Skills That Are Important For College Success
University Of Phoenix
Gen 300
Skills For Professional Development It seems in the society we live in today, having a college degree is a necessity. Years ago it was the norm for people to just go right into a full time job after high school, if they even finished high school; they did this to support their families. In today's society a person has a difficult time getting a decent job without a college degree. During an adults working life, bachelor degree graduates will earn about $2.1 million and a high school graduate can expect to earn an average of $1.2 million (Day and Newburger, 2002). This is quite a difference and it puts a college education in perspective. With college
Discipline plays a key role in time management, or at least for me it does. When I make daily lists of things to accomplish I lack the discipline to go back at the end of the day to check off things that I did accomplish. Discipline is a skill that is used in many areas. I am disciplined enough to turn in assignments on time but I lack the discipline sit down and complete all the necessary reading material. Critical thinking is a skill I use not only in college but in my civilian job as well. I need to constantly brain storm how I am going to tackle day to day problems that arise running a gas company. When I have a problem I utilize the problem-solving plan that is outlined in Chapter 4, Keys to College Studying.
1. Identify the problem accurately.
2. Analyze the problem
3. Brainstorm possible solutions
4. Explore each solution.
5. Choose and execute the solution acted upon.
6. Continue to evaluate and refine the solution (Bishop, Carter, Kravits, 2002)
Using this plan comes easy when I apply it to my job because it is very cut and dry. When I apply this plan to school it gets lost in the process. I believe this is because I am more of a hands on technical person and at work I can put that to use, but at school everything is so abstract sometimes.
To develop the skills I have and learn new skills I need to implement a plan of action. Critical thinking is a skill