Thesis: Here’s What I Learned

Thesis is a long and arduous journey, and when you initially start down this path you may or may not have a project concept in mind. If you don’t, that’s more than okay, and if you do then more power to you. However, one thing to keep in mind is that this will be a project you work on for a good eight to nine months, and at points you can feel burned out, stressed and upset. With all of those emotions swirling inside, the thing that helps the most if having a project you care about, that you are excited to work on. The last thing you will want to do is work on a project everyday that you don’t have any passion for just because you think it will look good for a portfolio piece. For this, draw on inspiration from hobbies, interests, so on and so forth. My idea was based around my passion for the ancient world and the history it contains, and through my knowledge of technology was able to fuse these two together into a successful thesis project.

When it comes to actually creating your ideas, the last thing you want to do is shoot well beyond your means. Sure, you might have big dreams, and that’s good, but remember that for the most part you will be working on it alone, and while challenging yourself with new programs and materials are good you don’t want that to overwhelm you. When trying to determine what’s feasible and what isn’t for a thesis, it’s always good to draft a concept in your mind and then work out what you would need to build it. After going over hardware and software needed, look into these, see what the industry offers, and in some cases decide if it’s worth spending money on. This is a step that definitely needs to take place early on, otherwise oversights will keep coming back to bite you. Building a weekly, or even monthly, work schedule will help keep you on track and meet deadlines. Set hard deadlines for yourself, force yourself to meet goals and objectives; the worst thing that can happen to you in thesis is falling behind on your work.

Now, I’m not the best when it comes to finding software and hardware, but I was able to rely on classmates to help direct me to the proper software needed to execute my project. You’re all in the same boat together, be friends, not enemies. Rely on each other, test each other’s projects out, offer feedback and criticisms.

On the topic of criticism, there are right and wrong ways to take it. People usually say “all criticism is good criticism” but that’s not necessarily true. The best criticism comes from those who point out directly what’s wrong with your project. Here are two examples: “I don’t like the design choice you went with for this, it’s too dark and doesn’t meld well with the mood and theme of your project” “Your project is just bad, good luck”. Here you have two distinct criticisms, yet one is way more helpful than the other. It’s easy to say a project is bad and not followup with ways to improve it, but if someone offers their time to make notes of how your project can be better, listen to them. It’s not to say they are 100% correct in their judgement, but a piece of what was said can go a long way.

And at last, when the journey comes to an end you are no longer a college student, you are now an adult. In theory at least. I’m still in this awkward and stress inducing transition phase, so my advice on this portion might not be the best, but I’ll still share what I know. Regardless of how good your portfolio is, how good your grades are and what honors you graduated with, connections carry far more weight than any of those combined. Networking, getting to know people and going to events are your key to the future as a transitioning college student. Maybe you can be lucky and have a wide variety of connections without needing to do any of those, and in that case congratulations. However for the vast majority of you, seeking out these connections will be the biggest factor of all. When you meet potential employers, talk to them, hone your social skills and make them like you. Offer them a business card or some way to contact you and your portfolio. In person connections go much further than responding to an internship or job posting online. “They don’t know they want to hire you, make them know they want to hire you.”