Headscratchers / Star Trek: The Next Generation S4E9 "Final Mission"

• Picard tells Wesley that he'll have to work hard to catch up once he enters the Academy. Why would Wesley be behind? Wouldn't working as an actual Ensign put him ahead of students who are only just becoming cadets?
  • In terms of the understanding the actual practical aspects of starship operations, absolutely. In terms of coursework, no. A lot of the work the students will have been doing will have involved assignments/assessments which Wesley will have missed and which he'll not have to do to catch up. Even just in terms of what they've been studying, there will be things he won't have covered in his time on the Enterprise. It's very common for students to study a lot of things that won't be needed in practice to do their jobs in a day to day basis. This might mean there are subjects for getting introductory knowledge of work in areas they may not choose to work in (Wesley seemed to sit at the helm and do engineering work but this wouldn't give him knowledge of security or command). This may also mean getting theoretical knowledge of why things work the way they do which isn't obvious from the practical applications (and not just theoretical knowledge but the "right" theoretical knowledge that you'd be assessed against). So it's very likely there will be subjects he has to catch up on.