4 answers
Nicolas
Student
Newington, Connecticut
1
Question
Asked
265 views
Does life actually get easier right after you get your degree, or do we have to keep on achieving a higher education for life to get easier (From a physics major)?
I am trying to get a degree on physics with a concentration in engineering and trying to add a minor on mathematics. I am heading to my junior year of college.
Login to comment
4 answers
Robert Rossi
Many things! But mostly chemistry and chemical engineering
94
Answers
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Updated
Robert’s Answer
Working hard in school and graduating opens doors - you are not required to go through them, but you often feel obliged to do so. Live the examined life and decide whether you like your trajectory: it is easy to pull back and not work as hard, but it can then be a challenge to accelerate again. Hard work does tend to beget the expectation of more hard work, though, so you have to find a level that is sustainable for you. If you live with the mindset that "once I finish this, it will be easy street!", that's almost always a myth. Expect to continue working at a similar level immediately after graduation unless you make a conscious decision to pull back. (If a company hires you based on your college work, for example, they will expect that you will work that hard for them, as well, at least out of the starting gate.)
Anecdotally, as a doctoral candidate in the sciences I ran into fellow students who had worked for a while before starting graduate school. A much smaller fraction of them made it to a PhD, because they had become used to a better effort to return ratio than one gets in grad school. (Grad students in the sciences do get paid, but not much; and they are expected to work very hard. Those with work experience tended to feel they were underpaid and overworked in grad school, and quit, while doctoral candidates who had only known school were still accustomed to working hard for little tangible reward, just the promise of future success and/or the love of learning.)
Anecdotally, as a doctoral candidate in the sciences I ran into fellow students who had worked for a while before starting graduate school. A much smaller fraction of them made it to a PhD, because they had become used to a better effort to return ratio than one gets in grad school. (Grad students in the sciences do get paid, but not much; and they are expected to work very hard. Those with work experience tended to feel they were underpaid and overworked in grad school, and quit, while doctoral candidates who had only known school were still accustomed to working hard for little tangible reward, just the promise of future success and/or the love of learning.)
Dennis Taylor
Self-employed
116
Answers
Columbus, Indiana
Updated
Dennis’s Answer
Hello Nicolas, Regardless what your major is, you will have to continue learning for the rest of your life. It may not always be in a classroom or lecture hall. It's mostly up to you - your new job will challenge you beyond what you learned in college. Mostly, you learned how to learn and how to add on to ( or even modify) what you have already learned. Look forward to it! One big difference: there are hardly ever any final exams, but there are always those times when you experience an those pop quizzes. Sometimes, you don't even know you are taking that course. It's called Experience. Get lots of it.
William Vvuko
Retired engineer
233
Answers
Moyo, Northern Region
Updated
William’s Answer
Hi Nicolas,
Real life comes with challenges. It's in resolving these challenges that life has meaning. Education is meant to prepare us so we can better cope with what life throws at us. The knowledge we acquire through formal education is just as important as that we get through experience. Human experience (formal or informal) accumulates through learning curves (natural growth curve). Initial stage is characterized by some degree of instability. As our experience grows, we get better and gain some degree of stability. This growth eventually accelerates into the exponential phase. Individually, we are at our best when potential matches performance.
The curve profile maybe different for different people based on potential, sense of purpose & direction and quality of effort.
The best opportunities for success are those that address important human needs.
To be able to take full advantage of the opportunities that come our way, we need to be competent.
There are three (3) important aspects of competence: knowledge, skills & attributes (willingnesss to get things done).
Knowledge provides the foundation for competence. The value of knowledge lies in our ability to make good use of it. To do this, we need skills. The important skills that promote competence include: ability to plan, schedule & execute activities & work; identify and solve problems; organize; work in teams; communicate effectively; collect, analyze & critically evaluate information.
Our willingnesss to get things done on time, in full and to the required standard to achieve desired performance determines how well we utilize knowledge and skills. For this, we need to possess and/or develop personal qualities. These qualities include: passion for what we do, commitment, diligence, attention to detail, assertiveness, self-drive, positive mindset, perseverance, curiosity, willingnesss to take risks etc.
Experiential learning is an important part of competence.
Real life comes with challenges. It's in resolving these challenges that life has meaning. Education is meant to prepare us so we can better cope with what life throws at us. The knowledge we acquire through formal education is just as important as that we get through experience. Human experience (formal or informal) accumulates through learning curves (natural growth curve). Initial stage is characterized by some degree of instability. As our experience grows, we get better and gain some degree of stability. This growth eventually accelerates into the exponential phase. Individually, we are at our best when potential matches performance.
The curve profile maybe different for different people based on potential, sense of purpose & direction and quality of effort.
The best opportunities for success are those that address important human needs.
To be able to take full advantage of the opportunities that come our way, we need to be competent.
There are three (3) important aspects of competence: knowledge, skills & attributes (willingnesss to get things done).
Knowledge provides the foundation for competence. The value of knowledge lies in our ability to make good use of it. To do this, we need skills. The important skills that promote competence include: ability to plan, schedule & execute activities & work; identify and solve problems; organize; work in teams; communicate effectively; collect, analyze & critically evaluate information.
Our willingnesss to get things done on time, in full and to the required standard to achieve desired performance determines how well we utilize knowledge and skills. For this, we need to possess and/or develop personal qualities. These qualities include: passion for what we do, commitment, diligence, attention to detail, assertiveness, self-drive, positive mindset, perseverance, curiosity, willingnesss to take risks etc.
Experiential learning is an important part of competence.
Tom McCaffrey
Management
20
Answers
Madison, Mississippi
Updated
Tom’s Answer
I remember a saying from Forrest Gump: "Life is like a box of chocolates." After you graduate, you get to choose how you want to live. Some engineers find exciting and rewarding jobs, others go to graduate school, and some choose easier jobs to focus on their hobbies. It's important to follow the path you want. It's all about what matters to you and enjoying life. You get to make the choices. And the best part is, you can change your mind in your 20s because that's when you really start to learn about yourself.