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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 ?

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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

[Deleted User]

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: