From the moment someone awakes each day, they are constantly solving problems. To stay in bed or not? What to have for breakfast? What order to do things in? When to leave? How to toast the bread? In some cases, the problem has been solved before, but the problem keeps appearing and the pre-made solution is retrieved (e.g., every morning, the person might be hungry, what is the person going to do about it?). Usually, the common situations a person experiences during the day are not voiced in problem solving terminology, nor consciously thought of as ‘problems’ to solve. The person is hungry and just goes to the fridge and grabs something to eat.
Most of the problem solving a person does during their life is not systematic or structured. It is not consciously done, reflected upon, or is deliberately practiced. It is not formally assessed and the actual problem-solving process used does not change over time. For example, do you still do your morning routine the same way you have for years?
We categorize this type of daily problem solving as being at the amateur level and most people do it well enough to survive day to day, week to week, year to year. They get the groceries, get to work, plan vacations, get the kids to the sitters, etc. Not everyone does this with the same level of quality of course, and there are those who struggle with the simplest of tasks; those who just do not have their proverbial crap together. There are those whose problem solving is quite disastrous. There are oopsies and there are ‘it seemed like a good idea at the time’, ‘I did not think that through’ reflections.
Unfortunately, amateur problem solving is not good enough when you are a professional problem solver; which is what a student is during the academic journey and then upon graduation. Ad hoc and possibly ‘good enuf’ is not good enuf. A professional 'whatever' is supposed to be a better problem solver than someone from the general public. They are expected to create effective and efficient solutions in an effective and efficient way. That is how jobs are done.
Problem solving is a cognitive skill and is pervasive. Everyone is constantly trying to figure out what to do, how to do it, why to do it, when to do it, where it should be done, and who might do it. Some problems and tasks will take minutes, and others may take weeks or months to crack. If a 'trained' individual wants to be better than someone off the street, the individual will need to consciously think about their problem-solving skills and methods. They will need to be taught problem-solving and they will need to deliberately practice problem solving throughout their post-secondary education.