Pyramid of Needs

Does everyone remember Maslow's pyramid?

This is the pyramid of human needs. To simplify, its meaning is that a person has needs, but they are not all important at the same time, but are organized in layers. Needs at a higher level become relevant only after the needs of all previous levels have been [more or less] satisfied. Rhetorical question: what will happen if the two lower levels are left unsatisfied? Do you think there is any benefit from creativity and self-realization if a person does not have: employment, savings, family, health, property, food, sleep and water? As I said, this is a rhetorical question.

Pyramid of knowledge

But you can build the same pyramid of usefulness of knowledge/skills for professional self-realization. Then it will be clear what to teach, when and in what order. Seven stages of becoming a professional Stage 1. To begin professional implementation, a person must choose a profession, acquire basic skills in it, pass an interview and get a job. Is it possible to become a professional by skipping this step? Obviously not. Moreover, young professionals often look for “their place” and, therefore, often change jobs. Repeating the job search situation once every 1-2 years is almost the norm. Stage 2. In order not to lose a job, a person must cope with at least the simplest tasks. Those. with the minimum work he is given. For example, becoming a real estate agent is not difficult. But if you haven't made a single sale in 3 months, you will most likely be fired. Stage 3: If you've held your job for six months and no one is firing you, you need to think about improving your skills. A good result means a good salary. You may need to read a couple of books and/or ask colleagues for advice. You read books and try to put them into practice. Something will come in handy. Step 4: Once your qualifications are no longer your bottleneck, another bottleneck appears. You need to build relationships with your boss and team. You won't be able to enjoy your job if your boss or colleagues don't like you. Stage 5. When the rear is covered, you can play hero. Now you need to become a highly qualified specialist - the pride of your boss and colleagues. Learn and grow on yourself. Attend trainings, seminars and read good books. Don't forget: poor people have a big TV, rich people have a big library. Stage 6. You are a recognized authority in your field, now you can teach and lead others. Chances are you are now the boss. You need skills in personnel management, motivation, time management, project management, training and much more. You start reading books again, only this time they are different. Stage 7. You are a recognized expert and highly qualified professional. Now you have many roads. You can:

• (highly qualified specialist) Become a freelance consultant with a salary of $100-$1000 / hour .
• (high-level manager) Advance to the position of General Manager
• (businessman) Open your own business.
• (highly qualified specialist) Gain experience abroad.
• (broaden your horizons) See the world. Travel for your own pleasure.
• (family) If you are a woman, then it's time to have children.

Pyramid of usefulness of knowledge and skills

It is very difficult to skip any level here. Most often you will have to go through them sequentially. Now I’ll try to build a hierarchy of necessary knowledge and skills: Now let’s think, if a person wants to get to the third level, then:

• third level skills are desirable for him;
• skills of levels four to seven - will not interfere, but are not critical;
• skills of the first two levels are required.

In the absence of the first two levels, the same picture is observed as in Maslow's pyramid: if the lower two levels are absent, the remaining levels cease to matter at all.

The university does not teach the most necessary things

All the efforts of the university are concentrated on levels from 3 to 7. It seems that the university does not specifically teach the skills that the student needs most.

• The university does not help you choose a profession. Sometimes they say something about a specialty, but no one looks at real professions on the labor market.
• The university does not provide basic professional skills. Usually the university does not provide any skills at all. The theory is enough.
• They don't teach you how to write a resume at university. This is a very important part of getting a job, but it is not taught. The university doesn't care whether you find a job or not.

You also need to be able to pass an interview. You need to not get lost, be confident, polite. But sometimes they conduct stress interviews, and many other “interviews.” It is advisable to know both their types and how to pass them. After all, if you are preparing to enter a university, why not prepare for entering a job? Moreover, they are accepted based on the results of an interview, and the only written work is your resume.

Universities really don't teach you what you need

Once upon a time there was the Soviet Union. And he had a planned economy. And everything in this economy was state-owned: plants, factories, various state-owned enterprises, and universities. And in this planned economy, student education was divided into two parts. In Soviet universities, students only completed the theoretical part of their studies. Then he received an assignment (mandatory employment) to a factory, or somewhere else, where he had to work for three years. And there, at the factory, I already completed the practical part. Therefore, the Soviet student did not need a resume, interviews, or practical experience. Almost 30 years have passed since the collapse of the USSR . There is no longer a union, a planned economy, or distribution. Only Soviet universities remain. And from year to year they continue to graduate students without practical experience, who have never heard of writing a resume correctly, or a career plan, or presenting themselves at an interview. Universities want to return distribution and a planned economy, but they cannot. They can teach in new ways, but they don’t want to. Global labor market, competitive profession, globalization, international competition - universities are afraid of these words like hell. This is where the fairy tale ends. I wouldn’t like to criticize our universities too much, saying that our higher education is poor. Our higher education is good. Just useless.

What to do?

You probably want to ask me a question: “And what do you propose to do?” To which I will answer: “I have no idea.” Why are you asking me? Then why did I write all this? I found a loophole in the system. I won't say it works for everyone, but it can definitely work for some. — Would you like to work as a programmer?