How did you decide?

Whispered

Hiya, I'm interested in how you all decided to go back to education, and how it has effected your life. I lost my "career" 2 years ago and since I've been working nights in a job with no prospects. It's a comfortable job, but long hours for very little money and not what I want to do with my life.

I'm 27 and married with a mortgage, no kids. So I am considering looking at going back to some sort of education. I have no idea where to start, I'm not sure if it's what I want to do AND I don't know what I would like to go back to study. All I know is I want a future, a challenging job, something to be proud of. Problem is, we are barely making ends meet so I can't afford an expensive course.

My background is in AutoCAD, design, office management and sales. But it's all experience with few actual qualifications. I'm thinking the prospects for this type of work are not great anyway and I might be best looking t a different field.

I suppose what I really want to know is, were you all confused before deciding what to do, and where can I go to get information.

[Jackass]

It's very difficult to chose a college course, or at least it was for me, and I often wonder how certain people end up in certain career paths, just as it seems so bizarre or random to one person is what someone else knew they wanted to do.

One way to start is to look at the colleges you would like to apply to (narrow down be geographic location if nothing else) and go to the prospective student section and read through all the different courses that sound interesting.

Most courses will give a detailed breakdown of subjects that will be studied and also career prospects with that degree.

Personaly, I think the more specialised your degree, the more worth while they are, for example, I'm hoping to study in areas of Economics or Financial Services, rather than generic Business Degree (which is still a very good degree with great recognition and further study options), but if you don't know what you want to do, more general degree's such as Business Studies or Arts for example should put you on the right path of finding something you like amongst the vast subject matter.

You may even narrow your search by faculty of each college.

Would you like to work in areas such as finance, office administration, office management, sales etc., business is a good area for you.

Would you like to work with specialised software, computers, general development or actual hardware building and computer technician...obviously a compute based course...

Would you like something more academic such as languages, music etc., Arts is good for you...and no matter what you do a degree in, there are employment opertunities from it. (Arts degree is a good general knowledge and education to have at a higher level, but you can go on to further study to specialise or even go into teaching etc. in your favoured area)

My advice, try and formulate a basic idea of what you would like to do and search through college courses and read the course content and employment oppertunities often mentioned in the course description, do some research, find something that sounds appealing, also research the industry that sounds interesting that these courses will qualify for you, see how competetive it is, how vibrant, wage rage suits your expectations etc.

If you're completely lost at what you want to do, that's ok, but it can be fixed by doing some research and hopefully you'll come accross something that sounds appealing.

Best of luck.

DailyBlaa

I went to work as a welder after I finished school. I didn't want to go straight into third level. I got a very good leaving cert but wanted to bide my time and make sure about what I wanted to do. I started a degree in physics a while back currently doing my work placement in third year.

I loved physics for my leaving cert and always kept up which current work by reading as much as I could. So it was an easy choice for me to return to education to pursue a physics degree. I saw that the industry I was in was heading for a downturn so bit the bullet and left to start my degree. Whatever course you pick make sure it is something you love not just what gives you the best option for work. Who honestly wants to spend four years doing a course to get a job you wont enjoy. Best thing once you find a few courses you like is to ask for opinions here on the college forums. Also it would be a good idea to email the relevant departments in the institutions you are interested in.

Being a mature student (currently 30 years old) has its advantages and disadvantages. I have a wealth of industrial experience which includes managing resources and staff. These are a major plus point when it comes to doing course work etc. However I did find a slight snobbish attitude in interviews I done for my work placement opportunities. I got the feeling that the interviewers looked down their noses at these experiences. It is extremely annoying that certain people assume that manual workers are not cut out for technical jobs. Luckily for me my current placement saw my experience in a very different light.

JCDUB

As stated above, make sure if/when you do go back that it's to do something you really want to do. Don't half-heartedly pick a course because it looks good on a CV etc.

If your current job isn't in danger I wouldn't be in a mad rush to go back. You should do some reading, research, looking to the future and asking yourself and others a few questions.Hopefully that will shape your decision a bit better.

I am currently a mature student and love my course. I'm very glad that I do though, as the workload is pretty full-on and it's quite stressful, and if I didn't love it I think I'd find it a lot harder.
Also, the job prospects in my course right now are terrible, but hopefully will have improved by the time I garaduate. It is something that I love though and I'm sure I'll get something, although it'll never be at pay rates of five plus years ago.

If you do some reading etc. then maybe by next Feb/Mar you'll be in a spot-on position and know exactly where you want to go and what you want to get out of your course.

Best of luck with your decision!

Whispered

Thank you for taking the time to reply! I will go away and have a think and a look around and see what option would suit me best. You're right, I could pick something because it's got good prospects (if such a things still exists) but there is no point if it's not something I will enjoy.

Feu

good info here

maybe you would think about doing something like "What colour is my parachute?" or a similar sort of self help book? It sounds kind of cheesy, but it can really help to identify your exisiting skills/talents, what kind of area you would like to work in, and how to get that kind of job.

or you could just do that yourself as recommended above!!! but it can be kind of hard to know where to begin with that stuff. I definitely agree that you should do something you're interested in, not only because you may potentially be working in that area for 30+ years, but also because being interested can really help you keep motivated

I was lucky, i knew exactly what i wanted to do, applied for the course, and got it. But I really think i was lucky, you hear too many stories of mature students going back, and either gettin into the course for the wrong reasons, like job prospects or prestige, or just not researching enough. For example, a mature student in my course met a woman in the profession, and thought her job was brilliant. But that lady wasn't very representative of the profession or career path of the profession as a whole. So i think she's a bit disillusioned now, as she's realised that she may not get the exact same job. i hope that makes sense!! In other words, she had a very fixed idea of the job, but only from meeting one person, so just do a good bit of research like suggested above.

finally you asked about finances - it's not clear from your post whether you have a degree already or not? If you don't then you're in line for free fees, but probably not grants and stuff if you've been working the past while.

anyway, loads of information and resources on here in larianne's brilliant faqs and stuff, so good luck. and remember this is a brilliant opportunity, to change and perhaps do something you really love. sorry for the cheese, but that's how i feel!!!

OwenM

The OP wrote about wanting a career as opposed to wanting to be 'something':

Job prospects are not a bad reason for choosing a course.

If you want to be a homeopath/physicist/coalminer, go and do a homeopathy/physics/mining course but don't think having the course done will lead to a career in it. You may end up qualified but unemployable, going back to college as a mature student is a last chance for many and needs carefull consideration.

The Expert group for future skills needs (an Irish Quango) has reports on current and forecasted demand for skills and is worth a read.
http://www.skillsireland.ie/media/egfsn100701-national_skills_bulletin_2010.pdf

Balance picking something you can do with something people want done over the medium term.... The medium term for me is 8-10 years.



I graduated last year at the age of 38 and I am in full time work since then so age is not a factor.

Feu

Owen M i have to say i agree and disagree!

no, job prospects are not a bad reason for choosing a course, i definitely think that should play a part in decision making, but when i look at many of the posts here in the mature student forum, many people want to change career, or pursue something they were always interested in, and no they're may not be brilliant job prospects in the something [career or course or lifestyle change!] they are interested in, the same could be said of many professions or jobs now, better be prepared for the job you'd like to have then coasting along in something that as the OP said is a job with no prospects, and not what she wants to do with her life.


as an example there is very little demand for physios at the moment, or rather there are too many physios and not enough jobs between the market glut, and HSE embargo. I would advise someone interested in physio to take that into account, but i wouldn't say don't pursue it, particularly if they have a drive to, and feel passionate about it - these factors could take you further for example setting up your own business.

All I'm saying is, while i understand your point, (I think!) that a career is a career, you should train up in an area of demand, i think as you say, it's a big step for people to go back to education, and i think interest, passion, motivation and "future contentment" for want of a better word, are also valuable resources for study and career change.

All that said, i am a youngish (!) mature student without dependents, so i'm in a more flexible situation, than perhaps someone with children and/or a mortgage. But though there are very few jobs here at the moment in my profession, that would not have put me off, as i am crazy excited about ultimately working in my area.