Did you make the right choice with regards to college?

PostHack

Almost no one gets it right the first time, and sometimes the second time either.

I got an apprenticeship first, then a degree and now am not working in either industry. I have no formal qualifications in the industry I'm working in now. I'm doing much better financially and every other way than I would if I had stuck to what I started out in.

College isn't the rIght answer for everyone and I think no one should go to college until their early twenties. I would recommend work experience in as close a role as possible for a year or so at least. People embark on degrees with little thought given to what they are going to be doing for 40+ hours a week for the next 40 years or so!

Pedant

megaten wrote: »

Your thinkings a bit narrow there. There's plenty of people that would be happy to be binmen. You seem to believe all dreams are grandiose ones.

I sure there are. But ever since the Boom came people think they need to achieve a certain prestige when in fact there's no need for it.

Strawberry Fields

I've been back to college twice for career changes, I went at 18 for the sake of going because it seemed like the done thing but I'd no interest. I then did a postgrad because I thought there was money in it, when that fell apart I went back and did something that I was interested in because it helps if you're heart is in it.

Blisterman

FishBowel wrote: »

What happened to the other 168?

A huge number dropped out in first year. Quite a lot more dropped out in second and third year. In England, unlike Ireland, you receive a degree after third year, though you can't practice as an architect with it. About 70 people made it to this point.

Fourth year is spent in an office, about 40 people entered the full time fifth and sixth years, of which about 30 made it through. Only four people including myself actually went straight into the part time seventh year. We're supplemented by people who had taken a few years out.

As you can probably guess, it's not an easy course, and there's not a huge amount of money at the end of it, so the main motivation is whether you enjoy the job. The skills learned in the first three year degree are quite transferable, so a lot of people choose to do other jobs at that point.

IzzyWizzy

Dwellingdweller wrote: »

Now you're making me feel bad about my choice :P Haha, jk. I really wanted to do Linguistics for the longest time (fluent Irish and French as well as English ofc... Learning Turkish with my spare time this summer ), but of course I got the whole spiel from the family about 'jobs nya nya nya'.

I'm definitely going to learn as many languages as I can in my spare time however I don't think I'll be going to college to study Linguistics at any point in the foreseeable future. Sadly. :P I'm just going to learn whatever languages take my fancy in my own time. Is it possible to teach TEFL with just a diploma in languages?

What do you study on a Linguistics course, out of curiousity?

I didn't do Linguistics, I did Modern Languages, although it did include some linguistics (phonetics, phonology, language acquisition etc). You can teach TEFL with any degree but I think my language background comes in incredibly useful, especially now I'm thinking of doing a more advanced teaching diploma. It definitely makes sense to do languages as a side thing if there's something else you want to do. I just thought I'd die of boredom on a business course. I'd probably enjoy it now, but I wouldn't have at 18. That's the issue - 16/17/18 is FAR too young to know what to do with the rest of your life.

sock puppet

christmas2012 wrote: »

you can be four years in college doing a course where in four years the jobs market for that course could have changed significantly ie youre ****ed..better to do it to diploma level as opposed to degree that way you give yourself a chance in the jobs market..

Why do you say that? For some courses, engineering and maths for example, students graduate with a wide range of careers options available to them.

Precious flower

For me I didn't get a choice to pick the college. I was going to UL because my parents didn't have the money for me to live on campus so I'd have to commute by bus/train. Got to pick the course though!

Seren_

I did an arts degree (English & sociology, how employable). I'm trying to finish a diploma in history at the minute. I loved what I did in college, absolutely loved it. The subjects I've studied were things I found and still find interesting. Yes, it was not the best course to pick for wanting to go straight into employment, but I think I'll find something anyway. I don't really want a specific career, moreso a job that's something that I enjoy doing.

I think the best thing that you can do in college is get involved in things. Clubs, societies, being a class rep etc are all great things to have on your CV. I know all the extra-curricular things I've done throughout college have really helped me realise the sort of things I enjoy and am good at.

Pick what you want to study, not what you think you should is basically what I'm trying to say.

FishBowel

Blisterman wrote: »

The skills learned in the first three year degree are quite transferable, so a lot of people choose to do other jobs at that point.

Do you get a cert/diploma/pass degree if you drop out of architecture? Seems terrible that so many people waste years studying that subject without finishing. Also, thought you could be an architect without a degree?

Blisterman

Don't think you get anything in Ireland, if you finish before the five years full time study, but in England you get a bachelor degree after 3 years, and nothing if you drop out before that. Same as any other course.

V480

Am I the only person who absolutely hated college? Then again I did make the mistake of going to bloody Carlow.

I couldn't wait to finish and get out of that kip of a town and away from all the unfriendly, spoilt famers sons/daughters that went to that college.


But everyone I know goes on and on about how great their college years were.

Seren_

V480 wrote: »

Am I the only person who absolutely hated college? Then again I did make the mistake of going to bloody Carlow.

I couldn't wait to finish and get out of that kip of a town and away from all the unfriendly, spoilt famers sons/daughters that went to that college.

But everyone I know goes on and on about how great their college years were.

I think if you don't like the college/area, then you're really not going to have the best experience tbh. Maynooth is small and does get a bit suffocating, but it's an unbelievably friendly college. I think if it wasn't, I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed college as much, even if I liked my course.

McChubbin

First time 'round, I went to the Animation course in Colaiste Dhuleigh (the one behind the UCI/Odeon in Coolock) and I hated every minute. Full of clichey, bitchy girls and guys who thought it would be funny to sit around openly drinking whiskey and naffing about on Youtube, disrupting class times.
Also, the Life Drawing teacher was an absolute bitch of a woman who just wouldn't accept that due to my learning disabilties I needed extra tuition.
I was also one of just 6 girls in a class of 30 so I had to contend with an absolute shower of drunken/drugged up skumbags making life difficult for those of us who genuinely wanted to learn.

To make matters worse, I was also going through a tough time in regards to my teeth so I was fairly out of it on painkillers about 70% of the time. I was also extremely naive and completely unused to the notion of a co-ed school as I'd just come fresh from my Leaving Cert at 17 in an all-girl's Catholic school.

I lasted a year before the stress got to me and I dropped out.

After that, I got a job working for a high street department store only to be run out of the place after 6 months due to bullying supervisors and HR politics. I went back and did an ECDL Beginners course that was completely pointless as I knew about 90% of the material and thus ended up finishing all my work an hour earlier than my classmates. I spent the rest of the class on modding websites downloading add-ons to The Sims 2.

Left after 16 weeks with a FETAC certifigate.

More menial jobs, then 3 years of unemployment followed by a nervous breakdown before I ended up at Roslyn Park in Sandymount. Entered into a 2 year Multimedia course but after 10 months I was getting completely stressed out due to the fact that I simply could not grasp the concept of website coding, HTML and CSS. I left it in Febuary of this year with the intention of doing a Fast Track To Employment course but I've yet to hear back if I've gotten a place.

I honestly think I'm not meant to go to college because it doesn't seem to agree with me but I know I need qualifications if I'm to have any hope in hell of getting even the most basic job.

Firerainbow

Yeah I think I made the right choice.

I've just finished 1st year Medicine, and after only scraping in and at first not being sure if it was the right career for me or if I'd be able to handle the demands of the course, I've just come out with a 1st overall this year, so so far so good!

TeddyTedson

Sometimes if I think of all the bad decisions I've made it eats me inside. I get so angry with myself.
I really want to find out what I want to do in my life. I couldn't do a job I hate so much for the rest of my life.

dorkacle

I went to college straight after school an like many mentioned before i hadn a clue what i wanted to do or study, picked something with out thinking, ended up hating it and left after 1st year.

However I've only recently returned to college, took some time out, worked, figured what i liked and didn't and decided to go back to study! Goin into my 3rd year now and loving it!

girlonfire

^^Pretty much the same my end. I now love what I'm studying. When I went to college the first time around, I went for all the wrong reasons. I did the leaving cert when I was 17 and didn't have a clue what I wanted to do with my life.

Gbear

Made the wrong choice, chucked it in 2nd year, made the wrong choice again and again chucked it in 2nd year.

Hooray.

Be really really sure what you're choosing. If needs be, take a year out rather than rushing a decision. Not the best environment to work in at the moment and there could be pressure around the corner if they take away free tuition but picking the wrong subject sucks. Doing it twice is... well.. rather silly.

Pedant

The thing about boards is that there are too many literate people on it; it doesn't reflect the real world.

the_syco

No and Yes.

No, but met lots of great people, some of whom I'd meet later in life, some who showed me a course that wasn't on any CAO form that I ever saw, etc. The first course was way over my head ("little bit of physics" turned into "you need to do honours level physics to understand this"), but the secondary school guidance teacher who told me this is now dead, so meh. The 2nd course I found out from one of the lads I met in the college, so all was well.

aaabbbb

theteal wrote: »

Negative. How little I knew when filling out that form. . .

Ditto.... If only I was as wise and all knowing back then as I thought I was :pac:

MaxSteele

Studying IT Management just for the sake of knowing I'm almost guaranteed some kind of job in the IT industry when I get the degree. No real particular interest it either, just something to wave at family and friends to say "look what I achieved" and secure the future with.

Honestly OP ... if I had it my way, I'd have been born decades ago or even centuries ... where a good job and a decent living required F all education or academia. People actually lived life.

The modern world is superficial crock of ****e if you ask me. The amount of time in your short life wasted on studying, working and not to mention sleeping isn't really worth all the effort. I can understand why someone would screw the system or illegally make money. Do whatever the F you feel like OP.

ToddyDoody

I didnt really make the choice. I accepted a suggestion from the parents. Was it the right one? Well, I didnt drop out. I nearly did, but ultimately didnt. The main problem is that its a kind of right wing course with right wing people teaching it and taking it. I'm a liberal. There's probably no point trying to push a square peg into a round hole (though I'm still trying to make a career in the area, will probably end in disaster) The positive side is that i am / was / continue to be a lot more (uselessly) academic than the rest on the course were (and doing the course gave me the ability to be 'academic') Also I never would have interacted with galway much if left to my own devices (the place never entered my consciousness much growing up) Though maybe i'd be a bit more 'grown up' at this stage if i hadnt studied in galway!

Useful.Idiot

I did make the right choice, but didn't realise it until about 3 or 4 years after I made it....so I am quite lucky in that respect I suppose! Only copped on last year that my degree will give me so much opportunity!

neil_hosey

i was still 16 sitting my leaving cert... way too young to decide.

Luckily i picked software development, would be screwed now if i done a trade, or teaching which i wanted to really do.

i would tell everyone to do IT in college. There will always be jobs in it, and the work is so varied.

smash

If american pie, road trip, Van Wilder etc etc are anything to go by then no, I didn't make the right choice!

starlit

Yes and no. Sometimes I think I made the right choice and sometimes I think I didn't make the right long term choice then again I think well did I take the safe or easy option as it was an Arts course thinking it be recession proof due to the type of course I did that I get a job no problem.

It was a course I wanted to do and liked to do, figured I do well in and that well it was business and IT thinking it have more job opportunities and well there were other courses similar to it but I wonder If I had thought through my CAO more then I might have picked a slightly different degree, was I naive? I picked a course nearer to home and think should I have just left home and done the course I really wanted to do in the back of my mind? The other one I wanted to do I didn't get enough points for but they were the same course with placement in the same city but different colleges.

Though kept thinking the outcome be similar after completing either degree, the only difference was there was a work placement as part of the degree I think I should have done. No placement as part of the degree I did and often think that might have affected my chances of finding work despite having done a work placement after completing my degree.

I went back to college to do computing thinking it was the right decision as when my work placement finished the job situation was dire. Though the job situation was ok before I started my placement.

Though 100% sure I did feel it was the right course for me but the job situation for me is still up in the air for me.I suppose I know what I like and want to do and know what I am good at and not good at but there is a conflict of interest when I weigh up everything. I felt the course I did after my degree has helped balanced up what I may have missed out on in my degree and has open more doors for me in terms of job opportunities and interviews at least compared to my degree alone I be limited I think unless I did further study.

I don't regret doing either course I felt I have learnt a lot and developed a lot of skills and transferable skills. Though saying that I often wonder the vast majority of people have similar skills to me making it more competitive to find work then again there are other factors that could be limiting me too. That I am not the person they are looking for? Not enough skills/experience/qualifications/they looking for certain personality traits or is that I am overqualified or not showing enough examples of my skills sets?

I only worked during the summers and for my work placement and often think is it that I have too varied a job history or that I didn't work during college that has put me in a situation? I find those that have worked during college have a better chance of finding work though or is that me being biased? I got an honour in my degree but maybe not enough to get into some grad programmes but got the required in my postgrad though. Not enough points either as some jobs require 2:1's and 400 points+.

I am trying to figure out ways to stand out from other people but I have tried going for internships and looking into potential courses but feel like going around in circles and hit a brick wall not knowing what I really want to do!?

Whatsernamex33

First time around, no.
Just before the CAO closed, I added a load of courses that were low points, I thought I'd like them. Panic, I guess. I just wanted to get into college and not repeat. Come August, I got my No 1 choice, just didn't wanna do it. So pretty much went back to school, repeated the Leaving, made some pretty cool friends and realized what I really wanted to study. Waiting for my results this Wednesday, and hoping to study English/Science!

So pretty much even though I have a lot of friends in college now from school and stuff and at times it was hard to say no to a session most weekends ;P, I don't regret repeating. I wasn't ready for college anyhow, felt too immature. And this time I worked very hard for my course, fingers crossed.

HalloweenJack

Yes and No.

Got the course I wanted, Journalism and Spanish, made a few friends, including one who is one of my closest friends, got to go on Erasmus for six months and had a great time, got to study a language I love and studied the course I wanted in an area I enjoy.

Unfortunately, journalism is changing pretty quickly and it's hard to walk into a good job pretty much anywhere around the world. I've only had a few cash-in-hand jobs owing to my degree, most of the journalism work I've done has been voluntary so my degree hasn't "paid off" so far.

mathstalk

Captain Graphite wrote: »

No, I didn't do the right course. I did a joint degree in Math & Physics at UCC. If I could go back in time I'd either have done a straight Maths degree or else gone down the chemistry route. I'd also have gone to Trinity instead of UCC.

Fortunately, the math half of my course was enough to get me into an MSc in Nottingham, so if that goes well then I can't really regret it too much.

It is really tough to choose something at 17 or 18 that you're supposed to focus on for the rest of your life. I know it's never too late to change your career focus but picking the right course when you fill your CAO is a massive help.

Do you know the Numberphile crew?