Does hard work REALLY pay off when you're studying?

Question

So when I was taking my Diploma at Community College course last year, I did procrastinate in the beginning but so did others. I worked my butt off near the end of the semester. I worked so hard that I was studying 12hrs almost every day, didn't socialized anymore, stayed up late every night to study and skipped part-time job to study longer. I became very irritable and snappy from all this although I tried to avoid arguments.

However, no matter how long I studied I didn't get very far in my assignments. So I was looked down upon teachers and embarrassed to see other students ahead of me. I felt lazy even though I wasn't.

It made me upset because other students could breeze through assignment in 2 hrs while having a laugh and chatting with others students while I was studying 12 hrs every day and couldn't even get near his level even if I spent days. I ended up failing the course and losing the money, the only thing I learnt was that I developed a fairy good idea of what I was interested in.

I know the saying work smarter not harder but none of the techniques worked on me so I decided to just studying based on how I think will perform the best.

So does working hard really pay off or does this only work for smart people?

Answer 1

I understand how you feel because I was in a similar situation. First of all I would like to point out that just because you study 12 hours does not mean you understand the material. You could read chapters after chapters without understanding the basic concept and from hearing that you fail the course you obviously did not understand the class. Like just because you read chapters about "how to calculate mole or x" does not mean you can do them. To successfully do well on problems you HAVE to know what your doing



The reason why "smart people" do their work faster and get better grades are because they already figured a repeating pattern, like when were learning something new in World History they already know whats going to happen because about 90% of it is always People get pissed about the aristocracy/government and they rebel.



So in short 2 hours of Effective Studying > 12 hour Longer Study

Answer 2

Hard work does pay-off. So does working smart; do not underestimate or ignore working smart. Simply working your hands to the bone doesn't result in extraordinary pay-off. Someone could work a menial job their entire life and really put in a lot of work, doesn't mean they're going to get a lot of pay. Someone else could start up a business and put in a lot of hours, doesn't mean they've got the right clients or business idea to launch a highly profitable enterprise. In your case, these other people are obviously in a different school which is easier. Maybe they chose this because they knew it would result in a higher G.P.A., maybe they just simply ended up there. Either way, it's easier for them to get a higher G.P.A., this can be sort of like working smart. If you're headed into an academic field after school it is likely worthwhile to have had a more prestigious and difficult eduction than it is to have glided through the standard fair. Any resume indicating your academic curriculum is likely going to be aimed at those who know and care what that was.

Answer 3

YES! It does. On the other hand, if you know it takes longer for you to master the material, you simply can't allow yourself to procrastinate at the beginning of the term. Better to study a moderate amount every day, then study very little at the beginning of the term and then cram near the end.



In fact, I'd venture a guess that you didn't fully learn some of the basic building-block concepts at the beginning, which makes your study at the end much less effective (trust me, I did this in organic chemistry and wanted to die)



Study with people from your class - the ones you can tell really GET IT! Ask your study group questions whenever you are stuck. Sure, you may annoy them a little bit, but smart people LOVE to hear themselves talk, so if you can stand their smug attitude, you will learn from them. Plus, you're doing them a favor, even if they don't realize it - explaining a concept back to someone else really helps master it, so they will be improving their own grades while they help you.



Also - stop comparing yourself to others quite so much. We ALL have our different skills and talents. I guarantee there are things you do better than the whiz kids in your class, and there are things about your life that they would be jealous of.



Good luck! I like your attitude. Stick with it!

Answer 4

Working hard in ur studies may not make u successful in the exam.The reasons are herebelow.

Some courses requie phenomenal memory . if u do not have it, u will not succeed because u cannot study for 18--20 hours a day and recollection of the same in exam could be a problem.

Some courses require very high intelligence --especially high ranking administrative exams or acturial exams where ur accumen in mathematics, statistics and financial accounting is tested. Even if u are able to study for 18 hours a day, u may not succeed because u might have pure acumen in the above

subjects.

The third type of exams require study for 10-12 hours a day( good efforts), reasonable intelligence

and also the third factor --luck.Please remember that our abilities & efforts are internal to us but the

task difficulty or luck is external.We have no control over it.

Working hard may not ive u remarkable success in exams but it will def give u success in ur job

because there u are one up than ur colleauges by dint of hard labour so u can ameliorate ur status

very fast.