Can you be successful...

Alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy

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Joined
8 Feb 2006
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without "mainstream" qualifications - A-levels/Degree etc? Obviously starting your own business will get you somewhere in life, but I'm excluding that at the moment. I'm just wondering if there are any other paths in life other than the typical A-level then University route which can make you successful and maybe earn an "fairly good" wage?



Danke schon.
 
Apprenticeship.

Try to get a job with a company that will offer you training and experience in the field you want to progress in.
 
of course you can , degrees count for little these days as so many people take them ( except for "proper" professional degrees ) , A levels have obviously become more devalued over recent years too

Once you have held your first position then experience becomes far more important
 
I don't even have any GCSEs and I'd say I'm doing pretty well :)

Just have to work hard and find an employer who isn't obsessed with paper qualifications.

Also, working outside of work helps :)
 
Yes you can be successful without any qualifications etc etc, im a prime example of that. No degree or A Levels but im a company Director and most Directors i know usually have some sort of professional education.
 
If you can get you foot in the door at a company, work really hard they will soon spot you and see you are capable of bigger things within the company and promotions etc will soon follow.

Where I am right now I dont want to stop at at all, but ive been told that as soon as I am 18 i should try and go for a supervisor position. I'm not going to do this as I will then get stuck in a rut where i dont want to me, but fingers crossed toyota will be in touch soon with details of an interview as ive applied for an apprenticeship there.
 
Well I'm doing A-levels at the moment, but I'm not entirely happy with them, the work load is huge and I do lack motivation when it comes to studying.

I would love to do some sort of apprenticeship but it's so hard to find an employer who would take on an apprentice. I'm getting slightly worries now though, as this is the last year that I can do an apprenticeship so I have to start looking around really well.
 
IMO you have a better chance with qualifications, but you can definitely be successful without them. All it takes is a lot of hard work, perseverance and believing in yourself.
Pefect example is one of my friends fathers. No qualifications except O levels. Started off as a trolley boy at safeway. Fast forward a little bit and he ended up being MD of safeway. He took early retirement at 50, but within 1 day of his announcement of retirement he was headhunted to take control of Park n Shop in HK. Needless to say, he is extremely successful. :cool:
 
Nazbit said:
What sort of area do you want to go in to? and What A levels are you studying?
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I think that is the important think , if it's law or medicine etc you won;t get far without them , if it's IT then a degree won't be anywhere near as important
 
Nazbit said:
What sort of area do you want to go in to? and What A levels are you studying?
Click to expand...

Well actually I'm only doing one A-level at the moment, and it's Law...but obviously I won't get anywhere without going down this path. Honestly though, I think I'm having second thoughts with continuing with Law.

I'm quite open in reguard to what area I want to go into, IT would be a good one I suppose.

georges said:
alan sugar.
Click to expand...

Ha. :D
 
yes you can. i know so many people who have struggled to get the job they want cos they have qualifications but no experience.

i was planning to only do a gnvq but cos the school were forcing me to take an as level as well i left and found a job. been there since i was 16 (am now 21) and i run my own department!
 
If you're just struggling for motivation don't abandon qualifications until you've secured a job. Although I'd advise you take a long, hard look at yourself and figure out if you want a job because qualifications aren't for you or simply because you're de-motivated and the thought of £200 a week appeals to you as a young person.
 
I have mediocre GCSEs and no A-levels yet am reasonably successful in my eyes but I'm somewhat different as I run, and always have run, my own business(es).

In the world of employment, whilst experience is vastly more useful than classroom knowledge in the grand scheme of things, realistically you often need the paper qualifications to get you through the door. Sad but true.

Edit: Despite what I said above, I've just enrolled on some Science based Open University courses to broaden my horizons and keep my options open in case the IT industry crashes in the next few years (yea right :p) or I decide to sell up and do something completely different. A little extra knowledge never hurt anyone...
 
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