[QUOTE="at0micpotato"]rawsavon
If one cannot work full time, go to school full time, and get things done/get good grades/get a good GPA, then it might be that that particular field is not for them/college is not for them -this could be due to many factors (not wanting to put in the effort, maturity, ability, lack of desire, etc). But college is not supposed to be easy (even though many find it to be). It is supposed to both prepare and weed out I never said one thing about teaching you how to interview. I said those courses teach you how to deal with all manner of subjects/issues/and people (things you will have to do and people you will have to work with) You already said that it has helped you learn to prioritize. That shows that you are getting at least part of what they want you to get out of it. Also you 'hating' assignments or thinking they are pointless and still doing them is another lesson Furthermore, experiencing bad teachers (later to be bad bosses) and experiencing unfair situations are even more examples of things that are beneficial to learn now And employers do not ask about these 'extra' experiences, b/c it is a given that you went through themagreed, college isn't supposed to be easy, and given that engineering has a decent amount of weed out courses, they don't need a class that they could care less about being another thing to worry about. as for dealing with subjects/issues/people, only dealing i've done in these classes are with the opinions of the authors and professors on their chosen subjects. and that feeling of resentment towards the subject exponentiates when you have a pressing physics exam along with a calculus midterm breathing down your neck, which is where time management/discipline comes in.
as mentioned before, my prioritizing and time management skills stemmed due to the rigorous workload of my major, whereas in contrasti've seen plenty of liberal arts majors party all day everyday, not an effective time management/study strategy in my opinion, yet they still manage to maintain a 2.5 or higher at the very least. why? because these majors don't require as much work, ie they find it easy. sure in my experience i've had to write stupidly long essays, but the reason those essays feel so rigorous, is because i have even tougher coursework to deal with in conjunction with that of liberal arts, and the liberal arts coursework is only adding to my already streineous amount of work. Dealing with authors/essay topics is MUCH different than dealing with actual people.
again, me learning to prioritize and having discipline, yes it does play a role in it, but it's a very small role, as i can acheive that same level of discipline without taking these LA classes, heck i think i could perform even better in my major if i didn't have a class i couldn't care less to stress and worry about. as for the unfair situations, i understand where you're coming from, but at the end of the day, once im into my career as an engineer, sure i may not like some tasks that may be assigned to me, but i will be more inclined/motivated to do them, i won't hate/resent them because these tasks are assigned to me by the company i'm working for, and it will have some kind of impact on the company. After all, i'm majoring in it, if i want to write essays/do research on history then i'd major in it, but again,theres a reason why i'm not.
i can completely relate this to my coursework right now, i have about three labs to submit, along with twoassignments from two different engineering classes. the professor wants the reports to be clean and tidy, with a thorough exlpanation of the concepts utilized in each of the labs. i'm overworked, yes, i have alot on my plate yes, it's unfair of the professors to demandthe quality of report that they are considering that they are all very well aware that we have other classes/labs to worry about,
but do i mind? not one bit, because this is relevant to what i'm doing, and what i eventually want to accomplish. its an unfair expectation, doing three labs with all theunits correctly labeled, with at least half page conclusion/theory all typed up in my own words, with two chapters to study for this weeks lecture,but i don't mind it one bit, because i knowit's contributing towards making me a better engineer who in the future will be able towrite good reports.i'd rather deal with that, because that will benefit me MUCH more than wasting my time writing critiques/essays. there's nothing to learn from that, whereas writing a technical report, you tend to hammer in the concepts as you type it. i see no benefit, personal, interpersonal, or academic, by writing essays about stories and excerpts from novels/textbooks.
it's why people switch careers, because they don't like the work/industry theyre in, they major in something else, because what they did in their previous field to them seemed irrelevant/pointless/unfulfilling. this is the feeling i get when doing essays for these classes, at least in engineering i have to do work i don't like or want to do, but at least it relates to my field/career of choice, otherwise i wouldn't be there to begin with.
again, as forlearning to interact with others, i still fail to see how writing essays about poets and comparing/contrasting and regurgitating facts can improve one's interpersonal/professional skills.what one studes in the classroom, the essays and reports that one does to submit for a grade has nothing to do with how a person behaves around people in a professionalsetting. whatever experience were supposed to get from taking these classes,so far i feel as if i've gained nothing from them, everything i've learned in terms of work ethic/time managament, all have come from studying my major in an effective and on a timely manner, becausei can't afford to slack off on such a rigorous courseload.
referencing a personal family friend who is a recruiter for a drilling contractor, what they look for in their candidates is primarily their GPA, and then internship experience. they don't care if you've had to suffer through essays you didnt want to do/didn't see the point of doing.if anything they'll ask you to bring a report and/or undergraduate thesisfor your major, buti highly doubt they'll ask for your compare/contrast essay.
and sure, during the internship (if you had one) you were made to do things nobody else would, but at the very least you would be more inclined to do it, considering it's contributing towards something relevant to your major, and also because it could lead to a potential job. there is nothing to be gained by writing lengthy papers about poets other than a grade/credit, you forget about it and move on, as if you never took it, whereas lab reports hammer in concepts relative to your field.
these nonmajorclasses to me are just an obstacle i have to getrid of, hence why i shall be taking it over christmas when i won't have any engineering courses to worry about along with the LA class. typing essays and submitting them to the teacher doesn't help me in any way in regards to interaction with others, and as for doing something i dno't like, it's why im not majoring in it, i'll be given tasks in engineering i won't fancy, but it will be related to my major, so i'll enjoy it to some extent. i'm sure a history major wouldn't last very long in a differential equations class, same way a math major wouldn't last very long in rennaisance theory class (or stay awake long enough to)
speaking of essays i need to stop writing them on here, sorry for the walls of text. off to work for me !
Log in to comment