¶ … Unreflective Thinker best describes the stage of critical thinking in the first article. This worker had landed an accounting job at Hotels.com that had resulted in boredom. Yet, the worker reasons that another accounting job would change the situation. After discovering that positions of interest only require a Bachelor's degree, the worker makes the decision to earn a Master's degree. Reasons for pursuing the Master's degree such as the inability to pay back loans, wanting to be a tutor and a son struggling with his studies lack appropriate ties to career goals. Only after entering the program, did the worker realize that the program wasn't related to work. The worker states that the struggle to select a major is bothersome, but attributes the problem to the continuing increase in requirements for skills and education to get a suitable position rather than focusing on the real problem, the inability to think through a well-formed career objective. Further, the worker reflects that school performance is disappointing and automatically assumes that a switch to Finance will help because of greater familiarity with the area. The worker has not adequately explored other possibilities for poor performance such as not first having a solid understanding of personal career objectives.

The Advanced Thinker best describes the stage of critical thinking in the second article. The quote from Socrates suggests that the worker acknowledges that people in advance according to what they do. The Master's degree is viewed as step for advancement. Life is a ladder for this person, reinforcing the notion of advancing with practice. Every step of the way, this person has observed and learned. Wanting to make a transition from a Senior Financial Analyst to an English instructor, the worker explored the options and came up with an action plan for advancement.

And, the worker further evaluated alternatives for education that would be a good lifestyle match. In reaching the decision to pursue an online education, the worker observed students who had selected online learning and students who had take the classroom option, demonstrating the student's value for experiences.