Efficient use of time at university

[tzxn3]

I've recently arrived at university and have been wondering how to best optimise my time spent. What skills would be most useful to focus on aside from the major (a rather intensive chemistry course)?

I'm interested to hear the experiences of anyone on this forum who has spent time in higher education. What would you have done differently? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[George the original one]

Labs are time-consuming for the number of credits you receive, so try to partner with people you work well with and divvy-up the work while keeping the socialization to a minimum. Try to minimize the number of lab classes you take so you can concentrate on the classes that add credits. Yes, you may enjoy the labs more than the regular classes, but it does no good if you do well in the labs and don't pass the other classes as a result.

[tzxn3]

Labs are time-consuming for the number of credits you receive, so try to partner with people you work well with and divvy-up the work while keeping the socialization to a minimum. Try to minimize the number of lab classes you take so you can concentrate on the classes that add credits. Yes, you may enjoy the labs more than the regular classes, but it does no good if you do well in the labs and don't pass the other classes as a result.

I have very little choice on what courses to take. 12 hours a week of labs is compulsory for most of the degree; labs and workshops make up about a third of the credits for my first year. I don't particularly enjoy working in the lab as I have rather poor motor skills. On the plus side the demanding nature of the practical course is claimed by the department to help graduate employability, but they would say that, wouldn't they?

[Dragline]

I would take some classes or get involved in some activities that focus on communication, particularly writing short pieces and working with powerpoints, etc. I tried to avoid that stuff because I wasn't very good at it and had to play catch up later.

Its the communicators and presenters who often succeed despite otherwise being ordinary or even deficient in their scientific abilities. Learn how to be one -- no matter how much you might stumble to start. (What would you do if you were going to do a TED talk?) And if you leave the science field, these skills are readily applicable and valued broadly.

[jacob]

A solid foundation is more valuable that a flimsy understanding of superadvanced theory. Don't fall into the technobabble trap, e.g. "I can't explain it to my mom but the answer is given by this complicated equation".

Focus on the tools that are used to solve problems: linear algebra, group theory, calculus, differential equations, numerical math, software development, dynamic programming, ... Very likely you'll forget the chemistry details from most courses except the subsubsubfield you will eventually master. Each course is thus nothing but a stepping stone to the next. However, tool mastery is widely applicable.

Also prioritize "projects". Later on they will be far more interesting (to interviewers and to yourself) than classes and papers.

[mds]

My recommendation would be find a job where you're "manning" something, so you can spend the time studying. When I was in college I paid $10/hour to sit and study for 6 hours straight. It was glorious. I only occasionally had to help someone out. Check and see if your computer lab needs attendants.

[riparian]

You are all you'll ever really have. Invest in yourself and don't damage yourself.

[Tommy]

You don't necessarily need to take extra 'official' classes.

I've heard good arguments that one should have some coding ability.

Someone I know of got a programming job without even having a formal qualification. If you can knock out a few apps, a lot of people consider that adequate proof of programming ability. He went from unemployed with no programming ability to employed as a Python programmer within 10 months.

So maybe do some online courses (I'm busy with Python myself at codeacademy.com but there are plenty of free materials) and knock out a few chemistry apps while you are studying, then you will have both a chemistry degree and a programming portfolio on graduation. No need to waste money taking formal classes, it will probably just slow you down.

Also a lot of people seem to be doing well with online writing. If I was going to university in this day and age, I would do part-time writing work on weekends and holidays, trying to get stuff related to what I'm studying. Then I'd graduate with the degree and a professional writer's portfolio.

I've also heard strong arguments for learning another language while at university. Again, there's no need for a useless formal class. There are plenty of online resources, such as duolingo.com. You can rather use the university to find other foreign students to practice talking to, instead of handing money uselessly to your institution.

Anyway, that's my 2c, take it for what it's worth (which probably isn't much). I'm mostly talking about what other people have achieved. I would like to do some apps but I'm struggling with coding (although I've promised myself to finish the Python codeacademy.com course). Things were different when I was in university, there just wasn't a high speed internet with all this free information on the net. Now you don't even need to go a college or tertiary institution to train yourself up in usable skills. Paradoxically, university was much cheaper back then too (and it wasn't that long back either) despite tertiary institutions having a greater monopoly on knowledge. I feel sorry for people going to university these days - it's shockingly overpriced where I'm from, and I'm not even in the USA, where apparently the problem is worse.

[chenda]

Don't neglect your social skills as well, it's a good opportunity to meet people, understand what you want from relationships, overcome any difficulties you may have dealing with people.

[Kriegsspiel]

Schedule your classes in blocks. YMMV, but it took my all of 1 quarter to realize that having 1 hour classes spread out all day sucked. Afterwards I simply took the list of classes I needed to take that year, and fit them together in blocks (say, 8-12, or 9-11 & 3-5). This eliminates those hour-long breaks between classes that are too short to walk home in, go to the gym, or do anything really productive At some schools you can swing only have classes a few days a week, so be on look out for those.

I was always surprised at the amount of people that didn't do this.

[tzxn3]

@Dragline -- If I get fed up with my major, which I fear I might, I could finish my degree at my college's business school. This would likely affect my employability in areas outside of management, however.

@jacob -- Aye, I recognise the value of generally applicable skills. My biggest fear about this is ending up as too much of a chemistry specialist. I have a sense I would rather be doing mathematics (though that may be my INTP tendencies at work, and really a similar thing applies there, do I really want to be a pure maths specialist?) I am considering doing something maths or engineering related at masters level, though the debt resulting from that isn't really compatible with quickly attaining FI (but neither is this bachelor's, arguably: if I wanted to do that then my best bet would likely be harassing my contacts in the IT industry for work placements while doing the bachelors part time through distance learning for a small fraction of the cost).

@cael -- Good questions. Difficult to answer. I originally chose chemistry because it was a hard science degree which demonstrated a good level of effort and provided transferable skills. Whether I would work for an employer depends on the employer, in theory I would rather be a freelancer but I'm not sure I have sufficient discipline. Early retirement is pretty high on my list of priorities: I see it as almost unavoidable given my almost pathological tendency to analyse every purchase I make. However I need to increase my capacity to earn a "professional level" salary before I can actually get my savings rate high enough. My other general interests are a mile wide and an inch deep. I get bored of things very easily (typical INTP).

@mds -- The college itself only hires students for temporary jobs for events. Most permanent student jobs are service jobs at the shops and bars run by the student union, so not compatible with studying.

@Tommy -- Programming is already an interest of mine. I struggle with finding problems to apply it to, though it may be an issue of confidence more than anything. Software engineering is a possible career path I might go for, assuming my choice of major isn't an issue.

@Kreigsspiel -- My course is currently very rigid, the department has already scheduled everything for me. When I actually get to pick options in a couple of years' time, I'll probably do what I'm most interested in or likely to do well at.

[KevinW]

Suggestions:

- These technical courses have been broadly useful after college: computer programming, logic, statistics, linear algebra (used everywhere), abstract algebra (how to REALLY think abstractly and separate axioms from corollaries), differential equations (everything is related but nonlinearly), writing

- Approach your nonmajor required courses as an opportunity to become well rounded, instead of an obstacle to avoid at minimum cost. Some of my gen-eds have enriched my life and facilitated Renaissance skills (imagine that!): nutrition, Chinese mythology (introduced Eastern philosophy), music theory, phys ed (jiu jitsu), psychology 101 (helpful on a daily basis), film theory 101 (how to think like a humanist).

- You have access to facilities for "free" that will be expensive and/or difficult to access later (more accurately, you already paid for them so you might as well use them), e.g. gymnasium, university library, computer labs, music recital space. Now would be a good time to learn a sport, language, instrument, computer skills, or other nonacademic skills that will be less convenient to learn later on.

[denise]

I pretty much concur with most of what has been stated.

I also urge you to take advantage of various 'societies/clubs', since most of them are paid out of university organizational funding, meaning you have little or no dues. For instance:

Society of Automotive Engineers (hanging out with these folks will usually give you a basic idea of what goes on in a car and how to do regular maintenance and sometimes they'll let you help/teach you when they build a car)

Martial Arts of some sort (I suggest standing, ground, and then something 'graduate level', so maybe karate, jiujitsu, then perhaps wing chun or aikido, etc depends on what peaks your interest)

Computer hardware and programming groups to get a basic understanding of one of the things you rely on pretty heavily for analysis, communication, etc. So you can understand how to fix/what needs to be fixed. Again, this goes back to the automotive group too.

Sit in on health classes, life skills classes, personal finance and economics classes for a while to get a basic understanding. Also computer programming to understand how to think in that mode. Always look for a chance to learn how to think differently/in different modes. Try as much as possible to learn how this relates to natural processes and systems. The more you can think how nature works, the 'easier' life can be.

I pretty much did average when I was an undergraduate because I followed this general approach and basically wanted to get the most 'bang for my buck'. I didn't like having to take core courses (although I loved majoring in Mathematics), so I supplemented my overall education as much as possible.

I will say majoring in something akin to mathematics, chemistry, physics and investing in both theoretical and practical application classes, to me, is practical. You can go into whatever fields you want afterwards:

Data mining, science, actuarial science, finance, business, engineering, etc.

I went on to (soon) graduate with masters in civil engineering and urban planning and I work for a private company now, so think application and outside of your current field(s) too.

Good luck!

[Dragline]

Here's what the founder of reddit would tell you -- probably decent advice for having a marketable skill set:

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ti ... 38206.html

[billc]

I met my wife in college (but we didn't get together until after) and I look back fondly on the time we spent as friends just hanging out. Do at least some silly stuff and don't grow up too fast.

But try not to waste time with stuff like tv, internet memes, video games, and getting bombed.

Take full advantage of exercise facilities and libraries if they're available.

And avoid debt at nearly all costs (sorry if this was said above) - find some way to make enough $$ to pay for school without loans.

[tzxn3]

@billc -- With fees of £9,000 a year nationwide for full-time students it is impractical to earn enough money to graduate without any debt, without having enough skills and connections already to make going to university redundant. One option for avoiding debt would be to study part time and/or through distance learning, eg.*

http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/uk
http://www.open.ac.uk/

I suppose the real value of the £12,000-£23,000 (plus interest and opportunity costs) extra I will be paying is the library card, social opportunities offered through the student union, the brand of the institution on my degree, small group tutorials instead of self-study, and the laboratory time. It does not seem like a fantastic investment from an ERE perspective. However, I am not sure what else I would do: other issues more specific to me are that I have anxiety problems that make it difficult for me to function in the real world and that university is a somewhat sheltered environment where I can actually do things. I have found that when I don't have external structure imposed on me I tend to fall into depression and do nothing. This is something I would like to avoid, so I need some way to make sure it doesn't happen if I do take any action that deviates from my parents' plan of "get a good degree from a good university and use that to launch a career".

* Other possibilities are study elsewhere in the EU (challenging due to language requirements in most countries), or live and work in Scotland for three years and become domiciled there to gain access to their free tuition (time consuming and restrictive), or not to bother with university at all (I have no idea what I would do in that case).