Why didn't I read a text like this 20 years ago?! I remember when I went to college, because it was the right thing to do, I didn't know what to study because there was no college degree to draw my attention to. Because of my tastes and my life, I became a professor of literature. I don't regret having chosen that career, I think I do it well and it's a profession I like, I enjoy it and I value it very much. But I think I left some dreams unfulfilled as a result of my studies and then work. I left my dreams of painting and travelling in a forgotten suitcase.
I remember when I told my parents that I liked to draw, they told me that it wasn't a career, that I would starve to death and that I would have money only after death. Anyway!
I don't know what all universities are like, but in my country's universities there is a lack of orientation, vocational tests, in which the boys can review what they want, their tastes, their abilities. Here it is becoming more and more normal to see 15 or 16 year olds in university, not really knowing what they want to study and what they expect from life.
I think that before entering the university, we should have as a sabbatical year where we can think and reflect well on what we plan to do with our lives! Perhaps then there would be fewer boring and unvocational people in their jobs. Thank you very much for this instructive post, @honeydue.