Access to Higher Education? who's done it?/sort my life out (long post)

Dreadi · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:07

Whos done this, what did you take on after and where did you do it?

i'm 19 and currently working in a factory with no prospects or hope of anything better and it pays 14k per year basic. Having stuck this and the intolerable (that doesnt even describe my hate for the one guy) people i work with for 6 months i keep seeing myself stuck like this for ever and its pretty glum and depressing but the money is nice, although i dont want to get stuck in this trap and be like the older guys who have been there 15+ years.

I had planned a year out to go to canada on a working holiday/ maybe stay their if i liked it/could afford it or carry on travelling but that seems to have gone out the window as i dont fancy it by myself.

Someone who is in a similar situation is my girlfriends brother who is a year or two older then me and was gonna come to canada with me but has decided against it, so we have decided we need to do something worthwhile with out lives and have decided to try to get into uni via access to HE.
The Uni we are looking at is UCLAN (central lancashire) because his older bro went there and they offer a foundation entry for computer games development which was our original choice. But now, looking at it, i'm not so sure as to what course i want to take as i dont know what prospects came from the courses and such (i always have been a gamer but whats the chances of getting a job in the industry after this course/future courses).
i have also looked at stuff like motorsport Fd as at the moment im really into cars (by that i mean i'm really into hondas, mainly civics) and would love to be able to work for a proper motorsports garage having seen some of the work done in places like groundzero motorsport which is a honda fabrication/modification specalist place in portland,oragan. Either way i'm not sure what i can see myself doing or what i want to do and see my life going down the pan.

So if you managed to read that then it's kind of a vent for my self inflicted frustration from being lazy in/not enjoying college/ not getting much encouragment (as no doubt if i tried harder i would have enjoyed it and would have followed on from any subjects i did well in but as its stands the best grade i got was a C in media, which i did enjoy and was fun but again, i look at it and think "prospects after finishing". Now i have a few friends who are doing media at uni and seem to be loving it and this makes me think i want to do it, but then i look at my girlfriends older brother who has had a few vids featured on the bbc website and various others and has won quite a few decent prizes for his groups work but he still hasnt found a job after nearly a year and he also knows people quite high in the british animation busienss) but as i did badly there, i just want to know what you got out of access to HE/Uni, what you took. are taking and why you enjoy it, be it if you have finished or are still there or if there are any options other then uni which could be considered to save me from a life of low paid, unskilled, dead end jobs that end up in me buying my a tiny house with a stonking mortage and having to pay it off for 30+years (thast one guy at work, 24, heavy binge drinker, 30+year mortage, stuck in little narrow minded town forever) and thats not what i want.

/cry for help/vent over

i thinks that all really.....

Toxicseagull · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:08

*see's himself in the same position in 2 years*

*hugs dreadi*

Dreadi · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:12

Dont let it happen! :mad:

unless you enjoy sitting around think of time passing you by in a life thats empty

Alchemy · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:18

Toxicseagull said:
*see's himself in the same position in 2 years*

*hugs dreadi*

Toxicseagull · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:20

you shy mate?

Alchemy · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:23

Toxicseagull said:
you shy mate?

Actually, I feel I could be in the same situation if I don't get my act together this year.

Toxicseagull · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:23

yeh thats my view on the whole thing, im screwed

blighter · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:27

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17663679

*hoping to pass college*

good luck matey, just get out there and try your hardest. it's gonna be hard for the first few years with mortgages etc but once you hit about 27/28 it will start to get MUCH better

Dreadi · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:27

Like i said, get your head down and get on it, im sure when you finsish it all it will be soooooo much more rewarding then the current state i'm in, seriously.
I'm sure someone will come in here and say everyone does this blah blah theres light at the end of the tunnel but i really cant see it.

(waits for uni/HE people to reply)

lemonkettaz · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:28

Im a uni person.

I think you should follow your dreams

Posty · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:31

i was 20 and had taken a year out after A levels and worked for a year when i decided to apply to university through UCAS on a marketing degree i now work in a small marketing firm mainly for small businesses but also have done large ones too. i got a internship here through the university and got a good amount of money with a lot of potential to grow

Dreadi · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:34

lemonkettaz said:
Im a uni person.

I think you should follow your dreams

if i knew what they were i would

Posty said:
i was 20 and had taken a year out after A levels and worked for a year when i decided to apply to university through UCAS on a marketing degree i now work in a small marketing firm mainly for small businesses but also have done large ones too. i got a internship here through the university and got a good amount of money with a lot of potential to grow

what made you choose to do this specifically?

I'm limited to what i can take as far as i can see it as i only got 2 A levels, a C and an E and my total UCAS points i think is around 150 which is why i'm looking at Fd entry,

crystaline · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:34

I think you should be grateful you realise all this at this stage and not 20 years down the line. You still have loads of time to figure out what you want. It's not like you have to KNOW your direction at 19, but the thing is, you should keep trying different things til you find it, because the journey to that will be as worthwhile as anywhere you may end up.
College and HE is hard because the decisions seem to involve so many other people's influence and you could end up making a choice for the wrong reason. I think you have done the best thing by having some time out and realising why you want to go back into education anyway.
I dropped out of uni the first time and had a while out, and it was the best thing for me, just go with what you love and the solution and the career will find you.

Tokenbrit · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:38

If you like cars and things like that you could try and find an engineering aprenticeship? Engineers can get paid a lot, and you would get paid while you trained, or if you prefer an engineering degree at university? Doing a computer game design course could be a dead end, there are massively more places on courses than there are jobs.

lemonkettaz · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:39

Its a bit naff the way it works out education.

Because you dont realise what you can do when you take options from school to college.

By the time you get to realise you are interested in something.... you cant because you have taken the wrong options.

Have you looked at any courses for uni? You probably can do a HND/Fd Degree first

Posty · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:43

Dreadi said:
what made you choose to do this specifically?

I'm limited to what i can take as far as i can see it as i only got 2 A levels, a C and an E and my total UCAS points i think is around 150 which is why i'm looking at Fd entry,

you can apply to courses that say they require 200 with 150, i got accepted on a Marketing BA sandwich course at Lincoln university with 170

Dreadi · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:45

crystaline said:
I think you should be grateful you realise all this at this stage and not 20 years down the line.

yeah, this is why i feel i have to do something asap

You still have loads of time to figure out what you want. It's not like you have to KNOW your direction at 19, but the thing is, you should keep trying different things til you find it, because the journey to that will be as worthwhile as anywhere you may end up.

i dont think i have that much time really, i mean if i got in on Fd i'd finish at 24 and be back to where i was when i left college, no money and probably living at home (or at least thats how i see it)

College and HE is hard because the decisions seem to involve so many other people's influence and you could end up making a choice for the wrong reason.

this is a major point for me i think. My dad pretty much pushed into getting a job as to 'get some money behind me', i think he see me being like him which is something i dont. And the reason for going to UCALN and initailly wanting to do games design was because the girlfriends bro wanted to and as we both have the same interests it seemed like a good idea to go at it together but then im not sure if i could see myself doing this or if its me being drawn to sticking together with some. From previous out going its made me realsie that im not a very sociable person when it comes to new people/new surrondings

Dreadi · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:48

Tokenbrit said:
If you like cars and things like that you could try and find an engineering aprenticeship? Engineers can get paid a lot, and you would get paid while you trained, or if you prefer an engineering degree at university?

the thing is is that i'm not sure if i am into cars enough to do this.
I mean i do love my civics and would love to be able to do things to them like they do at groundzero motorsport which is specialist modding and all, i wouldnt want to work in a garage doing MOT's much i cant imagine

Doing a computer game design course could be a dead end, there are massively more places on courses than there are jobs.

thats what im thinking...

Posty · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:51

Dreadi said:
i dont think i have that much time really, i mean if i got in on Fd i'd finish at 24 and be back to where i was when i left college, no money and probably living at home (or at least thats how i see it)

i graduated when i was 23 and rented a flat with a uni/work friend it was a lot of fun (more fun than having my own house IMO) the amount of FUN i had at uni and the couple of years i had after it was the best time iv had, i now live in my own house and find it boring

calnen · 11 Dec 2006 at 00:52

I'm at Uni, but got in through A-levels so dont know a lot about access courses I'm afraid.

General comments:
Uni's fantastic fun, but is very expensive and you have to consider what you'll be getting out of it. Also remember its 3 years of your life, thats a lot time to sign up to at once so be sure about what you're applying for. I changed courses after a year and it was a lot of extra work - even then I couldnt change as much as I'd have liked.

In my experience, its a simple case of the more worthwhile courses being harder, both to get into and to keep up with once you're in. But it is possible - one of my friend's boyfriends was in a position a lot like yours several years ago, but applied (and got in) to a foundation year in engineering, and is now in his final year of an automotive engineering degree. He's had to work extremely hard - lots of extra work to keep up with the people who had extra years in school, and he's had jobs at the same time as studying - but I believe he has a decent job lined up for next summer so its looking good.

Just as a suggestion, have you thought about more education that doesnt involve academia? Something like an apprenticeship or a skilled trade? It offers a way of earning as you learn, and provides a decent career path once you're through. (Just a thought.)
All the best