i dont know what to do with my life

Bush, you're still very young and the world is your oyster.

I'd echo malachi's advice to develop your people skills, as this is an essential life skill. I'm not a people person either, but knowing how to communicate and build relationships is important in life and business so I made it my number one skill (I spent 7 years in sales). Invest a bit of time in getting uncomfortable now to avoid years of pain later.

Arts and humanities qualifications are mostly worthless. (many) Computing and engineering degrees are very valuable.

Above all, get excited about your life instead of stressed. The decisions you are making now are important, yes, but you can change directions later on if you find you made a misstep. I have a degree in sociology (useless), and after moving around in different sales roles for years I have changed careers and now make enough money to live in a nice house and look after my fiance and daughter. I also enjoy what I do!
 
The advice about people skills is good advice.

I left uni with a degree in accountancy the same as 2 housemates I keep in touch with.

I've done alright, not in accountancy but my degree got me my first job and lead to where I've got.

My 2 housemates on the other hand ended up doing recruitment for accountants and, due in part to their ability to small talk and generally be more sociable than I am, have done exceptionally well for themselves, huge houses, second houses on the coast, etc.

Don't get me wrong, it's not all down to being people people, they're obviously bright people too, but I ran rings round them academically, their real differentiator is their ability to get on with anybody and everybody.
 
I don't either mate. You are not alone. I dropped out of my 4th and final year of Aerospace engineering because it was **** and it made me hate every single second of my existence. I do not have a single hint of regret about it either.

I'll find what I want to do next year, getting a promotion at work so maybe that'll take me forward. Who knows.
 
Dropped out of Uni in 2nd year (electrical engineering degree) - stumbled into a job at a call centre in my early 20's. Turned out to be a financial services company - quite enjoyed it - did some exams, got some experience. now work for myself 20 years later. Great work/life balance for the kids/family, earn good money.

Personally I wouldn't bother with Uni again but a lot of employers like to see a degree etc. Public sector jobs are a good shout - usually pretty solid, pay is ok, benefits are excellent in terms of pension/holidays etc. Start at the bottom - work you way up.
 
A lot of jobs will be automated in years to come, especially anything that is done by computer.

A robot will never be able to hang a door, rewire the house, install a new bathroom suite. Add to that, the fact that apprenticeships have been few and far between in recent years and everyone wants to sit at a desk and faff on facebook (therefore trades have been in decline).
 
If I had my time again, learning a trade would be something I should have considered. Decent and conscientious decorators, plasterers, carpenters, brickies are in high demand in my neck of the woods (Surrey). In the last five years watched a local taxi firm, which is always punctual, just grow from strength to strength. The drivers are great, friendly, decent motors and immaculate. They are doing something right.

Apologies for digressing, one of my biggest bugbears, Mechanic's. The local garages from a customer service perspective are shocking. However, the demand means that the service can slide and customers continue to put up with service with attitude. I have always thought that there is an opportunity here, a decent garage/mechanic is a god send.

My advice, don't rule out careers that are deemed as less glamorous.

P.S. If I my career goes **** up, I would seriously consider going to night college to learn a trade.
 
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malachi said:
Take a look at computer programming, maybe go down the computer science root. When automation steps in we are going to need people to write advanced scripts for those robots.

Like, gaming!?!?! Again, you could look into game programming. Programming isn't easy and isn't for everyone but can take you down a good career path. Do abit at home on the side and see how you like it.

Finally, cyber security. It's up and coming, a decent wage can be made from it. You need the right mindset though otherwise you can become bored easily.
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As a side note on the gaming side:

I would say liking to play video games is not implicitly a good reason to get into game dev. My degree was Computer Science with Games Development. Undoubtedly everyone on my course liked to play video games, a lot of people struggled to program them. Specifically learning things like graphics which is just a bunch of linear algebra and geometry (read maths). Not that liking gaming is an absolute no-no. I would say just be wary of getting into it, there is a huge difference between enjoying playing games and creating them or working on them for a living. On top of this the industry is full of young people who have grown up loving playing video games, learning to be 'game developers' only for the market to be absolutely flooded. Expect low paid or 0 pay internships, expect your contract to force you to do unpaid overtime (but it's ok because they'll buy you pizza on expenses...) and if you can't hack it there will be some incredibly eager graduate who will take the job because their 'dream' is to work in games.

I would say if you have a genuine interest in computers. Go down the hardware route (note that semiconductor IP is coded in HDLs, it's like writing software but not quite), try to work for a semiconductor industry company like Intel, ARM, IMG, Samsung, NXP, Qualcomm, Nvidia etc.

And if you want the future of that industry go for GPUs (Mali, Adreno, Nvidias mobile etc.) (or read any highly parallel hardware) as they are undoubtedly the future for AI and IoT. I went from a games degree, to working for an electronics hardware company, moving to a semiconductor company working on GPUs and it is infinitely better than games dev.

Of course this is my take on things and everyone is different but it's what I would recommend. It's highly paid skilled work too with a demand for people.
 
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Don't make my mistake and pick something that you think is useful but ultimately hate. I did Engineering and have found every job I ever had to be utterley boring and unfulfilling.

I wish I could go back and do Forensic Computing like I'd initially planned or video game design of some kind.
 
Minibiker said:
I had only read the first few replies on this page when I come across this :p GENIUS! There's plenty of people doing exactly that and living a happy life, Makes my blood boil :mad:
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You think your blood boils

I worked full time from the age of 15 to 47 and I still cannot afford to buy or rent a house ...

My sister daughter gets pregnant at 16 and then get given a brand new house by are government at 18 and she only ever worked a few weeks in her life and sits at home while the government pays everything for her.....


This is so wrong..
 
chaparral said:
You think your blood boils

I worked full time from the age of 15 to 47 and I still cannot afford to buy or rent a house ...

My sister daughter gets pregnant at 16 and then get given a brand new house by are government at 18 and she only ever worked a few weeks in her life..
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I know how you feel mate, Worked from 15-27 never been out of work and struggle to get through the months but im not one to sit around and have no job..
 
Everyone will always say study something you love. That's bad advice most of the time... study a STEM subject if you go the academic route, or do an apprenticeship in something sensible if you go the other route.

Other than that, you have your Turbulent Twenties to deal with next. Ten years of not having a clue what to do, feeling hopeless, bit hopefully having fun. Things improve in your thirties with age and experience.
 
Hellsmk2 said:
Everyone will always say study something you love. That's bad advice most of the time... study a STEM subject if you go the academic route, or do an apprenticeship in something sensible if you go the other route.
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Guess I was lucky in that I loved Physics, studied it, ended up on a good career path. The thing about a quality numerate degree is that they never go out of fashion. We always need lots of STEM graduates, and probably always will. Don't worry about what's in fashion. You're just about to turn 16, and if you do the degree route, by the time you've done A-levels, a 3/4 year degree with a possible gap year or year in industry, you might be 23 when you graduate- that's 2025, seven years away.

We'll have possibly had another recession during that period, new technology will have emerged, certain occupations may be on the decline, but the fundamentals will remain. If you're passionate about what you do, have good drive and work ethic and have skills which are in demand, you'll do well. Don't fixate on salary or benefits either, pursue a line where your talents and passions intersect. Your rewards will come from that naturally.
 
ANDARIAL said:
Lol @ bricklaying robot,possibly on a BIG site but i can`t see it happening when Mr.Jones wants a 10 m garden wall:D
Personally i would not go for Brickying too cold and wet in the Winter,consider plumbing,electrician or ,my favourite,as i am one ,a Carpenter:D
Avoid plastering,too hard and difficult :)
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Not very lol for contruction workers by 2040.
"New research from Mace predicts 600,000 of the current 2.2m positions in the industry could be automated by 2040 as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” turns the sector on its head."
"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business...ie-automation-could-wipe-600000-construction/"
 
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