Things They Don't Teach You in School

An impressive collection of tips!

Highly relevant plug: for students / fresh grads wishing to bridge the academia-industry gap, we offer a free Incubator programme [1]. There we mentor talented students from partner universities on such practical matters.

We do specialise in machine learning, but most of the tips here apply 100%. Surprisingly -- at least to many ML students coming from academia -- even (especially?) the "be boring" bit of advice. People can get so hyped up about the latest ML fads that they miss the forest for the trees, so to speak.

[1] http://rare-technologies.com/incubator/

That looks pretty interesting; I might apply.

One question about the non-optional meetings: when are they? If I am in PST, will I have to skip sleep or work to attend?

It's advice sourced from his Twitter network for a talk he was asked to give at a school club, so I fail to see where condescension or unnecessary ego plays a part other than the fact that he is literally a technology professional addressing an audience of CS students.

Moreover, the "SJW" (social justice warrior) and Black Lives Matter references are quite sparse, so you can skip the one section and single bullet point, respectively, should you find them not to your liking.

So I guess this was a comedy piece? Some more serious issues I've noticed:

#1. They don't teach you that teachers are paid to put up with you. Employers aren't paid to put up with you. They're paid to fire people who waste their time and interfere with the work that needs to get done.

#2. They don't teach you how to not waste people's time. Some of the group activities that force mingling are the worst. Most real work does not require communication, especially at entry level positions. Take instructions once, and just deliver what is being asked of you.

#3. They don't teach you what's being asked of you. Students show up at class, deliver homework and take exams, with the occasional project maybe. Work is all exams. It's about your constant output that is monetarily valued by your employer, which is always being examined. Homework and exams have no value. But the degree has value, right?

#4. They don't teach you the degree has little value.

The list can go much longer, but even if you're a Harvard PhD, until you get this, you're a fraud. And even if you're a high school dropout, if you get it, you're in business. Employers don't really care where you're from once you're in the building. They just need things to get done.

(The degree acquiring experience can be spectacular for you regardless of where you go actually, but degrees just aren't worth what they used to be, for sure.)

Stop trying to be the smartest guy in the room and lighten up. Those are my tips.