There was a moment when I considered studies and higher education to be an absolute “must-have”. Those times, however, are long gone and I am repeatedly convinced that studies offer a lot, but do not determine anything.
Many professions did not exist until a few years ago. Social media managers, social media advertising specialists, influence marketers… They learned almost everything on their own. In fact, I am an example of a person who learns where and when I can, but the field of study was significantly different from my job. That’s why I don’t think studies are absolutely necessary in every case. Nevertheless, they have their advantages. What things did I take from the university, although I did not plan it at all, and yet I use it in my company?
I know what I don’t want
My studies (both biotechnology, which I dropped out, and food safety, which I graduated from) made me realize what I don’t want to do in life. And this is a very valuable lesson, because if you don’t do it, it’s easy to fall into the trap and make yourself unhappy for part of your life (if not all of it).
Obtaining higher education confronts our idea of the profession we want to pursue with reality and sometimes quite brutally verifies it. I couldn’t work on the same problem every day, tapping on the same computer, with another copy of the same documentation, and that would probably happen if I stayed in “my” industry.
I care only about the result
Lectures were optional (or they were mandatory, but there were no consequences for absences), which was a nice change from school for me. I’ve always thought sitting X hours just to sit was unnecessary. Ineffective, pointless – I could cut the time needed for specific activities (or processing a specific material) by half.
The studies finally allowed me to account for the effects with impunity and I liked this model very much. This is how I bill both myself and my co-workers. I set specific tasks to be done in a specific period of time (day/week/month) and I don’t care how long it takes someone. Five minutes, ten, two days?
The introduction of such a model leads us smoothly to the next point, because all the time I was striving to shorten the time needed to perform duties in order to find time for my own affairs.
I’m better organized
Planners are my friends. Not only because I’m a stationery freak, I love notebooks, calendars, beautiful covers and colorful pens. In addition to the fact that I collect and own all this, I use them regularly.
Every day I prepare a list of tasks for the next day. I tick off each point after completing it, and the unmarked points migrate to the next day (or I resign if I think that a given activity was unnecessary).
I approach the tasks assigned to my co-workers in the same way. I prepare a list of things to be done in Asana with a specific deadline (earlier, of course – at least as much as possible), prioritize and check if the tasks have been “checked” on time.
I have an open mind
I always liked to learn, but not always what I had to. I didn’t like school lessons, but I spent long hours browsing the web and learning new skills. In elementary school, I wrote my first HTML pages, and in middle school I jumped to a higher level and started my adventure with CMS and PHP basics (I still have these to this day, I plan to develop it).
During my studies, I could legally broaden my horizons in the field I chose. Although it was not supposed to be my profession, I chose the field that interested me so that the acquisition of knowledge was not a chore. And I still think that the topics discussed in some way fascinated me – they could not just be my way of life. But not every thing we learn must be.
I’m not crossing out any options or solutions, and that brings us to the next point.
I’m not afraid of change
The first big change is the decision that I want to apply for medical studies and changing the profile of my high school class. The second – giving up medicine in favor of biotechnology. I admitted to myself that I did not want to sacrifice my (then well and thriving) YouTube channel. I liked having it.
When it turned out that biotechnology is not for me, I also changed my direction without hesitation. For cosmetology – to have better facilities to run a blog and YouTube channel. Here, however, it turned out for the second time that studies would force me to say goodbye to my passion – I changed my major once again.
All these choices taught me flexibility and I made sure that each choice is good for a certain moment. However, none of them is permanent and when the context changes, new opportunities begin to appear on the horizon. I have no fear of grabbing them anymore. I always look into the future with courage – I just know that I will manage, although I don’t always know how.
Will studies guarantee success? Will they give you a job in which you will fulfill yourself and earn a lot of money? I do not know. Probably not. And that’s not their role either.
It’s just another chance you may or may not take. Either way, you’ll always get something out of this adventure. And I always say that it’s better to have one more experience than less. I encourage you to do this.
