Comment by imilk | Hacker News Reader

Comment by imilk | Hacker News Reader

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What this tells me is that you may not have gotten the most out of your education. Sure there are specific tasks that you learn how to complete for particular jobs, but the structure of how you approach problems should have been helped quite a bit by what you learn in school.

Personally I found studying philosophy extremely helpful to solving business problems. Not because there is an exact 1 for 1 concept match. Rather it teaches you how to frame and break down problems so that you can be more adaptable and efficient when faced with various unknowns.

There's always going to be domain specific learning needed for any position. But to dismiss any tangential knowledge as useless is extremely short sided.

You said “studying philosophy” rather than “being tested on rote memorization of philosophy text books”.

I agree that “studying philosophy” is a worthwhile endeavor, but I align more closely with the parents in regards to memorizing the semi-random litany of data bits that show up in a typical exam. The information is ultimately forgotten and is usually only relevant in the context of the current textbook chapter. Nearly every useful concept that applies to my two separate careers was learned on the job. The time spent in the classroom is nearly irrelevant and could have been replaced entirely by several weeks on the job.

I just gave an personal example to flesh out my post. But if, for example, you are a structural engineer who has to consult on site with clients, you certainly need to recall a litany of data/concepts (random or non-random) pretty quickly if you don't want to look like an idiot. You cannot learn this knowledge from a few weeks on the job because the client would be able to see through your bullshit in minutes.

This applies to pretty much any position that needs to communicate in real time about a base of knowledge (doctors, lawyers, logistics, any type of management position). If you believe that any career can be substituted by "a few weeks on the job", you're not really aiming that high for yourself.

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