Silliest decision of my life. I did two weeks in year 11 and quit. I’ve never even got my Year 12/HSC.
How many of us are working in careers that have a direct link to our educational (or lack of educational) background....
Some things to think about....
1. I know people with significant degrees doing something totally different to what they studied for
2. I know peeps with a year 10 education who are doing really well career wise
3. I also know people who’d decision not to finish High School or Uni regretting their decisions terribly
What do we all think about the relationship between career and education. Is it that important to stay in school or do life experience carry more weight (and if yes to whom - you or a prospective employer)
Google, Microsoft, and Apple, Facebook. Four of the most well recognized brands in the world. Their creators were all drop outs.
Gillian Lynne was taken by her mother to a specialist when she was a child because she couldn’t sit still in class. Turns out she was a dancer. She’s now a world famous chereographer bringing happiness to millions after being involved with cats and phantom of the opera. Today’s doctors probably would have diagnosed her with ADHD, given her some medication and told her to sit still. Same sort of story with michael phelps apparently.
Instead of working on peoples gifts, skills, and enjoyments, we push everydown down the paths of maths and science. Our education system is killing peoples creativity.
That said, maths and science is for some people. I have a software engineering degree, and although i didn’t need it to get my job, it certainly does help, and i’m glad i have it. I enjoyed my uni years, and i gives me more options for the future.
I definitely regret quitting 12th grade - A MONTH BEFORE MY HSC!!! I felt ALOT of pressure to do well, and in the end I couldn’t cope with the stress. Looking back, I think I could’ve handled it alot better than I did, because the pressures of year 12 are alot less stressful than being a grown up in the real world. It’s a decision I will always regret. Especially since I planned on going to Uni afterwards.
That said, in my career (child care), having your HSC isn’t really a prerequisite. I enrolled in Tafe after high school and got my Diploma in Childrens Services. I know people in this industry who didn’t even complete their school certificate in year 10 and have had successful careers. I’ve read stories about people owning companies that turn over millions each year, yet they never bothered turning up for school. I also know people who’ve gotten their HSC and have uni degrees struggling to find a full time job.
I stuffed up my Yr12 due to getting heavily involved with music at the time and organising shows and what not. Regret it from time to time cause I had a lot of things planned for Uni and getting my Masters in Info Tech, was the biggest geek and probably completed the quickest double major in college. At one stage I had 5 IT classes a day ... out of 5 classes a day loll. anyway, now Im working at Telecommunications managing large corporate clients and govt. departments. If by some force of nature me and the boys end up with some sort of success with our music, I guess dropping year 12 just might be worth it. Things are strange for me right now, dont know which decision was or is the right one. *crossroads sucks ass*
just bc u finished year 12 or ur uni it doesnt mean ur gonna get all these mad jobs like ppl actually think
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i have mates who didnt even pass year 11 and there currently making 65k+ per year
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i think its still important to complete year 12 but i have my doubts about going on to uni
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i have seen some ppl who have completed there uni only to be full time bumbs
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only thing i did after year 12 was a sound and engineering course to help out with my djing
I knew that I didn’t want to go to university, so I never intended to get a TER. I didn’t want to do more school, and didn’t want the pressure of the exams. In yr 11 and 12 I did a double major in drama. I accumulated enough points to finish a trimester early.
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My education has nothing to do with my career path. My then-boyfriend’s mother helped me get a 3 month contract with Medibank, which I built into an 8 year career at HIC, mostly working on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register. My roles were mainly related to system and process improvement.
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I think a degree can come in handy if there’s a paticular employer you want to work for. Some employers make it a mandatory requirement for nearly every role.
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Otherwise, who you know can help sometimes.
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I’ve studied other things that interest me since I left the organisation.
Silliest decision of my life. I did two weeks in year 11 and quit. I’ve never even got my Year 12/HSC.
See, you don’t need school to get you thinking, just read my posts! lol
Education is on of the most important things in life. It makes you grow helps you become aware of your limits and also helps you achieve. But our Education system does not necessarily have it right . The work environment is so different from ten years ago, with politics, policies and working environments all more demanding than ever. School systems haven’t adapted to these changes.
I’d liked to have my year 12, sure, but I have been fortunate enough to have my education continue whilst I was working full time, the companies paid for my qualifications.
Working experience is a massive part of becoming successful and it is also who you know in alot of corporate industries. Companies want the right people and are more than willing to poor training and qualifications into the right ones.
The silly decision was that I had another two years to be in school and possibly would have some better choices now.
I’m aware of what I actually want to do as a career, but that means I may have to take two steps back to get it…
well i did finish year 12 and went onto uni to do a bachelor of arts in communication studies with a major in sociology/youth studies. i did a heap of awesome subjects like media production, popular music, and loved the sociology side of it… they were my best years, made awesome friends, and experienced a lot… i guess in a way its a prep for ‘adult life’ giving us the skills/communication necessary…
cant say when i finished the course that i was prepared to enter any ‘specific’ job, nor really knew what I still wanted to do. i could have done another year and become a teacher. i was full of all this information and general skills but had no idea how to really apply it to a specific career. i think this may be similar for a lot of people who have done a bachelor of arts, a lot of people say its a waste of time.
after uni i fell into a government admin job not related at all to my degree… and have continued to work in non-related fields, maybe if i knew what i wanted to do i might have gone into a field related to my degree… who knows…
i’m with carrie on that one… I studied Commerce/Arts, majoring in Criminology, and now I’m a Senior Youth Justice worker, working with high risk kids. So my career is pretty much directly related to my education, but I think the more valuable lessons at uni come by way of personal development. You learnt to think in a different way, and that sort of experience can last forever.
I’d say the usefulness of a uni degree depends on the field you want to work in.... some careers may have a lower ceiling so to speak for people that don’t have uni quals and I know some jobs require a uni qual to be eligible. But im sure there’s a point in your career where your experience in the workforce holds more relevance that your uni education.
I guess another aspect to the question is, do you study solely for the purpose of career advancement and earning money? Cos you can do boring mind-numbing shit for good money, but you can also have a stimulating job, and a good education, but not be rolling in it, and be happier than someone who’s loaded.
I’m a Senior Youth Justice worker, working with high risk kids.
What an interesting line of work! I have a mate who’s a child psychologist, working with young carers. Basically, kids under 16 who have to look after their parents. Although it would probably be quite taxing on your emotional state, it must be satisfying to know your job role isn’t earning money for some rich fat cat, but helping the lives of others directly.
Maaan, makes my job role seem so boring in comparison. lol.
i think the important thing is that its up to the actual person if they wanna go for something after they finish uni
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there are alot of ppl who finish there uni but then who become lazy and get no where with it and end up working at a place where its got ppl who completed year 10 or 11 who work there
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some ppl just think that just bc they finish there uni that its a automatic chance to get a job straight away
I did IT after HSC (now called VCE?) - I’m still working in that career and whilst it has been incredibly successful from a financial standpoint, I can’t say its been terribly inspiring. The one aspect I guess I’ve enjoyed the most has been the people management side. In fact my technical skills are so dateds they are virtually irrelevant.
I did a Myers-Briggs once and it said I was most suited to a teaching or HR related field - ironically there were both preferred professions - till I found out how much they paid as opposed to an IT gig. The silly choices one makes for financial gain…
But then I guess if I had the guts to do DJing and music full time and follow it up with a sound engineers course I’m guessing that would have made me most happy. Funny thing is I never saw DJing as a profession but so many have made it that. Even so I have done the Djing ‘hobby’ for 25 years so who knows where I might have taken it if I applied a career approach to it - I am very envious of those who have (eg: Sef, Simon Sez, Mark John, John Course etc.....)
This is an issue which ive been asking myself ALOT & has been discussed alot amongst my closest friends, as they have now reached that stage of having graduated & now in full time employment.
I went to a school where basically not going to uni wasnt really an option...in other words you wouldnt go to this particular school unless you wanted to have a university education, it was the mindset that was infused into all of us at the time & the majority of the students felt that this was the only option...myself included. I did well in my vce studied Commerce, enjoyed it but also knew deep down this wasnt how i wanted to live my life, i left my schools mentality that only those educated at university would find success, i was surrounded by people who didnt fit this mould but had great success. Then went onto study some computer shit which again hated...enough was enough & i grew some balls & decided to follow my heart, as by this point in time it was more prevalent than ever that my former classmates were frustrated with there decisions, now about to graduate i see alot of my classmates hating the decisions they made at the age of 18 when they filled in that vtac preference form, while most will graduate into “high paying” jobs i know deep down they hate there jobs.
It is here where i believe the schooling system in some ways lets down 18 year old students.
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How we make 18 year olds make life changing decisions is beyond me...im sorry but 90% if not more of 18 year olds genuinely dont know what profession will truly satisfy them financially & emotionally, i have many friends who are lawyers, doctors, accountants, engineers ect & hate there jobs...ok maybe not hate but they have regrets about there chosen profession.
Whenever i speak to kids who are 18 & they ask for advice as to what to study & what to do post high school, my advice is simple. Do what YOU want, be true to what makes you happy, i know alot of people with alot of money but are very unhappy & at the same time i know people with not as much money but do a job which they dont even consider there job as they enjoy it so much.
It really depends what you want to do, personally im greatful they i have had university experience learnt what i needed, worked in fields which have given me great amounts of happiness but more importantly experience & streets smarts, now im entering a new phase of my life, back to studying, formed my own business & also working for a great marketing firm...all of this was due to my decisions...this isnt a formula for happiness for everyone..just for me.
So in conclusion it depends on the person.
Also some of the smartest people i know arent even university educated, one dropped out of school but is very intelligent.
How we make 18 year olds make life changing decisions is beyond me...im sorry but 90% if not more of 18 year olds genuinely dont know what profession will truly satisfy them financially & emotionally, i have many friends who are lawyers, doctors, accountants, engineers ect & hate there jobs...ok maybe not hate but they have regrets about there chosen profession.
Whenever i speak to kids who are 18 & they ask for advice as to what to study & what to do post high school, my advice is simple. Do what YOU want, be true to what makes you happy, i know alot of people with alot of money but are very unhappy & at the same time i know people with not as much money but do a job which they dont even consider there job as they enjoy it so much.
The advice I give youngsters 16 - 21 is that:
1. Sadly high school is mandatory as its keeps ones options open
2. All of us are entitled to experiment for at least 2 or 3 years...We can test opportunities, defer, fail, change direction etc...for up to 3 years with no harm done generally
3. If by 25 you can’t see where you are going then, as a general rule, its approaching too late - You don’t need to have got there but you should have a fair idea of where you are going.
4. If you look back as a 35 year old and are unhappy with what you’ve achieved then your in trouble......
These are my rules of thumb and definitely dont apply to everyone but are the guides I live my life by.
I felt ALOT of pressure to do well, and in the end I couldn’t cope with the stress. Looking back, I think I could’ve handled it alot better than I did, because the pressures of year 12 are alot less stressful than being a grown up in the real world. It’s a decision I will always regret. Especially since I planned on going to Uni afterwards.
thats what im starting next year if all goes well :D
