Problem Solving
You may have noticed a mention in the course syllabus about “problem solving”. From our advisory boards we get regular complaints that our graduates aren’t very good at problem solving, so as a college we are trying to address this issue. With this in mind the following is a problem solving exercise.
I do not like busy work, and I hope you do not consider this exercise as such. It is your future.
Consider this: In the economic depression of 2008 and following years recent college graduates found it much harder to find a job right out of college, and when the economy picked up again there were new college graduates available. Consequently, a lot of graduates from 2008, 2009, etc. are still struggling to catch up to where they would have been. Today, the viral pandemic has put the economy, and society itself, in another perilous situation.
The problem I pose to you: What are you going to do about this? Even if you are not graduating this year the world is changing. The nature of work is changing and will change even more as a result of the pandemic. What can you do to get ready? I hope you realize this is a problem of great importance to you personally.
In your response to this assignment I want you to consider:
How society is changing due to this pandemic. (list at least 3 ways, 1., 2., and 3.)
How work is changing due to the pandemic. (list at least 3 ways)
How your personal life will change due to this pandemic. (list at least 3 ways)
How the job you hope to soon have will change due to the pandemic. (list the job and list at least 3 ways you think it will change)
(This is the big problem to be solved) What are you going to do to improve your chances to get a good job? (list at least 5 things you can do, and a timeline over the next 3 years showing how you are going to do them)
Grading rubric:
15 pts.
15 pts.
15 pts.
15 pts.
40 pts.
I’ll give you a couple of hints. 1. One way to ride out a downturn is to get more education, so you could continue working towards a 4-year degree. 2. More work will be done remotely – what skills / experience do you have in that area and how can you improve your skills / experience?
