Tertiary Education & Careers.
- Thread starter -|Sean|-
- Start date
No study is ever 'waisted', anything that you learn is beneficial...
Bullshit. The time invested into obtaining knowledge is irreplaceable. A lot of people have this mindset that success can only be achieved with a university degree or trade qualification. It is drummed into kids from a young age and most who don't end up with a piece of paper feel defeated and simply exist on minimum wage as unskilled labour, convinced that there are no other opportunities for them.
I'm not saying that you must have a degree to succeed, but that learning stuff is never a waste.
It's killing me now - there's no way I can see myself doing the stuff I'm doing now at Tafe for a living. Right now I'm getting 0% satisfaction from the content of this course - everything is an absolute drag.
3 weeks away from completing Semester 1, and I'm seriously doubting whether I want to continue. I still have no fucking idea what I actually want to do however...
MasterOfReality
After forever
Keep an eye on the bigger picture. Something must have obviously attracted you to enrol in it.
When I was finishing up Yr12 in 1997, my parents (well my Dad laid it out for me in less than eloquent language) said "its your choice what you want to do, we will support you financially during an apprenticeship/degree but if you fuck it up don't come running to us".
It was my first real wake up call and prompted a lot of thinking about what I wanted to do. I settled on my choice and then began the degree.
1st year in and I hated it due to the common courses but got through. Second year things got worse and I almost dropped out. At that time we started doing more relevant courses and things got a bit more interesting so I decided to stick with it. Dropping out after 2 years would have been a waste in my books. Third and fourth year just got better due to the more industry relevant courses.
When I was finishing up Yr12 in 1997, my parents (well my Dad laid it out for me in less than eloquent language) said "its your choice what you want to do, we will support you financially during an apprenticeship/degree but if you fuck it up don't come running to us".
It was my first real wake up call and prompted a lot of thinking about what I wanted to do. I settled on my choice and then began the degree.
1st year in and I hated it due to the common courses but got through. Second year things got worse and I almost dropped out. At that time we started doing more relevant courses and things got a bit more interesting so I decided to stick with it. Dropping out after 2 years would have been a waste in my books. Third and fourth year just got better due to the more industry relevant courses.
wombat
Lives in a hole
I'll see your bullshit, and raise it a dog turd.
Of course you don't need formal study to be successful, nor are those without degrees ever doomed to 'menial' work. But since when was financial/business success the only aim of education/learning? It seems as though you're suggesting that this sort of success is the only reason for anything.
I've learnt plenty of stuff that probably won't directly contribute to my career prospects, but I never regret learning anything (well, probably almost anything...).
bike_widow
Squid
Hey! Wil the course allow you to take a break and postpone the 2nd semester? Perhaps if you have a break, you could have the time to find out what you are interested in.
Don't stress about not wanting to come back to study if you take a break. If you're interested, you won't mind the study part.
I went straight into a uni course after high school and then failed within a term. Took the rest of the year off, then went to TAFE.
After tafe, i've gone into another degree and really wish that i'd taken time off. I don't even know if it's what I want to do, but I'm pushing on... if anything, it will merely up my own ante.
For example, I would really like to live and work in the US - there is a special 2 year work visa that Aussies can get if you have a uni qualification and then go on to work in that field. I could at least use this degree to work in a similar area.
Oh also - travel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yes! it's a fabulous way to kill some time in an educational way.
I'm not sure exactly, but I think I get some recognition for this semesters units, so I could come back at a later stage - it would be sacrificing the $$ already paid for Semester 2 however.
I'm not even sure if a break would change my outlook on the course & career though...
bike_widow
Squid
a break might help you to put the rest of your life into perspective...
sawtell
The Great White Rooks Hunter
building design, makes you a building designer.. now the name sounds like you.. design, but really in a lot of real world jobs, you will be the one that is drawing up the plans, your roll in designing will probaly as little as making small changes to a window, or a column, as the architect as made some whacky concept drawing, of which to construct will be WAYYY of the clients budget, which is why they come to you with the drawings/ideas, as you will be cheaper, easier to deal with and more realistic!! .. ok thats a bit of a generlistaion but thats what i have found.
2nd year, in that course is a competly differnt ball game, it is all comercial work, and is ALOT better (well i found it), there is no more boring timber framing work, or working out crappy pitch roof systems (wtf do you do that any way, these days its all truss construction).. you are working with concrete walling, steel frames, curtain walling systems, enviromental sustainable design etc etc.
in the real work force you will find there is HEAPS of people out there who can design (well think they can) but eomployer's really really want people who have good knowledge of the stuctural systems, so many people in my course had no idea about how a house actualy stood up (no idea how the passed).
and now i am at uni, in 2md/3rd year, i rekon about 20 percent of fello architecture students could tell me the purpose of a lintel over a window frame. what i am tryin to say is, understanding and enjoying the technical side, can be excelent for yoru future.
if you have any "feel" for the course at all i suggest you have a talk to your lectures about what happens next year.
i will give you one hint, atleast finish the semester. that way, you can always come back and start mid year, as you will have your passes for 1st semester written down, i had a mate who quit, 2 weeks before end of 1st year, he couldnt handle the work load with everythign due and exams coming up. worst decision he had ever made.
on the money note, yes you will loose money, but a tafe course is what.. 800 bucks for a yaer??? or is it more up there.
money will come back, if you "waste" another semester sitting in a class room, not paying attention and taking in nothing. it will be worth alot more in time, then your 400 bucks.
so i personaly wouldnt put the money into the equation.
taking 6months of can be good for some people, but bad for others.
its hard if you get a good paying job, to go back to uni.tafe and back to a small income.
btw i think i might have said this before, but this is coming from some one who has finished that course, and has the advanced diploma (the extra 6 months, on top of the 2 years), and has now moved onto architecture/construct managment.
Absolutely hating everything about this course. Nothing is enjoyable, everything is just a chore now.
Finishing the semester in three weeks will give me accreditation for the subjects I've passed, and ideally I'd bail, work for the next 6months, and start fresh with something new next year.
As you can imagine this went down an absolute treat with my folks
Finishing the semester in three weeks will give me accreditation for the subjects I've passed, and ideally I'd bail, work for the next 6months, and start fresh with something new next year.
As you can imagine this went down an absolute treat with my folks
Spanky_Ham
Porcinus Slappius
well, spanky started his uni career wanting to do physics..... got accepted into university as a science teacher before HSC..... did better than expected in HSC went and did pure science.... spanky just loves physics!!! but the pure maths that goes along with it..... that sucked serious floppy scrotum skin hard.
So.... completed first year without failing anything and then, changed uni, changed degree's (went to Biotechnology at UTS) and have been working in some really cool sciencey nerdisimo stuff since.
suggestions, read up on what you've already completed can be put towards, the other option is to only do one core subject for a semester but also take, say, Visual Arts (ie drinking) or some subject your basically just interested in - as opposed to one you 'have to do' for your course. But stay with the studies
hope this didnt confuse you more... stick with it, its over very quickly... and worth it in the end.
s
So.... completed first year without failing anything and then, changed uni, changed degree's (went to Biotechnology at UTS) and have been working in some really cool sciencey nerdisimo stuff since.
suggestions, read up on what you've already completed can be put towards, the other option is to only do one core subject for a semester but also take, say, Visual Arts (ie drinking) or some subject your basically just interested in - as opposed to one you 'have to do' for your course. But stay with the studies
hope this didnt confuse you more... stick with it, its over very quickly... and worth it in the end.
s
This is a Tafe Diploma, the subjects I've completed so far will only transfer over to an Interior Design course, which isn't my thing.
From what I've seen & done so far, I'm not going to (willingly) become a draftsperson/building designer.
I've got the "You'll finish the rest of this year because we say so, even if you don't intend to use the qualification" from my folks already. How am I supposed to fight that....
From what I've seen & done so far, I'm not going to (willingly) become a draftsperson/building designer.
I've got the "You'll finish the rest of this year because we say so, even if you don't intend to use the qualification" from my folks already. How am I supposed to fight that....
sawtell
The Great White Rooks Hunter
get kciked out of tafe, then its not your fault you cant finish it.
first year of your course, will give you credits towards lost of uni courses, making the first year, say 3 subjects a week instead of 4-5, doesnt sound like much, but it makes life ALOT easier.
Courses other than engineering/building design/architecture though?
In addition to whatever else I study in the future, how valuable is a Cert IV on your resume that isn't even relevant to the job I'm applying for?
sawtell
The Great White Rooks Hunter
umm graphic design style courses i will i think.
mmm probaly mean absoutly nothing, but any good resume writer can point out how anything can relate to what your applying for!
if you flat out dont want to do it, dont do the course, who cares what your parents say, but one thing i can say is, find something you want to do first.
Well, they are funding it. So I don't really have much of a choice....
Even if I find an alternative, It'll be too late for a mid year start, so they'll end up using that to keep me in this course for the rest of the year.
Maybe I'll just accept that it's not what I'll be doing as my career, and do my best to smash the f*ck out of it.