This is my take. To the OP, ask yourself, how accustomed are you to being critiqued? If you're smart and did well in school work, you may never have heard someone frankly point out where you can do better. Remember your manager is also accountable to his boss and his boss is accountable on up the chain. Your tenured professor in school is accountable to nobody; he's not managing a project that's behind schedule and having to explain why to his boss.
It's not uncommon for a new employee on your first job to get your work torn to shreds in the beginning until you figure out all the unwritten rules on how work gets done. It's normal.
And yes, do try to stay more "in touch" with your mananger and peers on work you are doing, your progress, state of the overall project, questions or blockers you may be facing. It's not school (those assignments are toy problems for the most part, now you are in the real world where things are not as cleanly defined and requirements can change midstream); it's not a test; it is about getting work done with all the resources you can utilize.
It's not uncommon for a new employee on your first job to get your work torn to shreds in the beginning until you figure out all the unwritten rules on how work gets done. It's normal.
And yes, do try to stay more "in touch" with your mananger and peers on work you are doing, your progress, state of the overall project, questions or blockers you may be facing. It's not school (those assignments are toy problems for the most part, now you are in the real world where things are not as cleanly defined and requirements can change midstream); it's not a test; it is about getting work done with all the resources you can utilize.