Professionals have been known to tell students "When you get out into the real world, it will be different from college."

Being a student at a university or college is part of the "real world" and working as a practitioner in the field of leisure services is the "real world." There are two different types of real worlds, but both are very real. The purpose of this article is to explore the importance of the experiences and tasks students encounter in their professional preparation programs and how they generalize in practice to the field of leisure and recreation services.

Here are the top 10 ways that the college real world is the same as the leisure service field real world.

10. Numerous Demands on Your Time
Students today have more demands than ever on their time and energy. Many students are working 20 to 40 hours a week to meet the financial demands of a college education, as well as taking a full course load, being part of campus organizations and groups, and, of course, fulfilling social obligations. Practitioners also have numerous demands within their professional and personal life. They may be supervising 20 or more full- and part-time staff, coordinating summer programs, putting together the fall brochure, and meeting family and community responsibilities as well. In both cases, knowing how to manage time to meet the demands in life are important. The student who learns how to do this in college will make the transition into the work world more easily.

9. Working Cooperatively with Others to Complete Projects
The most frequently voiced complaint of students is that they dislike doing group projects. It is difficult to get everyone together at one time, and there is often someone who doesn't contribute his or her fair share to the project. While students would like to work on projects independently, in the field of leisure services very few projects or events would be possible without the cooperative work of many people. In both cases, some people within a group may be controlling, others may not do their fair share of work, and others rise to leadership roles. The student who learns how to work cooperatively and motivate others within course group projects also will be able to use these skills in the work world.

8. Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines (Imposed by Others)
Students have very little control in their college careers about the deadlines and due dates to which they must adhere regarding projects, papers and exams. There may be multiple deadlines on one day due to the variety of courses the student is taking. Meeting those deadlines is important to successfully complete a course and ultimately progress to graduation. The practitioner in leisure services also has deadlines to meet; many imposed by others. On a typical day a practitioner may have to have copy ready for the brochure, board reports and packets out in the mail, a grant proposal application completed, budget requests processed, etc. In both cases there are consequences for not making deadlines. The difference here is that the consequence for not meeting professional deadlines usually affects other people, while college deadlines typically only impact one person—the student (unless it is a group project)!

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6. Having a Sense of Humor Can Help Control Stress
Having a sense of humor is directly related to the numerous demands for time and deadlines that need to be met. While being a student should be a serious endeavor, approaching this role without a sense of humor or being able to find humor in the situations experienced, will lead to stress and the potential for not completing a degree program. Many practitioners in the field of leisure services will say that they enjoy their job and have fun with it. They know that having a sense of humor is important, especially on a day when everything seems to be going wrong; for example, the Tae Kwon Do instructor calls 10 minutes before the class is to start to tell you his car won't start; a board member called earlier in the day because a community member had a complaint about how a staff member treated people at the summer concert; and your computer disk crashed and lost the file with the brochure copy that is due at the end of the day. In both cases seeing the lighter side of life and having a sense of humor can help alleviate stress and eventual burnout. The student who takes this ability into the work world will last longer than those who don't.

5. Knowing Where to Find Information and Resources
Students are exposed to a multitude of resources and information while on a college campus. The expectation of professors is that students will be able to find the necessary information and resources needed to complete a paper or project. For example, those students completing a planning and design project will need to call companies for price quotes and estimates for the equipment they are suggesting to include in their fitness trail project. Students in a recreation for special populations class may have to call 800 numbers requesting information from national organizations regarding different disability groups. Practitioners in the field are well aware of the need to know who to call when information or assistance is needed. The professional who is responsible for beginning a new dance program for the park district may know little about dance instruction, but knowing who to call and what resources to examine will assist in making the new dance program successful. In both cases knowing how to access information leads to successful endeavors. Those students who are willing to use technology and other forms of information retrieval will be valuable members of the field once they graduate.

4. Building Bridges Is Important to Continued Success
Relationships students establish in college with peers, practicing professionals and professors are important well beyond the years in college. For example, a solid relationship with a professor may lead that faculty to contact an alumnus who is looking for a new job when it is posted at the university. Or it may mean a willingness of faculty to write a positive recommendation for graduate school admission for a former student. The ability to "build bridges" and not bum them is an important skill for students to bring to the work world. Networking among professionals is paramount to professional survival. Knowing who to call for professional advice, references or support and being available to do the same for colleagues is an important role for those in the profession. The first environment in which professional bridge-building begins is within the university environment. Those students who understand the importance of maintaining relationships and take the time to nurture them will be at an advantage to those who do not once they become practicing professionals.

3. Need to "Take Time For Fun"
This is related to stress management for both students and practitioners. The student who does not schedule in needed play and recreation time will get burnt out by the end of the semester. On the other hand, those who spend too much time taking time for fun run the risk of not passing their courses at the end of the semester. Those practitioners in the field of leisure services who provide the services but do not have a leisure lifestyle of their own will not be productive in the long run. If they do not become mentally burnt out, it is quite possible that their bodies will through health problems. In both cases being able to practice what you preach is necessary to be an ongoing contributing member of the team. Those students who know how to balance work with play will be better workers (and players) once they graduate from college.

2. Ability to Look as if You are Paying Attention
Students have learned through their minimum of 16 years of schooling to sit in hard uncomfortable chairs for long periods of time. They also have learned how to look interested in what is being said (some better than others) during dry, boring lectures. The truth is, practitioners also have to sit for long periods of time in dry boring meetings, trying to look interested in what is being said. In both cases, the reality is that you will not always be where you want to be, in comfortable surroundings. The student who acknowledges this will not be disappointed when he or she leaves college. The memory of dull and boring classes, may make them more aware of how they can conduct succinct, meaningful meetings and presentations.

1. Nobody Understands What You Do
Students are constantly trying to define their major to their roommates, friends, and parents. Parents are concerned about this major called "parks and recreation" and whether there are jobs in this field, which they have never heard of before. Friends are berating you for being in such an "easy" major. They just don't seem to understand. Unfortunately this does not go away. The therapeutic recreation specialist at a teaching hospital is

30 * Illinois Parks & Recreation * November/December 1996

One of the goals of faculty in recreation and parks curricula is to create learning experiences inside and outside the classroom that are relevant to the field of leisure and recreation. While knowledge of leadership skills, programming, administration and issues facing the field are some of the core knowledge areas for curricula, there are other knowledge and skills that can't be targeted in a classroom, but can be encouraged. These were discussed in this article to assist students and practicing professionals alike to see the relevancy and relationship between agencies providing leisure services and universities providing the professional preparation programs.

Do universities provide learning experiences and an environment that is "real world?" Most definitely.

In reality there is not much difference from the real world of the practicing professional and the real world of the university. 

Patricia Barrett Malik, Ph.D., CTRS, is associate professor in the Recreation and Park Administration Program for Illinois State University. She earned an undergraduate degree in Community and Outdoor Recreation from Springfield College (Springfield, Massachusetts) and master's and doctorate degrees in Leisure Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.