Lessons Not Learned In School

Working Teaches Lessons Not Learned in School

To master a craft and to succeed in a profession, you cannot just rely on school. It takes a multitude of effects in order to truly understand your profession. Work teaches people lessons that you cannot fully learn from school, such as hands on training, real life experience with situations, and communication skills. It brings that real life factor in, which allows students and professionals to delve deeper into their craft and succeed.

Personally, I know the value of hands on experience in the work force. Since the age of twenty-one I have been working at my family’s machine shop, which has taught me that I cannot just rely on a manual or instruction book to run a machine. The best way to learn any machine is to be hands on, and to gain the experience by actually making parts. Today, they have opened schools to learn how to operate machines, but such schools are mostly based in a computer lab to learn how to write codes and programs. Although it is a nice thing to learn how to code machines, these schools can lack hands on experience which is needed

For example, I have experience as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). I went to school to get my certification and learned a lot from it, but after graduating and finally being on the Ambulance, which we refer to as the “bus”, it was eye opening. Being on the bus and having calls to real people showed me that what you learn in school does not compare to real life experiences. When you have a patient in the bus you have to think on the fly to solve problems; for example, needing an emergency airway while rushing to the hospital helps you learn faster and better ways of doing it. With experience and having new situations come up, it teaches you new techniques, helps you learn from fellow EMT’s or Paramedics, and you will never forget your