RIZA KAYNAK

If you assumed university as a work place for yourselves and studying as your job, I discuss about the factors you would consider:
a) From your own perspective
b) From your employer’s (lecturers’) perspective
In order to ensure a successful career (desired outcome)
a) In order to ensure a successful career for a student, we should divide the factors into two groups. One of them is internal factors and the other one is external factors, because we shouldn’t think the factors from one angle, we should think them as a whole.

1) Internal Factors: Generally internal factors are so important, because they are totally belong us, ourselves. We can control and organize them. We should consider internal factors firstly as a student in a university in order to ensure a successful career. First of all we should be ourselves than other. In order to determine internal factors, we should know ourselves. Internal factors can be change person to person. Actually there are no more internal factors. The most important one is “Being Happy”. If a student has inner happiness, he/she is always happy whatever he/she does. These types of students know their expectations from life, school, and teacher clearly. They don’t want much more than this. Knowing these aspects makes student’s academic life easy to get success, because there are no other things to think or there is no waste time for a student. They are also appreciative students. They know the value what they have (etc. teacher, school, opportunity of education)
2) External Factors: These factors sometimes affect internal factors. But this is not valid for every time. If we think as a student to get successful career, we can listed external factors as below;
• Economical situations: if a student has economical problem, it makes students life hard.
• Communication: if there is no relationship with students and teacher, it is hard to get success.
• Quality of Education: if a student doesn’t satisfied from quality of education, he/she always bitches from this aspect.
• Physical Environment: if physical environment (campus) doesn’t satisfy students, these students don’t be happy.
We can say that external factors can affects internal factors but successful students always know that “As you sow, so you shall reap”.
b) In order to ensure a successful career for a teacher, we should divide the factors into two groups as before. One of them is internal factors and the other one is external factors, but we should think them as a whole.

1) Internal Factors: Teachers have more responsibilities than students have in their life, because they are employee. They have responsibility to make money, take care of somebody etc. In order to ensure a successful career for a teacher, they should control both their self and the others. But students are only responsible with their own. At this point, internal factors show similarities for both teachers and students so internal factors generally the same. I mean “Being Happy” is the most important internal factor to get success from life. First of all people should learn to be happy. At this point, we should also think psychology of teachers. We can say that all these factors affects psychology of teachers and this psychology affects to ensure a successful career directly. We can say that psychology has an important role in people’s life.
2) External Factors: As I said before sometimes external factors can affect the internal factors. What are the external factors as a teacher in order to get a successful career from life? These are listed below;

• Economical Situation: If a teacher does not pleased with his/her salary, thinks that I work hard and get low salary, this teacher doesn’t be efficient in her/his job.
• Management Problem: if a teacher faces some management problem in the school, he/she doesn’t involve in effective teaching.
• Family: if a teacher has a family problem, this problem affects her/his life directly and he/she cannot be efficient in teaching.
• Job opportunities: School management should supply good opportunities to teacher (etc. salary, off-day, technology, and room, accommodation) to get output from teacher.
• Job security: if a teacher always worries about fire and think about it, he/she cannot be efficient at her/his work.

As a conclusion, we can say that internal factors almost the same for all people in order to ensure a successful career, because everything starts with us. If we want, we can. If we don’t want, we cannot. Every single person has this power but the only important thing is that knowing how to use this power. All these factors affect our career as a student or a teacher. Students are responsible with only their selves but teacher are responsible with both their selves and their family. Teachers have more responsibility than students at this point. But the aim is the same that to ensure a successful career. At many point, if we want to talk about that being happy is the most important key to ensure a successful career we should think psychological situations as well. So we should think all aspects and factors as a whole to be successful in our career.

Author: Rıza KAYNAK
May, 2008