Completely true and completely false advice

24 heures / Tribune de Genève

20 January 2022
Stéphane Haefliger, Membre de direction Vicario Consulting

I was told a long time ago: “Beware of students, of those who read too much and love theory, it’s only the concrete that counts. Then I was told: “If you don’t know German, you’re dead in Switzerland. Work on your Wortschatz and your vocabulary”. I was also told: “If you study soft sciences, you’ll be seen as soft-minded. Concentrate instead on the serious disciplines (economics, law, engineering, medicine). I was also told, with a frown: “Go for it and move fast. If you want to succeed, then you mustn’t dawdle.” Finally, the idea of the voyage of initiation was nipped in the bud, and I was told that “travelling for no professional purpose is an irrecoverable waste of time, and that loitering is an invention of the evil one”… (in french)