As an ageing humanist, I wish to encourage all young people to really listen to their passions and choose a subject that truly interests them. As the job-for-life-and-a-decent-pension turns slowly into a mosaic of individual entrepreneurs, young people often feel anxious and end up going for the safe option.

But what is safe? At the beginning of the 21st century the most secure academic career started in the University of Technology. Only a little over ten years later no one is surprised to hear about an unemployed graduate engineer. Now it looks like becoming a doctor is the most secure path to wealth. But is that the right reason to choose what is in fact a gutty job? And how long will doctors go on holding a higher status in both income and public esteem? But by becoming interested in dead languages, archaeology and neuropsychology one can be master of one’s life through constantly prolonged careers, making retirement seem a thought worse than death. For us humanists, more often than not work is just a lifestyle, which is what gives it meaning. I sincerely hope the university is able to understand the minds of young people. A 20-year-old is too young to know everything. They must be given time, the chance to make mistakes and choose again, the joy of searching and finding. That is the only way you going to educate a happy workforce.