Dear Professor;
Thank you for your interesting ideas for preparing for life and study at a university, especially for those of us who hope for a career in science or engineering. It there something we can do to better prepare ourselves for finding career placement after we graduate?
Regards,
From Student Persona
Dear Student;
Indeed, preparing yourself for the giant leap into university studies can be challenging. Even more daunting, is the awesome prospect of entering the world of professional practice and business. Below is a check list that might help prepare you for the career market.
- Most young students have several thoughts or dreams about the type of job or career they propose to prepare for at school. Locate a job description of the specific type of work you would like to do. You might be surprised what you will find on a company’s formal job description
- Interview professionals in the field. Most will be delighted to share insights on preparing for their career. What to do. What not to do.
- Join as a student member, the professional organization(s) to which practitioners in your field of interest belong. Most such organizations welcome students in the dawn of their careers. Attend their professional conferences and meetings. You will soon learn the “lay of the land,” of being a professional in their world.
- Keep yourself physically fit.
- Practice speaking clearly and to the point.
- Master the art of body language.
There are two skills that are at the top of my STEM career preparation list:
- Writing well.
- Creative thinking.
These two skills are as important to a STEM career prospect as your two front teeth are to a smile.
Writing. There is no quick and easy method to become an effective writer. It takes practice and focused energy to master clear and effective written communication. Many students are paralyzed by the size of the task of writing mastery. I offer the following idea to help you begin.
There is a book; a wonderful book that many young science and engineering students praise for its sound advice, clarity and warmth. I keep a copy on the bookshelf near my desk.
“On Writing Well,” By William Zinsser has sold millions of copies world-wide. Zinsser was a Yale University professor who mentored science and engineering students, and others who needed a boost in non-fiction writing. I suggest you read Zinsser’s book and use its tenets during your university career. Your writing skills will grow exponentially.
Being a creative thinker. It is easy to understand why creativity is so very necessary to scientists and engineers. We can find ourselves falling into the trap of focusing only on qualitive and quantitative operation that we might enter the job market weak in the skills of readily applying our knowledge to real-world situation.
“How might I help make myself become more creative?.... you might ask.
“Should I study art and literature along with my math and science curriculum? Indeed, yes. However, there is a special “trick” that I’ve learned that helps ignite creative thinking in science and technical students. It follows the counter-intuitive model that all scientist used hen formulating ideas. For example; a scientist might be stuck with a problem….what will make this thing work ??? if nothing comes to mind, a scientist might then switch thinking to: What keeps this from working, perhaps?
Applying that notion to creative thinking: How to I become a creative thinker…..Or, what keeps me from becoming a creative thinker?
A significant contributor to a student’s ability to initiate creative thinking is a phenomenon called, Functional Fixedness. It is often referred to as cognitive bias, in which a person looks at an object or process and limits it to its original or traditional use.
The traditional use of a tea cup is to serve tea. However, I suspect you could derive at least 25 additional uses for a tea cup. Some of those uses might be deemed very creative.
Functional Fixedness can be a detriment to innovative ideas. Therefore, I suggest adding to your daily “to-do” list is the simple activity or looking at an object or process, and immediately considering 10 or more variations of it. That simple exercise will initiate new thinking pathways, allowing creative thinking to become a part of you.
Question - What are 20 things you could do with an old shoe?
