Tuesday, September 03, 2013
Why Being Awesome At School Can Make You Terrible At Work
Fast Company | Business + Innovation: “You have to unlearn the habit of waiting to be told what comes next in your education if you want to take control of your adult life,” writes Brazen Careerist cofounder Penelope Trunk. Why? Because if you're going to create your own value in the workplace, she argues, you have to make your own learning path.
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5 comments:
The title of this article doesn't seem to fit the content. The article doesn't really explain why being awesome at school can make you terrible at work. What the article does talk about is how to make sure that you are irreplaceable within your company. I don't see how the two are mutually exclusive. If someone really is "being awesome" at school, then I would imagine that that person is taking their education into their own hands by asking questions, working ahead, and teaching themselves expanded details about the topic at hand. It seems to follow that this type of person would be an asset to have in the workplace rather than being "terrible" as the article seems to indicate.
There is also another topic in this article that is worth exploring. The article says that in order to be successful in your job, you need to find a niche that no one else can fill, and fill it. However, what if that niche isn't your job? If your job is something not related to analytics, and you push to involve yourself in analytics in your company, you could end up stepping on someone's toes. There is also the question of whether or not you want to take on the task of something that isn't your job since it can likely end up being your job, but without any additional pay or benefits.
I agree absolutely with the points Jess lays out in her first paragraph. It seems that the article is classifying a student who does no more than is required of them, when they are told to do so, as "awesome." This is definitely not my definition of being awesome at school. Thankfully, CMU as an institution definitely encourages independent learning and innovation. Therefore, those who are "awesome" at CMU will surely be an asset to their workplace. There is definitely a balance between doing what is asked of you and being creatively independent that needs to be struck. However, this holds true for school and the workplace. I can see the point the article is trying to get at though. If someone is a straight A student simply because they sit in their room all day and study, they won't be an asset to the workforce. If that's the case however, they have more issues to worry about than their value to a company.
I agree entirely with Jess. But I will say that I initially agree with the quote at the beginning, which implies that people are most successful in any setting when they are proactive self-starters. But, I think what is further examination (and perhaps the point that the article was trying to make) is that people often approach new jobs after education with the attitude of entitlement "what is this experience going to do for me?" as opposed to "how can I be an asset to this company?" The difference is key in one is perceived in the workplace, and how one will be able to be successful.
Although I initially didn't understand the article's title, I think I figured it out. The distinction the author seems to be making is that while in school, one is told exactly what they need to do to be "awesome", the same does not apply to the workplace. The whole idea of being awesome and irreplaceable in the workplace stems from the notion of adding value and wealth to your company through differentiation. Your company can't tell you how to be valuable, you need to come up with that for yourself!
I did find it interesting how the author claims that we all are just jumping from one institution to another. I never thought about school and work in this manner, but it really is true! However, I do hope that I will enjoy my job, unlike John Smith's dreary life.
While I agree with most of this article that most schools will teach you to do what is asked in a sort of mindless way and that will make you succeed; I think that art school happens to be different. Art school wants to foster creativity so it teaches to make the most interesting thing that still fits the parameters. This prepares you to think for yourself and do unexpected things that others might not do but still be able to get the job done.
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