What students are saying about their first jobs...
At Berkeley's Beyond Academia Conference in March, 2015, I listened to a panel of students who had gotten jobs with consulting firms, big and small. They described the differences between school and work, and even though they were ex-grad students, I think their comments will resonate with everyone in their first jobs:
- The pace is faster; the projects are shorter: All agreed that the pace of life in the workplace was far faster than that of school. After all - time is money. In grad school, you can waste three months getting an assay to work, or looking for arcane influences on an author's work. In the business world, you may have just a week to research a topic, analyze the options, select a solution and present the results. Also, you may be working on several different projects, with different people, at the same time. If you've never had to set priorities and manage your own time, fast-paced businesses can be challenging at first.
- Decisions and work products don't have to be perfect, just good enough: The corollary to the faster pace is that perfection is an elusive goal. Decisions may have to be made before all the data is in. The impact of delaying a decision has to be balanced against budget constraints and the likelihood that addition information will change the ultimate result. That doesn't mean that your analysis or work product can be shoddy or misinformed; it means you have to do the best with the available data in the time alloted.
- You don't have to be an expert on everything: Academia tends to reward deep knowledge in a narrow area. In grad school, you had to know everything about your thesis topic. You never wanted to be blindsided, or admit "I don't know...". In business, especially as a junior employee, there's a lot you don't know. You'll be surrounded by other smart people, most of whom are willing to come to your help. The best consulting companies make it easy to find expertise in the organization and encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing. Because of the fast pace of work, the sooner you ask for and receive help, the better for everyone.
- Intelligence is one of many necessary skills for success: People who have been through elite schools or grad school tend to judge others on native intelligence. Yes, being smart and analytical are a great skills, but in business it's not all you need for success. You need managers who can lead and motivate others. You need sales and marketing people who know how to position a product or service. You need financial people, production folks, and administration and support personnel. The best marketing guy I've ever met never graduated college - heck, he never even went to college. Acknowledge that your special expertise is just one component of your team's success. Don't be an elitist - judge people on what they produce, not on where they went to college.
The transition from academia to college is tough on everyone, whether you leave with an associates degree, bachelors, masters or PhD. Prepare for success with Finding Your First Job and Working With Other People.
