Did you make the right choice with regards to college?

MadYaker · 25-06-2012 10:27PM

NUIG was a good choice. My choice of course wasn't so good. The system sucks imo. You don't know if you'll like a course until you've tried it but once you start a course its quite difficult to switch. I know there are flexible choices like General Science, Arts etc but I think we would be better having an extra year before first year in college where we can pick a selection of subjects from all the different departments (science, arts, engineering, law etc) and then at the end of that year people would have a much better idea of what they want to do.

phasers · 25-06-2012 10:31PM

god no, and since I picked the wrong course and can't afford the fees to redo first year I have to take a very long roundabout route back into college. I think I know what I want to do now though. hopefully in 3 years I'll be where I want to be.

...although there probably won't be any jobs anyway...

RosyLily · 25-06-2012 10:32PM

I kind of regret picking Arts. I honestly didn't know what I wanted to do when I was filling out the CAO; it's hard to pick at 17. I hated it at first!! UCD is big and I was painfully shy so striking up conversations with people I didn't know was my idea of slow torture. 2nd & 3rd year were better as I lived with a girl I knew and she introduced me to her friends, they introduced me to their's etc. etc. I found the Arts course to be a desperately lonely place at times.

On the up-side, if I didn't do my undergrad, I would have never done my Masters and met some cool people!

Currently, I'm thinking of going back to college in 2013 to do English MA. I'm still "finding myself".:pac:

rainbow kirby · 25-06-2012 10:41PM

In terms of finding a job? Definitely picked the right course (BSc and MSc in computer science). Deep down though, I do kinda regret not picking medicine, but at 28 it feels a bit too late to start again.

1ZRed · 25-06-2012 10:49PM

I have to finalise my CAO this week and I have no fcuking clue what to do! I've had a year out so you'd think I'd have my act together by now but no.

Growing up is hard:(

OneArt · 25-06-2012 11:10PM

I chose the right subject (languages), just did it in the wrong college. And country.

Looking back I would've chosen a short three-year basic arts degree instead of the four-year one in DCU. People laugh at arts degrees but the kind of freelance work I do (ESL teaching and writing/research) offer much better, higher-paying options to people with any kind of university degree. I'm going back this year to do English philology and Spanish (I already live in Germany so there's no point in studying German as I use it every day). English will be easy for me and I have a basic grasp of Spanish so I can do it as a minor.

So yeah. I chose the right subject, just did it at the wrong time and in the wrong place. Looking back I should've just fecked off to Germany the moment I finished the LC.

megaten · 25-06-2012 11:39PM

_Bella_ wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies. Surprised (and worried!) to see how many of you have made the wrong choice. What factors do you think lead to this wrong decision? Was it because you didn't really know what your course entailed, or did you feel pressure to do a certain course? Whatever your reasons are I would be really grateful if you could share your experiences.

There's a lot of reasons but the three biggest one were a terrible guidance counsellor (big suprise), pressure from the parents and my own cowardice.

Rocky Marciano · 26-06-2012 12:03AM

rainbow kirby wrote: »

In terms of finding a job? Definitely picked the right course (BSc and MSc in computer science). Deep down though, I do kinda regret not picking medicine, but at 28 it feels a bit too late to start again.

Hi there

. 28 is definitely not too old. Graduate entry medicine is a 4 year option (RCSI, UCD, UL and UCC offer this). I know plenty of people in their mid-thirties now working towards that goal. If you're interested in finding out more there are a few good websites like pagingdr forum and newmediamedicine with people discussing all stages of the course, from applying to graduating.

Best of luck whatever you choose

languagenerd · 26-06-2012 12:05AM

I don't really know! I really like my subjects and (most of) my course, but I often find myself thinking about other courses and wondering if I should have done them instead. It's not because I don't like mine, it's just I have no idea what I want to do when it's finished (I'm going into my final year) and I really thought I'd know by now. I can't help but wonder that, if I'd done a different course, would I have made up my mind by now? I got the same grade in every subject in the L.C., so I would have been equally good/bad at most courses... :P Impossible to tell!

My course (languages) has given me some great opportunities and experiences though, including travelling to various places and going off on my own to Paris at age 19, something I'd never have done otherwise. It's helped me grow up a bit and become more confident and independent. It's broadened my horizons and even changed some of my world views. Isn't that all part of what college is supposed to do? So no regrets... just a blank page that is the future - and no idea where I'll end up!

validusername1 · 26-06-2012 12:06AM

Well I only did my LC this year, but reading this thread is just re-instated the reasons I'm going to do the course that I'm going to do..
I don't have much of an idea what I want to do as career, but there is one course that interests me. Rather than jumping straight into it in a university and paying over €2,000 for the first year, I'm going to do a PLC course in that subject. That's only a few hundred euro. At least then, I can see if I actually like the course or not, and I won't end up wasting a few thousand euro then perhaps dropping out, or sticking with it even though I hate it just to make it not be a waste of money.. There's that reason and the fact that I won't get the points needed to apply straight to the university course but still I think it's a good idea if you're not 100% sure if you're making the right decision or not.

Then if you like it, you can apply to the university with your LC results or the PLC course. I think it's too hard to decide what you want when you're 17/18. I know that I'll probably need a lot more life experience to know what I want in the future and I'd say a lot of people that age are like that too.

LoonyLovegood · 26-06-2012 12:09AM

I've mine filled out, and I hope I haven't made the wrong decisions. I've Arts down, because I know the general areas I'd like to study, and then I can narrow it down from there. It's so annoying choosing now, but at least I have the opportunity, more than many I know

Novella · 26-06-2012 12:11AM

I did, but unfortunately I didn't realise it until five years later when I'd dropped out, but I'm going back this year so it's all good.

Esoteric_ · 26-06-2012 12:13AM

I didn't make the right choice at all.

I excelled in school, but was very young (16 filling out the CAO). I wanted to do psychiatry in Trinity, but my mother insisted that it was 'too dangerous,' as she had heard of patients attacking students while they were training. It happens, but whatever.

Instead, I did as I was told, because I had to follow her rules as a kid. I did Environmental Science and Health in DCU, hated every minute of it and dropped out a year later. After that, I was unemployed for a while, and so couldn't afford to save for college fees to go back to school. I'll be going back as a mature student next year to study... you guessed it - psychiatry. Wasted 6 years of my life working to save money for it, when I could have done it straight away as a kid.:rolleyes:

HoggyRS · 26-06-2012 12:17AM

Wanted to drop out of school when I was 16 to do an apprenticeship but held on at my parents request and got my leaving cert. Again at their request I had put arts down, which I got, so into that I went, cause I didn't know what I wanted to do and "arts is for people who dunno what they want to do"(load of bollocks). Got the arts degree, hated it and the degree is worthless in the real world. Did a year long hdip in IT stuff this year which I didn't take to at all.

So i'm back at square one where I was 4 years ago as a school leaver. I've had enough of taking other peoples advice on what to with my life so i'm going on the serious search for an apprenticeship as an electrician. Its what i've always wanted to do so recession be damned i'm going to give it a shot or it'll eat away at me forever.

SusieBlue · 26-06-2012 12:20AM

_Bella_ wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies. Surprised (and worried!) to see how many of you have made the wrong choice. What factors do you think lead to this wrong decision? Was it because you didn't really know what your course entailed, or did you feel pressure to do a certain course? Whatever your reasons are I would be really grateful if you could share your experiences.

I'm studying Law, and I did do quite a lot of research before choosing it. Despite the fact that I knew the course would be mainly made up of the more "boring" law modules (ie Labour Law, European Law) I still had it in my head that it'd be like Legally Blonde. Its not!

I knew that solicitors/barristers made a lot of money so that attracted me to it too. I also felt under pressure to choose something practical (that would make a lot of money) rather than something I'd be interested in. I remember our Guidance Counsellor saying to us "Choose something that will allow you to live comfortably. If you like it, its a bonus!".

I seem to excel at the more typical Law subjects such as Tort law, Criminal law and Evidence, and struggle with the more boring ones, like contract law and land law. If my course was only made up of Criminal law etc I'd be fine.

Its just not for me, the course is very rigid, there is no room of interpretation or opinions, its cold hard facts, which doesn't suit me at all.

Basically I chose it for all the wrong reasons and now I'm paying for it.

Duggy747 · 26-06-2012 12:24AM

I met great friends whom I'm in still in contact with and had 4 years of great craìc.

That's worth more to me than the piece of paper I got. Either way, I had to continue doing IT exams after college to build up decent chances of me getting an interview anywhere.

No regrets, alot of great things down the years wouldn't have happened had I chosen another path. Can't miss what you don't have, as I see it.

Agricola · 26-06-2012 01:27AM

Not really. Left school and deferred college for a year in order to get a shop assistant job to save up for it. In reality, I could have gotten by but was so sick of school that I wanted to do something, anything else before I would ease myself back into the nice warm security blanket of education again.
12 months later, I started a business and language course that I chose because I like the subjects in school. Got a massive wake up call in college, found it much tougher and also discovered my heart wasnt in it anyway so I dropped out by Xmas.
The following September I started a comp science degree because Ive always had an interest in it since I was a kid. I enjoyed this immensely, took to it like a duck to water, found I was surrounded by similar people to myself, (unlike the previous year) and finished the course with a good grade.
Since then Ive worked in a couple of jobs which are related to the field but didnt require the degree. TBH, the idea of a desk job for the rest of my life sickens me. The daily grind of office politics and corporate BS turns me off. So I need to see about doing something in my field, which is more suited to my skewed view on life! I hope I can, cause I cannot contemplate another change of direction at this stage.

flyswatter · 26-06-2012 01:55AM

No, I didn't make the right choice. As much as I'm interested in computers and use them a lot, studying computer science was a different matter and I really grew to not enjoy it as time went on. The last year in particular seems like a complete waste. I chose the wrong course but I take with me some good friends I've made there. I've decided not to continue with it.

Poxyshamrock · 26-06-2012 05:21AM

No no no no no!

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[Jackass] · 26-06-2012 06:02AM

Welp kids, if you're worried, I went to college straight after school, dropped out after two years, got a job, worked for a further 6 or 7 years getting experience and finding out what it was that I wanted to do, saved money, travelled the world, and now at 29 I'm going in to my second last year in college in something I know from experience I'm good at, will pay a sh*t load of money and is what I want to do.

I regret nothing.

Pedant · 26-06-2012 06:08AM

[Jackass] wrote: »

Welp kids, if you're worried, I went to college straight after school, dropped out after two years, got a job, worked for a further 6 or 7 years getting experience and finding out what it was that I wanted to do, saved money, travelled the world, and now at 29 I'm going in to my second last year in college in something I know from experience I'm good at, will pay a sh*t load of money and is what I want to do.

I regret nothing.

Your perfect existence jealifies me.

PhlegmyMoses · 26-06-2012 06:15AM

Nope. Biggest regret of my life. 500 points in the LC. Chose to study something that I wasn't that interested in and that doesn't pay that well. Eeked out a bare minimum 2:1 so at least I can do a Masters, if I so choose.

sunflower27 · 26-06-2012 07:29AM

I studied media and communications in college because at 18 it seemed exctirig and because I was good at English I thought journalism would be ideal.

Twenty years on now and I am going back to study counselling and psychotherapy.

I don't regret what I studied aged 18 - 21 as there is no way I could hae known then how my life would pave out and what area I would eventually been drawn to.

Publishing was great fun though - very excting and enjoyable, but I am done with it now and am looking forward to something new.

Ideally, down the line, I will be able to combine the two.

You are never too old to go back and study

Ms.M · 26-06-2012 07:36AM

I did languages initially for academic reasons (languages sounds better than Orts). I've since realised I'm a pretty dull person who gets pleasure out of doing anything as long as it's challenging. Had I known I was so easy-to-please, I would have chosen whatever would make me the most money! Doh! Doing Maths in my spare time now. Don't know if that'll lead anywhere. I think I'm being dumb again.

Ah well!

26-06-2012 08:48AM

Pedant wrote: »

Do not study physics.

I did thphys and loved it :pac:

flutterflye · 26-06-2012 08:51AM

Odysseus wrote: »

College was spot on for me, though I did'nt get there until I was 27.

I'm 27 now, and still haven't managed to complete a degree course - so this gives me hope.
Thank you for that

Kev_2012 · 26-06-2012 08:53AM

Schwiiing wrote: »

I went to LIT.

I always laughed when UL people called us Losers In Training.

I'm not laughing anymore.

I went to LIT, and working over 3 years since I finished my degree. A lot of my friends that went to UL aren't.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz8qvgVjsp1r77h26.gif

c_man · 26-06-2012 08:54AM

I was 16 filling out the CAO, what the hell did I know!

I picked a course in a field in which I didn't end up working, although it did give me a strong base on which to pursue what I really wanted once I had it figured out.

Johnny Bitte · 26-06-2012 08:55AM

Completely, should have got into the building trade.

Great money in it, sur jasus it'll go on forever.

Ah...no...never mind.

Did you make the right choice with regards to college?

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