The following article comes from programmer Yupi, author Yupi
Note that the following content is not only applicable to college students, but also to all students who have not independently developed a complete project .
There are mainly several reasons:
1. Risk >= return
When taking orders from a company, the risks generally outweigh the benefits.
Why do you say that?
Since you are taking orders from the company, you usually have to follow a formal contract. As a college student who has no experience in society and lacks awareness of legal contracts, you have to deal with a company. If you think about it, you know that you are in a relatively weak position, that is, "Party B". If there is a detail in the contract that you fail to notice, the company may take advantage of your "ignorance" to mess with you, such as adding new requirements to you, asking you to do odd jobs, or even earning liquidated damages through this.
Although the risk is not absolute and inevitable, compared with the benefits the company gives you, there is really no need to take this risk.
2. Lack of control
Due to their limited professional knowledge and practical abilities, college students may find it difficult to cope with some company projects. "Difficult to cope" here does not mean that you are unable to complete the project, but that you lack control over the project and Judgment .
Let’s talk about control first. For example, if the company requires one month to complete the project, if you do not have enough understanding of the project development process and requirements and no actual work experience, how can you ensure that you can deliver it on time within one month? If even one detail is not taken into account, it may cause the project to be delayed, which will bring you a lot of pressure.
According to my observation, many college students tend to be blindly confident. This confidence comes from lack of experience. They think that by following the tutorials and completing 2 projects and knowing a development framework, they can take orders from the company? The difference between campus teaching projects and actual corporate projects is huge, and more factors need to be met, such as time requirements, demand changes, acceptance criteria, project stability, etc. Many students can't even describe their problems and needs clearly, so how can they control a company's project?
3. Lack of judgment
Let’s talk about judgment. For example, for a college student who has no experience in taking orders or working, when faced with a project requirement, do you know how much the order is worth? If you ask for too much, others will think you are ignorant. If you ask for too little, it is equivalent to working for others at a loss. And since the price of receiving orders is flexible and is determined based on the complexity and requirements of the demand, there is no unified standard, so it is difficult for you to find relevant market prices for reference.
Of course, there is a solution to this situation, which is to “price” yourself. Think about how much time this project will take you, then set yourself an hourly rate and figure out the total price of the order.
But dear college students, how do you “put a price” on yourself at this stage? The time in college is very precious, and improving yourself is priceless.
4. Academic pressure
College students are not like employees of a company. They have stable hours every day - they just stay and work in the company. Daily courses, exams, and school activities will take up your time and prevent you from focusing on the project, thereby increasing the risk of project delay; or if you invest too much time in the project, it will also affect your academic and technical learning. .
I am deeply aware of this. During my junior year, as the person in charge of the school’s website construction studio, I often traveled to another campus to meet with teachers about project requirements. The round trip lasted at least three or four hours, and I was physically and mentally exhausted.
5. Career development
As mentioned before, college time is very precious. Most students only have three or four years. After these few years, they become social workers. It is even more difficult to learn and improve themselves!
Therefore, I suggest that you confirm your goals as early as possible and clarify your college plans. Unless forced by life, try not to do things that have nothing to do with improving yourself, such as running errands for more than ten dollars.
The same goes for taking orders from a company. If you have very rich abilities and project experience, and besides receiving monetary benefits, taking orders can indeed further improve your abilities, then you can take it. However, I would recommend that you do more of your own projects, do more open source projects, team up with classmates to participate in competitions, participate in teacher's laboratory projects, or find formal internships, which can also increase experience. Even if you really want to take orders, try not to take orders from the company. Instead, you can help your classmates with the procedures and choose a lower-risk method.