Career path start over ,

yourdeadwright

A question for the lovley folks of After Hours
If you could go back to when it was time to leave school again or before that,
Would you have done anything different to effect your career path,
Would you have done a different college course or trade ?

Pawn

No.

Tar.Aldarion

I'd like to work with animals instead of 'puters.

Akrasia

I'd do everything differently.

hidinginthebush

I wouldn't have done a PhD. Waste of time upon reflection. Ah well

biko

I don't think so. My decisions since then has led me here and I'm quite happy where I am.

Shenshen

I would definitely have started a programming career. I wish my teachers hadn't convinced me that I was rubbish at maths and sciences and should therefore never venture into that area. Utter bollox.

TheSheriff

This is difficult to answer.

I went into healthcare and only through the course I chose did I realize I may actually enjoy a different area of healthcare (I prob will never change now).

If I hadnt gone down a certain path first tough I would never have realize that. Hindsight is a bitch!

You can only muddle on tough and hope future decisions will be good ones.

Balmed Out

Id probably be a school teacher. Prefer more holidays and shorter days with two lunch breaks each day.

TheSheriff

This is difficult to answer.

I went into healthcare and only through the course I chose did I realize I may actually enjoy a different area of healthcare (I prob will never change now).

If I hadnt gone down a certain path first tough I would never have realized that. Hindsight is a bitch!

You can only muddle on tough and hope future decisions will be good ones.

bear1

I wouldn't have smoked my first joint just before my maths exam for the leaving cert.
I failed obviously and it completely fecked up my chances as I had to get the back door into a uni I didn't want to go to.
But, if I hadn't have smoked that joint I wouldn't have gone to that particular uni which in turn got me a job in Dublin where I then met my now wife.
So every cloud and all that

no

kjl

hidinginthebush wrote: »

I wouldn't have done a PhD. Waste of time upon reflection. Ah well

Well excuse me Dr. Brainiac!!!

JK, what was your PHD in?

The Backwards Man

I would leave school at 16 and teach myself HTML. Did wee bit at college but it was like Stevie Wonder teaching darts.

ChunkyLover54

Yes, I would've actually taken a career path as opposed to a shortcut through the aimless muddy brier patch which has been my 3rd level/employment history. It's only now I have any idea what the hell I'm doing.

I was completely clueless when I left school for college. Would any of us give a 17 year old the responsibility of deciding our futures? Probably not but that's essentially what we do when we try to pick a career when still at school.

If I had to do it again I would take a year or two off to work before going to college. Then I would commit everything to the degree/course/training that I decided on. Then I would try to work in as many areas to find out if I had any particular interests.

Sinister Kid

bear1 wrote: »

I wouldn't have smoked my first joint just before my maths exam for the leaving cert.
I failed obviously and it completely fecked up my chances as I had to get the back door into a uni I didn't want to go to.
But, if I hadn't have smoked that joint I wouldn't have gone to that particular uni which in turn got me a job in Dublin where I then met my now wife.
So every cloud and all that

& they say drugs are bad :pac:

hidinginthebush

kjl wrote: »

Well excuse me Dr. Brainiac!!!

JK, what was your PHD in?

Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering. In all honestly, it was good fun, I met a lot of great people, had some great times. The problem is I finished college in 2007, where there were jobs aplenty. Had I tried then I'd have had a job no bother (everyone in my class who wanted a job got one). Rather then going on, and then subsequently looking for a job with no experience in 2011 / 2012 in the midst of the worst global recession to ever hit us.

You live and learn. I'll be working for the next 40 years anyway, so it's not the end of the world!

PizzamanIRL

Yes I wouldn't have started the course that I did which I realised wasn't for me after 2 years. Currently in a new course which is perfect but I wasted a few years up to this point.

DLMA23

Simply put...yes

If I had not entered the military & completed my apprenticeship, I wouldn't be stuck in the fúcking security industry the last 20+ years

Hindsight is a wonderful thing :rolleyes:

myshirt

No.

You live. You learn.
You win some. You lose some. Dust yourself off. Move on.

If you keep living your life like that op, all it is is constantly shifting goal posts.

I wouldn't do anything differently, it is what it is. What's the proverb... 'The best time to plant a tree is 15 years ago. The next best time is now.'

When I began studying law we were laughing at a chap in his late 40's who began the course also. That man is now a qualified solicitor, and quite a competent one at that.

Is that how you measure success? No. But it's what this chap wanted to do.

Unfortunately we still retain a public sector attitude to career choices. And an x-factor mentality aswell. Two points lads

1. Your life is not over at 22, 23
2. A public sector mentality is worth jack sh!t.

You are not going to get a job where you can have done x amount of education, drawn the line in the sand, kicked back and awaited your unfettered bonuses; annual salary increases (regardless of performance); etc.

You need to be an enthusiastic learner. You constantly have to learn. You might even change careers 3/4 times in your life. The decisions taken when you left school, if they worked out bad, they can be rectified. It's not the f#cking end of your life.

looking_around

I'd have liked to repeat the leaving cert. Rather than letting stress make me feel like an utter failure.

However, it did force me to take a few years break out of school and think "what do I actually WANT to do".

I'm not on the track yet, but I'm getting there. Still, the points would've been nice.

It's never too late to try a different route.

recylingbin

I'd have entered politics so i wouldn't have worked a day in my life and lived off others.

beks101

I'd have caught onto this social networking buzz and created some sort of bookface equivalent and be sitting on a giant wad of cash in Las Vegas rolling some of Columbia's finest in $100 bills right about now.

I dunno though, might have done a Masters in some industry a little less psychotic-inducing than what I'm in and would probably have emigrated to the States right after that.

But then I wouldn't have met a lot of really life-changing people or seen a lot of life-changing things. Much of a muchness maybe.

krudler

I'd try work in cutting edge German finance

_Brian

biko wrote: »

I don't think so. My decisions since then has led me here and I'm quite happy where I am.

This ^^

smellmepower

Would have joined the Air Corps when I had the chance, instead of doing poxy Orts in UCD like all my idiot friends back then.

18 year old me was an idiot, and shouldn't have been allowed to make any important decisions!

Ice Storm

I fcuked up quite a bit - finished school with loads of potential but ended up dropping out of two courses.

I ended up with a good career nonetheless but I'd love the chance to start over and do something different.

I go through phases where I wish I'd done medicine but I'm not sure if I'd be dedicated enough to put the work in. If I did get a 'redo' I would need to do it knowing what I know now or there's a chance I wouldn't make a go of it and end up right here.

TheStook

ChunkyLover54 wrote: »

Yes, I would've actually taken a career path as opposed to a shortcut through the aimless muddy brier patch which has been my 3rd level/employment history. It's only now I have any idea what the hell I'm doing.

I was completely clueless when I left school for college. Would any of us give a 17 year old the responsibility of deciding our futures? Probably not but that's essentially what we do when we try to pick a career when still at school.

If I had to do it again I would take a year or two off to work before going to college. Then I would commit everything to the degree/course/training that I decided on. Then I would try to work in as many areas to find out if I had any particular interests.

That's what I'm doing now. I tried Software Development straight after the LC but dropped out right after xmas and have been working since March.

Even if IT is still the area I eventually want to work in, I think a year or two of work and being a part of the "real world" before pursuing it will be much more beneficial. It'll suck balls when all my friends are graduating and Im only starting but **** it. I have plenty of time to decide what I want to do

DK man

Balmed Out wrote: »

Id probably be a school teacher. Prefer more holidays and shorter days with two lunch breaks each day.

My 2 breaks today were in meetings - still have heartburn rushing my lunch- not all is as it seems

Just.Jessie

I wouldn't do anything different. It's not about school, life shapes us.

Shakespeare's Sister

bear1 wrote: »

I wouldn't have smoked my first joint just before my maths exam for the leaving cert.
I failed obviously and it completely fecked up my chances as I had to get the back door into a uni I didn't want to go to.

Ah here, the joint alone didn't cause that! :pac:

whitewave

hidinginthebush wrote: »

I wouldn't have done a PhD. Waste of time upon reflection. Ah well

Ah no, don't tell me that...I'm nearly finished mine (hopefully) but questioning whether it's worth it

B.A._Baracus

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I would leave school at 16 and teach myself HTML. Did wee bit at college but it was like Stevie Wonder teaching darts.

... :pac:
But I have a background in web design and while obviously there is still money to be made. I think the golden age has passed.

Aongus Von Bismarck

I should have left school after Junior Cert, become a tradesman and worked on the buildings. Apparently that's what all "the lads" who scoffed at me in school were saying. Who is laughing now?? Most of them are stuck on the dole back in Ireland, or scratching out a lonely and unfulfilling existence in some remote mining town in Australia. :cool:

Tarzana

Wouldn't have studied biology. It turned out I was a clumsy mess in a lab setting. What a waste of a degree.

Would have studied marketing, something more stats-based, or mechanical or bioengineering.

Tarzana

hidinginthebush wrote: »

I wouldn't have done a PhD. Waste of time upon reflection. Ah well

I hear this so much. Really glad I didn't do one. Having said that, having a PhD helped some of the regretters get farther in their careers so I dunno.

Colinf1212

I wish I had the money to do a degree all over again. I just chose Computer Science because I spent all my time on the computer when I was an asocial teenager. Not so happy with my choice atm, I never even looked at other career paths available.

SmilingLurker

Would have stayed to do my PhD, was accepted but went to join a start up instead. Best job ever, even if I lost money. How would I change now? Leave my secure job for another start up, only problem is children and mortgage. My wife would support my decision though, very tempting...

playedalive

myshirt wrote: »

No.

You live. You learn.
You win some. You lose some. Dust yourself off. Move on.

If you keep living your life like that op, all it is is constantly shifting goal posts.

I wouldn't do anything differently, it is what it is. What's the proverb... 'The best time to plant a tree is 15 years ago. The next best time is now.'

When I began studying law we were laughing at a chap in his late 40's who began the course also. That man is now a qualified solicitor, and quite a competent one at that.

Is that how you measure success? No. But it's what this chap wanted to do.

Unfortunately we still retain a public sector attitude to career choices. And an x-factor mentality aswell. Two points lads

1. Your life is not over at 22, 23
2. A public sector mentality is worth jack sh!t.

You are not going to get a job where you can have done x amount of education, drawn the line in the sand, kicked back and awaited your unfettered bonuses; annual salary increases (regardless of performance); etc.

You need to be an enthusiastic learner. You constantly have to learn. You might even change careers 3/4 times in your life. The decisions taken when you left school, if they worked out bad, they can be rectified. It's not the f#cking end of your life.

Amen to that.

I've always contributed to these types of threads on AH with obvious forms of regret and laments at going directly to college from Leaving Cert and studying subjects I was good at. I did an arts degree in languages but have found it so hard to find something here in Ireland. I've only been able to get sporadic temporary contracts in retail. And then unemployment.

On a career side, I haven't had much success with my degree, as of yet. But I managed to get onto an English Language Teaching Programme in France and I'm moving there tomorrow for a 9 month contract. So I guess it did open a door for me abroad.

On the other side, I do realise if and when I want to come back to Ireland, I will need to retrain and convert into another area such as Business or Tourism (the latter being my biggest interest). Sure, we'll see on this weird and wonderful trajectory of life.

PDCAT

Couple of people saying that they wouldn't have completed their PHD.

I understand their is a lot of work to getting a PHD (my sister has one). However, surely a PHD is seen as a great achievement in itself. Their's not too many people can say they reached this level of academic achievement.
If i ever had the brains/determination, whatever's needed to achieve this, i'd be blowing about it for the rest of my life.

Sugar Free

I maybe would have chosen a business degree over a non-business degree but to date I am happy about and proud of (a word people seem so reluctant to use about their achievements) how things have worked out.

Rory28

Would try not to be as hermit like as I was/am. Also college would have been a good choice but I'm only 27 so its not too late.

Wouldn't have done a commerce degree. Three years "study" for two years of work.. No interest in going back to it and didn't learn a skill. Probably web design or engineering would have been better.

Spring Onion

hidinginthebush wrote: »

I wouldn't have done a PhD. Waste of time upon reflection. Ah well

In my experience PhDs are only useful if staying in academia. When I interview someone with a PhD, I always think they were too afraid to leave college

The Backwards Man

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

... :pac:
But I have a background in web design and while obviously there is still money to be made. I think the golden age has passed.

Ha, this was 1995 though, golden age hadn't even begun. All I have to show for it is a crappy Syd Barrett tribute page that my lecturer told me he would have marked higher if it had been about a 'real person'.

Search engines were pish in those days too.

hidinginthebush

Spring Onion wrote: »

In my experience PhDs are only useful if staying in academia. When I interview someone with a PhD, I always think they were too afraid to leave college

Jaysus now ya tell me!

In all seriousness I think my decision to carry on with a PhD was due to the fact that I enjoyed research and wasn't ready or mature enough to move into the big bad real world. Leaving it, being four years older and wiser, I realised that I would have enjoyed working a lot, I definitely didn't want to stay in academia, though probably was quite immature leaving college, but a year off / gap year would have most likely sorted me out.

Bog Standard User

yourdeadwright wrote: »

A question for the lovley folks of After Hours
If you could go back to when it was time to leave school again or before that,
Would you have done anything different to effect your career path,
Would you have done a different college course or trade ?

done it already

pre bank collapse - worked for 16 years as an architectural technician

post bank collapse - paid to go back to college studied IT support

work for an isp now doing a poorly paid job