How much of what you have learned in college/graduate school are you really using in your job?

[Anonymous]

Undergrad: critical thinking, some writing.
Grad: Practical degree; use what I learned A LOT. But some of that was from good professors inserting their direct work experience into their teaching.

First "grown-up" job as secretary: taught me SOOOOOOOO much more than any schooling ever did:
- How to deal with people up and down the chain of command.
- How to use MS Office products at a really advanced level.
- How to be organized and anticipate someone's needs.
- Also showed me up close that people at all levels are just people, and there's no mystery to being a high level worker.
- That sometimes it's better to have a seat at the table and sometimes it's not.

Am so thankful I started with that job.

[Anonymous]

Not to sound cliched, but in law school, I learned to "think like a lawyer," in that I learned how to teach myself new areas of the law and do legal research. I still use those skills all the time. I was a litigator, and now am in-house, so I often need to learn new areas of the law that I am not so familiar with in order to do my job. I had an undergrad history degree, which was also heavily focused on research and writing, so I think I still use those skills as well.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm surprised. I do corporate law, and took at least 5 courses that were directly relevant. Every class helps hone the critical thinking and writing skills that are part of the legal job.