Professional Consultant vs. University Student. This Is the Difference.
Switching from University to a specialist job can be a shock. Especially if your previous work history mainly consists of low-paying bulk jobs.
Writers notice: My views are based on my own experiences about the industry situation in Finland.
When you spend time at the university, you are mainly surrounded by other students, battling with the same exercises and same exams. Most people in your class are probably about the same level as you are in terms of skill and knowledge. That’s kind of a soothing feeling when you are not alone in this huge world of new information and technologies. And I think that is a great way to learn, together in a group, once in a while professors teaching you the core concepts.
On the other hand, there are much faster ways to learn. One is to put yourself in a situation where you have to learn, into circles where your teammates are way out of your league. That’s why I got myself this job.
Why I fancy the way you learn things at work?
How I imagine a good company, is a company full of real-life professors. They know the best principles, they are capable of teaching me new techs, they are willing to lend me a hand to understand the architectures behind the complex software. You have a solid team to back you up, and mentors to guide you.
My main mentor is a really experienced front-end developer, some would say one of the best in Helsinki. We pair-code often, and exchange loads of information during the day. I have done all the possible mistakes, and he had corrected them.
And even tho I don’t work that much together with everyone, we spend a lot of time together, exchanging ideas, opinions, and books to read. The experience in all areas flows from top to down, be it a sales team or a devOps. This all greatly supports one's growth from rookie to pro.
In customer projects, things get to a whole new level. There I’ve had a pleasure to work with some of the most talented designers and marketing professionals this field has to offer. Marketing managers with more awards than they can count. CEOs and CTOs straight from the biggest companies in Finland. Well known designers from far and wide. We are talking about people with more than 20 years of experience, and we are sharing the same office, same daily tasks, and same meetings. And always I’ve been treated like a professional and a specialist in my own field, even when I have under a year of experience under my belt. See where I am getting here?
In University, you learn mainly with people like you. And that’s great, god I miss that. But in the working life, you get to learn from the best. This industry is right now in a mysterious situation due to a super high demand of developers. Juniors and newcomers have a great chance to bathe in excellent knowledge and just push their way to high-level projects. Working as a developer doesn’t mean you are just going to learn to code. This industry also teaches you the business.
Of course, you have to take my experiences with a grain of salt. Maybe I get lucky? Maybe I just landed the right company at the right moment? There are many factories outside your reach, that will affect your experience about this industry, and what it offers for you. And It’s not all roses.
What working life lacks that University has?
In university, you have immediate access to all necessary information needed to pass. You just have to digest it. In working life, you are expected to be more autonomous and independent. To find the right information in a right place. To make something out of a scratch. To create something, not mimic something. That’s not always easy.
University also offers you the majority of a theory. That, I think, is a crucial part of our improvement as developers. Me myself I also crave deeper understanding about the computer science, even tho all the concepts might not be linked straight to the job and tasks I’m doing right now. A theory is something that’s tricky to obtain purely from work.
“Sorry, we don’t hire masters. Said no-one ever.”
School and studies also offer a safer place to experiment and do a larger amount of mistakes. Don’t get me wrong, I make mistakes all the time. The thing is, I have to learn from them and start to implement something production ready pretty soon after getting drafted to work, which can then be billed from a customer. That can place a lot of stress on your shoulders and even burn you out. Also, you are responsible for bigger projects while consulting and developing as a professional. If you screw up at school, you probably lose couple study credits from that course. Do the same kind of blunder that delays production in a high-level project. Boom. The company can lose thousands of dollars.
How lack of an academic degree has affected my work? There have definitely been moments when I have been totally clueless about concepts I should have known, and I’ve felt helpless. But that’s what makes this interesting for me. Being able to fare and slowly, bit by bit, digest everything. Stumble, fall and get back up.
University is not necessary, but it helps you and gives you an advantage. It gives you a stronger and deeper understanding. Sorry, we don’t hire masters. Said no-one ever.
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The writer is a Software Developer and a Consultant, based in Helsinki, Finland. All views are my own and not companies I work with.
