Thesis vs CP - the saga cont'd part 2
For earlier post Why Thesis Requirement For 1st Class Honours? Thesis vs CP (Consulting Practicum) on the blog: see http://cs.bschool.nus.edu.sg/blogs/bbablog/archive/2006/03/29/126.aspx
From: J. a BBAH student
I don't think a thesis is put as part of the curriculum so that people who do their theses can get better jobs.
I definitely did not decide to do my honours thesis because I think it will give me an edge over other graduates without one. I decided to do my thesis simply because it is a different type of learning opportunity. On one hand, I get to learn a lot about the topic of my own choice under a professor who has been researching on that topic for years. I get flexibility and guidance at the same time as I learn. What can be bad about that? On the other hand, I have to slog through endless journal articles and data and do some empirical work, but at the same time, I believe there are intangible lessons in the process to be learned. I might not be able to derive a dollar value from that piece of learning immediately after I graduate, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be able to benefit from it for the rest of my life.
On that same note, how can we even really put a dollar value to all that we have learned? Let's say math has taught me to think in a more sequential and logical fashion. How can I say whether I am able to earn a few more hundred bucks a month because of that?
In the same way, I believe the learning process in doing a thesis is more important than the final outcome - being able to do it on the topic of my interest is an added bonus. I have yet to complete my thesis, and as such I am not yet fully aware of what exactly I may learn, but my guess is that I will learn to be more thorough, to be more persevering, to be more critical in my thinking, and to be more resourceful. Now, if we insist on putting a dollar value to this, and I'm loathe to do so, well, I'm sure employers will value these attributes and be willing to pay more for them - it's just that they don't realize you have them yet until you work for some time under them.
Of course, there are other ways to learn aside from doing a thesis, but this option should not be looked at in a less favorable way. And then there's also the option of doing both a thesis and a consulting practicum. No loss and much to gain there if you do both.