How did your experiences with education set you up for a career? What choices did you make? What advice can you give to people starting out at the beginning of their working life?
Posted by: Mr. Craig Thomas | 12.08.2008 12:00am
It’s not that a career wasn’t something we discussed or talked about and its in now way a reflection on the quality of my education, its just all my subjects were academic and none of them really had a vocational focus. I learned a lot from holiday jobs and work experience that I pretty much arranged myself to gain valuable experience and just to get the basics of a work environment. In short there was a lot of room for improvement.
Posted by: Mr Craig Thomas | 07.11.2008 12:35pm
I learned a lot from holiday jobs and work experience that I pretty much arranged myself to gain valuable experience
Posted by: Kimberley Hopkinson | 27.10.2008 11:31am
So thanks for the advice people- i'm even more determined to keep walking my own path.
Beeched Is
Posted by: Bruce | 24.10.2008 05:19pm
Oh Brucey, I'm beeched is. Parched even.
educational over-strain
Posted by: Emma | 29.08.2008 07:08pm
I don't feel molly coddled. I feel like a little girl lost on a sea of debt. However I found my own part time job. Earnt my own money, and will in time pay back my own loan.
My parents have tried to support me, any push they gave me was unintentional. My parents never went on to university, so it's been hard for them to find ways to help. Most of their contacts are people like them in the community; they don't intentionally block my efforts, but they have difficulty providing help. Particularly as they don't earn much money, I am very proud of the efforts they have made to help me.
If anything is putting pressure on me it's the sheer effort I have made towards finishing my degree, and the weight of £11,000 of debt at 21. It is going to be difficult to find a job; but i'm in no rush. I haven't seen much of life yet- i'm ready to spread my wings and learn more of the world. Life is to short to let it get to me. So thanks for the advice people- i'm even more determined to keep walking my own path.
Posted by: Jonathan Cuffe | 29.08.2008 07:05am
It is funny that you say there was a lot of room for improvement, and you went out and found the work yourself - thats what your supposed to do!
It is lack of thought like that which has ended up molly coddling our children, pushing new ideas where they should'nt be, generally devaluing the education system as whole.
It sounds to me like you had sound advice and just poor parents (no offence intended) who did not get you the work after you had proved yourself at school.
I nod at this point to the fellow who commented its not what you know, its who you know.. it is true, but the best source of contacts you'll ever have is the thousands of people your parents have met over their life, something a school cannot ad should not replace.
In a word...
Posted by: Lord Montague | 20.08.2008 03:15pm
I too did all academic subjects at school, apart from Art, and made no use of most of them until I came to an understanding in my 40s and 50s that they had ALL prepared me for various understandings about life, leisure, as background for new hobbies and interests, and reading the news and lighter material. Even the science that I paid little attention to has been useful in contemplating major world issues like Beijing smog, global warming and GM crops, the geography has helped in understanding wars and business,and the history, English and languages have given a deeper insight intoi the culture behind books, plays and films and so on. Don't knock it or see school as only having to provide vocational skills, that's in fact almost the last thing they should do directly, but they almost always do allow for it through work based learning and work experience.
Bad choices
Posted by: James | 19.08.2008 02:07pm
We all make choices in our career,some good,some bad. These we have to live with forever it seems with no second chance.
I unfortunately made a bad one and cannot repair the damage no matter how much i try,they will not allow it.
why ?
It didnt
Posted by: Kimberley Hopkinson | 19.08.2008 11:01am
To be honest the fact that ever since i was six i have hated school, and whatever we were "learning" says to me that i probably wouldnt enjoy a career based around those subjects.
Had we been taught things that i found more enjoyable than maybe i would be more ready for a career, as i would know what positions are available in the areas i like to put myself int.
What I know and learnt
Posted by: Gurjinder | 13.08.2008 10:58am
It doesn't matter how much you educate yourself and how hard you work, its not what you know, its who you know.