Sixth Form College, University and pressure

I loathed every moment I spent at 6th Form, it was some of the worst times of my life. Not just because of the school I went to, or the people I was with, but because the entire thing is frankly ludicrous. The fact of the matter is, A Levels and GCSEs are pretty much pointless as you are not given the freedom you should be to express yourself and get graded on said expression. You are taught to pass an exam, get an A grade and then either go to University, which in the current climate may not be easy, or go to work where you are unlikely ever to use your qualifications.

I never went to University as I couldn't stand the thought of being told what to do for another three years after 6th Form, and I don't regret it one iota. Many people don't realise the fact that your degree doesn't guarantee you a job anymore. Decent employers recognise that just because you've got a degree in PR doesn't mean that you're a good PR person as you need a personality. Equally speaking, just because you've got a degree in English doesn't mean you can become a journalist as you need to be able to work under pressure.

Personally if I were you I would do 6th Form, as someone without an A Level these days is basically unqualified for life (I've worked in recruitment for a very large company) and then go into a chosen profession at the bottom of the ladder. If you enjoy it, then work hard to get up the ladder and do a degree on the side as it will help you get the jobs higher up without as much struggle.

That way you'll only be a year or two behind everyone else in that area but you'll have real life experience which is worth a lot more than 10K worth of debt ridden paper.
 
I didnt go past GCSE level because i didnt thik i could cope with it.

Im not working for a job i dont like much studying for a NVQ i dont want to do a job i dont like much becuase it's the only employment option available.

My advice is to find a way to stick at it and go on to a career you want. Had i a time machine i'd go back and punch my 17 year old self in the face and send him to collage.
 
Friend of mine decided not to go to university, nowadays he's making more money than anyone else from my degree course ^^. University isn't everyones cup of tea, and, depending on the sort of work you're looking for, it's not necessary either. A-levels are gonna be more important, but even then there's plenty of stuff you can do without them.

Also, loads of people don't know what they want to do when they're older. Some people never find something. I figure, hell with it, it's fine to just go with the flow now and again.

Personally, I've sorta felt that university is like the kids pool when you go swimming - technically you're out on your own, but it's quite structured and there's plenty of support available if you need it. So I think that, quite aside from the whole future employment prospects aspect, it can be a useful experience, and can be a lot of fun too.
 
Archaic Sage said:
I never went to University as I couldn't stand the thought of being told what to do for another three years after 6th Form, and I don't regret it one iota.
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I should point out that from my experience, being told what to do is quite the opposite of my university courses thus far.

I shall admit however the existing school system (or at least the one adhered to by the state school I attended) doesn't quite prepare one for this emphasis on independent learning. Unless one chooses an easy subject, the content and know-how one needs to learn aren't laid out explicitly. The results vary between notable academic betterment and sheer frustration.
 
^ Didn't full explain my hate of all educational facilities quite fully in mid rant up there XD. The biggest problem I find with University is that people are normally forced into going by their families and frankly at that age you have no idea about what the "real world" is really like. I know so many people with effectively useless degrees because they left Uni and then fell into a job that has nothing to do with their degree. Or even worse, they get a job in their degreed profession and end up hating it.

The freedom that University offers is good (in terms of freedom of expression, not taught to pass an exam by hitting "keywords"), but they should be far more supportive considering you're paying for it. From my experiences via friends they get little help really, which isn't acceptable at all.
 
Archaic Sage said:
Decent employers recognise that just because you've got a degree in PR doesn't mean that you're a good PR person as you need a personality.
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A degree in PR? :lol:
Archaic Sage said:
Equally speaking, just because you've got a degree in English doesn't mean you can become a journalist as you need to be able to work under pressure.
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Yes, anyone thinking 'English degree = Journalism' has it coming, but I wish good luck to anyone without a degree trying to get into Journalism. Even in the isolated cases where people break through without degree level education, I can guarantee you they worked and spent much more to get there. Or they have the lived-with-mum personality of your supposed PR Graduate.
Archaic Sage said:
then go into a chosen profession at the bottom of the ladder. If you enjoy it, then work hard to get up the ladder and do a degree on the side as it will help you get the jobs higher up without as much struggle.
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The thing is, as good as this advice is, we are running with the assumption that higher, better paid jobs are the key to happiness and what you want from your post adolescent life. Being forced into University is no more rigidly conventional than being compelled to climb the company ladder by any means necessary.
 
You can get a degree in PR, there's more than one Uni that does it, just like you can get a degree in Event's Management. They are nothing more than bits of paper, you may have the theory behind you but the actual practise and ability to do those things don't come with the paper.

There are thousands of journos who don't have degrees, I know a few who when they started didn't have any degree level education, broke into the industry and then once in there got a degree in their relevant fields.

I'm not completely dismissing University's, what I'm saying is that I honestly do not think that going to Uni at 18-21/22 is a good idea. I believe that you should work first, find a job that seems interesting to you (where available, obviously if you plan on being a neurosurgeon it's a different situation) and work it for a year or two. If you don't like it, then great, you can move on and you've only wasted time, not money on what otherwise would've been a degree that's pointless.

When I was doing recruitment for a highly specialised role, more than once I and the other person recruiting dropped people who were "degree" education in this role because they were crap people or didn't have the track record behind themselves to show how good they were. Equally, we dropped people who were all mouth and no trousers, you might be able to talk the talk but if you can't back it up with results then it's easy to see through them.

It's a careful balancing act and whilst I in no means disagree with degrees, I disagree with the age of traditionally going to Univeristy and I also disagree with it being forced onto everyone. Degrees are meant to single out specific people in specific fields, if everyone has one then it makes it no different than a GCSE. But that's another discussion.
 
I didn't choose to go to Sixth Form (I'd probably be unable to anyway, I got a D in my GCSE maths. You have to have at least a C in maths, right?), I chose to study Media Production at my local college instead. And the qualification I'll be getting from the course is apparently equal to 3 A Levels and can get me into some Universities, so if you're unsure about going into Sixth Form, first I think you should ask other people who attend or have attended Sixth Form about the experience, and also start looking at courses provided by any local colleges.
 
I was bored, remembered I had an account here, and so thought I'd chip in with a post in this interesting looking topic.

As someone who went to grammar school I can't speak to A-Level experiences as most people have them....for me I finished year 11 and then turned up at the same building with the same people and had the same teachers for sixth form. The only difference being that I was allowed to wear a green tie instead of a red/green/yellow one.

But on uni I think I can speak...up till uni I'd always been very domineered and sheltered, life on the tracks and such....so university was a culture shock. Ignoring my first year it was also the greatest time of my life. I met most of my friends during that time, helped run a uni society, and learned more life experiences in my time than I ever had at home. Academically it was a bust, I walked out without a degree after informing the Dean of my thoughts on his department along with a list of their failures. I got my tuition fees back...and that's all I'm saying.

Anyhoo, despite all the pressures and the threat of failure (something I have a deep phobia of)....it was still good and is something I cherish deeply. Oddly even walking out without the degree my voluntary work on a uni society committee allowed me to get my current job working as a systems administrator for Wolverhampton Council.

If I ever had to give advice it would be to go to uni and not live at home...you learn very quickly how to cope in the real world...yes...you will get homesick....so go to a uni not too far away....you can always pop home. Find a society that matches your interests, go to the socials, make friends...soon you'll forget being homesick.

It's only once I left school that I actually realised how appropriate the school motto I'd been given as lines so many times was. Quas Dederis Solas Semper Habebis Opes - loosely: You only get out of life what you put in.

Well that's enough waffle from me. If you want a tl;dr version it is this "Throw yourself into things, have no regrets. You won't have the time to worry"
 
MrChom said:
"Throw yourself into things, have no regrets. You won't have the time to worry"
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That's quite an interesting motto. I'm hoping to live by that for uni. Hopefully I'll be joining a sports society and a culture society too.
 
MrChom said:
I got my tuition fees back...and that's all I'm saying.

Anyhoo, despite all the pressures and the threat of failure (something I have a deep phobia of)....it was still good and is something I cherish deeply. Oddly even walking out without the degree my voluntary work on a uni society committee allowed me to get my current job working as a systems administrator for Wolverhampton Council.
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It's certainly refreshing to know that this sort of eventuality can still lead to good things. I am technically a founding member of a Robotics Society, but I haven't really been involved in any extra-curricular activities.
(I actually stopped attending anime night after a few weeks- I soon discovered that social viewing doesn't aid the better titles: they're the sort of thing to take in by one's self.)
 
Zin5ki said:
(I actually stopped attending anime night after a few weeks- I soon discovered that social viewing doesn't aid the better titles: they're the sort of thing to take in by one's self.)
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That's precisely why I won't be starting up an anime society at my university. My tastes are far too different from the average anime fan for me to be able to get along well with other anime fans.
 
Maxon said:
Zin5ki said:
(I actually stopped attending anime night after a few weeks- I soon discovered that social viewing doesn't aid the better titles: they're the sort of thing to take in by one's self.)
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That's precisely why I won't be starting up an anime society at my university. My tastes are far too different from the average anime fan for me to be able to get along well with other anime fans.
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Our animesoc was an interesting one. We ran a "cinema-like" atmosphere for two screenings a week, and then a third "informal" one after a social. We also had rules set out on things like multiple genres, how old the shows could be, "The Cowboy Bebop rule" (if everyone has seen it then you can't put it on), movie seasons, all sorts of stuff. For a provincial Welsh uni to regularly see screenings of 40-70 people was always work well done in my book...I like to think we catered to a range....even when we hard to put Gundam 0083 on last so people could get into the bar 3 drinks earlier.
 
I went to college with the whole arghhh must impress family feeling but within a month that had melted away as I was doing the courses I wanted and had met new people who I hung out with all the time, yes I got through it... well I failed but I had enough points to go to uni and I am glad I did.

Uni was the greatest time of my life, its surprising how fast the homesickness passes and you realise you have a new family, by the 3rd year I had friends who were closer to me that brothers I had met an amazing girl who is now my wife and although we all parted ways at the end, each going our own way into various jobs around the country I still consider them my family and to this day I am so glad I went to uni and didn't go straight into work.
 
McIcy said:
Uni was the greatest time of my life, its surprising how fast the homesickness passes and you realise you have a new family, by the 3rd year I had friends who were closer to me that brothers I had met an amazing girl who is now my wife and although we all parted ways at the end, each going our own way into various jobs around the country I still consider them my family and to this day I am so glad I went to uni and didn't go straight into work.
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It's stories like that that made me wish I'd gone to Uni instead of going straight into work. I gained alot physically from work, but Uni is definately a life changer to be sure. I gained alot of friends threw friends that went to Uni, some I still keep in contact with.
Great experience.... you might learn something too. :p
 
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