If Casey Ark thought that his college classroom work was going to be transported to the real world, where instant success awaited him, he was clearly misguided (“Commentary: College grad gets a shock – teachers and lessons were not real-world,” Sept. 2).

His experience is no different from that of most college graduates, especially those in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

The fact is that the knowledge learned in these fields is indeed obsolete almost on the day the diplomas are handed out.

There is no question that college graduates today have significant challenges in front of them, in large part because of the continued slow economy. But these challenges have also existed in the past, so nothing is really new, and changing the coursework and the teachers is not the answer.

In 1970, when engineering graduates were the only ones in high demand because of a deep recession, my agriculture degree in livestock production still landed me a job and a career in the insurance industry and on Wall Street.

College is about learning how to solve problems, and Mr. Ark has, unbeknownst to himself, already put his experience to work learning new skills and technologies.

Imagine if all engineers only engineered what they learned in the classroom: We would still be reading by the light of the oil lamp.

Michael A. Smith

Wells

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