Should I finish 4th year in college? The add on year.

Maggiemul

In a bit of a dilemma. Is it worth my while going back to finish off the 4th year of my fine arts degree? I have no interest in initiating a career in the arts sector but actually want to go back and study/expand my knowledge in the science sector. As I have no previous science back round, (apart from biology in leaving certificate) I know I will have to get studying and that it will be a dramatic change but I know that I'm not happy with what I'm studying at the moment. I have lost all interest/passion for my course and I really want to study something that will make a difference. And I know it wont be different when I go back, that i might enjoy it when I go back in September, as I'm still finishing off projects at the moment, due to being sick throughout the year, and it feels more like a punishment than enjoyment so I know things are not going to change. So my question is even though I have no desire to continue with art, would I be better off finishing off the 4th year, making it a level 8 honors degree? At the moment it is recognised as a level 7 ordinary degree after 3 years. Eventually when I know exactly what it is that i would like to study, I would be going back to study as a mature student, would it still be better to have the honors degree even though it is in fine art and would have no relevance to a science related degree? As I'm still unsure as to what I would like to go back and study should i slug it out for another year or is it just a waste of a year that I could use to study? Any help is gratefully appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Cravez

If your area of study in your degree course isn't what you want (and you now you don't want to) pursue then I wouldn't continue with a 4th year.

The flipside is, if you do the 4th year, some Employers might recognise the Honour's Degree better. Example being if you wanted to teach English abroad (although I know you want to pursue science), while you require any degree to teach English abroad, Employers might ask for a honours degree over an ordinary.

I would try plan a roadmap on how to study science at third level, you won't be able to get free fee's or grants again. So you will have to check courses that are affordable but will build up your knowledge of science. Qualifax would be a good site to check for any science courses that might help in an application to study science at third level. Qualifax should also have info on science courses at third level, both full and part-time.

If possible, you're best pursuing science part-time (if any third level science courses are available) as part-time courses are usually cheaper per year and you can get tax relief on the fee's. Part time study could also give you the window of working a bit more during the week to pay for the fee's.

Abby19

Maggiemul wrote: »

In a bit of a dilemma. Is it worth my while going back to finish off the 4th year of my fine arts degree? I have no interest in initiating a career in the arts sector but actually want to go back and study/expand my knowledge in the science sector. As I have no previous science back round, (apart from biology in leaving certificate) I know I will have to get studying and that it will be a dramatic change but I know that I'm not happy with what I'm studying at the moment. I have lost all interest/passion for my course and I really want to study something that will make a difference. And I know it wont be different when I go back, that i might enjoy it when I go back in September, as I'm still finishing off projects at the moment, due to being sick throughout the year, and it feels more like a punishment than enjoyment so I know things are not going to change. So my question is even though I have no desire to continue with art, would I be better off finishing off the 4th year, making it a level 8 honors degree? At the moment it is recognised as a level 7 ordinary degree after 3 years. Eventually when I know exactly what it is that i would like to study, I would be going back to study as a mature student, would it still be better to have the honors degree even though it is in fine art and would have no relevance to a science related degree? As I'm still unsure as to what I would like to go back and study should i slug it out for another year or is it just a waste of a year that I could use to study? Any help is gratefully appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Your current course is a Level 7?
Are you planning to go back to college and study science? Or do it in a more informal manner. Once you have a Level 8 degree pretty much all funding options are closed to you. But if you have a Level 7 and then do a Level 8 you may have some funding options. It may be an idea to look into it and see if that may benefit you.

Other posters mentioned that employers may look on a Level 8 as better than a Level 7 and they may have a point there.

Cravez

Abby19 wrote: »

Once you have a Level 8 degree pretty much all funding options are closed to you. But if you have a Level 7 and then do a Level 8 you may have some funding options. It may be an idea to look into it and see if that may benefit you.

Unfortunately if you have a level 7 already you can only get funding for a 4th add-on year to make your level 7 a level 8. You wouldn't be able to start from scratch doing a level 8 degree with fee's paid etc.

Best options are either doing a post-graduate diploma course or studying a degree again part-time.

petronius

It is hard to know - and always depends on the individual and circumstances
But getting doing the final year does give you a level 8 which is helpful if you wish to pursue other postgraduate options in the future.
I always think not finishing a course (or a year of a course) means you leave it incomplete. Ok you have the 3 years - but I think it shows potential employers commitment to go the whole way.

To back track some what - I admire people and thing it i tremendous when someone moves career paths from what seems variant disciplines
Some of the best computer programmers I know have Arts/Business qualifications and some of the most successful self employed business people I know have science and engineering qualifications but due to circumstances or lifestyle choices switched tracks or went back and retrained