College
Blog Entry: College
Blog Entry: College
Robin http://withinmyworld.org has a great site about college and I remember that Snow http://rayjah.net used to have one too, or something related to college. These ladies have graduated, and the same can be said about many of my friends, but there seems to be a general interest in the topic of college. I realized that I never really blogged about it while I was a student, other than stating that I hate homework, so I decided to blog the story today... Better late than never, right?
I can't say anything about choosing a university other than there are two within driving distance of where I live, so didn't have a hard time with that. When it came to choosing a topic, I didn't give it much thought either. It was as natural as going from grade 11 to grade 12. My friends were all getting some kind of degree, some a 4 year degree, others 2 or 1 year degrees, but they were all keeping their student status.
My parents are not really tech savvy, so as a lover or technology you can imagine there are a lot of eye rolls and sighs of annoyance at how little people can understand, even when presented with a simple explanation. To them, using the computer is just using the computer. They can't differentiate the many things it does, it's everything from a TV, to a console, to a canvas.
One day they asked "are you going to study computers?" It sounded like an easy subject so I said yes, and without further thought I signed up.
My major was Information Systems, aka Computer Science Lite, not quite as complex as Computer Science but more tech than the Secretarial major. Since it focused of stuff that I already had a good grasp on by tech savvy instinct, it was easy. However, I don't do that job, as I later found out that such jobs are super tedious and boring. I don't like sorting data. I did enjoy my classes, but I only had to do everything once, rather than every workday.
So yeah, the lesson to take from this is that just because a class is pleasant, doesn't mean doing the same thing for a job will be. You won't have the same lively college environment nor the novelty of doing things with programs you've never had a reason to try to do before. There will not be a multitude of "aha" moments or the friendly competition of who can make the program work first. It'll just be you doing stuff you already know how to do, and depending on what it is you're doing, that can get tedious.
I don't regret my choice because my purpose was to find a major that was easy and interesting, something that came to me naturally so I wouldn't have to concern myself too much with grades, but was amusing enough so that university wasn't a total bore and I got it.
After my BA was done I went off to get a master. My parents asked me what I planned to do and I replied with an honest "I don't know." They suggested getting a masters, as the other university in my city was offering them, while the uni where I got my BA was BA only. So I went to sign up and since I still had no job experience at this point, I naturally chose the same topic as my BA, except the masters program was new and they didn't have that yet. So I asked what they had and picked what I thought I'd be most comfortable with, Management. I had taken some management classes as part of the Information Systems degree and they weren't so bad, so I figured I could handle it.
I was right. Though the required math classes were unpleasant, I never repeated any and passed with most As and some Bs. As I was close to graduation, the Marketing masters became available but I was nearly done so I didn't switch. In my BA, my original minor was Education, I had no clue what to put in the form and didn't think it would matter much, Education was suggested so I wrote it in. However, the classes were inconveniently scheduled so I never signed up, instead preferring a more comfortable schedule with my classes in a row. I obviously didn't fill the requisites for the Education minor, but I realized that I had a lot of Marketing classes because they were easily available and they were interesting. Since I already had what I needed, I switched my minor to Marketing.
I actually liked Marketing more than Management, but as you probably noticed by now, my college experience is mostly about going with the flow and doing what's convenient... and I don't regret it. I can't say it was super vital in terms of career, since what I use most often are the things that I learned through self study. The degree is a pretty flexible topic that serves as a sort of guarantee of knowledge, even though it's really not. I did learn stuff of course, but getting good grades was the priority, so I focused on what I needed to know and left what I might be interested in additionally knowing for later.
The lesson to take from this is, you don't have to fuss about the perfect subject to study. You'll probably change your mind about what you want anyway, or realize a certain type of job isn't what you imagined. Just get something done before you get tired of being an official student, as no one truly ever stops being a student in life.
Before ending this blog I'll go over a few details that might be misunderstood. For example, some of my classmates during my BA thought that history was a required class for everyone, like basic math actually was. History wasn't, it was just a common misconception, but there was actually a list of classes that could be chosen to replace it. Since I suck at remembering names and dates, I switched it for psychology. My classmates thought it was a crazy move because they claimed that psychology was hard, but I found it to be very logical and easy.
The lesson here is that you probably have more options than you realize and that there are no subjects that are ultimately hard or ultimately easy, but there are subjects that you're good at and subjects that are not your forte. It's like me and history, I've been hearing the same basic things since elementary school and I never retain any of it for longer than it takes to dump the contents of my hastily loaded brain into a piece of test paper.
On the subject of options, I didn't jump through any hoops to switch my minor. I just took the classes and made it official later. Sometimes, if you wait for an ok, you'll be wasting your time. Experiment and try out whatever class you want... Or whatever happens to conveniently fill that empty block between two other classes.
Subjects are not simply subjects, they are methods and processes. I love figuring out technology, so learning to use a new program is fun, but if the program doesn't do anything artistic, actually using it after I know what I'm doing is a drag, especially if, unlike in college, stuff has to be done more than once. You'll have plenty of time to get bored then, which you might not experience in class.
I pledged to never again set foot on a box farm. I was told that executive jobs were good, and like the naive little girl I was, I believed it. I hate executive jobs, I can't think of anything more tedious and boring. "But you got in the company paper and got a promotion in just five months..." Yeah, but it didn't make it any better, and I don't stay where I'm not happy. The lesson here, if you don't like your job, you are not stuck with it. Don't assume you'll never find anything you like. Don't believe people when they say a job is good or bad, because their bad might be your awesome.
I'm not social, I don't seek out people, I'm generally a loner who prefers art to living creatures. Yet customer service is a pretty good job fit. Odd, I know, but I can't stand the boredom of paperwork and numbers, people can be funny, though many speak of customer service as frustrating. It's precisely because I don't care for people that I'm always cool calm and collected, no emotional involvement, immunity to the chaos that to me looks peculiar and amusing instead of infuriating. You can get an idea of what I mean from my 4koma series, all based on life and all in good humor. http://mikaristar.deviantart.com/gallery/52508999/Original-Comics
In summary, just because you like doing something doesn't mean that you'll enjoy working on it and vice versa. I'm opposite in my free time and work. I personally prefer to be left alone so I can focus on what I want, but at work, since I have to work rather than do whatever I want, I get bored if left alone. Also, having friends at work is important. I don't really get too motivated to do anything for work alone, but if I get to be cool for my friends or help them out, motivation comes naturally. All of this could be different for different people, my point is that you should try to figure out what works for you instead of trying to make due with what you expect to work. Allow you to surprise yourself and don't over think it, just let the answers come, they may arrive when you least expect them and be what you least expected.
Ok, I'm getting bored of this topic, so I'll stop now. Take a look at my twitter for fun mini blogs about videogames and anime. I'm currently playing Tales of Hearts R for the PSVita.
I can't say anything about choosing a university other than there are two within driving distance of where I live, so didn't have a hard time with that. When it came to choosing a topic, I didn't give it much thought either. It was as natural as going from grade 11 to grade 12. My friends were all getting some kind of degree, some a 4 year degree, others 2 or 1 year degrees, but they were all keeping their student status.
My parents are not really tech savvy, so as a lover or technology you can imagine there are a lot of eye rolls and sighs of annoyance at how little people can understand, even when presented with a simple explanation. To them, using the computer is just using the computer. They can't differentiate the many things it does, it's everything from a TV, to a console, to a canvas.
One day they asked "are you going to study computers?" It sounded like an easy subject so I said yes, and without further thought I signed up.
My major was Information Systems, aka Computer Science Lite, not quite as complex as Computer Science but more tech than the Secretarial major. Since it focused of stuff that I already had a good grasp on by tech savvy instinct, it was easy. However, I don't do that job, as I later found out that such jobs are super tedious and boring. I don't like sorting data. I did enjoy my classes, but I only had to do everything once, rather than every workday.
So yeah, the lesson to take from this is that just because a class is pleasant, doesn't mean doing the same thing for a job will be. You won't have the same lively college environment nor the novelty of doing things with programs you've never had a reason to try to do before. There will not be a multitude of "aha" moments or the friendly competition of who can make the program work first. It'll just be you doing stuff you already know how to do, and depending on what it is you're doing, that can get tedious.
I don't regret my choice because my purpose was to find a major that was easy and interesting, something that came to me naturally so I wouldn't have to concern myself too much with grades, but was amusing enough so that university wasn't a total bore and I got it.
After my BA was done I went off to get a master. My parents asked me what I planned to do and I replied with an honest "I don't know." They suggested getting a masters, as the other university in my city was offering them, while the uni where I got my BA was BA only. So I went to sign up and since I still had no job experience at this point, I naturally chose the same topic as my BA, except the masters program was new and they didn't have that yet. So I asked what they had and picked what I thought I'd be most comfortable with, Management. I had taken some management classes as part of the Information Systems degree and they weren't so bad, so I figured I could handle it.
I was right. Though the required math classes were unpleasant, I never repeated any and passed with most As and some Bs. As I was close to graduation, the Marketing masters became available but I was nearly done so I didn't switch. In my BA, my original minor was Education, I had no clue what to put in the form and didn't think it would matter much, Education was suggested so I wrote it in. However, the classes were inconveniently scheduled so I never signed up, instead preferring a more comfortable schedule with my classes in a row. I obviously didn't fill the requisites for the Education minor, but I realized that I had a lot of Marketing classes because they were easily available and they were interesting. Since I already had what I needed, I switched my minor to Marketing.
I actually liked Marketing more than Management, but as you probably noticed by now, my college experience is mostly about going with the flow and doing what's convenient... and I don't regret it. I can't say it was super vital in terms of career, since what I use most often are the things that I learned through self study. The degree is a pretty flexible topic that serves as a sort of guarantee of knowledge, even though it's really not. I did learn stuff of course, but getting good grades was the priority, so I focused on what I needed to know and left what I might be interested in additionally knowing for later.
The lesson to take from this is, you don't have to fuss about the perfect subject to study. You'll probably change your mind about what you want anyway, or realize a certain type of job isn't what you imagined. Just get something done before you get tired of being an official student, as no one truly ever stops being a student in life.
Before ending this blog I'll go over a few details that might be misunderstood. For example, some of my classmates during my BA thought that history was a required class for everyone, like basic math actually was. History wasn't, it was just a common misconception, but there was actually a list of classes that could be chosen to replace it. Since I suck at remembering names and dates, I switched it for psychology. My classmates thought it was a crazy move because they claimed that psychology was hard, but I found it to be very logical and easy.
The lesson here is that you probably have more options than you realize and that there are no subjects that are ultimately hard or ultimately easy, but there are subjects that you're good at and subjects that are not your forte. It's like me and history, I've been hearing the same basic things since elementary school and I never retain any of it for longer than it takes to dump the contents of my hastily loaded brain into a piece of test paper.
On the subject of options, I didn't jump through any hoops to switch my minor. I just took the classes and made it official later. Sometimes, if you wait for an ok, you'll be wasting your time. Experiment and try out whatever class you want... Or whatever happens to conveniently fill that empty block between two other classes.
Subjects are not simply subjects, they are methods and processes. I love figuring out technology, so learning to use a new program is fun, but if the program doesn't do anything artistic, actually using it after I know what I'm doing is a drag, especially if, unlike in college, stuff has to be done more than once. You'll have plenty of time to get bored then, which you might not experience in class.
I pledged to never again set foot on a box farm. I was told that executive jobs were good, and like the naive little girl I was, I believed it. I hate executive jobs, I can't think of anything more tedious and boring. "But you got in the company paper and got a promotion in just five months..." Yeah, but it didn't make it any better, and I don't stay where I'm not happy. The lesson here, if you don't like your job, you are not stuck with it. Don't assume you'll never find anything you like. Don't believe people when they say a job is good or bad, because their bad might be your awesome.
I'm not social, I don't seek out people, I'm generally a loner who prefers art to living creatures. Yet customer service is a pretty good job fit. Odd, I know, but I can't stand the boredom of paperwork and numbers, people can be funny, though many speak of customer service as frustrating. It's precisely because I don't care for people that I'm always cool calm and collected, no emotional involvement, immunity to the chaos that to me looks peculiar and amusing instead of infuriating. You can get an idea of what I mean from my 4koma series, all based on life and all in good humor. http://mikaristar.deviantart.com/gallery/52508999/Original-Comics
In summary, just because you like doing something doesn't mean that you'll enjoy working on it and vice versa. I'm opposite in my free time and work. I personally prefer to be left alone so I can focus on what I want, but at work, since I have to work rather than do whatever I want, I get bored if left alone. Also, having friends at work is important. I don't really get too motivated to do anything for work alone, but if I get to be cool for my friends or help them out, motivation comes naturally. All of this could be different for different people, my point is that you should try to figure out what works for you instead of trying to make due with what you expect to work. Allow you to surprise yourself and don't over think it, just let the answers come, they may arrive when you least expect them and be what you least expected.
Ok, I'm getting bored of this topic, so I'll stop now. Take a look at my twitter for fun mini blogs about videogames and anime. I'm currently playing Tales of Hearts R for the PSVita.