Career Advice!

[Tom_]

Right Im 16, iv been doing my AS work for over a term now, and to be quite frank its making me want to kill myself. I have always had issues aplying myself at school and find it really hard to focus etc. Its mostly due to my attitude of "when the hell am i going to need this in life..." Thing is i got through gcses simply by not being an idiot, i was really lucky to get what i did considering that I did absolutly no revision and had bad courswork and didnt do too much work throughout year 11.

Now Im really struggling at school. My dad has said if i can find some career that is promising in some way he will allow me to leave school and he may help me with some inital funding. My dad is currently (due to my mum kicking him out of our house and saying we need to sell it and get new houses) looking at possibly going into property development, he said if he does i could join in and help etc, aslong as i put in half the work.

But Im not to sure if he is really going to be doing it or not. Im not the kind of person that wants to just settle and be average (otherwise i would have gone and got an aprenticeship and set myself up for having a set sallary for most of my life) I really do aspire to do somthing and i want a healthy income later in life.

I guess what im asking is advice on what to do? Im sure most of you will think im just another stupid 16 year old thats bored of school and isnt going anywhere particular in life, but abit of help would really be helpfull. My parents have very conflicting belifs, my mum wants me to do uni and become academic in an office etc. which i really do not want to do atall. and theres a fairbit going on in lafe at the moment so any help would be really apreciated alot.

sorry for any bad grammer or spelling :$

cheers

xx

Edited October 31, 2007 by tom132

[Grant2004]

Hey mate, i went through the same sort of thing as you. My mum wanted me to go to uni, my dad didnt care. I didnt want to go to uni. Did 1 year at 6th form doing A levels and failed so bad i got 1/100 on my Mechanics paper! and a U in everything.

Anyway, i suggest going with whatever makes you happy and what you want to do, its your life but dont ruin it. Take your time deciding but then again to wait too long for open opportunities. I'm now at College studying Engineering, got into contact with some guys at BAE (British Aerospace Engineering) and they said that after my corurse they would take me on as an apprentice and then get a sweet job with them.

Long story put short go with whatever makes you happy, and what YOU want to do. Not what other want you to do, but take their advice into consideration. Also, sit down with you parents, dont get angry at them and say you dont want to go to Uni and what you do want to do.

Edited October 31, 2007 by Grant2004

[Adam-Griffin]

Thought of joining the army ?

[Tom_]

Thought of joining the army ?

Im not 'ard enough!

And yea, i will do what i want, which at the moment is to get out of the shitty school im in! Thing is i dont have a clue what i want to do thats the only reason i did A levels to put off making that decision. But I feel like i can stick it. soooo i need to find somthing to do now....

[Simpson]

Thought of joining the army ?

I did exactactly the same as ^ did a year as AS got 3 U's and a D, resitting the year, unsure why....

always wanted to be in the army tryed to sign up but they wouldnt let me cos of my lack of spleen

[Adam-Griffin]

LOL my dad'd in the army and wants me to carry on the family tradition lol, only reason i suggested it, it's easy to jopin and you get free houses etc lol

Adam

[Token]

Aye, I was in the same situation as you, bummed around at college because I wasn't forced to do any work but luckily got something out of school. I'm looking to join the RAF, but today they called me up to tell me the trade I'm applying for is full at the moment so I'll have to wait.

If I was you, I'd really try to find something you can get into without waiting around, don't give up college an then think about looking for something else. That's the biggest mistake I've made, I'm stuck sitting on my arse waiting for things to change before I can make a move. It really isn't where I wana be, so just bare that in mind before you pack college in like I did. Don't break your ankle either. That really kicked me in the nuts.

[Boswell]

I know how you feel when i first started my ICT BND i was feeling very depressed. Now thats changed, i'm completing some of my assignments and I really feel i am achieving some goals. I may have thrown that all away today though, I was f**king about in the lifts and now i'm in deep shit. Have to wait till friday to find out what's happening.(The level of punishment from simple warning to expellsion)

[scousertrials]

Try harder at school. I did well at school cos I really went for it. Don't do half measures. Revise all day and night if it comes to it.

[Rich Pearson]

First thing is DON'T PANIC. Everyone has points in their life where they wonder what the hell are they going to do and why is this stuff I'm learning about ever going to be usefull. You sound like a bright young lad with determination and drive and if you just find a direction to put that in you can and will go far. An important thing to remember is that at some point you're gonna have to do the shitty jobs and get paid f**k all for them.

I've done about 12 different jobs since I was 14 and was TODAY refused an interview because I showed up in jeans and a t-shirt. 4 hours later I had another interview and was offered what could turn out to be a massively prolific career. Never let anyone put you down, and its hard to say but you should never completely rely on anyone, they could let you down even if they didn't mean to.

Best bet is to find some work, maybe in a bar (plenty of bars hire glass collectors aged 16 and over) or in some local but stable industry, whilst your still in school. People who start at your age usually end up as managers by the time their 20. Play to your strengths, if you don't have any, start at the bottom and WORK YOUR ARSE OFF. Nothing is gonna come easily in life. Bill Gates flipped burgers to help fund his student expenses whilst he was in law school before he dropped out and came up with a program called Windows. 30 years later and its estimated that he makes more money each second than most people do in a week.

One last thing I can offer is to say don't sack in your a-levels just yet. They can and most likely will be vitally important later in life. It took me 4 years to get mine and I hated every second of it, but I'm finding more doors open than closed to me at the moment because of it.

I can see that I havn't really painted a pretty picture for you but its been people telling me that life will be all rosey and nice that lead me to a point where the reality shock of being confronted by the real world nearly killed me.

Another good thing to do; get yourself to your local connexions and book an appointment with a careers advisor, they're job is to get you a job.

If you want to talk about it some more mate add me to MSN; karsonlevoret@hotmail.com

Rich

[Joey B]

oh my god thats both you and Safraz now that are thinking or kicking in 6th form!!!! I can't give you any advice from experiences, as I jumped straight out of GCSE's into an apprenticeship thats going to get me places, i guess i was just lucky.

From what i have heard from other people at work though, is if you have already begun A-levels get as many as you can under your belt as they really will open doors for you once you look to start a career, even if its just the AS levels. My advise would be to apply for as many things that catch your eye as possible ready for the end of this school year, and if you get offered something that you think you could pursue for a few years, take it. If not then carry on with your A2 levels and try again the next year when even more options will be there for you.

[Haz]

This thread would have helped me.

I would have dropped my A-levels. Had I not beeen deterrmined to show my family what we could achieve.

I am the first member of my family of my first member of my family to really "achieve". No one has been to college or uni before me.

My parents never went to college, my sister missed uni by a hairs length, they live well.

But every second I have been here I have worked and enjoyed going out on the piss, meeting new pwople and having a fantastic time. I have no idea how different life would be, but I love every second, and I'm glad for every second I put into my a-levels. Maybe that isn't you, but uni is such an experience, (I've been here 6 weeks so far) and no matter what I have loved every second...

Just do whatever feels right.

I almost plan to bunk out after my degree and go and look around...

I quite frankly am in love with my life at the moment... I hope at some point it's the same for everyone!

[trials_pimp]

I would advise Joining the Building Trade.

Get certified and you will be earning good money.

Something like Electricain or plumber earns top bucks, and has longevity.

Mechanics seems to be a dying trade, and the money isnt very good.

[poopipe]

Maybe think about a BTEC instead?

I didn't like the way my A-levels were structured and I had real difficulty applying myself to any of the subjects so I buggered off to art college instead of doing the second year. It all worked out quite well in the end - in that I got my degree and I have a job i like.

Edited November 1, 2007 by poopipe

[Bondy]

This thread would have helped me.

I would have dropped my A-levels. Had I not beeen deterrmined to show my family what we could achieve.

I am the first member of my family of my first member of my family to really "achieve". No one has been to college or uni before me.

I wouldnt say "achieve" as my parents have done alright for themselves in that respect, but i suppose i am the first to do so academically anyway, im the first member to go to college, and thinking about uni, therefore not only do i have my own standards to try and mean by doing well in college, ive also got what my parents want me to achieve which is kind of annoying as you dont really want to let people down.

To be honest just keep trying new things out, i left school and went and did a national diploma in something, but it wasnt the right course for me, so i left there and went to do my AS levels last year instead and nnow i think ive found the right thing for me as im enjoying it much more than the other college. So if youre finding this isnt the right choice for you,then go and see what other opportunities there are out there for you and see which ones look appealing to yourself.

Edited November 1, 2007 by Bondy

[Tom_]

Cheers everyone, this has been really helpful!

I think my mum is m biggest problem really, she achived alot at school and went through uni and got a degree the whole shebang! She expects so much of me, wants me to go to uni and expects me to get As in most things. I dont doubt that i am capable of an A, teachers have told me I am but it would take alot of work. I dont really think im a particualrly academic person. Currently on saturdays i work in a bike shop although im looking to change that as working solidly on a saturday restrics what i can do on friday nights! (I know that sounds like a very bad attitude, but I am perfectly happy to work 5 days a week which i am currently doing but I am still young and would like to enjoy myself and have as much fun as i can within reason.)

I always thought i wanted to do somthing mechanical but having worked in a bike shop (not rocket science i know) I am pretty sure that its not the sort of route id like to take in life. I am still 100% sure that I do not want to do anything with computers or in an office or anything. but then i dont want to do somthing with a "restricted" pay where you reach a peak amount of say around 30,000 a year. I mean thats a perfecty great amount of money. But i really do aspire to do somthing with my life. My whole outlook of life tends to be that there are so many people plodding along in average jobs driving average cars on average wages. Fine that suits them there happy with it thats ok. But I really want to do somthing iv been given a life i really want to get the most out of it and do the very best i can!

I dont know if that sounds abit silly, as im sure i will more than likley end up on an average wage doing somthing that i probably dont enjoy. But i want to do everything in my power to not have to do that! I think thats why I did A levels, but there not working out and Im not the sort of person that is inspired to work on somthing i have no interest in what-so-ever! no matter what grade i may get at the end i just cannot force myself to learn it! college courses are quite apealing but then i really have no idea what one id do!

I will stick in school untill i find somthing else to do. I wouldnt mind starting a small buisness that could grow etc. but iv been thinking alot and so far I havnt had any inovative ideas of what to do! I figure in that market to be sucsessful ideally you need to be doing somthing no one else is doing at a good price with good service etc.

Sorry if this is boring anyone but its good to get it out it seems to be easier to express what i mean when im typing it.

cheers

Edited November 1, 2007 by tom132

[Matthew_Gibson]

I'm in the same boat as you matey! I'm 17, In my second year of sixthform, doing my Alevels, (and GCSE english!) I have no drive to carry on with sixth form, well I do. But I only want to do tech. It's what I really like doing. I'm making a thing for my bike. So I enjoy doing that. Im doing Technology at Alevel. Applied business, and applied science at as level. I don't mind business studies. It's science that I hate, its all chemistary crap that were doing njow. But my form tutor sed it would help me with my tech work

I don't see my self going to uni. I'm a C/D grade student. When/ if I do finish 6th form I'll probably end up just being at halfords full time, I'd like to move out of Cumbria, just because I don't like it. only thing thats keeping me if family.

My mum is the kind of person that always put me done. When I got my GCSE i got mainly c/d 1st tgings she says. "if you just tried a bit harder" I just walkede out the house and didnt go back for about 3 days!

I'm going to look for a job/apprentaship next year. somet thing like carpenter / engineer something like that. Move away and opefully start working for m self maybe? Maybe move to Oz or America and do what ever over there!

WHat I say is. find something you like, I can't see myself sticking in at sixth form for much longer. but lets see how things go!

[Rich Pearson]

Just a thought about what you were saying about your mum expecting so much from you; I was in a pretty similar state and (wierdest bit of careers advise you'll ever get) there was a song I heard on the film New World Disorder called Take Your Best Shot. I ended up using that song in probably the best vid I've ever made (D15CComplete) and although it sounds like some big hulking rock song with no real intelligence to it, you do have to listen to the lyrics:

"Don't let them say

that you can't be the things

that you want just believe in yourself,

and take your best shot."

That one song gave me the balls to stand up to my dad and tell him to f**k off, I was gonna do what I wanted to in life, rather than doing what he thought I should do.

I've got about 8 different things happening at the moment career wise (this last week has been NUTS) but I feel so much better that I chose to do my thing in life, rather than what other people think I should.

Other than that, remember that you only get to live life once; don't do it to placate other people, they can usually do it for themselves.

Rich

[Tom_]

Just a thought about what you were saying about your mum expecting so much from you; I was in a pretty similar state and (wierdest bit of careers advise you'll ever get) there was a song I heard on the film New World Disorder called Take Your Best Shot. I ended up using that song in probably the best vid I've ever made (D15CComplete) and although it sounds like some big hulking rock song with no real intelligence to it, you do have to listen to the lyrics:

"Don't let them say

that you can't be the things

that you want just believe in yourself,

and take your best shot."

That one song gave me the balls to stand up to my dad and tell him to f**k off, I was gonna do what I wanted to in life, rather than doing what he thought I should do.

I've got about 8 different things happening at the moment career wise (this last week has been NUTS) but I feel so much better that I chose to do my thing in life, rather than what other people think I should.

Other than that, remember that you only get to live life once; don't do it to placate other people, they can usually do it for themselves.

Rich

cheers, thats some really really good advice. Helped me alot. Really well thought out and informative and spoken from experience.. Thanks alot

[Bearded Midget]

becoming a tradesman like a plumber, electricion, or carpenter could pay off. (obviously your choice )

but what i am planning on doing is when i finish my gcse's, im gunnu get an aprenticeship with the carpenter who i did work experience with, that will last 4 years. then im gunno be on about 30k as you say but im gunnu save a bit of money and maybe move to australia, as australia are mad for tradesmen at the moment, its good pay and cheap houses out there aswell. and obviously nice weather, surfing etc.

i really struggle to concentrate in school, im really going to try hard to revise etc but its very hard to concentrate for more thna like 10minutes before i think, oh im gunnu go out now. or im gunnu go on msn and listen to music. but i know i have to do well so maybe that will drive me.

anyway, whatever you decide to do i hope it turns out well for you though mate, you seem like the type of person with alot of ambition and you really want to do well. so i hope you do something you enjoy

[Trials Punk]

APPRENTICE ENGINEER

If you can get into some form of engineering and you work at it you will be sorted. I've just started mine and can say its the best thing I've done so far. Doing sheet metal engineering. After the 4th year my pay will be over the 20k mark. Just stay in 6th from and look for apprenticeships at the same time.