Career path start over ,

whitewave · 18-09-2014 10:14PM

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 · 19-09-2014 12:30AM

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 · 19-09-2014 12:38AM

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 · 19-09-2014 01:41AM

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 · 19-09-2014 01:43AM

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 · 19-09-2014 02:35AM

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 · 19-09-2014 06:56AM

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 · 19-09-2014 09:49AM

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 · 19-09-2014 11:33AM

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 · 19-09-2014 11:34AM

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 · 19-09-2014 11:49AM

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.

19-09-2014 12:39PM

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 · 19-09-2014 12:48PM

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 · 19-09-2014 01:04PM

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 · 19-09-2014 08:27PM

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 · 19-09-2014 08:48PM

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

Career path start over ,

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