The point is…it’s not the studies and papers, lectures and seminars, deadlines and readings that prepare us for the Real World. It’s not the knowledge absorbed that allows us to function in the Real World. It’s the actual ‘doing’ that prepares us for the Real World. It is the act of organizing studies and writing well, the art of listening and contributing, differing and compromising, negotiating and standing ground, the skills of time management and prioritisation, and the love of life-long learning and never-ending absorption of knowledge. Yes, Academia does prepare us for the Real World…but in ways we never realize at the time.

After looking back over two careers in the Real World, and two segues into Academia, I am still optomistic. I actually have made a difference and have affected change (I think) for the good. And when Real World gets to me, I hide in Shakespearean sonnets!