The underlying question of this week’s “Let’s Blog Off” was “Are today’s college grads ready for the working world?” and we seem to be looking at quite a turnout of talented wordsmiths, willing to put forth their thoughts, insights, personal experiences and opinions. The question is of course rhetorical since there are as many answers as there are college grads. My immediate counter question was “Don’t know, but is the working world ready for our college grads?”, very snippy I know, and I therefor promise to not go down the road, however tempting of talking about the continued sense of entitlement and inherent lack of flexibility in businesses large and small at a time when new ideas have to be considered, then embraced and then implemented. But no. It’s not where we’re going this time. Let’s look at why we go to college. What we learn while there. And what happens after.

The Motivation

Parents. Peers. Friends. Money. As we leave High school, this is certainly the path that is considered the way forward by most of us. It’s expected and we know that if we want to make it “big” in life we have to have a little piece of paper that says we’re ready to face the world. Another scenario is a mid-life return to college, more typically motivated by financial potential, change in a life situation or simply because we crave to learn.

College Days

Whatever the motivation, our college days will inadvertently teach us something. The fields of study cover all forms of academics of course, for better or worse, but then there is also learning about perseverance, fighting through difficult assignments, learning to use the social aspect of college to engage and network with others and of course the learning to live through an all night kegger and be back in class at 8am.

Hello World

And then, little piece of paper in hand, we’re ready to show the world what we’re made of, what we know and why we’re the long awaited answer to it’s many questions.We’re ready to show the world what we’ve learned having yet to realize that having graduated means we’re now ready. Ready to learn.

The truth is, we don’t learn everything we need to know. We are given tools and now, in the real world, we learn to use them. In design we learn to draft, learn CAD, learn how to make presentation boards, learn about materials, about proportion and balance, about famous designs in history and even about the business of design – although the latter often leaves something to be desired. And now we learn to apply the basics. Persevering is now about finding a solution when a client is angry even if it wasn’t our fault. Difficult assignments are now not a matter of a grade but a matter of a paycheck. Social engagement is now used to meet new clients and sell our vision. And the kegger has hopefully by now been replaced by cocktail parties and an occasional awards ceremony. So we learn to use our tools and hopefully to our benefit. Some of us will excel. Others will fail. Many will be in the middle somewhere, doing a good job. Regardless, as long as we’re open to new ideas and willing to learn we’re ready.

Please join our fellow bloggers below and read their take. And don’t forget we all love a good comment if you the time: