3-F. Failure Management

2022-09-18

Note: Academic, co-op, expectation, goals, control

Skip table of contents

• Academic Failure
  • Degrees of Failure
    • Less than 10% each
    • Less than 20% each
    • Less than 50% each
    • 50% or greater
    • Failing a Course
  • Do Grades Matter?
• Co-op Failure
  • Personal Anecdote
• Set Expectations
  • Personal Anecdote
    • AI Option
    • Co-op
    • Full-time
• Control
• Managing Failure
  • Self-Punishment
• Conclusion

This is a footnote for the series on the first year experience at the University of Waterloo.

Today’s topic will be on failure management and setting expectations.

Just don’t fail ez.

# Academic Failure

You’ve spent over a decade in some form of public education system. For years, you’ve been told that high grades are good and mean you’re smart/talented/gifted and low grades are bad and mean you’re stupid/slow/dumb. This is especially true for grade 11 and 12, where you had to have the average in order to get admitted into an engineering program at UW. Your entire self worth is now tied to a single metric: your grades.

Then you get a failing grade and your life is over.

Relax.

Take a deep breath. Hold it in for 10 seconds. Slowly let it out for 15 seconds.

Did you actually spend 30 seconds doing this? Or are you just skimming? Go do it again.

# Degrees of Failure

How important was that quiz or assignment? How much is that test or exam worth? In increasing order of :copium:.

# Less than 10% each

This single deliverable is basically worth nothing. You don’t need to scrape for every tiny bit of time and argue with the professor about how the question was unclear and beg the TA to increase your grade by just a little bit more. You don’t need to spend every waking moment thinking about how you could have not made that stupid little arithmetic mistake that lost you 1/3 marks for the question.

There are better things you can spend your time and energy on, so just accept it and move on. Take action and figure out what part of the course you didn’t understand that caused that mistake, then relearn it and do a couple of practice problems. Don’t spend too much time though, since you’re still learning new content at the same time.

The reason the quiz or assignment is worth so little is so that the consequences of failing are minimal, but the non-zero worth is an incentive for you to study for them (instead of cramming all the content at the end of the term). Don’t worry about the specific number; use this to study for the actual important stuff such as exams.

5. The 5 Stages of 1st Years Getting a Quiz Back

# Less than 20% each

These are typically a lab or project. Software labs end up being all-or-nothing, since half-working code tends to fail most of the test cases. Hardware labs are more on a scale because they tend to have pre-lab, in-lab, and post-lab components.

This is one of the places you should focus your effort, because it will carry you in case of a bad exam.

Some tests are in this category. Don’t study too hard for them (unless it’s the only non-final exam grades, in which case do in fact study hard for them). But still, a failing grade here is not the end of the world.

# Less than 50% each

Most midterm exams, term projects, and major tests are worth a lot. You should study and work on them, but failing a midterm might not necessarily be an issue, as the professor may have made it too hard for your class and everyone else is failing as well. Generally, the professor will make the final exam easier or curve the final grade (or not do anything if they’re evil in which case there’s not much you can do so you shouldn’t worry about it).

Failing here is an indicator of something serious. Go to office hours. Ask your classmates for help. Even if you fail you have a chance to redeem yourself in the final exam.

# 50% or greater

You can still pass the course even if you’ve failed the final exam or term project, although you generally won’t have access to your final exam grade. Your projects and labs throughout the course are what carry you to barely passing.

Professors hide final exam grades to make it easier to curve the class without issues. The professor may manipulate the weights of the deliverables to increase everyone’s grades, which is not usually stated in the course outline/syllabus. This opens the professor up for liability in case students want to uncurve the course (although I have never heard of this ever happening), but by keeping the final exam grade a secret, this requires you to ask the professor to view your original final exam in-person a month into the next term, when most students have left Waterloo on co-op. You will then have to file a policy 70 grievance and somehow prove that the professor curved everyone else as well.

# Failing a Course

This is normal, sometimes things happen. The majority of students have failed at least one course. In ECE, as long as you pass the term, you will progress as normal. However, if you are taking a course that depends on the previous, you will still have to catch up on the content. See below on thinking about next steps to avoid failing again.

# Do Grades Matter?

If you’re in ECE, you probably came to UW for the co-op program. If you’re thinking of doing a graduate program, maybe you should transfer to Math. But it doesn’t really matter, because while there are minimums, establishing a good relationship with a professor is more important as they will be more willing to be your research advisor.

TODO: Graduate blog article post link when written.

For co-op, an average between 70-90% does not greatly affect your co-op search, and employers focus more on experience and relevant courses before GPA. There is more detail in my co-op article.

# Co-op Failure

12. You are more than a ranking!

If you are not getting interviews, then you either:

• Don’t have enough experience, so you should make/improve side projects
• Aren’t communicating your skills effectively, in which case work on your résumé
  • Read my guide: https://xierumeng.github.io/resources/resume-guide
• Set too high of a goal and are applying to jobs that upper years are also applying for

If you are getting interviews but not ranked/offers, then you need to improve your interviewing skills.

Use all of the applications available to you on cycle 1 posting 1 and cycle 2 posting 1!

# Personal Anecdote

Personally, my first co-op search went terribly. I barely had any programming skill (I didn’t even know what classes were until ECE 150 Introduction to Programming taught me), my side projects were extremely simple, and I was exceedingly arrogant and passed over job posting with locations I did not want. I also had no idea how to make a résumé or write a cover letter.

Then bad grades started coming in, I destroyed my sleep schedule, I felt like I had no support, and I procrastinated to the point where I ended up missing assignments and quizzes and the WaterlooWorksn’t application rounds.

I managed to pull myself together somewhat in November and asked my classmates and upper years for résumé critique, but at that point all the good jobs were gone and I was desperately looking for a job as well as struggling to catch up on all of the lectures I missed. I managed to pass 1A, but it still took until February before I was able to start in an IT job at the federal government for slightly over minimum wage.

I swore I would never again go back into continuous and every subsequent term I played it safe and managed to get an offer in main round (now split into cycle 1 and 2).

# Set Expectations

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Therefore, a UW student should be able to:

• Work at FUGMYASS (4a menlo park btw) for every co-op and get full-time offers after interviewing at companies in a hiring freeze
• Establish a unicorn startup that actually contributes a useful product and service to society that becomes one of the names in FUGMYASS in 3 years that everyone wants to co-op at, refusing to be bought out for ethical reasons
• Receive full-ride scholarships for UW and from top-tier universities across the planet hoping to poach
• Finish a PhD in 2 years (no need to call me doctor) and receive a Nobel prize for groundbreaking research that shatters the preconception of every scientist in the field
• Solve the P versus NP problem, the Collatz conjecture, and the Riemann hypothesis
• Be on the Dean’s Honours List as the student with the highest grades at UW
• Tutor and help both classmates and lower years, explaining the content better than the professor and TAs
• Be elected as president in Feds WUSA, EngSoc, ECESoc, lead student design teams and clubs, and represent students in UW undergraduate studies committees, successfully advocating for better run courses and an improved academic curriculum
• Negotiate lower tuition, reduce housing prices, and solve homelessness with UW, the city, the region, the province, the federal government, and the U.N.
• Wake up early to work out at the gym every day and deadlift 500 kilograms
• Cook and eat healthy and nutricious meals and get a restful 9 hours of sleep every night along with a sleep journal
• Enjoy long hikes, camping, and exploring the wilderness in a safe and responsible manner
• Repair any motor vehicle, design and build an electric truck, and grow a garden and raise animals
• Help their grandparents with computer problems and chores around the house
• Establish long and fulfilling romantic relationships with at least one girl from each of CS, SE, and ECE
• Socialize with life-long friends in stimulating physical and intellectual activities, as well as more loose or wholesome activities such as board games, bar-hopping, and outdoor family BBQs
• Hold the title of world champion for multiple multiplayer games, as well as chess
• Be a streamer with millions of subscribers who tune in every week
• Upload funny, creative, and thought-provoking videos
• Spend an hour every day on meditation, self-reflection, and introspection
• Do taxes without tax software

Anything less is a FAILURE and brings shame and dishonour.

(Writing this made me sad and depressed).

Jokes aside, it can feel that you are not successful because you have set too high of a bar for yourself. There are only so many hours in a day and you have a limited amount of physical, intellectual, and social energy. You cannot do everything. Focus on one or two overall REALISTIC goals.

Additionally, you need to think about what you are willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals, what you want to do after, and what you are willing to settle with if you realize the goal is not reachable as you’re working towards it. Remember: Perfect is the enemy of good. At what point is your goal achieved? This also helps you determine what your real goals are, since you need to think about why you have your current goal and what you really want out of it. Don’t revolve your personality around doing one thing, because you will have an existential crisis about who you really are.

Setting realistic goals also requires the feedback of what you are able to accomplish. As you continue in life, you will have a better understanding and approximation of your own abilities. Again, don’t be afraid to spend time on self-reflection and to think about what you actually want, and don’t be afraid of changing your goals based on new information.

# Personal Anecdote

Personally, I’ve divided my life into six categories, which helps me organize and set my goals:

• Academic: School and learning.
• Professional: Work, legal, financial, etc.
• Personal: Activities I enjoy by myself (i.e. leisure time).
• Social: Activities I enjoy with other humans (e.g. board games, going out to eat).
• Cultural: Anything to do with the arts (e.g. drawing, music).
• Logistical: Physical health, mental health, chores (daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly).

# AI Option

Goal	Graduate with the AI option.
Priority	Low.
Reason	Just because I can say so (bragging rights), since no one will actually care (co-op experience beats diploma paper).
Required work	Taking CS courses (difficult to override) and constraining my elective choices (okay because I was thinking of taking them anyway). Some additional pre-requisite courses.
Willing to sacrifice	Nothing, the workload should remain the same.
Settle for lower	Since this is all-or-nothing, I might not be able to get it. At least I have learned something from the extra courses I’ve taken.
Stretch goal	None (I looked into doing a second option and it’s way too much work).

One of the CS courses I have to take is CS 480 Introduction to Machine Learning. According to reviews on UW Flow, it is very difficult and math-heavy, which is not good because I do not like math. Additionally, the course requires a strong foundation in calculus, linear algebra, and statistics. Unfortunately, my lowest grade in my undergraduate career was MATH 115 Linear Algebra, and only because ECE 203 Probability Theory and Statistic 1 and ECE 307 Probability Theory and Statistics 2 were both curved. The only thing I had was a decent understanding of calculus and gradients. I knew that I would have to work hard to pass the course, never mind pass with a decent grade. I set my expectations to a realistic level rather than expecting a miracle. I might have been able to get a higher grade, but I didn’t care too much and wasn’t willing to make the sacrifices to put in more effort.

“If you lower your expectations you’ll never be disappointed.”

“The key to success is to lower the bar for success.”

# Co-op

Goal	Get a co-op in main round.
Priority	High (there should be at most two goals with this priority, others can be Medium and either sorted or unsorted in priority level).
Reason	Avoid NEET, avoid disappointing my parents, have money and stability, be able to live my life. I went into continuous and then direct offer period, never again.
Required work	Specialize hard in C++, do coding problems, sort WaterlooWorksn’t by application count and apply based on the list. Possible external applications.
Willing to sacrifice	At least 1 hour per day, over everything else, until I have secured the co-op. If there isn’t enough time, must choose something to sacrifice (e.g. sleep, study time, social time).
Settle for lower	Get a co-op in continuous or direct offer round. But must get a co-op.
Stretch goal	FUGMYASS/Cali.

# Full-time

Goal	Graduate UW with a full-time offer.
Priority	Medium.
Reason	Not be broke and homeless.
Required work	Do well in co-op and get return offer, coding problems, enter same information over and over again in different variations of forms that aren’t able to parse my résumé.
Willing to sacrifice	Do in spare time instead of leisure activities (e.g. instead of cat videos or Reddit).
Settle for lower	Graduate program, maybe.
Stretch goal	FUGMYASS/Cali.

# Control

Parts of your life are on a spectrum from being completely under your control (e.g. where you consciously move your body) to completely out of your control (e.g. a new cat video being uploaded to a Discord server). Focus on the parts that you can control, which includes possible mitigations of the parts you don’t have control. Make sure to spend your time and energy efficiently! Prioritize work that gives you the most value for the least effort.

For example, you can go to a different lecture section if you like the other section professor’s teaching style. If there isn’t a different lecture section, it will be easier to find content from Khan Academy or MIT OpenCourseWare rather than petition the Registrar and department to schedule a second lecture section with a different professor.

Control also means your environment. Part of being an adult is the ability to optimize your environment. CGP Grey has some starting advice.

There will be times where it feels that life is unfair. Tough. That is normal, reality is often disappointing. There will be times where things are unclear; you make do with the information you have and control what you can.

It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.

# Managing Failure

It’s disappointing to not achieve your goals or fall short of expectations. You will feel emotional damage.

Many of you are probably feeling a little sad. This is ok. Sadness is a normal human emotion. I encourage you to watch the movie Inside Out - one of the best movies of all time.

After you’ve recovered somewhat, take action! What happened? Find the cause. What caused that cause? Why did that cause happen? What caused that cause? What needs to be done to avoid the failure next time? What are the lessons learned? Dan Wolczuk has a learning how to learn series for this. You can also try asking someone else for a second opinion.

# Self-Punishment

The worst thing you can do to yourself is metaphorical self-flagellation. You’re not some piece of malfunctioning equipment that will magically start working if you hit it hard enough. Denying yourself breaks and vacation time will simply cause you to spiral downwards and burn out.

An analogy would be refusing to change your car’s oil because it’s not fast enough or something. Obviously this will not make the car work better.

# Conclusion

The important information to take away is to know that failing is a normal part of life and how to manage failure and expectations.

Check out:

• 4-1. 2A
• 3-E. Employment