Community Chat

[Shanus]

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@jubilant wrote:

I read an article in the newspaper this morning with above title.  People were talking about skills they learned in school that became especially useful in their careers and/or life.  Some credited typing.  I would have to agree with that because without it I wouldn't have landed a great secretarial job.  

How about you?  What skills have you gained that you learned in school and where have they taken you?

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@jubilant  In high school and college, many required math & advanced math classes seemed pointless, a waste a time, for an artist. As it turns out, when I began designing and making jewelry, those math skills are invaluable when drawing and measuring the metal. 

[Witchy Woman]

@ShowMe

I considered learning court reporting or the type of transcription they did for Congressional Committees...where they spoke into a funnel type thing and it was transcribed later.  Doubt they do it that way anymore!  I think they still do the Congressional Record from shorthand transcription, but not sure.  

But, by the time I thought of doing those things, my secretarial career was ending.  I eventually moved into a "professional" non-secretarial job in the Federal Government. 

Although, by the time I got to that point, NO ONE had secretaries!  At least not in the sense I had once been.  Everyone did their own typing and letter composition, and it showed.    

Yes, things had to be "perfect"  back then.  When I was in the White House, no white out was allowed.  Five carbon copies of different color!   If you made a mistake, you started over.  We finally got correcting Selectrics and they would accept those corrections.  

It was a different world then.  Everything moved slower.  No instant anything.  Good grammar and spelling were required.  Now, anything goes, or so it seems.

Of course, along with the secretarial duties went "getting coffee" and being the "girl" in the office.  I'm thankful that all my bosses were respectful of me.  They might have starred a little too long at my mini-skirts, but that was about it 

[ShowMe]

@Witchy Woman......yes, those were the days.....  perfection was so important.  

When I had the Selectric typewriter that corrected, still had to correct the carbon copies.  That was a bummer.

That's true, there are no longer secretary jobs.....it then went to Administrative Assistant.....and have no idea what it is today...

[corita]

    Not necessarly a school skill, but my mother had so many lifetime 'expressions' that she lived by and consequently they became lessons taught to our family.  I found so many to be real and true!!

    Some were:

         Laugh and the world laughs with you; whine and you whine alone.

         Learn from the past, live for the present and plan for the future.

         There is nothing more important than family.

         Learn a  trade that will support you for your lifetime.

[Catiele]

I thank my father for teaching me how to save money. His motto was save a dollar. Heard it many times. When I got my first paycheck he took me to the bank to open an account. Every week we went to the bank. I still save most of the time. 

[ShowMe]

You all do realize that we are making fun of ourselves.....  And bet all those reading here are getting a good laugh.  LOL

[Bridgegal]

@proudlyfromNJ

That's funny.  At my HS, only those of us going to college had to take typing.   It was optional for others.  This was in the mid 60's.

[jubilant]

Some of the skills or things we learned in school help us whether or not we make a career out of them. Like home economics.  That gave me the skill to repair my own clothing, sew on a button, and hem my own pants.  All of that sure helped when Mom was no longer around to do it for me!  My daughter, on the other hand, took Shop.  She knows more about the tools in the garage and how to use them than her husband does!  He obviously didn't take shop!

[Laura14]

I too had a wonderful history teacher who taught the class to put themselves in the other person's shoes when learning about conflicts in history and understand why 'villains' might have done what they did.

What a valuable skill that is through life realizing hidden agendas and hurts fester, exist and matter.

Socially I learned I'm not like anyone else and that's okay. And if anyone gets in your face (and they did) bullies always back down and leave you alone when you open your mouth and refuse to take their stuff.

Another great life skill.

[jubilant]

I took typing.  DH didn't.  You should see him pecking out one letter at a time on the computer!  It frustrates him to the point he rarely uses one.  I think I would feel the same way if I didn't know how to type.