On Tuesday, January 3, 2023, the scores of the Higher Education Access Test (PAES) were announced, which was taken on November 28, 29, and 30, 2022. After that, the almost 246,000 people who received their results were able to apply to universities. For this reason, and before a new registration process begins, our Answerdog, from Watchdog Pauta, went out to investigate which are the most attended careers in Chile.
Knowing which ones are preferred when studying is very important, since in addition to considering the vocation or abilities that each person has, it is necessary to take into account the prospects for professional development offered by each career. In this sense, according to data from MiFuturo.cl, a platform of the Undersecretary of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education (Mineduc), the career with the highest number of undergraduate enrollments in universities was Psychology, with 9,817 enrolled in the first year in 2022.
The Psychology degree is offered in 48 universities, both public and private, and, in general, studies everything related to human behavior, including its biological, social, and cultural aspects, in order to later understand how these behaviors have effects on personality. , emotions or behaviors.
The Undergraduate Director of the UC School of Psychology, Agustín Molina, explains that this career allows students to develop knowledge and skills to contribute to current and emerging challenges, such as mental health, diversity and inclusion, new technologies, among others. . To the above, he adds that “students are trained to contribute to the resolution of problems at different levels, such as a specific person, an SME, a municipality or a school, or even at a national and regional level through public policies. These levels of intervention, in turn, apply to multiple fields of professional practice, such as clinical, labor, educational, community, and health”.
In second place among the most studied careers is Law, taught at 43 universities throughout the country and with 9,012 first-year enrollments in 2022. This career trains experts in laws, ordinances, statutes and legal codes, and is conducive to the title of lawyer. Among other things, these professionals can provide legal advice to companies or legal entities or represent their clients in court.
The dean of the Faculty of Law of the Universidad de los Andes, José Ignacio Martínez, mentions that those who are considering this career should consider that there is a wide professional field. “It covers both the private practice and the public sector, in the latter case both in the judiciary and in functions as relevant as those of the Public Ministry or the Criminal Defender’s Office, or in State agencies. Likewise, academic life is also opening up as another relevant professional field ”, he adds.
Third place among those preferred by students is Commercial Engineering, with 8,770 enrolled last year in their first year, and with a presence in 45 universities as part of its study offer. It is an economic and business science whose objective is to develop new and innovative businesses through the application of the disciplines it studies.
The dean of the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences of the Universidad de los Andes, Karin Jürgensen, comments that it is a career that forms leadership skills, teamwork, critical thinking, among others that allow you to get jobs in Finance, Marketing, Economics , or People Management and Strategy.
In addition, he adds that he believes that “the labor field will continue to expand because the dynamism of the world continuously generates opportunities to innovate in organizations and to create innovative goods and services that meet people’s desires for a better life; capacities that the commercial engineer tends to cultivate”.
Fourth place in the ranking of most studied careers is held by Nursing, present in 42 houses of study and with 6,958 enrollments. The career trains health professionals who lead the management of care for people throughout their life cycle, the family and the community.
The director of the School of Nursing of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile, Cristián Pérez, affirms that this career differs from the rest of the health ones because in nursing there is a more comprehensive vision where the person is seen as a everything, and not only from his health problem. “Nursing professionals can occupy different places within health teams, not only what we have as a preconception of direct clinical care in a hospital or in a doctor’s office, but also leading research teams and doing a host of other things . The field is tremendously large, ”he adds.
The fifth place of the most studied careers is taken by the common plan of Civil Engineering, with more than 90 educational options and 4,522 first-year enrollments in 2022. It is an engineering discipline where knowledge of calculus, physics or Mechanics, so that after the common plan, move on to a specialty, such as Industrial or Hydraulics.
The director of the School of Engineering and Sciences of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of the University of Chile, Ricardo Herrera, comments that this degree has multiple benefits, such as a solid background in basic sciences that provides a common ground for all careers. Regarding specialization, he comments that this possibility occurs “after two years in which you can obtain a better knowledge of what someone who graduates does. In other words, it allows the decision to be deferred for when there is greater maturity, avoiding the loss of semesters completed due to having made the wrong choice”.
Universities are not the only option when deciding where to study, as there are also Professional Institutes (IP) and Technical Training Centers (CFT). In the IP, the careers with the highest enrollment in the first year in 2022 were Nursing Technician (10,594), Computer Engineering and Informatics (6,034), Business Administration Technician (6,019) and Business Administration and Associate Engineering (5,547). .
The Computer and Informatics Engineering career takes second place and has experienced high growth in the last 10 years due to the increase in technological trends in recent times. It is a training that integrates knowledge in software development, analytics, data mining, business intelligence, management, project evaluation, among others.
The sector director of Applied Technology at Inacap, Álvaro Castro, explains that computer scientists and programmers are in high demand in the world of work and that they have great projection potential in terms of professional development. “Digitalization has made its way, having a transversal impact on the different productive and service sectors, increasing their participation and application development every day. With this, it is shown that careers related to information technology will continue to increase their labor field, with a wide range of development possibilities in different industries ”, he adds.
On the other hand, in the CFTs, the careers most in demand by students and which had the highest number of first-year enrollments in 2022 are Nursing Technician (8,150), Business Administration Technician (4,759), Gastronomy and Cooking Technician (4,389 and Nursery Educator Assistant Technician (3,581).
The Business Administration Technician career is in second place and, in general, integrates the mastery of the tools and methodologies associated with the execution of procedures in different areas of an organization.
The director of the Administration Area and head of Business Administration at Inacap, Erika Oñate, mentions that this career has always been highly sought after by companies because it integrates and accompanies them in the challenges of the industry. “Supports the main processes that intervene in the execution of the various functional areas, such as finance, marketing, sales, commercial operations and people management, as well as supporting the processes of continuous improvement, innovation and entrepreneurship, considering a changing, comprehensive context. and systemic”, he asserts.
Careers with the largest labor field
When choosing, it is also important to know which are the careers that have a greater field of employment and, therefore, a higher employability. According to data from the website dondeestudiar.cl, of the Ministry of Higher Education Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, among the careers with the highest employability in the fourth year of graduation are Chemistry and Pharmacy (97.7%), Obstetrics and Child Care (97.2%). and Pedagogy in Differential Education (94%).
The Chemistry and Pharmacy degree is taught in 14 study houses throughout Chile, and trains health professionals who are experts in medicines, trained to inform and advise the community and other professionals in the area on their use. In addition, they can also develop and produce medicines and cosmetics, manage laboratories and work teams, among others.
The doctor, academic and director of the UC School of Chemistry and Pharmacy, José Fuentealba, says that the areas of job performance that a person who studies this may have include community pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, the pharmaceutical industry, clinical pharmacy, health care primary health and regulatory affairs offices such as the Institute of Public Health. “It is important to highlight that in the near future the pharmaceutical profession will require specialization in different areas of work, implying the need for constant updating through continuous education”, he clarifies.
As for Obstetrics and Child Care, it is a career that is offered in 18 universities and that allows care for women throughout their life cycle and for newborns. Specialists are usually part of health teams that provide care especially oriented towards sexual and reproductive health, and accompany women during pregnancy, labor and delivery.
The director of the School of Obstetrics and Child Care at the Universidad de los Andes, Andrea López, comments that today’s society demands high-level care in this field, based on scientific and humanized evidence, these being the characteristics that distinguish midwives in its field of clinical competence, management, research and teaching. “The occupational field includes hospitals, clinics, offices, universities, public and private health agencies, as well as independent professional service,” she adds.
On the other hand, the Pedagogy in Differential Education course is offered at 15 universities and aims to train teachers in the area of special education, capable of supporting pedagogical decisions in an inclusive and social justice approach. Likewise, they develop the necessary skills to respond to the diversity of educational needs that students may have.
The director of Pedagogy in Differential Education at the Diego Portales University, Liliana Ramos Abadie, recommends studying this career for those who have a vocation for being teachers and really show an interest in knowing, supporting and teaching students who may be at risk of exclusion from the education system. “It is a complex, interesting and exciting job, which implies coordinating with other professionals, with families and being very attentive to who the students are and what their interests are, to start from there a fruitful teaching and learning process”, Add.
On the other hand, among the technical careers with the highest employability in the fourth year of graduation are Logistics Technician (85%), Industrial Maintenance Technician (84.5%), Library and Documentation Center Technician (82.2%) and Technician in Industrial Mechanics (82%).