Do you ever feel you did the wrong degree/course?
- Thread starter SideWinder
- Start date
just get a good grade. nothing else counts.
you can always get into your chosen field through post grad or starting as the office bitch and working your way up...
if its fashoin you want, expect to be the office bitch in more ways than one
you can always get into your chosen field through post grad or starting as the office bitch and working your way up...
if its fashoin you want, expect to be the office bitch in more ways than one
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- 12 Jun 2004
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Don't get me wrong. I aim to finish my degree. 100%. And i'll still try and i need that 2.1. 
i did 2 years in IT business management and then dropped out, to take on computer science last year, just got my results and only passed half my modules 
the university says i cant get onto 3rd year and should resit 2nd year. Unsure what to do at the moment, might just drop university altogether and find a job.
I've just made wrong choices for both my degrees, should have taken something i wouldnt get bored of...
the university says i cant get onto 3rd year and should resit 2nd year. Unsure what to do at the moment, might just drop university altogether and find a job.I've just made wrong choices for both my degrees, should have taken something i wouldnt get bored of...
Soldato
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- 14 Apr 2004
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I did feel I did the wrong degree until I did my placement which I completed last month.
The first 2 years of uni wasn't going to plan, I encountered a number of difficulties and because I didn't get the time I wanted to dedicate to my degree, it didn't go too well for a number of modules. Because I wasn't doing so well I felt it wasn't for me. Having now gained experience in the industry and improved my skills ten fold, I'm looking forward to applying these new found skills to my final year.
Having now resolved the difficulties I had, I can't say I've ever been so prepared.
You're around my age. I wouldn't worry too much. Finish with a good grade then depending on the job market/field change your path/course as appropriate.
The first 2 years of uni wasn't going to plan, I encountered a number of difficulties and because I didn't get the time I wanted to dedicate to my degree, it didn't go too well for a number of modules. Because I wasn't doing so well I felt it wasn't for me. Having now gained experience in the industry and improved my skills ten fold, I'm looking forward to applying these new found skills to my final year.
Having now resolved the difficulties I had, I can't say I've ever been so prepared.
You're around my age. I wouldn't worry too much. Finish with a good grade then depending on the job market/field change your path/course as appropriate.
Associate
- Joined
- 11 Nov 2007
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- 194
I was aware they've been making noises about reinstating 'classical' apprenticeships (there are a few places taking on engineering apprentices, granted) but to be honest we haven't seen sight nor light of it in industry yet. Maybe it'll take some time for them to filter through, but the damage to the engineering and manufacturing industry has been done and will continue to be felt for the next ten years or so.
/rantoff.
Well... I'm 24, never went to university and have worked as an accountant for 6 years. I'm really not enjoying the job and my motivation is rock bottom. Having passed 8 of the 14 required ACCA modules in 5 years, it's slow going as I'm not interested. This also means that I'm still on a smallish trainee salary despite the work I'd put in.
I'm thinking of stopping and taking an Open Uni degree in Computing and Design while continuing to work as an accountant. This should keep me out of the debt associated with uni, allow me to move out of the parents (yes, I know
) and let me change career when I finish the degree. It'll allow me to flex some creative muscles while my accounting background should help with whatever work I end up doing.
Not 100% yet but it's certainly what's on my mind. Accountancy has never been what I wanted to do and I'm very...mechanically? minded. Would take up Civil Engineering but it's an industry that's looking rather bleak at the moment!
I'm thinking of stopping and taking an Open Uni degree in Computing and Design while continuing to work as an accountant. This should keep me out of the debt associated with uni, allow me to move out of the parents (yes, I know
) and let me change career when I finish the degree. It'll allow me to flex some creative muscles while my accounting background should help with whatever work I end up doing.Not 100% yet but it's certainly what's on my mind. Accountancy has never been what I wanted to do and I'm very...mechanically? minded. Would take up Civil Engineering but it's an industry that's looking rather bleak at the moment!
Just a quick pointer for those struggling with their choice of degree/field of study: The real world is far different from what you are doing at University - so if you're keen on your personal choice of study, but find the work you are doing with Uni dull / not what you thought it would be- just be aware that you most likely* not be working on that particular area for the rest of your life!
*this can be very subject dependent!
*this can be very subject dependent!
yep often.
should have done some sort of engineering. Like I wanted all my life until airbus work experience at secondary school put me off it. Darn stupid work experience. Or even better an apprenticeship. Wouldn't be in debt and would have 3 years more experience.
Although saying that I loved my time at Uni and would want to of changed the social side of it.
should have done some sort of engineering. Like I wanted all my life until airbus work experience at secondary school put me off it. Darn stupid work experience. Or even better an apprenticeship. Wouldn't be in debt and would have 3 years more experience.
Although saying that I loved my time at Uni and would want to of changed the social side of it.
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Having a mild 'freak out' wondering about life and that sort of thing. I am starting my final year of my degree in September. Some parts of it i like but most of it i don't. I had wanted to be a psychotherapist or some form of counsellor but i realised i'm far too 'out going' and i love the idea of working with lots of people around me. I could hardly have a session with someone and then go out for a drink with them.
But thats a short summary...either way, i'm realising i should have listened to my heart when i was younger and gone into the fashion retail industry. (Dangerous saying something like
that on a computer forum!)
Admittedly i'm only 21 and i'll be 22 when i finish University but i'm actually starting to consider doing another degree - part time perhaps - or a post-grad.
Anyone feel as though they did the wrong course...?
nope started work at 16 and never regretted it.
Information Business or International Business?
I did Software Engineering. Now years later I wish it was an MBA but to get to that conclusion required the SE degree and the years of experience!
He probably did an International Baccalaureate.
(Wow I actually spelt that correctly first time.)
got in before me...
got a teacher friend setting it up in Fettes.
do i regret my course / Uni...no...only the social side, should have drunk more.
No, I don't regret what I did, but I did start on the wrong course, I realised this and switched after the 1st year though. I started doing Computer Science, however I actually have a BA Joint-Hons in History & Politics. yet I still ended up working in IT.
There are so many other things I would like to study though, although as an area to work in I have always found the idea of Forensic & Criminal Psychology fascinating. From the point of view of profiling, analysing and thus helping law enforcement crack crimes. The TV series Cracker was one of my inspirations for this when I used to watch it with my mother, years ago. I still like the idea of it now, I used to think working in IT was the only thing for me, now I yearn for something different, something more interesting than other people's ruddy computer problems.
I think, in another criminal justice system, in another country, one where the police could actually do their job without being drowned in bureaucracy and health and safety, I would actually really enjoy being a detective too. I've always had an inquiring and investigative mind, such things interest me a lot.
I also have a deep interest in history, especially political and social history, also natural history. I find anthropology and perhaps more so paleoanthropology extremely interesting. But actually working in these areas seems, well, I don't even know who to talk to about it, thus I never have. I would love to use my knowledge and the strengths of my degree in my work life, but how, that is the question.
I certainly feel 'wasted' I suppose, solving people's computer problems and installing new hard drives in boxes and other mind-numbing routines like that.
There are so many other things I would like to study though, although as an area to work in I have always found the idea of Forensic & Criminal Psychology fascinating. From the point of view of profiling, analysing and thus helping law enforcement crack crimes. The TV series Cracker was one of my inspirations for this when I used to watch it with my mother, years ago. I still like the idea of it now, I used to think working in IT was the only thing for me, now I yearn for something different, something more interesting than other people's ruddy computer problems.
I think, in another criminal justice system, in another country, one where the police could actually do their job without being drowned in bureaucracy and health and safety, I would actually really enjoy being a detective too. I've always had an inquiring and investigative mind, such things interest me a lot.
I also have a deep interest in history, especially political and social history, also natural history. I find anthropology and perhaps more so paleoanthropology extremely interesting. But actually working in these areas seems, well, I don't even know who to talk to about it, thus I never have. I would love to use my knowledge and the strengths of my degree in my work life, but how, that is the question.
I certainly feel 'wasted' I suppose, solving people's computer problems and installing new hard drives in boxes and other mind-numbing routines like that.
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Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Feb 2008
- Posts
- 11,114
I think everybody, no matter what they studied (besides a good degree in Law, perhaps 
) thinks over time that they've done the wrong degree.
In the real world, experience is key - it doesn't matter what you've studied - the majority are not going to simply walk into a decent job after Uni, and TON of graduates find themselves working, and climbing the ladder, in a sector they never thought they'd be devoting their lives to considering their studies.
That's the real world, and the jobs market, in practice.
In my opinion, University is becoming more about life experience than anything else these days, with employers recognising a decent grade (ie. above a 3rd) as a signal that you're an intelligent person despite whichever post you're applying for. It's secondary to experience, which I suppose is a let down to anyone who believed that doing a Uni course would give them a big advantage over others who had not.
) thinks over time that they've done the wrong degree.In the real world, experience is key - it doesn't matter what you've studied - the majority are not going to simply walk into a decent job after Uni, and TON of graduates find themselves working, and climbing the ladder, in a sector they never thought they'd be devoting their lives to considering their studies.
That's the real world, and the jobs market, in practice.
In my opinion, University is becoming more about life experience than anything else these days, with employers recognising a decent grade (ie. above a 3rd) as a signal that you're an intelligent person despite whichever post you're applying for. It's secondary to experience, which I suppose is a let down to anyone who believed that doing a Uni course would give them a big advantage over others who had not.