Some Oberservations
Since I embarked on the task of finding a meaningful career, I've been sending out resumes. As luck would have it, I am quite pleased with the hit rate, although I am sure other more qualified graduates would have companies hunting for them.
By the way, I applied to 2 companies which were related to my field of study in Chemical Engineering. Just in case things did not work out. I eventually chose one which was outside the field. Contract position nonetheless, some uncertainties to be dealt with here...as always. I'll deal with that in a later post.
I attribute the success to the state of the economy at the moment. Graduates just a few years ago would have tales of how hard it was to find a job, much less one which a person likes. I consider myself lucky to have done 2.5 years of compulsory military service which "delayed" my graduation.
Despite such optimistic outlook for new graduates, my observations seems to imply that it might be considerably more difficult for a graduate who has average results to find a job related to his field of study.
My argument is this. A good student (let's just define that based on the most traditional, but maybe inaccurate measure of Cummulative Average Point), by virtue of his stellar results, would have secured an internship with a well known oil major through the University's internship program. Based on their performance during the internship, they would most likely be offered a starting position in the industry.
Even if they aren't, it's ok. A lot of companies (not just the related ones) are wowed by their good results and will consider attracting them.
Let us now consider the case of the bad student. For the past 3 years, he knows that even though he has an interest in the subject, it is of little use since others seem to have a grasp of the topic much faster and can perform much better than him. Consequently, it led him to think that maybe it was pointless to chase after the grades. Instead, he focused on brushing up other capabilities. In the process, he decided that another field is more suitable for him. It goes without saying that he applied for jobs which are outside his degree. Hence, we assume that they are absorbed by other industries if they continue working at it.
Now, there's also an average student who decides that they still love the thing they are doing. These are the people with the perseverance and determination. They work hard and make sure that they get the grade they want. However, it's unfortunate that the good students always seem to shift them down the Bell Curve, making them...average.
In the end, the bigger companies will tend to choose the more competent people (i.e good students) and leave very few places for the average ones. So in that sense, it is more difficult for the average student to find a related job!
Of course, this is only my observation. By no means do I insist that they are correct. There are other cases which I have failed to consider. Internship experiences, C0-Curricular Activities and other assorted parameters such as personality traits all come into play. Maybe you have a different point of view? Share it!
By the way, I applied to 2 companies which were related to my field of study in Chemical Engineering. Just in case things did not work out. I eventually chose one which was outside the field. Contract position nonetheless, some uncertainties to be dealt with here...as always. I'll deal with that in a later post.
I attribute the success to the state of the economy at the moment. Graduates just a few years ago would have tales of how hard it was to find a job, much less one which a person likes. I consider myself lucky to have done 2.5 years of compulsory military service which "delayed" my graduation.
Despite such optimistic outlook for new graduates, my observations seems to imply that it might be considerably more difficult for a graduate who has average results to find a job related to his field of study.
My argument is this. A good student (let's just define that based on the most traditional, but maybe inaccurate measure of Cummulative Average Point), by virtue of his stellar results, would have secured an internship with a well known oil major through the University's internship program. Based on their performance during the internship, they would most likely be offered a starting position in the industry.
Even if they aren't, it's ok. A lot of companies (not just the related ones) are wowed by their good results and will consider attracting them.
Let us now consider the case of the bad student. For the past 3 years, he knows that even though he has an interest in the subject, it is of little use since others seem to have a grasp of the topic much faster and can perform much better than him. Consequently, it led him to think that maybe it was pointless to chase after the grades. Instead, he focused on brushing up other capabilities. In the process, he decided that another field is more suitable for him. It goes without saying that he applied for jobs which are outside his degree. Hence, we assume that they are absorbed by other industries if they continue working at it.
Now, there's also an average student who decides that they still love the thing they are doing. These are the people with the perseverance and determination. They work hard and make sure that they get the grade they want. However, it's unfortunate that the good students always seem to shift them down the Bell Curve, making them...average.
In the end, the bigger companies will tend to choose the more competent people (i.e good students) and leave very few places for the average ones. So in that sense, it is more difficult for the average student to find a related job!
Of course, this is only my observation. By no means do I insist that they are correct. There are other cases which I have failed to consider. Internship experiences, C0-Curricular Activities and other assorted parameters such as personality traits all come into play. Maybe you have a different point of view? Share it!
Labels: Career, Philosophy
posted by thelonetraveller at
1:17 pm
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