Simple career advice

Sometimes my students ask me, "How do I get an A in your course?" I always tell them, "Don't ask how to get an A; learn the material, and you'll get an A." I just did a panel for the Katz MIS-MBA program and offered a similar piece of advice when asked about how to get a job.

Don't try to get a job; figure out what you want to do, learn as much as you can, and you'll get a job.

I don't have any hard data to back it up, but I've found most of my best students are the ones that really are passionate about programming and technology. I always have students that are only interested in getting an A, but I think the students that are the most memorable (and I'm guessing the ones that end up being the most effective in their careers) are the ones that really enjoy what they're doing and are doing everything they can to learn everything about the subject. They're never interested in getting the best grade, they're interested in doing.

Be passionate about what you do, or do what you're passionate about. I think that the people who work on something they enjoy, something they believe in - they're the effective ones, and I'm guessing that they're the happiest in their careers.

If you're only interested in getting a job, what do you do once you get one?

Comments

Sheetz Sandwich Standoff: El Gringo vs Twisted Swiss

My wife left me alone for dinner tonight so I decided to check out the latest GetGo offerings... but to my great chagrin, they have no promotional subs. My travels led me to the local Sheetz, where I'd be able to keep eating the best gas station sandwiches around. To keep tradition alive, I picked the two most outrageous "Burgerz" on the menu: El Gringo and Twisted Swiss. The ingredient list is promising: Twisted Swiss is the burger with topped with swiss cheese, cole slaw, pickles, bacon, and whatever "Boom Boom Sauce" is on a pretzel bun. El Gringo is the burger topped with pepper jack cheese, chili, Doritos, and BBQ sauce on a regular old bun. I unwrapped them both and stood back to admire the majesty before me. They're not pretty, but they do look a lot better out of the wrapper than many fast food burgers I've eaten. Twisted Swiss I expected this sandwich to be an awful mess. It just seemed like a bunch

The Gobbler from Arby's

Stop. Stop what you're doing and go to Arby's. Right. Now. Have them make you a Gobbler . This is not something you'll regret. Go. Eat this thing. Look at that bacon. Go. Arby's has a new sandwich. It's called "The Gobbler" and as far as I can tell it's two things: a vehicle for their new deep fried turkey, and an attempt at a Thanksgiving themed sandwich. It's also a third thing: magically delicious. move over Lucky, there's a new holiday mascot on the block Unwrapping: this actually looks like a sandwich. It looks appetizing. It looks like something I want to eat. It doesn't look like the promo photo above, but it doesn't look like someone was flailing around and accidentally smashed up a sandwich, either. sexy Instagram caption goes here First bite: Wow. I mean, "WOW." Holy h*ck this is good. The turkey has a really bold, meaty flavor. It tastes a lot like turkey sliced fresh from your

Get Go Sandwich Standoff: "The General" vs "The Rogie Hoagie"

Get Go has been KILLING it lately with crazy sandwiches that are great for advertising on the radio but I've been wondering if they're actually great for eating. The new one I've been hearing about is "The General" which is like Chinese take-out on a sesame sub roll. I hear ads for it every morning on my commute, and I see a giant billboard for it too. It's basically chicken tenders with General Tso's sauce and egg rolls on a sesame bun. I'm guessing they were inspired by Primanti's and decided to try to apply it to a different cuisine (I'm looking forward to The Russian Borscht sub which I'm sure is planned for later this summer). I ventured out to my local GetGo to try one of these out, only to be greeted by "The Rogie Hoagie" on the screen in addition to "The General." What a great surprise (and additional gastronomic challenge)! I decided to try them both and report back. "The General" only comes

geekitarian

Search This Blog