Favorite Year Of Your Teenage Life.

[Dan6061]

I don't mean to sound like a cunt, but didn't we all tell you this when you were talking about going full time in Halfords?

EDIT: Hang on...i'm not fatty!

Don't even think I mentioned working at Halfords on here?

Edited December 4, 2008 by Dan6061

[Tom_]

Looking on my life at the minute, I'm glad I never went to uni. Simply because I would have picked the first course I saw that slightly interested me and I'd gained nothing from it - except a huge debt.

Thing is with Uni, its life changing. I've lost pretty good friends becuase they went away and, to put it simply, they turned into c**ts. Apparently, us hometown guys are boring because we don't get dressed up like twats on weekends and crave attention every two seconds...

Edit: Tom, are you going to uni for the education or just the social life? Seems your more concerned with getting pissed and having sex than anything else.

No, I am genuinly going for the education, I can get pissed and have sex here, now. I just dont want to go t uni with the idea it will be a great laugh, and Il get a decent qualitfication from it when in reality you either go out and have a laugh OR study alot and do well. Im currently totally torn between applying for an aprenticship with someone like prodrive for next year, or holding out and going to uni.

Basically If uni is jst going to be like a more difficult version of college, with tons of work, and little play, then I would probably go for the apprenticship. However if I can go to uni have a great laugh, get drunk, generally enjoy myself on 4 out of 7 nights a week rather than 2 a week at home AND get a qualification that MIGHT get me a better job.

The problem is that the motorsport industry seems to me to look on experience almost as much as it does a degree or similar. Unless its F1 or somthing, but I dont think I could hack doing that. Its a stupidly difficult decision I hear rumors of people like aston martin not hire-ing any one that hasnt been to uni and got a degree unless its for the production line or similar, and I hear all the time that when people get you CV they will bin it if you dont have somthing that others dont, I imagine alot of people get a degree. Then again, I look on the prodrive site and see vacancies for aston race tecnichians, and the required education etc. is secondry education, and then it says, "aprenticship prefered" aswell as any other work expereince, no where does it say the word degree.

Basically I cannot work out wether an aprenticeship would be as good for me as uni.

Uni: Debt, possibly a laugh? and a degree

Aprenticship: payed education, no debt, possibly less of a laugh?, experience and a way into the industry.

Basically I need to speak to somone in the rally, touring car or similar industry and see which is prefered, if there is a preference, experience or a degree. I get the impression the degree is very F1 orientated (airodynamics, thermodynamics etc.) which possible apply less critically in the lower forms of racing. (of course it still applys, touring cars run spoilers, splitters, diffusers etc. to make the stick to the road, but F1 is clearly more orientated around the extreme thechincalitys)

So yea, in some ways Im wondering if uni isnt quite the massive drinking/sexing/degree gaining experience its made out to be then maybe im better off getting an aprenticship, having weekends free (no more shitty homebase work) and going out living it up at the weekends.

Its highly possible that I have just repeated the same point about 7 times in this post, with much rambling.

[Dan6061]

Started to look at college courses in motorsport now, think I'd like to be a race mechanic, or atleast something technical with cars. After Tom mentioned it, got me thinking. One of my mates did a course in it a few years ago, now he's worked for several race teams touring the world! Which is exactly what I want to do, I don't like the same routine every day, I'd rather go to different places, etc! Plus my mate seems pretty sorted with cash too...

[anzo]

Actually, cancel what I said to you Tom, to be fair all I'd do is get pissed and shag anyway....

[Tom_]

Started to look at college courses in motorsport now, think I'd like to be a race mechanic, or atleast something technical with cars. After Tom mentioned it, got me thinking. One of my mates did a course in it a few years ago, now he's worked for several race teams touring the world! Which is exactly what I want to do, I don't like the same routine every day, I'd rather go to different places, etc! Plus my mate seems pretty sorted with cash too...

Dan, you dont live very far from me, Im sure you could get onto my course in bicester, especially since you can drive. You can even get petrol money in the form of benefits not loads, I think its about 60quid a term, but still, its not to bad considering the good old eco corsa uses about 1/4 or 1/5 of a tank a day there, including missions to tesco to get food. so 60quids 2 tanks, so a couple of weeks worth of college comuting. Its only 3 days a week too

[Papa Manual]

No, I am genuinly going for the education, I can get pissed and have sex here, now. I just dont want to go t uni with the idea it will be a great laugh, and Il get a decent qualitfication from it when in reality you either go out and have a laugh OR study alot and do well. Im currently totally torn between applying for an aprenticship with someone like prodrive for next year, or holding out and going to uni.

Basically If uni is jst going to be like a more difficult version of college, with tons of work, and little play, then I would probably go for the apprenticship. However if I can go to uni have a great laugh, get drunk, generally enjoy myself on 4 out of 7 nights a week rather than 2 a week at home AND get a qualification that MIGHT get me a better job.

The problem is that the motorsport industry seems to me to look on experience almost as much as it does a degree or similar. Unless its F1 or somthing, but I dont think I could hack doing that. Its a stupidly difficult decision I hear rumors of people like aston martin not hire-ing any one that hasnt been to uni and got a degree unless its for the production line or similar, and I hear all the time that when people get you CV they will bin it if you dont have somthing that others dont, I imagine alot of people get a degree. Then again, I look on the prodrive site and see vacancies for aston race tecnichians, and the required education etc. is secondry education, and then it says, "aprenticship prefered" aswell as any other work expereince, no where does it say the word degree.

Basically I cannot work out wether an aprenticeship would be as good for me as uni.

Uni: Debt, possibly a laugh? and a degree

Aprenticship: payed education, no debt, possibly less of a laugh?, experience and a way into the industry.

Basically I need to speak to somone in the rally, touring car or similar industry and see which is prefered, if there is a preference, experience or a degree. I get the impression the degree is very F1 orientated (airodynamics, thermodynamics etc.) which possible apply less critically in the lower forms of racing. (of course it still applys, touring cars run spoilers, splitters, diffusers etc. to make the stick to the road, but F1 is clearly more orientated around the extreme thechincalitys)

So yea, in some ways Im wondering if uni isnt quite the massive drinking/sexing/degree gaining experience its made out to be then maybe im better off getting an aprenticship, having weekends free (no more shitty homebase work) and going out living it up at the weekends.

Its highly possible that I have just repeated the same point about 7 times in this post, with much rambling.

I can see the position you’re in. I’m currently doing a job that I could stick at and do my degree at the same time. It might take me a little longer, but the experience I gain by working at the same time would put me in good stead careerwise, assuming the entire financial industry doesn't collapse.

However, I want to go to Uni to experience a load of different things and have time to follow my interests at the same time. Getting laid more would be nice too, which I know isn’t a myth. Guernsey is too small and incestuous (especially for people like me). I think potential ‘shags’ at Uni just avoid stinky spotty stoners who sit around on their arses all day, which a good deal of university students are *waits for backlash*.

If I work and do my degree at the same time, I’ll be in the position I’m in now which is constant study. My average day consists of getting to work between 730 and 8 in the morning, studying through lunchtime, finishing at 6 and going to college until 9 then back to work until 11 to study. Even the two working days in the week that I’m not at college, I stay at work and study until about 9 anyway. It sucks serious balls.

If I were in your position with your aspirations, I would seriously consider university. If you check out the news at the moment the motor industry is being hit the hardest out of any other. 37% fall in sales of cars this year, based year-on-year. Aston Martin, to use your example, is threatening to axe a third of its workers. I think the education university will give you, depending on the specific degree you’re doing, will give you more scope for employment based on the current market than what an apprenticeship would. I think the current global downward spiral will easily last until about the time you graduate. You also have to think about your job security whilst being an apprentice, given the current shitstorm.

[Dan6061]

Dan, you dont live very far from me, Im sure you could get onto my course in bicester, especially since you can drive. You can even get petrol money in the form of benefits not loads, I think its about 60quid a term, but still, its not to bad considering the good old eco corsa uses about 1/4 or 1/5 of a tank a day there, including missions to tesco to get food. so 60quids 2 tanks, so a couple of weeks worth of college comuting. Its only 3 days a week too

You're in Bicester! No way! haha. That's like, 9miles or so from me!

I'm there for sure. haha.

When do all the courses start again? I'm lost with dates for schools and stuff now, well, I never knew anyway...

Reckon it'd be best to start fresh, or would I be able to just join in and catch up?

[Tom_]

You're in Bicester! No way! haha. That's like, 9miles or so from me!

I'm there for sure. haha.

When do all the courses start again? I'm lost with dates for schools and stuff now, well, I never knew anyway...

Reckon it'd be best to start fresh, or would I be able to just join in and catch up?

Hmmm, I dunno about catching up, wev done a few assignements and stuff, not that it would be impossible if you have a decent knowledge of cars already, so far its pretty basic stuff. If not its a fair old wait till september to get back on the course, but it would deffinatly be worth it! You can then choose the one, or two year course, or depending on what qualifications you already have a possible foundation degree. Although when I was intervied I was told with my AS levels I could have possibly gone straight into the foundation degree, but was advised not too.

You could also try for an aprenticship, wer in a great area for it with lots of F1 companies, pro drive, and many other big companies all around. Although, as Jon said above, its tough times for the industry at the moment. with the current recesion. So It might be worth doing the 2 year, or the 1 year and then then an aprenticship, or even uni! it will give the industry time to sort itself out abit, maybe.

Best bet would be to give them a ring, explain your situation, maybe say your willing to catch up on assignments etc. and you already have a very reasonably knowledge of cars. The assignments are really not too hard, if you really go for it your looking at 1-2 evenings tops.

Il try and find you the number for them.

[Rumplestiltskin]

No, I am genuinly going for the education, I can get pissed and have sex here, now. I just dont want to go t uni with the idea it will be a great laugh, and Il get a decent qualitfication from it when in reality you either go out and have a laugh OR study alot and do well.

Don't know where you get the idea that its one lifestyle or the other at Uni. It's easily possible to study hard and have fun. It's what most people do after all. Contrary to popular belief, the student population isn't split between nerds and jocks.

I won't claim uni has been more amazing than any of the other paths in life I could have chosen, but its certainly matured me a hell of a lot, given me some awesome times, let me travel to places I wouldn't otherwise have gone and also given me the time to choose what I really want to do with my life.

Some people here seem to think you're locked onto one single career path as soon as you hit uni. Thats totally untrue - I've studied over 8 disciplines in the course of my degree, and only had to make the final choice as to what I graduate in at the beginning of last year. Uni lets you try several different things without the obligation to take them up as full time careers. It gives you a better safety net (in my opinion) than, say, signing up for an apprenticeship, realising you don't like it or can't cope with it, and being back at square one all over again. At least at uni, if you don't like something, you can just transfer to another course that truly interests you without it putting a spanner in the works of your life.

Edited December 4, 2008 by Rumplestiltskin

[Dan6061]

I basically don't have an education as far as paperwork goes... GCSE's were D's below, so I obviously haven't got any A levels.

[N.Wood]

I havn't read the thread properly as theres huge blocks of text everywhere, but I have seen the pros and cons of uni being banded about.

At possibly the worst time in uni so far (third year at a time where lots of coursework has to be handed in before xmas) I can safely say going to uni was the best thing I've ever done in my life and have zero regrets about going here, what i've done here, anything at all.

[Ben John-Hynes]

I voted 17-18 'cause life's so good atm. But lookning back... 16-17 was the best, no job, tonnes of spare time, college wass the best time of my life, mates were(still are) golden.