine bar. After all, I had to earn some money somehow.

But of course I also needed an alternative in case the Medical Exam wouldn’t work out. And so I prepared for the exams for the qualification for physiotherapy studies at the same time. My sister is a physiotherapist and it seemed like a good option at that time.

However, I was never one hundred per cent convinced of my plan. The first time I had doubts was when I went on Interrail (travelling through Europe by train) for a month at the beginning of September. My first solo trip took me to Switzerland, France, Spain and Italy. It was during this time that I discovered my love for travelling alone. For the first time, I had that feeling of freedom that I still can’t get enough of to this day. But after four weeks, I was pushed back into reality. Now it was time to study and earn some money.

By the end of January, I slowly realised that I wasn’t really happy with all that. Although I found all the subjects very interesting ( I can get excited about pretty much anything), studying has always caused me a lot of pressure and stress. Although I never had any problems at school, the good grades didn’t just come to me. And of course I then asked myself how I was going to continue studying medicine. It’s not necessarily the easiest degree programme of all.

Time passed. In April, I went on holiday with two very good friends. During Easter break, we got in the car and drove five hours south to Trieste, Italy. It was my first stay abroad since my Interrail trip. How I had missed that!

And on this one evening, I was lying in the bedroom of our AirBnB and knew that this was making me so much happier than anything I had learnt in the past few months. Maybe you’re thinking to yourselves now: Yeah, who doesn’t love being on holiday. But it was more than that. The combination of travelling, food, culture, people, food, … (I mean, who doesn’t love the original Italian cuisine).

Anyway, I was lying in bed that night and researched my current degree program. I knew the program because a classmate from high school started studying tourism in Krems straight after graduating. Unlike me, she knew it right then.

I skimmed through the course descriptions and thought to myself: Hey, that sounds like me. Then I scrolled further down and thought that maybe it just wasn’t meant to be after all. The application deadline was due in two days. I was on holiday in Italy, didn’t have the necessary documents to hand of course and couldn’t possibly answer all the application questions and write a good essay that quickly.

Now you’re probably wondering how I ended up starting my degree in the same year. Well, apparently the stars were in my favour after all. The application deadline was extended until August. Enough time to send off my application and confess to my parents and friends that I wasn’t going to be a doctor in the end.

Of course, nobody seemed to be bothered by the fact that I had changed my mind. It has always been important to my family that I do what makes me happy. My dad was just a little sceptical because he now knew for sure that I would be going abroad. But he had to live with that. Nevertheless, I never told the majority of the people I met later on. From studying medicine to tourism. Sounds a bit silly.

But now I’m sharing this story, this part of myself, with all of you. Because I want to show you that it’s not stupid. It’s never stupid to do what you think will make you happy. And often in life you find yourself on paths that you thought would make you happy, but suddenly they just don’t anymore. And then there’s no shame in taking a different path and leaving the old behind.

So much so far about my background. Anyone who is now interested in my studies is welcome to continue reading.

Studying Tourism

To be honest, I don’t exactly know what comes into people’s minds when they hear that I’m studying tourism. At first, you might wonder what you can actually study there. After all, you don’t need a bachelor’s or even a master’s degree to work in a hotel or travel agency. When I then tell people about my degree program, most of them say that it sounds really cool. But why don’t you make up your own mind?

Of course, you don’t need a degree to work as a waiter in a restaurant or at a hotel reception. But maybe you would like to climb a little further up the career ladder. One day you might want to run your own hotel. Or maybe you’re more interested in the background work, such as marketing or HR.

Just like the different jobs at a hotel, tourism is extremely diverse. And with today’s pressing issues, this sector also needs experts who are capable of thinking ahead, finding new ideas and implementing them. Tourism exists everywhere in the world. Who would have thought it? Many countries are even dependent on it. Everyone wants to travel. But our environment is suffering. It’s not easy to find a balance between all this.

Subjects such as Sustainable Tourism and Geography are aimed at preparing us for these challenges. However, conventional business courses, such as Accounting, Financial Mathematics and Business Law, are also part of the program. In Hospitality, Destination and Event Management, we gain more insight into professional life. In principle, the Tourism and Leisure Management degree program at the IMC Krems is a business degree with a focus on tourism. So, if you find a normal business study program too boring, this might be the right choice for you.

What I was excited about studying in Krems right from the start was the international orientation. In fact, none of our courses are taught in German. All in English. Of course, that was a bit of a challenge at first. But you get used to it extremely quickly and soon you don’t even realize that your native language isn’t being spoken in class.

The University of Applied Sciences campus is generally aimed at a very international target group, with numerous English degree programmes and many students from abroad. This creates a super diverse and international environment.

Professors also come from all over the world and have a wide variety of backgrounds. The advantage of studying at a university of applied sciences is of course that the lecturers always come from the professional world and therefore contribute a lot of their own practical knowledge. For example, we had a professor who is the manager of a Best Western hotel in Canada. Our marketing professor works in marketing at ÖBB and our geography professor was Italian (do I need to say more? 😂).

A second foreign language is also taught. As I had already learnt Spanish in high school, I wanted to build on my knowledge. However, you can also opt for French, Italian or Chinese, for example. This degree program is therefore ideal for language talents or those interested in it. And of course, it makes sense to optimize your language skills if you are aiming for a career in tourism.

In addition, you get the opportunity to study abroad for a semester. You can choose between different partner universities all over the world. The six-month internship has to be completed abroad on a compulsory basis. So, if you are not prepared to spend six months away from home, this program may not be the right choice for you.

Especially those who stay within the European Union will also receive financial support from Erasmus during this time. It’s a little more difficult outside Europe. However, with good grades and a convincing letter of application, you also have the chance of a scholarship there. Otherwise, I would hardly have been able to finance the six months I am spending in Costa Rica myself.

And what exactly do you do after graduating? Many people may answer the question of why they are studying tourism by saying: Because they love travelling. Somehow plausible, if you are given the opportunity to spend a whole year abroad during your studies. And after graduating with a degree in tourism, you will of course be sought after worldwide as a labour force. Country borders are no limitation.

You are hardly restricted in your career choice either. In contrast to a medical degree, where you will be a medical doctor afterwards, there is no precise job title for this study program. There are also numerous master’s degree programs on offer, often part-time.

If you ask me what I want to do afterwards, I can’t really give you an answer yet. Still lots of dreams but no concrete plan.

And what do you think of my degree program? Cool or not? When you have the opportunity to spend a whole year anywhere in the world.

But enough talking about myself now. Maybe I’ve been able to inspire some of you to reconsider your choice of study program. Or maybe you now understand better why I’ve been travelling around South America for almost a year.

What else I would like to say

Above all, however, I wanted to show you that it’s okay not to always have a precise plan. Not always knowing where you want to be in future. Don’t give a damn about the question „Where do you see yourself in five years?“. Or worse, in ten. Sometimes life just feels like an endless labyrinth. The only thing you can do then is to listen to your gut feeling. And often amazing things happen as a result.

Also, don’t be afraid to shock your family and friends with plot twists. After all, it’s your life and really nobody should be able to stop you from following your dreams.

Who would have thought two years ago that I would spend a year in South America? I certainly didn’t. And I have no plan for where I will be in another two years. But what I do know is that I’ve learnt a lot over the past few months. Every experience in life helps us move forward in the end. And every day holds new doors open. So don’t make the same mistake I did and stress about the big question of the future. Sometimes things just happen naturally.

In my next post, I won’t spoil you again with stories about myself and philosophical thoughts but will take you with me to my next destination. Until then,

Bussi Baba!