It was summer of my junior year. I was happily blasting away with my newly bought Gamecube console system. During that period, some undergraduates were taking an on-the-job training, perhaps to get a first taste of the “real world” or simply to have something to add in their resumes. “What a waste of time!” I thought so.
It is I who in fact wasted time in front of the TV. Joining an OJT is an important aspect of college life, an opportunity to apply what we learned so far and also to learn by actually doing and not just reading from textbooks. It enables us to know what we need to know when we begin the real work.
More importantly, it’s also an experience, an opening to a world of possibilities. In my case, I didn’t take an OJT so my first work experience was my first job at a startup software company. I soon realized that I should have learned some important technical skills. I stayed there on full-time (I still work there on a part-time basis) for 18 months before deciding to pursue my master’s degree.
My work there convinced me that an advanced degree is a necessity. I now consider my 18-month stint there to a significant part of my life.
Go back to index: Reflections on my Undergraduate Years
