Most of us have been in school for 16 or 17 years. In preschool, we prepared for kindergarten, and in kindergarten we prepared for elementary school. The cycle continued until we reached high school, where we started preparing for college and the “real world.”

Now, some of you may be wondering why I use quotes to describe this world, but the answer is very simple. I consider it common sense, but I think I may be one of the only ones. The “real world” is completely different from the real world. The “real world” is the make-believe world that teachers and professors think is out there. The real world is the one awaiting us after graduation.

In high school, I believed the world teachers harped about so frequently actually existed. I thought reading insipid books and writing dim-witted papers was really preparing me for a successful and fulfilling career. Now that I am in my last year of college, I realize the world they refer to does not exist. The only job that high school and college prepare you for is a lifelong student.

Described below is what a job would be like if the real world was really like what teachers and professors think it is.

You are told what you will do for a living. You are not given much of a choice as to what you will be doing because your job has been formulated in a spreadsheet that you must complete. You have six bosses. Each of them expects you to have completely different skills and knowledge that you must apply to a normal workload — multiplied times six. Since your bosses change every few months, you have very little time to figure out what they expect and prefer before it is too late. And finally, if you are unable to get something done by a specified time, you are fired without any chance to explain.

Sound familiar? It should. Just change “boss” to professor and “fired” to failed and you have a student’s life.

Actually, in the real world, you will get money to put up with this, and by “this” I mean, nothing like what is written above. For the average American in the work force, 5 p.m. means no more work until 9 a.m. the next morning. For the average student, 5 p.m. means either more class or homework — sometimes until class the next morning, which can start as early as 8 a.m.

My roommate graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill last year and now works a typical nine-to-five job. Our lives are completely different; he comes home, drinks a vodka tonic, watches T.V., eats dinner, watches more T.V. and goes to bed. I come home — usually in a bad mood — do homework, make something quick for dinner that I can eat while doing homework and study for the pop quiz I know is inevitable in at least one of my classes. If I’m lucky, I get to bed before one in the morning.

I asked him whether or not he thought college prepared him for the real world, and he laughed and said, “No, not at all.” Maybe it prepared him for the “real world,” but I guess we will never know.

I thought about what would make our educational system mirror the real world in a more effective way, and I think there are ways to do that.

First, we could get paid. Just kidding, I’ll start over.

First, class could be altered to resemble a job. For example, for a month of the semester, or even the whole semester if the class topic permitted, students could be asked to complete different aspects of one large project. Some aspects would be more desirable than others, so the students that wanted those positions would have to apply and interview with the professor for them.

During the time given, meetings could be held, like a typical staff meeting in an office where each student would have to supply a progress report of his or her work so far. Grades could be given throughout, and a final assessment would take place after all the pieces were put together.

High school and college have prepared us for challenges such as staying awake after a night of studying or driving to class with the flu, but not the real world. Job interviews, a boss’ expectations and adapting to a work environment are not in the curriculum, but since some courses made us teach ourselves, at least we can teach ourselves how to survive in the actual real world.

E-mail Meghan at [email protected]