The transition from school to career is often described as traumatic. This is especially true for those who fail to recognize the differences between the work place and academia and for those who view the work place as distasteful rather than challenging.

Students need to recognize that the new environment will be significantly different in many ways. Those differences include:

• A close and long-term association with a supervisor, in contrast to a casual short-term contact with a professor.
• Constant interaction with others and therefore dependency on human relations skills in completing assignments vs. completing assignments alone.
• Supervisors with differing and possibly more generalized backgrounds vs. professors with highly specialized backgrounds in a student’s field of interest.
• Supervisors and peers of different ages (younger or older) vs. faculty who are generally older and peers who are generally closer in age.
• Supervisors counting on and using "expert" advice of the employee vs. professors who provide the answers.
• Little control over the selection of a supervisor vs.selecting preferred professors for course work.
• Little control over work assignments vs. flexibility over course work taken.
• Continuous work involvement vs. school periods interrupted by vacations.
• Assignments blending into or overlapping one another vs. course termination followed by a fresh start.
• Working toward common long-term goals vs. working individually for a grade.
• The necessity for contributing to profit or services vs. the prerogative of self concern.
• Respect earned slowly without fanfare on the basis of performance vs. accolades for having good grades.
• Casual and intermittent performance evaluations vs. a final grade at the completion of each course.
• Evaluations which discuss not only past job performance but ways to improve that performance vs. dropping performance considerations after a grade has been issued.
• Salary increases and promotions based not only on performance, but on communication skills and interaction with others vs. accumulated course work leading to a degree.
• A chance to make an impact in the organization vs. little opportunity to participate in change.

Students who gain real world work experience through the co-op program, internships, or summer positions have a realistic perception of what to expect, make the transition more easily, and more quickly contribute to the overall goals of the organization. After all, this final item is what job satisfaction is all about.

It has been said that "to work is to be in touch with the changing world and to grow more competent and secure in it." * The change from the University is but the beginning of many changes to come in a lifetime of work.