5 Ways to Hack Your Education

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5 Ways to Hack Your Education

"It's just that I don't think I'm getting very much real-world knowledge through my courses," he complained. He was studying an undergraduate business degree, while running a small business to support his university studies. And he was finding his university classes a bit lacking. "It's good information if I wanted to work in corporate I guess," he conceded, "but I don't want to work in corporate. I want to do my own thing." 

I recommended a leave of absence, and I'm pretty sure he'll end up dropping out of his bachelors degree. And I don't think this is a problem. If you know your goals, and it's not clear that university will support those goals, then university might not be the right place for you right now (I have very different advice for those in graduate school, you can read that here).

So what if, like this student, you don't feel like university is meeting your needs, but you still want to learn useful things? Maybe university feels too expensive, or the education isn't exactly what you're looking for, or maybe you have big things to do and university feels like it's going to take too long. Or maybe you've already done your university degree and you still feel like there's more you want to learn or practice? 

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You Probably Shouldn't Major in Accounting

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You Probably Shouldn't Major in Accounting

I had a student in my office this week. She was quiet, and polite, and asked her questions quite directly. "I'd like to make a career change. I'm thinking of a Masters in Professional Accounting. Can you tell me how to market myself so I can get a job?" 

I get asked about Accounting as a career path more than any other professional discipline. Why? Accounting is on the list of Skilled Occupations for migration to Australia, so anyone coming here from overseas has an eye on that list for career paths that come with a visa. There are other reasons too, domestic students pick accounting because it's clear. It sounds practical. Sensible. Surely every business everywhere needs Accountants. It's one that Mom and Dad can understand, be proud of. "Jack is an Accountant." Nothing says "risk-free" like Accounting. I see a lot of risk-averseness in my office. 

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Don't Quit Grad School

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Don't Quit Grad School

About a year into my graduate degree, I agonized about quitting. I was burned out by the juggle of life and school, I was watching my loans build, most of my courses weren't stimulating, and I was having major doubts about my chosen career path.

My experience is not unique. I hear this kind of thing more than you'd think from graduate students or post-grad students, folks in law school, PhD programs, or medical residency. Someone in this boat will go on to talk about how it seemed like the best thing to do at the time, but that working 80 hour weeks or the total lack of a life outside of whatever program they're in makes one reconsider their decision. Sometimes the feeling of regret and "can't go on" is even more extreme, like the med student who realized a year into her program that she actually doesn't want to be around sick people all day every day. Or, maybe you're a PhD student and the never-ending criticism and lack of support from your faculty members or grantors feels impossible to slog through any more. What do you do?

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