Careers

[JT]

i was just wondering what kind of jobs/careers people on here have. only ive noticed that there's quite a few people on here who aren't very old, but have some very nice cars.

i only ask because i've just started uni and i don't like it. the course really isn't what i thought it was going to be, and to be honest my heart just isn't in it. i've had enough - i've only gone because college, parents etc make out as if you drop off the end of the earth if you don't. however, i really don't know what i'd do if i left. all i can seem to find are dead end jobs. it's beginning to get me down, because i know myself what i'm capable of (i have 10 GCSEs grades A*-A and 4 A levels A-B) but i don't want to get stuck in a job where there's no where to go. but i've just had enough of studying. it seems like there are no other options than to carry on for 3 years on a course i don't like (tbh, i don't think it would make much difference what it was). i don't mind starting at the bottom of the ladder, so long as there is actually somewhere to go.

so i wondered how people on here came to do whatever it is they do and what the prospects are like

[knightrider]

i was just wondering what kind of jobs/careers people on here have. only ive EDITED FOR SPACE SAVING

so i wondered how people on here came to do whatever it is they do and what the prospects are like

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im feeling the same, especially now i can only work 2 days a week due to physio commitments, i failed college last year due to missing alot of it, and im not enjoying this year, where do people sugest i go?

to ya JT

[shaf2000]

been there done that. i had good gcse's at school too and then did my a' levels etc. after my a levels, i tried to get a job but due to lack of experience, couldnt get anything at all. so went onto uni where i did a business IT sandwich course. 4 years later and after having put up with a bunch of k. jockeys who thought i would fail after my first week, i graduated and also had a years experience of working for Shell Oils.

after i had a bit of paper to show all these qualifications i had, i have never had any issues with finding jobs since.

my advice is to get the paper that shows what you are capable of, enjoy the life experiences that uni has to offer and come out a more rounded person. there is plenty of time in life to work and have nice cars, but you will only get the freedom to live uni life once, make the most of it.

i am almost 29 now, have 2 mr2 turbo's, a brand new company car and my own house (albeit on a mortgage) ;)

[Gnome]

Seems to be in IT at present, paper doesn't count for shizzle.

I left 6th form having done my A-levels, and I didn't have any I.T qualifications when I started my job as a IT network admin.

I applied for the job, and proposed that alongside my job, I did an AMA (Advanced Modern Apprenticeship), in I.T Customer systems & support.

They liked the idea, and 3 years on, I have only 3 exams left to take before I receive my certification.

It's good, because I was being trained in-house, on the systems we use, and on my apprenticeship, received Microsoft training on Server & Pro 2000.

However, I'm job hunting at present. The pay is shizzer, and the job is not as glamerous as it first appeared. Don't work for tight American companies!

[msherry21]

Join the Police! the wage isn't bad and it only gets better, great benefits!!!! varied job....and even if you don't like it....It has to be the best job to have on your CV, plus I'm sure they can put you though plenty of driving courses............FUN!!!

p.s With that job if you wanna work abroad, you can get a VISA no problem to work anywhere in the world.....TRAVELLING!!!

what more do you want?

[Tegan]

I felt the same way about uni when i was 18 - didnt want to go - so i didnt - got a job - then after seven other jobs ended up where i am now - i hate it , i earn crap money but still manage to afford to run two cars - alright i still live at home but thats cool for now

so next year i am going to uni -ill be 23 - i feel like i am ready now - think i would have just wasted my time there at age 18 - at this age i want to go to learn somthing not to drink myself silly!

Yes ill have to live on even less money but it'll be worth it when i come out qualified - and registered as a dietician - the course im doing leads straight into registration .

I dont feel that will be able to get a job i enjoy without going to uni - after eight crap jobs im sick of moving about! :(

[earpl]

im a fitter by trade, opening a garage very soon.........................

[DaveSR]

Well I went straight through the system lets say

I've just finished my degree and have been looking for a job in engineering/IT (Gnome !)

I changed courses after 1 month as the maths was mega hard and studied something else, so I had to go through the whole process of making new friends etc again.

Uni wasn't nothing like I expected it to be (I blame the TV), and it still doesn't feel like I have achieved anything.....but hopfully when I get my 'cap & gown' in nov it might feel like I have a degree.

Over the last 3 years I have had my ups and downs, I thought in my second and third year that I was going to have to resit some modules however I passed them with flying colours!

The only good thing about uni is PARTYING ......... and boy have I learnt so much ;) !

[Demonic Angel]

My current job isnt great - but the prospects are and the company is so up-and-coming and innovative and I know they have big plans for me, so the plan is, to stay put, wow them and hopefully I'll get the job I want in the company I want!

[cfc1]

Left school with 4 "O" Levels (yes, i'm that old ) got a couple of crap jobs.. but then ended up a tyrefitter at the age of 18.. been there ever since.

[jay dh]

with uni, there are dfferent levels

1. u dont go out and have fun and do as much work as poss

2. u juggle a social life and uni work (me)

3. u go for a laugh and if u end up with a degree, wahey!

i am at number 2. 3rd year at uni and doing a placement which i love at Intel.

you have to want to do one of the above options if u go to uni, if not u wont try and wont succeed.

maybe uni isnt right for u now, so try get a job see how things go, try a few things. in 2 or 3 years u may change ur mind and then think uni if for u.

uni is a blast and my course has taught me i dont want anything to do with it but a degree is a degree which will open doors for u

good luck with what u choose

Jay

[Boro Sera]

left school with 14 o levels and an inbuilt dislike of academia. Went to college for 2 years doing A levels - hated that even more. I think I only went to keep the folks happy ( all my brothers and sisters went, so I should too ).

After finishing college, got a job repairing typewriters and loved it. Been in the service/maintenance industry ever since.

[MIP]

Live in the south, went north to Hull uni (scarborough campus) to do my 'internet computing' degree. Worked in IT support for a year on an ok wage, and now work as a web developer, for a wage that should get me some alloys n suspention before next summer. Provided I don't reverse into any more posts, n have to fork out for dent removal. First accident ever, hopefully never again.

[martin_longbow]

Left School in 4th year with two O'levels and got a dead end job went back to school after workign whole summer. 2 years later I managed to get enough to get me into college. One year later managed to get into a Pollytechnic as they were at the time to do an HND, worked my bot off in year one to get impressive exam results and transferred into the Degree course and got a degree in Accounting which I hated and simply done cause I thought as signing up that accountants make plenty money

Worked for several years in all sorts of job not all of them accounting and finally got a good job wiht a firm as junior accountant. I got my degree in 1991. In January this year I was promoted to Head of Operations and Finance with an organisation doing environmental works. It not the biggest organisation but super. I can take the dog to work, get my home shopping delivered and store it in the Fridge and Freezer priovided, then take it home. They fitted a shower for convenience if cycling in to work or walking/jogging during the day. We work genuinely flexible hours and we have a basket ball hoop in the old barn.

So finally this year I managed to my Gen 6, 1994 import. It's no turbo but I like it.

I am having a ball, I like my work and they are v good to work for. There is no doubt that I am here only because of my degree. There has been a lot of experience and ongoing training but having a degree was crucial to my start. Look at my opening paragraph I nearly chucked it in loads of times. I am so glad now I stuck it out.

Good luck whatever you choose

[JustJJ]

I did the GSCE thing.... I did the A-level thing... I hated school/6th form college with a passion, I was bullied a lot....

But hey ho.. I did the Uni thing too.... and loved it, best experience of my life, granted I had a nice campus, and a new course with not many peeps on it... there was lots of non academic stuff for me to sink my teeth into in the Students Union and I came away from Uni with a good feeling.

I applied for a job in Warrington working for an internet marketing company and got it, quite possibly based upon my degree cause they were very closely linked.

I have been here ever since (nearly 2 years now... 2 years December) and up until recently have enjoyed it.

However I now am unsure whether this is what I really want to do.. and am feeling a little lost and directionless. I am not enjoying the work like I used to, and coming into work every morning just gets harder and harder.

The people are quite nice, even though the company has expanded rapidly... (15 people to 50) in the time I have been here. The location is ideal, right in the middle of Warrington... only a 10-20min drive depending upon traffic.

I just dont know what to do now... whether i should try something entirely different, or stick at it...

I will probably stick at it til at least Xmas.. but after that im not so sure. :(

[Blue84]

I went to College for a year and did an NVQ Level 3 in Administration, I was also working in Retail as a Saturday Girl for £20 a week during that too.

I then got a job as an Office Junior which I hated and stayed at for less than 2 weeks before walking out! I was unemployed for ages and then I looked in the Paper, saw a trainee position for a Big Motor Insurance Company so sent off my CV with a covering letter, got called for interview and then got the job..that was 2 years and just under 4 months ago.

I'm getting bored of it now tho as I take reports of Motor Claims and I've been moved a horrible seat right in view of the managers. I'm gonna stay there until prolly April or so time next year as we also get a big fat bonus in March then I may well go to another Country ;)

[Kev Mc]

I'm in the Central Heating business, I wont go through all the details but basically I left school in 2001, didnt fancy the whole uni thing so went to college for a few years, finished a course at the beginning of April 2004 & started working for my dad at the office of his Central Heating company & have been here since.

[DefiantFrog]

Did GCSE's, got ok grades. Did A Levels, liked the social life of them, but hated the way the work was done (reading text books etc etc), and promptly messed them up! Left my 6th form with slightly higher than average home user computer knowledge and managed to blag my way in to being a network admin for a school. Stayed there for 2 1/2 years spending most weekends at mate's uni's, so I was on a wage - albeit a rubbish one (I started a full time job 37.5 hrs a week on just over £5k a year!), and I was having a laugh at uni as well!

Then moved from there to a helpdesk resetting passwords for a major american credit card company. I set myself 5 years to get to the top of the support chain in the Wintel world by pure hard work and got there. I'm 26 now, and on nearly 10 times what I started on 8 years ago. Have a 3-bed house, decent motor, no debt (apart from the mortgage), and a nice amount of 'play money' every month.

I don't have a single qualification for the area I am working in, just 8 years of hard work, experience, all done with a 'can-do' attitude. Seems to have got me a long way and made me very many allies who owe me a lot of favours! Uni and qualifications are NOT the be-all and end-all of life, there are many ways to succeed you just have to be willing to try!

[SyCelicaGT]

Go to uni mate! get the qualification even if it is just a 2:2 it is still well worth it and in my experiance it was the best time of my life, and made me a better person for it!

I left college with crap grades and basically turned my back on education altogether and went snowboarding in ameriaca/canada for a bit then when I retunrned I got a job in IT support. I quickly started to realise that I was never getting a promotion and the graduates where always first in line so I decided that it would be best to go to uni and have a stab at getting to the fornt of the line for all the best jobs.

At first I hated the work and failed the first year but still managed to blag my way on to another course, after this I was very driven to succeed and as such ended up 4 years later with a business degree and a whole lot of great job prospects which I would never have had the oppertunity get into if I was still working in IT support (possably the dryest job in the world!). I am not saying you have to go to uni to get a great job but damb does it help to get your foot in the door!

I am now 24 live in Reading and have a well payed job which I enjoy, however saying all this, I still stand by the saying it ain;t what you know it's who you know! thats how I got this job in the end.

Anyway... enough of my rambling.... all I would say is if you want to go experiance uni (even slightly) then you have to do it otherwise you will feel liek you are missing out on something huge!!

Good luck in life fella and I hope you make all the right choices!

Sy.

[knightrider]

ok folks heres my update, spoke with the careers guy earlier, and due to my physical condition im dropping the electrical if i can and doing a HND in IT for 2-4 years and doing a final year at uni if all goes well,

well thats the plan gotta wait and see if theres any places left on the course first,

thanks all, your inputs have enlightened me a great deal!

[JT]

yeah, it's helped me as well. the way i look at it is i've got about 4 weeks to make my decision, as after then, they won't refund my fees if i leave. plus i'll have a better idea of what the course is like. however, as for it being the best time of my life....i know it won't be that. i didn't want to leave college i liked it that much. it was near home and i was with my best mates of around 6 years everyday and we all lived near each other.

still, it seems as if the general concensus is to stay. i suppose if i leave i could always go back - i am only 18.

I was unemployed for ages and then I looked in the Paper, saw a trainee position for a Big Motor Insurance Company so sent off my CV with a covering letter, got called for interview and then got the job..that was 2 years and just under 4 months ago.

I'm getting bored of it now tho as I take reports of Motor Claims and I've been moved a horrible seat right in view of the managers. I'm gonna stay there until prolly April or so time next year as we also get a big fat bonus in March then I may well go to another Country

this is what i've been looking at doing. are there not many prospects then if you're thinking of leaving, or are you just bored with it now?

[littlewener]

I just went for the easy option.

Fixing computers while wearing combats

Yes i work in the army

Great job

[Chuck04]

stick with it dude, im currently in my 3rd and final year, i remember when i firsrt started uni i found it hard, venturing off by urself, although u look around and see everyone having a good time, i guarantee that a load of people all across the country and pondering the same question as u. Just give it time, as long as u have a good balence of work and social life then ull do ifne! !! at the end of the day we can all see ur a bright student, however companies look for those with degrees, its a known fact! at the end of the day, whats three more years, its a great achievement.

[selfbuild]

Never done the Uni or college thing.... hated school with passion....

I've had plenty of jobs and walked out on some of them for the first 6yrs after leaving school. My current job as a supervisor/fork lift driver i've had for the last 13yrs.... time just flies by.....

I also build and repair computers aswell as setting up home networks in my spare time for friends and friends of friends and not one complaint yet in over 4yrs..... and that's without any qualifications.....

[Jesus]

SAP (Basis) System Administrator & NT Network Administrator

I also build and repair computers aswell as setting up home networks in my spare time for friends and friends of friends and not one complaint yet in over 4yrs..... and that's without any qualifications.....

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snap! ;)