Aug 30, 2023
To:Tomoyuki
Okay, I admit that me calling studying just theory is an oversimplification and there are more nuances to this. So let me try to address the issue in the detail necessary:
I wonโt claim to know Tokyo University in specific, at all. What I know are universities in general. Yes, there might be internships and other cooperations with companies but I hope we can agree that the main focus is research and academics - and that is a good thing.
But: Just because you learned about different types of leadership personalities certain people prefer, doesnโt mean you know how to properly lead an appraisal interview. Just because you programmed pieces of software during studies doesnโt mean you know how to program in a team of several hundreds of people. Just knowing all the ins and outs of accounting doesnโt mean you have the basic knowledge of SAP. And just having worked through a few model cases of business decisions doesnโt mean you know how to take big company decisions that may affect several hundred peoples real lifeโs.
There are some company cooperations, and big universities will probably have more than smaller ones, but there will always be a safety net. And while this might be similar, when you start out in a company, this context of โI am safe hereโ changes things.
You donโt learn driving at the driving school. You learn it through driving for years without anyone to help you. You have to do it to master it and the context of this matters! Thatโs why there are Juniors and Seniors in Businesses.
Universities provide you with the starting point and a foundation you can then build upon and definitely a lot of knowledge about how to research and science is done right.
Universities are great! But if you are planning to get into business later down the line, there are things you still have to do yourself in order to actually know them.
Thatโs why working students are so great! While studying you also get to learn the real business side.
Quite a few full time students told me they had even forgotten about half the details of their studies when they started into the workforce. Upon working they had to re-learn these things again. You can prevent or at least dampen this effect if you work in the exact same field during this time.
This was also the reason why I personally decided for a dual study: working, apprenticeship and studying at the same time (even though, we did not dive as deep into every field, as a federal university for full time students would have done it + the knowledge was much more prepared).
But this is just my subjective opinion and it is not universally applicable. So you and even others reading this are of course free to disagree. Maybe I should differentiate this a little better in the text to bring the nuances across a little better. Another thing for my list ๐
And all of this is not meant as a baiting against universities or students! (as I said, Iโm even studying myself) I just think, that it is only a more theoretical than practical piece of the puzzle.
And thatโs why I think itโs a great opportunity for Akimi to start into the business of her family early and receive hands on knowledge of the exact job she will later on pursue. Even though, Osaka University might not be just as renowned as Tokyo, it is still among the most well-renowned ones in Japan (In most ranks I saw it on the third position, in one instance even above Kyoto โฆ). She will learn pretty much the same things there, as she will learn in Tokyo. Maybe not of the exact same quality, but probably with a higher life quality for herself.
And thank you very much for your feedback! Iโm happy you liked Takurล and Akimi together and thank you for always reading! ๐โค๏ธ
