Things I've Learned While in Grad School

I like talking - a lot - which I guess is why I blog.  I think some day I'll write a book entitled: "Things I Learned While in Grad School."

Now, I know you're probably thinking - "Well, that'll be lame - who cares to hear you regurgetate information about NPV, Options, Supply & Demand curves, Leadership theories and marketing strategies?" Don't worry, no one does - so that's why it won't be about that type of stuff. Here's a taste of what it will be like:

Where you sit really does matter.

When I was at NG, I was once told to choose my seat in meetings very carefully. It could result in attention you do or don't want and certain seats can be better or worse for having power or influence during the meeting. I never forgot this and frequently used very careful strategy when choosing a seat in meetings. Watch others as they enter a room some time - it's quite interesting.

The thing about this is - it also holds true for grad school. To start, some times in the first or second class lecture you will be forever (for the semester) assigned to a single seat. It is important that the seat allows you to be engaged when you want to be or totally quiet (and hidden from cold calls) if you're paying for a late night out. The kids who really want to show how much they care actually do the reading every night will usually sit front and center. It's good that they exist, especially since I'm not usually one of them (Come on, don't judge, like you read every assignment you were given?). Then there's the kids who'll sit far on the ends or pretty much out of sight and don't plan to participate all that much (or at all). I am also not one of those - because as we previously discussed, when I have an opinion, I want to be heard. As a result, I will often sit in the last row of the center section. I like seats in the back because I'm a multi-tasker and often find that boring slow lectures are a great way to get other things done. But, I like sitting in the center so that if I want to actively participate, I can. Another important factor is who you sit next to. This can make or break ANY seat. For example, lets say you choose to sit in the far right corner just out of Professor's sight to take a less active role in this particular class - but, Mr. Statue of Liberty is right next to you and constantly has his hand up, drawing the Profs attention constantly to your area of the room. This makes day dreaming/napping or reading a case for another class even more challenging. Thus, seat selection is important. Choose wisely.

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Now since this IS a school blog, I will make my obligatory caveat: What is even more important, though, is finding the classes and professors where you aren't worried about this type of stuff because you want to actually sit engaged for 80 minutes and listen to them talk. Plus, I might guess that the Professors are not at all fooled by our seat selection game, but just like to play along.


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Ok, so on second thought, maybe no one wants to listen to that stuff either... but who knows... if my career doesn't work out, it might be fun to give writing a book a try. :)