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The 5 most valuable things you can do in college to help your career.

Read this great article, The Five Most Valuable Things I Did in College to Help My Career, by posting this link into your browser: http://adage.com/gennext/post?article_id=141196 Read the comments below it,too. Just don't start thinking it's a sure bet to get you your great job in advertising by asking your prof to get it for you!

I don't teach you.

That's right, I don't teach you, at least not much. Instead, I set up situations you can learn from, such as homework assignments, class exercises, and projects. Then you teach yourself, under my guidance. The old idea of a professor lecturing while students write notes has been shown to be a lousy way to educate people. It's the "sage on a stage" model. As someone said, "from ny notes to your notes without going through the brain of either of us." Oh, sure, I do lecture, too, but only because I know, sadly, many students in the class will not have read the text (and may never), and there are plenty of things that need explaining in any subject.

I don't give you your grade

In my last post, I said something about giving students grades. That was not a correct statement. I don't give them to you. Your earn them. I just record them. If your grades have been high, don't thank me, thank yourself. If they've been low, don't blame me -- you know who to blame.

Did I hurt your self-esteen? I'm sorry, but ...

Sometimes I hear that we professors should not criticize our students or give them low grades because it hurts their self-esteem. I certainly don't want to do that. But I teach in a business school in the University. I'm preparing you for a career in business. Since I was in business myself for quite a while, I can tell you that when you start your career, it's unlikely anyone you work with will give a darn about your self-esteen. In fact, there are plenty of people in the business world who will happily destroy your self-esteem on the theory that will advance their careers over yours. So get used to criticism from your professors. We're preparing you for the "real world." Develop a "thick skin" as they say.

Get a Harvard education right here at this school!

You can have as good an education you want, right here. Yes, as good as you'd get at Harvard. But you have to ask for it and work for it. Demand that your professors include the latest materials in their courses. Sign up for free electives that will really make a difference in your education. Maybe take a course at another university that isn't offered here, and transfer the credits. Go to the art exhibits, musical concerts, and other events that are being held all the time at this and nearby schools. Don't be satisfied to follow the crowd. You can do it!

What an easy job professors have!

Professors at my school who carry a full load are in the classroom 12 hours a week. What an easy job, huh? But just as you are supposed to put in 2 hours of study for every hour of class, we profs do at least that: preparing lectures, exercises, assignments, etc. and grading homework papers, projects, etc. So that's 36 hours. Still pretty darn good, huh? But wait: teaching is only one of five responsibilities we have. We also have to serve our department by designing new or revised courses, recruiting the occasional new professor, and so on. Our third responsibility is to the University: for example, we serve on various committees such as the University Senate, the curriculum committee, etc. Our fourth responsibility is to the State, being a state university. We teach seminars to businesspeople, for example. Our fifth responsibility is to create new knowledge through research, the "publish or perish" part of our job. If you add all the time we spend on teaching, department chores, University service, community service, and research, most of us spend at least 75 or 80 hours a week. Not that I'm complaining, I'm not. It's still a great job.

Should your instructors require attendance at class?

If your instructor says attendance is mandatory, maybe that forces you to go and you learn more and get better grades. Or maybe you go but zone out or surf the Web, learning little or nothing. I don't require attendance, but almost all of my students come anyway. Why? Because they know the quizzes and tests are likely to focus on topics I've discussed in class. What do you think? Does requiring attendance help you or not?

Stop wasting time watching sports.

It's great if you play a sport, whether varsity, intramural, or pickup games. Relaxing for 3 hours a week watching sports on TV is OK. But more than that is wasting your valuable time. Do something. Get off the couch. Get a life. I know students who can tell me the complete starting lineups of teams and the players' stats, but can't tell me much of anything about their studies. Think about this: the reason pro sports are on the media is not to entertain you, but to get you to watch commercials and buy the products. Oh, there is one understandable reason for following pro sports: if you consistently win money betting on them. But I never met students who can truthfully say they have.

Read any good magazines lately?

Read a magazine article once in a while. It will help you get better grades. How? Well, the more you read, the better your writing will become. There aren't many student papers that are enjoyable reading, and if yours is one the professor might just give you a better grade. But to be enjoyable, you have to know how to write clear, interesting prose. Unlike Web pages, most magazine articles are clear and interesting, because they are edited by professionals with that aim in mind. Also, if you read a magazine that is about your field of study, such as Business Week or Fortune if you're a business student, you'll discover that what your professors are talking about is "real world" stuff. Your school work will be more interesting if you read a magazine once in a while.

Which project team do YOU want to be a member of?

Most courses nowadays have one or more projects to be done by student teams. Sometimes I assign you to a team. Other times, I let the class divide itself into teams. Which do you prefer your instructor to use? There are pros and cons to each. Assigning you to a group means you'll meet some people you've had little or no contact with, broadening your social skills. Letting you choose a team means you can get with a group that has a schedule compatible with yours, so you can meet easily. I've used both, and lean towards assigning you to a group. When you choose your team members, there's a tendency to pick your friends rather than those who will best complement your own efforts. And it's a lot harder to come down hard on a free rider (someone who doesn't do a fair share of the work) when he or she is your friend.

What does the old professor do in the summer?

In the summer, I spend a lot of time preparing for my fall courses -- a lot more time than any of my students do, I'm sure. There are so many new developments in marketing that it takes a lot of research to keep up (whereas I don't think Shakespeare has written anything new lately that Literature profs have to bone up on!). And there's the continual flow of new editions of texts, or wholly new texts, that I have to at least skim over. So think of me while you're lying on the beach and I'm in my study at home doing what? Studying.

Why do you have to study something you'll never use?

I occasionally hear that complaint from business students: "I'll never need to use what I'm studying in this course." That's often true. After all, how many people will use statistics in their daily job? Or Shakespearian literature! My answer is that there are at least two good reasons:
1. We don't know what you'll need in the rest of your life, and neither do you. So we help you learn what we think many people will need to be successful in life. You may never use that knowledge, but others in your class will.
2. College isn't a trade school. We try to create cultured, civilized additions to our society. There are things worth learning for their own sake, not to use to make money. Study Shakespeare and you'll learn about yourself, and about the human condition.

Welcome.

Welcome to my blog. I'm here to help you. Got a question or comment about your college experience? About college graduates you hire and love or maybe hate? Are you upset your college major didn't prepare you for the real world after graduation? Let's discuss it here. One thing: this is not the place for high schoolers or others with questions about getting into college. This blog is about getting out of it once you are in it, and about what happens (or doesn't) afterwards.