Quote:
Originally Posted by RobinMask
With my degree I'm stuck with two choices: publishing and teaching. To be a teacher I'd need to get a teaching certificate, that would take an extra year and cost quite a fair bit of money, and if I was to teach English as a foriegn language within the UK I'd again need to go into a fair ammount of debt to spend a year upping my certificate to that of a diploma. Publishing isn't really an option for me, I have no interest in that field, which seems far too competitive and with far too much pressure. In countries like Japan my degree and TEFL certificate, with some experience in teaching, are enough to find a job . . . in England I'd pretty much be laughed at and told to go get more.
The area of study is hugely important. There's some areas, such as a while ago physiotherapy and speech therapy, that you could simply not find any work in whatsoever as there were no jobs going in those areas. Nursing and Psychology are highly competitive, which means getting jobs in those areas is a nightmare. Business Studies, I've been told by businessmen, is a complete waste of time - along with Philosophy - because it means nothing in the business world. At the moment IT is - as you say - perhaps one of the best to go into, it opens a hell of a lot of doors for the graduate.
True, but I would rather work at a subject I love and passionately adore, finding work difficult afterwards, than to slave away in a subject I detest merely to make finding work easier. The retirement age in the UK is forever going up and up . . . does someone really want to spend 60 years in a job they hate, simply because it's easier to do so? I've a few friends who've made that mistake, and by God they regret it . . .
Yes, it was the Open University. Actually I adored it, the courses were the same as what I would be studying at a brick-and-mortar university, the only difference is where my friends had forty or so modules to choose from I had around ten, lol. I adored the courses though, found them highly educational and interesting, and I enjoyed studying on my own. I work at an insanely fast pace and prefer working ahead, so I didn't have all the 'sitting around bored waiting for the next piece of work to appear' that I suffered with in college. The tutor support was amazing, too. The only thing I did hate was the exam stress, but I would get that in regular university, too, lol.
To be honest I didn't miss out too much on socialising and interaction. My friends are all rather diverse in terms of gender, religions, races and so forth, and my hometown is rather multi-cultural, too. The whole partying hard and binge-drinking aspect of uni never appealed to me anyway, I have to roll my eyes when my friends discuss their recent hangovers. So I don't feel I lost out. My priority was always the degree itself and the education, which is what I got. Just waiting for my results now  |
good luck with the results.
I have often considered doing an OU Course but so far done nothing about it. I was busy for five years in helping former child migrants trace their families plus being a listening ear for those who spent time in the so called Care System. I have done a lot of research in that field aprt from my own experiences
I used to go to lots of different adult education classes-- my most favourite was Drama Therapy which I adored-- but that needed very careful handling.
So many emotions to be considered.
The cost now of Adult education is so high that on my pension I cannot really afford to go.
Not sure if O. U. have/has a Japanese language Course.
I agree--nobody wants to be forced into a job they would hate. But also these days no job is really secure-- not like the olden days when they were secure. Times are rapidly changing and I guess one has to be versatile and ready to try new things. The business world is so cut throat.
At least if you can teach English, you can travel if that is your ambition.
One is constantly learning in life--no matter ones age.
I wish you success in whatever you do. It's tough out there these days.