Ever heard about PRAO?

Swedishguy

Swedishguy

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PRAO is an idiotic concept that the swedish schoolsystem has designed. What it is: A student tries out a workplace for a week or two while holding interviews and writing a PRAO diary. It's tremendously hard to find a place to have PRAO, it's boring as hell, and the increased job experience is pretty useless.

Enough of ranting, what the point of this thread is: What do you think about PRAO?

I'm having PRAO next week. At the Uppsala University. Ugh.

EDIT: Er, I mean the Stockholm University. I'm confused by this PRAO crap.
 
It's usually described as work experience in the UK, and quite a lot of schools will insist on a few weeks of it at some point. I had a couple of weeks of it back when I was fifteen, which I recall was an utter waste of time for all concerned.
 
Swedishguy said:
PRAO is an idiotic concept that the swedish schoolsystem has designed. What it is: A student tries out a workplace for a week or two while holding interviews and writing a PRAO diary. It's tremendously hard to find a place to have PRAO, it's boring as hell, and the increased job experience is pretty useless.

Enough of ranting, what the point of this thread is: What do you think about PRAO?

I'm having PRAO next week. At the Uppsala University. Ugh.
Click to expand...

On the surface, it doesn't sound like a bad idea. So I'm curious as to how it became a waste of time. I can understand the boredom though. If you were a programmer, I can understand how it might be a waste, because doing programming work for 1 or 2 weeks would indeed be a waste of time. it might take you longer than that just to understand the environment you have to work in.
 
I can understand the usefulness of PRAO, judging from what I skimmed over your post. :D

I figure PRAO would be a good way to give students a taste of what they'll expect in the workforce and perhaps give students time to efficiently prepare for that eventual transition. Plus you might meet some people that know a guy that knows a guy that can hook you up with the job you want.
 
Never heard of it, but it sounds useful to me.

Make the most of it, it never hurts to have more business contacts.
 
It sounds like one of the many things schools do that appear to be useful but in reality are just a waste of time and money.
 
It may sound like a good idea in theory, but in practice it doesn't achieve anything other than ticking a few boxes. Basic problem is that the student probably knows nowhere near enough to do any but the most menial of tasks, and a couple of weeks isn't really long enough to train them to do much either. Personally I felt that given I already knew how to make coffee, backup CDs, shred things, file things, setup a computer and move furniture, I didn't really learn much.

Oh yes, and there were the wonderful two days at school tagged on either end of it of an imbecile spouting management buzzwords and getting us to do inane "teambuilding" exercises. Whole thing was just an exercise in looking very busy without actually getting anything done.
 
Over here we just do Internships. By year three of an Engineering degree, you know enough to go out and work. So you have the option of running off to find a job, and network a bunch. Most guys who are semi-competent get job offers that aren't even conditional on them finishing their degrees.
 
leonel said:
I can understand the usefulness of PRAO, judging from what I skimmed over your post. :D

I figure PRAO would be a good way to give students a taste of what they'll expect in the workforce and perhaps give students time to efficiently prepare for that eventual transition. Plus you might meet some people that know a guy that knows a guy that can hook you up with the job you want.
Click to expand...
Business contacts? That's not how it works in Sweden, it's all about how good you are.
 
Stop whining. Summer is almost here :D
 
Swedishguy said:
Business contacts? That's not how it works in Sweden, it's all about how good you are.
Click to expand...

Actually I've got a job thanks to PRAO. We were about 5-6 people who wanted the same job, I got it because I've used to work there during my PRAO.
 
History_Buff said:
Over here we just do Internships. By year three of an Engineering degree, you know enough to go out and work. So you have the option of running off to find a job, and network a bunch. Most guys who are semi-competent get job offers that aren't even conditional on them finishing their degrees.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought it sounded like. My brother interned at Boeing while working on his mechanical engineering degree. It helped him land a job with Boeing after getting his degree.
 
Its very useful way to get the first relevant piece of experience on your C.V..... working in a Bar for the summer, or your paper round isnt exactly the experience people are looking for out in the real world.
 
Have the same thing in Norway. You spend a week or two a year at a workplace. I loved it tough.

1. You get out of the classroom for a while.
2. Its important to get to work with something that intrests you. I worked at a electronics store. I got to follow the computer tech guy around and learned a lot about computer fixing. Also worked out in the store makeing sales and learning a bunch of stuff from the other guys there.

Last 2 days i was there they actually made me put togheter once of those gas barbeques. And with a little help i actually did it, never been so proud in my life :D
 
I worked at the local library. Great fun. Meet an anarchist, a lawyer currently working as a delivery man due to lack of lawyer positions (in hindsight I doubt this), learned how the library index system worked and a few other things.

I didn't keep a diary though or anything.
 
Swedishguy said:
Business contacts? That's not how it works in Sweden, it's all about how good you are.
Click to expand...

And business contacts will vouch for how good you are.

If you and someone else have equal education and qualifications, but he has more/better references, he's going to get the job. Business contacts won't get you a job if you're an incompetent moron (typically), but they can be a pretty good tiebreaker.
 
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