Hello Ozbargain Community, I've been a long term lurker of Ozbargain but rarely comment or vote but I would like to get some complete internet strangers advice on where I should take my life. I'm currently in Year 12 completing my VCE studies and am doing the following subjects, English, Further Mathematics, History (Revolutions), Legal Studies and Business Management. I eventually want to go to University however don't wanna do a degree which leads to no jobs or a degree I have no interest in. I plan on working next year at Woolies where I currently work and adding more money to my small savings. My main interests are around politics and law but I'm well aware I won't receive a score sufficient enough to study law and don't know if I could pursue a career in it. Should I look for a university course? Work hard and save up? Travel? What do you think and how did you know what career you wanted to pursue?
Year 12 Student with very little idea of what to do next year
Last edited 06/09/2017 - 22:41
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And maybe some eneloops and Xiaomi Redmi Note 3's : )
PS The other day I was typing a sentence and wrote "envelope", then the Autocorrect mentioned to me…… …..Did you mean "eneloops". That's when I realised I might be on this site too excessively.
Can you link me to these threads?
I have no idea what I want to do with my life and I'm 35 married with 3 kids.
Condolences.
For the wife, kids or that I don't know what to do with my life?
Yes.
I went to Uni straight after year 12 because that was the expectation, even though I had no idea what I wanted to do - or even where to go. I ended up in Canberra because my best friend at the time went there, and I enrolled in an Arts course, where you can do a mish mash of subjects to see what takes your fancy.
I ended up getting a full time job after a year and quit uni. Racked up HECS debt for nothing.
Moral of the story - don't follow the herd because you think that's what's expected. Take your time and do what YOU want. Good luck.
Best advice. I did the same thing, no idea what I really wanted to do I had some interests so did 2 years at university then decided I wanted to do something else with my life. If you have been working towards something at school then go do that. If you have no idea what you are doing and you are only doing it because it is expected of you, then you should slow down and have a good long think about what you want to do. If you can't think about that then travel and explore the world.
Don't follow in the footsteps of anyone you don't want to be like.
Taking a year off is a good idea. No rush. save some cash. get a car. maybe visit Europe.
IMHO head to https://www.edx.org/ (free mini Uni courses) and find something interesting to learn.
Do a few throughout the year.
When/if something 'clicks' go to uni and study it.
Commerce is a good starting point if you are unsure about what you want to do. You could do it part time while working for a year then make a decision. Check if the first year units can be transferred to another course if you change your mind.
The problem with taking a year off to work, like other people have mentioned, is you might end up enjoying the freedom so much you don't want to go to uni….you also might not save up as much as you think if you will at the end of it.
Start with something fairly broad then go from there. There are a lot of different job opportunities with a commerce degree even if you don't end up knowing exactly what you want to do by the end of it. Plus i found i had a lot a spare time on my hands so working casual hours wouldn't be a problem.
I'm well aware I won't receive a score sufficient enough to study law
Not with that attitude you won't… What do you expect to get?
Aim for something like arts , study that for a semester and then transfer. If you think everyone studying what they studied got in from year 12 you are crazy.
P.S I'd quit woolies and look for something a little more engaging/customer facing than shelve stacking.
. Maybe sales or something.
I'd apply for uni and then defer for a year. Work for the first 6 months of next year , travel for the second half and start Uni in 2019.
I think your plan to work for a year is great. I had part time job packing in high school, but don't think the reality of working clicked until I had a data entry job in an office along with uni
Having to pay all my expenses, showing up to an office dressed nicely, office politics, it was all very depressingly eye opening and I would have chosen a different degree and taken a different approach to study if i had that experience first.
I was too afraid to feel behind my peers to take a gap year but it really doesn't matter. So many people end up switching courses or dropping out, not like I expected.
From my own personal experience, I recommend the Navy. I joined at 17, got a trade, travelled and met lifelong mates. I did 8 years and now work in the mining industry.
Good training, good pay.Where did you serve?
Trades could be a good choice, I was going to suggest TAFE.
You mention an interest in politics, maybe aim for something in your local council to start with? Gives you a foundation to start on, then you can study and work on up from there.
Plus you'll get a heads up on any lucrative rezoning opportunities.
Rezoning is life.
Based on the info here I'd say:
- Enrol in something you're interested in and get the marks for e.g. Arts, Commerce, IT, Science
- Defer study for a year
- Do short contracts & volunteer work for a year
- Go to uni now you have some life experience
- Roll your eyes so hard at everyone who fails first year because they've no self control and just party all the time
- Transfer into the degree you actually want to do now you have some uni experience and some idea what degree might lead to what career
Don't worry too much. People act like end of high school means you're planning your entire life and if you get it wrong now you'll end up destitute with no friends. 🙄
People act like end of high school means you're planning your entire life and if you get it wrong now you'll end up destitute with no friends. 🙄
Indeed! I'm sure there'll be plenty of friendly people in the line at Centrelink.
Are you doing now what you thought you'd do at 18?
I didn't know what I wanted to do, at 18.
And I don't know what I'm doing, now.
@Scrooge McDuck: Me neither :) but at 18 I thought I should. Now I've given up trying to work it out.
Definitely have a gap year or 2 or however many until you do know what you want. Degrees are too expensive to do something you don't enjoy or end up dumping anyway. BTW, degrees are often not enjoyable - students who Dtwn complain about care subjects not being interesting or relevant to them and leave. They are core subjects for a reason. I didn't actually do a subject purely out of choice or passion until my honours degree.
You say you may not get a high enough score to do what you have a real interest in either.
Firstly you may surprise yourself, so apply anyway.
Secondly, as a person previously working at universities, education and professional development, I can tell you that there is more than one way to get there.
Work and have a life and think about whether it may be what you want. Your score maybe a surprise.
Next year or later- Enrol in one of those universities that offer flexibility - You can do just 1 subject or a few or as many as you want. You don't have to enrol in a whole degree or other course. Try a few different subjects if it helps hone down your choice.
How you perform here can increase your score in the same way as starting one degree and then swapping to another can - as long as you do well of course. Many have started say science or vet science and ended up in Medicine for example.
If your score is a very long way off, there is tertiary preparation courses and people can also enter from there too.
Basically, if a university sees you can cope with study at a tertiary level and you have some experience too, then they will accept you.
If law is your interest, why not see if you can get a job within that field rather than Woolworths. Admin, paralegal, pa - anything to get a glimpse at the world and see if you really could work in that world. you may even find a mentor there who can guide you towards the right choices.
Have you considered Engineering? My younger Sister was in your situation but she is now completing her final year in the Bachelor of Environments at Melbourne university. She chose construction management major and she already has a graduate position lined up without even completing her degree.
You can't just take up real Engineering unless you have a high aptitude for Maths.
I don't think BEnvs actually has much hardcore engineering subjects in it (as Scroogey pointed out). Looks more like planning and management of engineering activities: https://handbook.unimelb.edu.au/courses/b-envs
Sorry I meant Engineering OR something like Bachelor of Environments. They are totally not the same thing. Yes engineering is very maths based, bachelor of Environments a lot less so.
My advice is do a general degree in uni in an area you enjoy or are passionate about.
You likely have NO idea what the field you enjoy looks like, but you will meet people at uni and learn a lot more. You don't have to have an end goal in mind before you decide what course to study.
The only exception to this is if you are passionate about the arts. Don't do an arts degree.
The only exception to this is if you are passionate about the arts. Don't do an arts degree.
Agreed! Much cheaper to just withdraw $10,000 and make a bonfire.
Yes, take a year off & travel if you have the money to do so but go straight to uni afterwards. Half the battle is knowing what you want to do, my best mate in high school pissed his education away and wasted three years after higher school dropping out of courses/jobs. He's turned it around working hard for the past 5 years but he can't make any real decent money because he doesn't have any qualifications. He's applied for a degree recently but think about the people who have the jump on him who have finished their degrees at 21 or 22.
I see a degree is a life tool, it will give you more options (any degree). It can be the difference between: getting a better job whilst travelling (more travel money in your pocket), landing a job (when you are starting out), landing your dream job (Even if you don’t know what that is now …you will some day. If it’s a toss up between you with years of relevant experience and someone similar with a degree under their belt, likely they will get it). Alot of recruiters also veto people with no degrees, depending on the role. The degree itself, well I know a a lot of people successful in their career who transitioned careers after a few years into an area unrelated to their degree. That’s not to say you can’t have a successful career you enjoy without a degree, but having one will help you in making that more likely to happen because I personally think it offers you more flexibility.
I don't think every degree is a useful tool. Time is limited. Doing a useless course does have oppurtunity costs.
I highly question anyone with an arts degree. It's fair that a clueless 18 year old may follow his "dream" and enroll in arts but if a 25 year old applying for a job that isn't relevant to their arts degree cannot admit that the arts degree was a mistake, you can bet your bottom dollar he/she doesn't get a call back.
I agree with you completely, I am just providing my own perspective, from my experience (coming from someone with no degree). I think the OP is looking for a variety of viewpoints, just offering mine. Having "a degree" is better than no degree at all. Every choice in life has an opportunity cost.
…and I wasn't referring to kids in their twenties either. I was talking about seasoned professionals.
You admit you have no direction.
You admit your choices are limited.
You are wondering if you should travel. Awfully close to sounding like you're about to make a high yield investment with Westpac guy.
Scrimshaw and a couple of others here made a good point re pathways. Just do your research – talk to people who have studied the courses or worked in the field in relation to what you are interested in. Alot of Lawyers do pro-bono work with charities/community centres etc. Maybe reach out to these places and ask if anyone would be free for a coffee and a chat. Don't be intimidated, they would likely be really impressed you were showing that initiative. Maybe they could give you some valuable advice/tips, maybe they could direct you in what part-time work or volunteer work would help your CV/experience. Re Law, there are lots of practice areas and roles …you don’t necessarily have to become a lawyer to utilise your interest/passion. What aspect of the law do you like? Are there specific practice areas you are more interested in? Check out legal blogs and also Lawyers Weekly magazine online. Is there anything there that peaks your interest? What are lawyers doing that you admire or are interested in? If you're not interested, you have your answer. …move on to research the next area your interested in. At the very least you will learn alot about what inspires and motivates you and possibly meet some interesting people who could offer some good advice/direction.
Alot of Lawyers do pro-bono work with charities/community centres etc. Maybe reach out to these places and ask if anyone would be free for a coffee and a chat.
They'd prefer a free lunch by the sound of it.
?? I doubt they'd need it….maybe they'll buy him lunch!
*him/her
Plenty of law grads doing unpaid internships for years trying to get a foot in the door in their field, or giving up and doing something else.
This is a big surprise to most of them - getting into law used to guarantee a well-paid career, but it's just not true in Australia right now.
@Scrooge McDuck: Agreed, the same can be said for many fields. One needs alot of commitment and drive to study law and succeed at it.
So in short you ask: . “Should I look for a university course? Work hard and save up? Travel?”
My two cents: All of the above!
1. Get a degree under your belt (after doing your research and ensuring you are excited about the core units and future prospects).
2. Then Travel!! It will be something to work toward/keep you motivated. You will get more out of it with a little more life experience and you will likely score a better job (more spending money) whilst travelling.
3. Get as much life/work experience as you can and broaden your horizons along the way as you do both.Your options are not limited…they are limitless! Go out there and tackle life with a good attitude and it will take you a long way. It sounds like you’re on the right path reaching out for advice in the first place. Keep doing that and asking questions…but make sure you are making your own decisions.
N.B. This is my two cents ….but I am not you!
I have it on good authority that medicine and dentistry are high paying, stable careers
What would you like to learn over the next few years? I mean knowledge that is valuable for its own sake, not necessarily linked to career outcomes. My advice is to be really clear about that, even if other circumstances and concerns play a big part in your final choice.
My advice would be a; don't worry about making the right decision or choosing the right course, plenty of people do an entire degree and then realised that it's not for them and b; ask questions about everything, if something interests you then investigate and get a feel for it. It sounds silly but you can get a better feel for lots of things just by spending time in that world or free guides online rather than just going to Uni and doing the course. You'll obviously do a lot of learning at Uni but the actual vocation can be different from just learning about it.
If you're interested in law why not go to the local magistrates court and hang out and see what it's all about or read some judgements? You could ask friends or family etc if you could do some work experience? You could do a short course?
The advice that you should follow your heart is spot on but there also realities about certain vocations and you can sometimes glean them from speaking with people. Don't settle for 'do you like your job', ask as many questions as you can possibly think of. Just bombard people with questions, people who genuinely want to help and are passionate about their vocation won't mind. If someone knocks you back or is a dick, just move on.
Saving some cash is a great idea though. You could travel after spending some time saving up.
Edit; when I say don't worry about making the right choice, I mean don't agonise over it, don't let it consume you. Live, experience and often the path becomes clearer in your own mind.
Travel. You will find what you're looking for.
Chase money not you passion advice i wish i was given 11 years ago when I completed VCE
unless you are going to be an athlete, movie or rock star at some point no matter what you do, you're more then likely to do you job for the money not for the love of it so you might as well make more of it so you can do the things you really love ie Snow boarding, surfing, travelling, loose women etc
Become a Broden. I hear you can make a lot of profit reselling PS4s
My biggest regret with uni was doing a physics degree. Watching a class of smoking hot ladies leave as you walk in with a bunch of nerds puts a real dampener on things. Have a gap year, do physiotherapy (I think its a fairly good m/f ratio) that way you know any future missus 'should' give killer back massages. And it pays well too
Do you realise that pretty much anyone can walk in and attend almost any lecture?
Yeah of course but students don't attend lectures to talk to each other. It's the practicals and classes where the real groundwork can be done
True, but you can get your foot in the door for free.
The alternative to all of this is attend uni pub regularly, make yourself outgoing and genuinely attractive (tone up your body, tone down your personality) and keep studying something you are actually interested in. I couldn't think of anything worse then being a job that I hated.
Same here. And the worst thing was when I looked over to Chemistry, or even Mathematics. They are all basic sciences but the difference is just too much.
Physiotherapy is one of the most overrated and overpayed professions going. Without a doubt.
IT and Engineering also have really low numbers of female students. Is the reason why the government is encouraging women into S.T.E.M.
Is the reason why the government is encouraging women into S.T.E.M.
So nerds can get laid?
I guess we do need more nerds… 🤔
Incentive based higher education
Software app or game development.
Either main career or side hobby.
Start now and by the time you are 30 you should have a solid winner ready to sell it.
DO NOT DO THIS. The Aussie industry is crap. (Not the people, just the opportunities)
I would say Software app development has gone better in the last 5 years in terms of opportunities. Can't say the same for Game Development (in fact it's probably gone worse).
Source: Works in Software.
Yeah game dev
buy btc
cocaine and hookers
Iv got no advice on WHAT to do but rather general advice TO DO SOMETHING. Iv got mates that took a 'gap year' and it doesnt seem to put you 12 months behind but rather a few years. Iv got other friends who never got back 'into it' too so my advice is just make sure you keep moving forward towards a career and not a job. Best of luck
like law, try out paralegal.
Ask if you can part time at afew places with jobs you may be interested (for free ofcourse) you never know what's in a job till it's experienced.
Go to uni or take a year off for money and travel. Study or travel? Por que no los dos! I'm a huge advocate for studying abroad as part of your degree. Best thing I ever did.
Lots of good lifestyle/financial reasons to do it:
-Lots of scolarships available from uni's
-good uni's have lots of partner uni's in lots of locations
-cheap accomodation generally.
-depending on circumstances may still qualify for Centrelink if studying overseas
-live on campus which is great socially
-study visas may allow you to work part time depending on country
-O/S uni's should have lots of services for visiting students. I got free language classes, tours of places, healthcare, induction 'classes' to learn about the country and culture.
My advice:
- Don't spend the next few years working in retail, either go travelling or work on a project or something, there is a short period of time after your formal education which you are truly free and still young, take advantage of that.
- Work out what industry you want to be in, and don't worry a great deal about how much you will be paid, think about the future rather than what has been successful in the past.
In summary, take a gap year and give some REAL thought about what you want to be doing, not how much money you will make.
Depending on the course he decides to do, he may be at uni for roughly 4 or 5 years, which means he has summer holidays, mid term holidays and semester holidays for the next 4 or 5 years. Leaving your job in retail is horrible advice. Keeping a job, getting paid so that you can travel is much more important than taking a gap year to "think" about what you want to do.
I'm 27 and I still have very little idea what to do next year.
Take a gap year and travel if possible. Wish I had done that.
I was told by someone that a good idea could be - Learn how to make alcoholic beverages of sorts (can be done in a short 6-12 week course) and work on a ship cruise for a year to earn 70-80k. Its a good experience, will set u up for some funds and you will talk to a lot of people that can give you some ideas. Just something to consider
Get analyst role in Westpac (aka data entry) and buy $80k car.
The 80k car was a sound investment
- Go to the uni and apply for early entry for as many subjects as possible.
- You can always change degree part way in
- Go for the job you enjoy
I would suggest a Commerce or Business Degree if you don't think you'd get into law, Commerce and Business can easy transfer after the first year with the right grades to a law degree.
Being a pretty generic degree if you go for Commerce or Business, you can peruse politics or law if you look for jobs that will get you there i.e. Government Jobs or Legal Assistant
Also one of the things i suggest while at Uni, try and get a part time or casual job in the industry you want to peruse, even if you get a casual job in the industry your looking for it gives you a real leg up putting it on your CV. Working in banking wish i had done this would have put me 2 years ahead on my career path
But hey this is just my 2 cents, really it's up to you
Bikies…. You get to travel, meet and assault new people, use pharmaceutical skills for ill and all in black tea shirts and leather pants. The best? No hecs debt!!!
If i was to leave school now, I would choose a Psychology degree. With how many mental health issues arising these days, i think that field of work will be booming for the next 30 years. But like everyone else said…. you have to do something that you think you will enjoy.
If you are not sure of what you want to do my advice would be to do something very general.
I did chemistry which can lead you into MANY different careers later in life.
Don't worry about picking the 'right' course, but it helps if you pick something that you are interested in.
I enjoyed most of my time in Uni and didn't burn out by trying to be the top student in every class.I breezed through first year as it was mostly revision.
I bombed badly in second year and got terminated.
I appealed, was let back in and then completed my second and third year over 3 years (working part time).
I did well enough to get invited back to do a fourth year (Honours) which I well in.
After graduating I worked for 2 years and then went back to complete a PhD.Not exactly a dream run through the academic process, but I got through in the end and have been lucky enough to land some great jobs (including an all-expenses expat stint in London).
Sounds like you light do well in Political Science or Law but maybe put Business as a third (or fourth) option.
I got my second option and couldn't have been happier by the end of it.The next few years of you life will not define your worth or your future success.
What did you do after your phd? Stay in academia or work in industry?
I finished mine in mechanical engineering about 5 years ago and have been working in academia since. Wondering about a changeI did a PhD to get a better job.
The better job came along before I finished my PhD so I worked for a large engineering consultancy for almost 8 years and finished the PhD during this time.
Then I worked for a smaller specialist consultancy and have spent the last 4 years working for a company that fabricates items for the mining industry.
I would consider going back to academia, but have no publication record. Currently also considering what my next step might be.Thanks
If you enjoy learning, just go to uni and do something you are actually (relatively) passionate about. These days an undergrad degree means nothing so don't worry so much about majoring in something that will bring you a high income. Here's an interesting article that puts things in perspective: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/students-at-most-colleg… (people going to prestigious universities actually study 'useless' majors…)
Personally, I did a BA and got into a grad program (Teach for Australia) where I earned my MTeach and became a teacher hoping to change the world (and to fail at it). My BA prob wouldnt have led me to any particular job but these days Masters are where vocational skills and subsequently professions come in.
How did you find Teaching for Australia?
Based on my conversations with fellow Associates, the experience is different for everyone depending on where they teach, the subjects they teach, their personalities and their ideologies.
Overall, the program has been good for my personal development. It is rigorous and stressful (full-time study + work + 'professional development' sessions during summer and winter holidays) but quite rewarding at the same time. Being a teacher with no prior teaching experience was overwhelming, especially in the first few terms. It's unlike many 'grad' jobs where you enter the profession being guided along with little to no major responsibilities.
While not all Teach for Australia Associates will continue working as teachers in classrooms, most Associates are extremely passionate about education and there's a a great alumni network to tap into if you're ambitious to provide much needed innovation in the education sphere.
Thanks for the great response. I got thrown into lecturing straight after finishing my phd and it was some of the most challenging months of my life. Your professional development sounds structured and supportive. Congratulations on getting through!
@TheRealCher: Thanks. Yeah nice, always had thoughts of getting a PhD and becoming a lecturer. Congrats to you too for getting to lecture as I know not all fresh PhDs find it easy to get a position at a university.
@Hamlet: 3.5 yr of casual contracts before switching areas. Had the good fortune to be able to retrain and remarket my skillset while being able to connect with groups that needed different ways of being taught. An interesting road lkl
young fellow, i will leave you with one and only one advice: if there's a will, there's a way.
Best of luck with where live will take you.If there's a will, there are lawyers…
Actuarial :)))))))
I reckon only go to uni if you're going to do a professional degree like engineering, teaching, dentistry and can afford to pay off your HECS debt etc else learn your craft on the job as an apprentice or rookie and get paid to learn.
I have friends who didn't get the ATAR to study law, so they just enrolled in a general degree (e.g. Arts) and worked reasonably hard and got a good gpa, then they just transferred over to law. Much easy to do this than to get a high enough ATAR. I also had no idea you could do this so I thought it was pretty interesting they would allow it. This could allow you to get a better idea in your first year of what subjects you like plus it would allow you to try both politics (among others) and law (if you decide its what you want to do). I can't advise that a gap year would help you decide what you want to do, to find out you just have to go to uni and see if you like it.
In a country with astronomical population growth (driven by immigration), any job that involves housing or infrastructure is a safe bet. There will never be a glut of tradesmen in the foreseeable future, only shortages driving up prices.
This should win the OzBargainiest comment award.
It could only be improved with mention of brodening and cryptocurrency.