You Majored in What? (15 page)

• Art history. “I now love going to museums.” (Wall Street analyst)

• Chemistry. “It’s turned out to be helpful because I have developed a niche in medical writing and editing.” (Freelance writer)

• Biology. “I took it to satisfy the distribution requirement and I ended up majoring in it.” (Pediatrician)

• Ceramics. “I discovered an unknown talent and a lifelong stress-reducing hobby.” (Attorney)

• Comparative religions. “I was forever changed in my approach to life.” (Orthopedic surgeon)

Remember, you have lots of opportunities to learn while you are in school, and you might just learn the most from that class you thought you didn’t want or need. Take a few minutes to brainstorm some positive reasons for the classes you’ve taken.

Class:
__________________________________________________

Rationale/Possible Value:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Class:
__________________________________________________

Rationale/Possible Value:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Class:
__________________________________________________

Rationale/Possible Value:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

OK, so you’re never going to be wildly enthusiastic about every course you take. But that’s no reason to let them slide and potentially mess up your GPA or just ruin your day.

5. USE VISUAL MAPS IN YOUR CLASSES

Throughout this book you’ve been developing your skill in creating visual maps. You’ve learned their value in helping you see the Big Picture and notice details or information you might have otherwise missed. Have you ever tried using maps to help you with your coursework or prepare for tests or papers? For instance, if you’re writing a paper and finding it hard to make sense of all the research you’ve gathered, you can start by placing the main topic in the center of your paper. Then just start dumping all the chunks of information you’ve acquired. Once you’ve put it on the paper, take a step back and look. Do you see connections? Is there a logical order you could develop? If you’re studying for a test, you might try dumping all the basic information on a piece of paper. What do you already know and what areas are hazy? Where should you focus your studying? Visual maps can help you with all aspects of your schoolwork if you enjoy using the technique.

6. WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER

Some students try to read and learn everything. In general, the 80/20 rule can be applied to the material you read for a class. About 80 percent of important information will come from 20 percent of the material. Think about it: this means that if you have to read fifty pages, about ten pages of the information will actually be important. Take special note of the beginnings and endings of each chapter. Note what concepts your professor chooses to focus on. Look for charts and other illustrations that usually highlight the most important information.

7. DON’T USE A HIGHLIGHTER

Highlighters are great: they provide visual proof that you read the chapter, right? Not really. Studies show that highlighting can actually detract from your understanding of the material and focus your attention on superficial concepts and words. Underlining or highlighting while you’re reading something for the first time is distracting and does not help retention. A far better system is to take notes in the margins of your text after you’ve read the paragraph. Print summary phrases or keywords (in your own words) in the margins so you can scan them later when studying. You can even quiz yourself before a test by turning your margin notes into questions.

8. USE THE CLOZE PROCEDURE TO ASCERTAIN THE DIFFICULTY OF YOUR TEXTBOOK

You probably haven’t heard of it, but the Cloze procedure is a quick system for determining whether a text is written at a level you can easily grasp. If you’re having difficulty understanding your textbook, it may be written in a style that is hard to read or it may be beyond your current level of knowledge. Get a roommate or friend to help you set up this little test to help you discover how well you comprehend the material in your textbook:

1. Ask your roommate or a friend to select a passage from your textbook. Two or three paragraphs will be enough.

2. Have them photocopy the passage.

3. Tell them to leave the first sentence alone but black out every fifth word so it can’t be seen.

4. Now, you read the passage and guess what words belong in the blackened spaces. Write them down.

5. Compare your guesses with the actual words in the text.

6. Score your results, giving yourself one point for each correct answer. (Give yourself credit for synonyms or closely related words.)

What percentage of the total blacked out words did you answer correctly?

• At least 61 percent correct? Then you can read the material fairly easily.

• Were 41 to 60 percent correct? The text is challenging and instructional. You’ll have to concentrate, but you can do it. Set aside more time to read the material than you normally would.

• Below 40 percent? This text will be frustrating and you may find that you aren’t getting the necessary information. In this case, you might want to look for an alternate text or study guide. Sometimes just finding a text that explains the topic in a different style will help you understand it better. Some students have even found a high school text in the same subject helpful. Check a used-books store or secondhand textbook store to get a book you do understand at a cheaper price. Your school library probably has other textbooks for the same subject as well. Just remember that when you find the text challenging, you need to pay extra attention to the lectures so that you can glean as much information from them as possible.

You Majored in
What?

9. USE A PLANNING SYSTEM

You’re busy. Overcommitted. Perhaps you forget important events or even sleep through classes. If you don’t have one already, it’s time to develop a system for planning your time. Use what works for you: your computer likely has a calendar function (in Outlook or other software), or use a paper-based approach like a calendar or day planner. It doesn’t matter what system you use: what matters is that you use a system. Your time is way too valuable and you have too many important events in your life not to have a system to record and organize them. And that includes parties, sports events, and other fun things. Because if you don’t make room for the fun stuff, you won’t stick to the work stuff.

10. GET TO KNOW YOUR PROFESSORS

Believe it or not, professors are people too. They have pressures and problems and personal lives and all the challenges that you face. Most professors genuinely like students and want to teach them and want to be appreciated. They also want to help you when they can. It’s important to develop relationships with your professors: they can provide invaluable references for you when you seek a job or go to grad school. So, first and foremost, show some respect.

• If you have an issue to discuss, approach the professor as one adult to another in a calm voice—don’t whine. Use a pleasant voice no matter how angry or upset you might be.

• Catch your professor after class rather than before.

• Take advantage of your professors’ office hours—most students don’t.

• Tell the truth. Professors have heard every excuse in the book, so bring proof if you are turning in a late assignment or missed a class. If you say your car broke down, bring the repair or towing receipt. If you were sick, bring a doctor’s note. Not all professors will care, but the fact that you took the time to be diligent will be noted and you’re likely to get more understanding and assistance.

Oh, and here are some examples of what
not
to say to a professor (which, unfortunately, are said all the time):

• “I couldn’t come to class yesterday. Did I miss anything?” What is the professor supposed to say? That you missed nothing important?

• “Could you send me your teaching notes and PowerPoint from yesterday’s class?” or “Would you summarize the lecture I missed?” Get the information you missed from classmates; ask the professor only if you absolutely can’t get the information somewhere else. It’s not your professor’s responsibility to make up for your missed classes or assignments.

• “I can’t come to class; I have to work during those hours.” “I will be late for class every day because I have a scheduling conflict.” “I have to leave class twenty minutes early each day.” If you have a conflict, don’t take the class. If you can’t arrive on time and stay for the class, don’t enroll unless you have received permission from the professor to arrive late/leave early or not show up at all. And don’t wait until the first day of class to raise those questions.

• “Did you really mean what you said on the syllabus? I thought that was just a possibility.” Professors know that syllabi are quasi-legal documents. They represent a form of contract and they don’t put assignments or other class requirements on the syllabus if they don’t expect you to follow them.

Now that you’ve completed the first four chapters of this book, you should have a much more concrete and positive view of your education and a steadily improving ability to articulate it to an employer or graduate program. You have learned to identify your key mindsets, and even some classroom tricks to improve your grades so that you’ll be eligible for even more interesting job opportunities.

But of course
THE QUESTION
still haunts: What are you going to
do
with it? Don’t worry: the answer awaits in the next chapter. But before we leave this chapter, take a moment to answer the following questions:

On a scale of 1 to 10, how
important
do you think it is to be able to explain and articulate the value of your education and/or classes to an employer?

You Majored in
What?

And again on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your ability to explain the value of your major and/or classes to an employer?

Is there a gap between how important you think it is to articulate the value of your education and how you rank your ability to do so?

What could you do in the next twenty-four hours that would help you move your ability score up by one point?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

And finally, is there a class you’ve been secretly wanting to take, but are concerned that you might not do well in it? If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

WHY SETTLE FOR ONE
CAREER WHEN YOU CAN HAVE TEN?

THE WISE WANDERER EXPLORES THE FUTURE

The chalk outline guy’s got a good job. Not too dangerous—the
criminals are long gone. I guess these are people who wanted
to be sketch artists but they couldn’t draw very well. “Uh, listen,
John, forget the sketches, do you think if we left the dead body
right there on the sidewalk you could manage to trace around it?”