Advice to Asian students
Asian students are often taught to focus on technical skills but not much in soft-skills. In the workplaces, technical is only part of the overall works as workers must also be good in reading and writing, be able to communicate clearly, and work well in teams. Basically these soft-skills are very important but few Asian graduates have and that is why they are at the disadvantage. There are many graduates with technical skills but few have soft skills, and actually these skills are the key factor in getting hired.
When Asian students go to the U.S, they found that the education here is different from their country. Although technical work is a key part of the education but to get good grades, they need to do more. They have to write a lot of papers, sometime every week so good writing skill is important. They have to participate in class discussion so speaking skill is also important. They have to present their works to the class so presentation skill is necessary. They must read additional information to broaden their knowledge rather than wait for professors to tell them what to do so continuous learning is an important skill to have. They also have to work in team, getting along with teammates, commit support the teams' goals, and divide works among members so teamwork skills are critical etc. Unfortunately these soft-skills are rarely taught in Asian schools and most students have not learned them.
If you are planning to study in the U.S, you will need to learn these skills as soon as possible in order to succeed. The more you can prepare ahead, the better you will be. You need to be vocal in class activities because professors will grade you on how much you contribute to the class. Being quiet is considered a weakness and not participate means you are lazy. Most U.S classrooms are interactive where discussion is the main activities, professors do not lecture much but raise questions and encourage students to discuss. Professors often listen carefully to the discussion so they can correct any misconception and summarize key points.
A class discussion is the main activity that demonstrates how much students understand the course materials and how they apply their knowledge to solve problems. Most professors consider the ability to apply concepts is the main learning objective and most exams are based on the application rather than the ability to memorize course materials. In contrast, Asian's teaching methods are emphasizing memorization of facts and exams are based on how much students know rather than whether they can apply the concept or not. In the U.S exams often happen on a weekly or biweekly basis rather than one or twice a year as in Asia, so they are much less stressful, as long as you know how to apply your knowledge, you will do well. The U.S education values exploration, discovery and innovations and it expects students to read more and have broader knowledge of the world, the industry, the technology, the business, and the economy. Students must know how their knowledge and skills help them to participate in the society, industry and the overall economy. This is a weak point of many Asian students who often focus on passing exams, get degrees, and get a job rather than knowing how the world evolve around them.
In the U.S. most college students work in the summer to gain work experience but Asian students often stay in school to take additional classes or go home to visit family. It is a mistake as they often miss a good opportunity to learn more about the working environment. Without work experience, it is difficult to compete for job as many companies do not favor graduates without any work experience. An industry study in 2010 found that 87% of hiring managers considered soft skills and work experience are the most important factors when evaluating applicants for job. When breaking down which skills were important, managers chose the ability to organize and prioritize work, having good communication skill, having positive attitude, good teamwork and continuous learning as their top requirements.
In this highly competitive job market, there is pressure on workers to be more productive. Being able to organize and prioritize work are critical because you have to meet strict schedules and deliver good results to stay ahead in a company. Workers who continue to learn new things and new technologies are highly value and will get much better salary than those who do not. When managers depend on your organization and communication skills, they will trust you with bigger and important projects, putting you in a better position and that means a promotion and salary increase.
Having a positive attitude, good soft skills and continuous learning are the key factors to keep the job even if you may not be very good with technical skills. Industry study found that 32% of new workers often failed in the first 18 months and 89 percent of them failed for attitudinal and teamwork. Only 11 percent failed due to a lack of technical skills. When you have a bad attitude, it hurts your relationships with team members and it is often a cause for dismissal. You may be the best technical person but if you are not cooperate with the team, your contribution on the overall is diminished. In most U.S school, teamwork is critical and everyone is part of a team, and they have to work together else the team will fail.
The key issue is soft skills cannot easily be learned; they need to be developed over time and must be taught in school. The challenge for Asian students is that they often have weaker soft skills than others but both the U.S schools and the industry expects teamwork from them. Asian students often spent too much time buried in their books and often ignore these advices as they have a misconception that technical skills are everything especially students who are doing well in their countries. Without soft skills, getting a promotion or better salary will be difficult as people would consider them as arrogant and unhelpful.
Asian students need to understand that technical skills are only part of the overall work, and doing technical work is just the beginning but having soft skills is what it takes to succeed in the workplace. If you want to succeed in U.S school and get promoted at work, you must develop soft skills.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
