2010-01-28
Explanation
This comic follows a student through three stages of education -- middle school, high school, and college -- where a teacher at each level delivers the exact same warning: "You better shape up. In [the next level], they'''re gonna expect a lot more of you!" The joke builds on the repetition of this empty threat, which many people will recognize from their own school days.
The punchline comes in the final panel, labeled "And so...," where the student has finally entered the workforce. His boss tells him his job is simply to sit at a desk for eight hours, fill out spreadsheets, and not break anything. The former student cheerfully responds "Can do!" -- revealing that the supposedly ever-increasing expectations were a bluff all along. The real world turned out to require far less than the escalating warnings implied.
The humor captures a widespread experience: the constant anxiety-inducing refrain from educators that the next stage will be dramatically harder, when in reality many jobs are straightforward and undemanding compared to the pressure cooker of academia. The votey (bonus panel) extends the joke to management, where someone hides under a desk thinking "If no one can find me, I'''m not responsible for anything," suggesting that even the bosses have figured out that minimal effort is the real game.