The: Wheres Your Life Going Thread?

[F-Stop Junkie]

Jon, which college are you at now?

I feel like my story is kinda the other way around. I went through sixth form and uni knowing *exactly* what I wanted to do. A-levels of physics, computing and maths, uni doing Computer and Network Engineering. Ended up in a job for a multinational bank which doesn't pay nearly enough, doing network engineering.

However, I now wonder if I've made the right choice. Work can be rewarding, and it's something I have a talent and interest in. However it's easy to confuse a hobby with a career. As much as I'd love to be a photographer, I know that it's a very, very hard career path to maintain or excel in. Same with the cycling industry, the idea of being a pro rider is great but then there are worries of continuing sponsorship deals, injury, results, etc...

I'm happy in a way that work is pretty good, but then my hobbies are just that. I can indulge my hobbies without the worries of doing any of them professionally.

I am glad however that I did continue my education. If I hadn't then I wouldn't have the opportunities in front of me that I have now. In a number of cases it doesn't matter if you have A-Levels or a degree in the appropriate subject, but you need to work out what you want to do and work out how to get there.

BUT don't worry. If you make the wrong choice, say you suddenly feel you want to become a teacher or nurse, then you can always retrain. You may be a little down on the pay and experience ladder, but your working life is 40-50 years, and you need to find something that is interesting and challenging. It won't always be a great time - some will be tedious shit - but if it's rewarding then go with it.

Oh, a teacher said once that A-Levels are the hardest thing you'll ever do academically. Not just because of the subject matter, but because you're doing a number of subjects at once. I know that was certainly true with me. Except for the 36 hours I did most of my dissertation in

[JonMack]

Currently 19 years old in my second year of uni studying Graphic Design. Living in a rented house with 4 of my friends, moving into a bigger house next year with 5 of my friends, dunno what's going on after that. Been through school, left with 5 1/2 GCSE's which was enough to get into college to do graphic design, got through college with enough points to get me into uni, first year of uni was shit, got enough marks to get me through the first year and now im starting to buck my ideas up. Got involved with one of the lecturers projects outside of uni which could see us travelling all over the world exhibiting at galleries, festivals, etc. which will be quite interesting, our current projects for that include projecting stuff on buildings, we're about to rebrand a vending machine and put it in the uni, and gonna do some stuff like GRL [ http://www.graffitiresearchlab.com/ ] and all sorts of other shit. Should be fun. I dont actually know where my lifes going, but at the moment, it's pretty interesting.

Oh and incase you were wondering, the project is http://www.justundoit.com

[JT!]

After been in 6th for for 3 years i started and soon gave up on my 4th.

Got an electronics and physics a-levels which is ok i supose, but haven't a clue what i'm doing now.

Currently keeping going with my part time job, learn to drive and then see what happens.

[monkeyseemonkeydo]

Reading these I guess I'm quite unusual (surprise!) as I've known what I wanted to do since I was about 12. Always been into motorsport and specifically the aerodynamics of cars. When I was twelve I finally found out that the word for it is an aerodynamicist. All my subject choices in school were then effectively chosen for me, with the help of some advice from McLaren and Williams F1 teams who I got in touch with to ask them! Always aimed to do Aerospace Engineering at uni and was accepted to do that at Southampton (again, advised by Adrian Newey, current RBR aero guru earning something silly like £6M a year). In my final year of my undergrad I was offered the chance to do an Engineering Doctorate (like a PhD but better paid) sponsored by a successful World Rally Team to develop the aerodynamics of their car... So I'm now doing what I've wanted to do for the past 12 years!

Meh, I guess I'm the exception but I do think that things tend to work out for the best and if you want something bad enough it can happen.

Dave

[Simpson]

chemistry, phsysics, biology and pyschology

oh my god yea im like 100% the same as you except i took maths, chem, physics and psycology..... i got really stressed had a like mental crash..... my parents were right annoying at 1st but then i just explaned to them how i felt e.t.c. and they were really understanding... im still at school now. my parents want me not to get kicked off any of my courses and try to go most of my lessons (so they dont notice a pattern) and yea.... ill see how my results out and go from there.....

just im f**ked off with getting taught in a classroom

and teachers banging on about work which im not doing and trying to be all superior and still treating me like a kid....

dunno what to do though.... jobs are well hard to get round here.... ive got friends who quit school to get jobs and now earning like 4 pounds an hour to make woggles for army supplys....

[rocktrials]

I did good in my gcses, then stayed on for A levels, end of the first year i almost had a breakdown with the amount of work, and thought bout dropping out and then joining police force.

Stayed on, finished Alevels, working this year now, saving for travelling, and then looking at police force when i come home.

[RicH_87]

i left school nearly a year and a half ago with 9 GCSE's and 3 a levels.

i bummed around for maybe 4 months doing extra shifts at morrisons (earning about £800 a month) before i started half heartedly looking for a 'proper' job. I applied for a BT apprenticeship first but didn't get on, so i applied for a few architecture jobs, had 2 interviews but didn't get a job in that either. so basically i gave up. i have just continued working part time at morrisons doing extra shifts whenever i'm asked, with about 5 other people in the same boat as me....

anyway, a couple of the lads finally gave in and have left to go work in banks, earning about £300 more than me, and doing about 3 times the hours. I really don't want to just settle for a desk job.

i am planning on trying to get into the fire service this spring but i'm expecting it to be near enough impossible....after that i really don't know.

i think too deep about this shit, i don't want to waste my life doing a job the next joe bloggs could do after a days training. i want to do something that actually makes a difference, to be relied on really.

currently my life sucks, i have few friends, no g/f, a shit job, shit car, still live at home, haven't ridden since november...and at the moment i don't see anyway of changing it.

[RR_Trials]

I'm VERY into graphic design/3d design. Currently using Sketch Up PRO 6 and loving it, I have taken graphic design for GCSE and i wont to do this when i am older. Does anyone know if there is a large need for graphic designers and if they pay (on average) is good.

Cheers, Rorz!

Edited February 19, 2007 by RR_Trials

[squince]

Currently training too be a chef, i plan to travel and gather knowledge.

Maybe one day setting up my own place.

[Joe_Elding]

im gonna be doing maths, physics, tech a levels and then maybe photography as. i havent got a clue what i want to do with my life though, will probably be some sort of engineer i reckon though.

[Haz]

Well, got 11 GCSEs grades A-C, currently doing A-levels in Maths, Physics, Design Technology: Resistant Materials and Photography.

I have applied for 6 unis in a course of Architecture, something I have always really wanted to do, and it's something I'm sure I'd enjoy and be good at. So I have two offers and two interviews, alongside one rejection so far, and one uni I have yeat to hear from.

So everything is ace, except this year, I have basically thrown it all down the toilet. And it's all down to one thing really. At the end on As, I quit photography, missing out on 4 weeks worth of work, which was really important, and instead, I took up Graphic Arts, jsut becuase I enjoy it. However, the workload was a real problem and my teacher didn't know really how to encourage me. So what I had to do was move back onto the photograph course, and salvage what I could. So I did no work for about 10 weeks. That was the first mistake, then I did no work for 6 more and now we are here. I, currently am supposed to have handed in one 2000 word essay and a ~15 week photography project, which I basically have done nothing of. I'm currently doing my exam piee, which I have doen nothing of and generally, despite the fact I got an A at As, I'd probably be lucky toget a C this year unless I really sort it all out. So I have to do that. Then there are a few small things in my tech project which I have to do, and a 2000-4000 word physis essay to do.

Maths, my weakest subject, I am struggling with, so I really am looking at maybe a D overall for that.

If I do that, get about 320 UCAS points, then I can go to uni, and everything is happy.

[Matthew_Gibson]

I got 9 C at GSCE, failed Maths AND English. So I'm resitting them at sixth form, I'm doing Tech and PE at Sixth form, Think I'll be droppin PE though, this year, don't really like it, I'll probably take something else. I'd like to do media, next yea, but It clashes with my tech.

No idea what I wana do after sixth form, probably full time at Halfords. them after that, god only knows

[Simon]

Well, i stumbled through high school, when i had my careers interview, my choices were very varied, either a mechanic, or something with computers haha.

I came out the other end with 4 b's, 1 c, 3 d's (one of them being maths), and the rest F's and E's. Somehow got a place at Chichester college doing a computing course. Turned out to be completely shit, and this is where i discovered my flare for web site design and development, so went onto do E-Commerce at a local college. Got a Pass at that, which was 2 C's, and started on the HND in Computing. It became pretty apparent, very quickly that it wasn't my game at all. It was 90% computing bollocks, and 10% what i actually wanted to do.

I had been subscribing to a niche job sector website called wiredsussex.com, and a job came up in Brighton the week i had my driving test. Driving license or not, i applied, and the day after passing my test i got a phone call to come in for an interview.

On getting the job, needless to say, i promptly left college.

Was made redundant after 7 months there, got in debt, en-rolled on job seekers, and 3 months later got a job where i am now.

The whole point i hope atleast one person has got, is its not all about what college you went to, what degree you have got, its sometimes about pure desire and passion towards a job that will get you to where you want to go.

I'm not saying you can do it for every type of job, probably only about 5-6% of jobs can work like this, and in no way is it easy. Its been a hard journey, with a lot of cursing, and a lot of un-happy times, and doubt more to come, as my life in the real world is still at its extreme infancy.

This does however rely on you knowing what you actually want to do, but as i said, i didn't know until i was already in my first year of college.

Does anyone know if there is a large need for graphic designers and if they pay (on average) is good.

Kind of like any other job, but because the need isn't great, there isn't that many job numbers to start of with. It is also a very niche thing, but i always see advertisements for graphic designers about, although mainly web related as that's what my searches and job websites cover.

However, a warning, expect to start on a very low wage. In new media, you have to work your way, and prove yourself. 90% don't care what you learnt through education, they will care what your portfolio says, who you are as a person, and what style you design to.

[zoo]

I haven't got a clue what I want to do..I do want to go to college because everyone I know who has gone says it is sh*t (and on a varied amount of courses not just one) And it annoys me loads when people are like 'oh em eff gee you don't know what you want to do' Guess i'll just sling dope as I am telling my teachers that I want to be a drug dealer.

[Janson]

i did "technology" at college.. basically maths, physics, mechanics and stuff. then i started studying mechanical engineering in the autumn last year, enjoying it, but it is a lot of work..

never had any doubts or problems with choosing what to do.

[haydon_peter]

Got 5 B's and 4 C's at GCSE.

Went to college and did a ND in Computing, I chose this course for the wrong reasons (I knew loads of other people doing it [Half the course were from my secondary school!] and I decided I didn't have any computer qualifications so I should go for it). I passed the first year and passed the second year. All through college I surfed the internet, played games and did the minimum amount of work to get through the course. The course was meant to be full time but there was lots of free time, in the second year I was only in college 2 1/2 days a week.

After finishing college I was completely confused. I didn't even bother applying for Uni and had not idea what I wanted to do with my life. I spent the next year of my life bumming around working part time at a supermarket shelf stacking and did a lot of bike riding. After much pressure from my mum I applied for a full time job at a local office where I still am 3 years later. Its call centre work and I have proggressed loads, I work on the 'Technical Helpdesk' and feel people have respect for my knowledge and skills. I'm just not feeling too challenged by the job and have definitely hit a brick wall.

On a positive note I am happy with life outside work. I make the most of the 2 days a week I don't work, have a good social life, go rock climbing, ride XC and trials etc... Before Christmas I went to the Middle East for 3 weeks and saw loads of amazing stuff most people are never going to see! Next month I am going to New York for a week which will be fun. After next month I have no definite plans but as long as I am saving money and having fun outside of work I am not worried!

[Davetrials]

oh my god your all so orgainsed

im 19

did shit on my gcse's

didnt go college

currently jobless

fears life will be shite,

worst mistake of my life not going to college, if i went id most probly be at uni now doing somthing.. is it too late for me to go?

[Radfax]

lost everything over the past year, my family my posesions and in 14 days my house will be reposesed.

Should be going to art collage for 3 years though studying digital graphics design.

Not to good really

All because my dad left us for a woman youngerr than my best friend... she is 23 he is 50...

[Has anyone seen my shoe?]

Im in college, uni soon.

[Barbra]

lost everything over the past year, my family my posesions and in 14 days my house will be reposesed.

Should be going to art collage for 3 years though studying digital graphics design.

Not to good really

All because my dad left us for a woman youngerr than my best friend... she is 23 he is 50...

No offence (arn't sure if you'll be offended) but your dad is an absoloute tosser, why the hell would he do something like that, i mean wtf. Oh and should he not be legally required to give you and your mum money? and any other brothers and sisters you have?

[Radfax]

dont worry mate slate him as much as you want haha! he has been gone almost 10 months now and i hav epaid over £1000 to his children and wife than he has, I have been buying food for my family for the past 3 months and i can swear to that! I dont know what i would ever do to him if i ever met him again! I really have given up with him, over 10 onths he has not paid us a penny! and i mean it literaly and now we have had our home taken away from us!

me and my mum look at it as a fresh start you know, a chance to wipe everything off and start again, i mean there is no other way to look at it or you will break down in a fit of rage and aggression lol! Thing is my younget brother will need 24hour care every day for the rest of his life and my lame eexcuse fr a father has just walked out and left.

If any of you on here ever do this to your family, i will personaly hunt you down and kill you!

[Lawnmowerman]

My dad did the same thing when I was 3. Wanker!

[Dai the Socket]

Got 2 A's, 6 B's and 1 C at GCSE.

Then B C E at AS-Level (Business, Tech, Economics respectively).

I dunno really. I coasted through my GCSE's easy, did f**k all work and somehow got good grades. Pretty rad. Unlike A-Levels haha! I've taken up and dropped both Human Biology and Psychology, then switched to Economics for AS-level so only did 3 full AS-Levels in total. Meh.

I really like business, so I've applied for Business / Marketing / Advertising courses for Uni, and I've always had a real interest in the internet (doing web design etc at the moment) and photography but that's my interests, and like F-Stop Junkie said they're my hobbies, not really career channels.

So hopefully I'll get my first choic at Sheffield Hallam to do Business and E-Commerce then I'll be a happy bunny I think. Gonna go through that, learn some shit, get a placement year hopefully in the USA. Make some contacts, get them to want me to work for them after uni.

Save up after uni, move to America, go work in Business and Management consultancy and hopefully make a shit load of money.

That's the plan anyway.

[Radfax]

My dad did the same thing when I was 3. Wanker!

Ditto man, lets hunt them and spear them and eat them for dinner!!!

[Lawnmowerman]

I'm actually trying to find him, wanna see him before he dies or something.