Tarka Posted June 22, 2008 Report Share Posted June 22, 2008 Ok i was wondering if anyone would give me some advice or any words of wisdom... Recently i quit my job as underkeeper on a large commercial shoot (reasons being it was getting me down andd my boss was treating me like a dog). This whole affair at work has put me off keepering as a profession, would be more suited as a hobby type of thing. ANYWAY... i am now wondering what to do now...i have a national diploma in countryside managemet but im not to sure of what i want to do that this quailification will allow. Anyway, long story short, i went to the open day at the local university to talk to someone about taking a BSC Hons degree in ecology and wildlife conservation. Its is a 3 year course. I think i want to do it but it would mean another 3 years in education and im 22 at the moment. Can i jusifty 3 more years learning??? I would come out with a degree at the end and be able to get a well paid job. Im getting told go for it by my best mate, my girl friend says it could be worth it and my parents are saying they will support me what ever i decide. i just need to decide now myself and was wondering what people who dont know me think? cheers chaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 22, 2008 Report Share Posted June 22, 2008 If you think thats a midlife crisis... just you wait for the real thing. Dont worry you are not the only one who is having a rough time. I pretty much have no job at the moment. I cant afford a car, I cant shoot much because of not owning a car.. or afford any nice new kit. But thats just living rough for a while, it happens to everyone. A midlife crisis is a whole lot worse and tends to involve depression/break ups etc Only you can decide what step you take next.. and only you can decide how hard you will try this time around. You probably did the right thing to leave your job, you only get one life, and you will spend 60% of it working.. so make sure you are happy in that time!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lock&load Posted June 22, 2008 Report Share Posted June 22, 2008 i think if going back to school for three years is your only dilema , youre a lucky man, try bringing up three kids having a mortgage to pay and being on below what is classed as a national average wage,what i am realy trying to say is,you only get one chance at life there is no second time round,so do what you can,while you can.good luck in what ever you choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoggieman Posted June 22, 2008 Report Share Posted June 22, 2008 Now or When Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyjaimz Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Speaking from experiance mate, my advice is quite simply: get all the education you can. You are fortunate in that you have plenty of people to encourage and support you whilst you further and better yourself, so i'd grab the opportunity whilst it exhists and get your degree (as long as you're reasonably certain you'll get a decent job at the end of it). You can't put a price on a good education - but then again, there's no substitute for experiance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Go for it.....end of !! If you don`t you`ll only wonder..."What if ?"............beer, sexy laydees !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Get the degree. Work is not all it's cracked up to be and you have plenty of years of that to do anyway - 43 years without the degree, 40 with. Big deal in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob300w Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Ok i was wondering if anyone would give me some advice or any words of wisdom... Recently i quit my job as underkeeper on a large commercial shoot (reasons being it was getting me down andd my boss was treating me like a dog). This whole affair at work has put me off keepering as a profession, would be more suited as a hobby type of thing. ANYWAY... i am now wondering what to do now...i have a national diploma in countryside managemet but im not to sure of what i want to do that this quailification will allow. Anyway, long story short, i went to the open day at the local university to talk to someone about taking a BSC Hons degree in ecology and wildlife conservation. Its is a 3 year course. I think i want to do it but it would mean another 3 years in education and im 22 at the moment. Can i jusifty 3 more years learning??? I would come out with a degree at the end and be able to get a well paid job. Im getting told go for it by my best mate, my girl friend says it could be worth it and my parents are saying they will support me what ever i decide. i just need to decide now myself and was wondering what people who dont know me think? cheers chaps Methinks you should listen to those who do know you, rather than those who don't. By the time that you get to your government retirement age it will probably have been increased to 75, really going to have fun then aren't you? Get the degree, get a good job, and aim at retiring as early as you can, certainly no later than 60, preferably at 55. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr W Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 I can't see why it's such a hard choice, if you're going to be supported through it then now is your chance, leave it much later and you'll have to get a job to be able to live, so why not take the opportunity now. While you do have to do some work (usually about 10 -15 hours a week of lectures and the same in personal study), the fringe benefits are lots of cheap booze, lots of girls (sorry just remembered you have a girlfriend, ignore this point), lots of holidays. The hardest part is finishing and getting a proper job where you no longer have half a year off, Yes you will leave with some debt but you'll be earning more than you would have done, however you have to make sure you have an idea what you want to do as a career and make sure you pick a decent degree that future employers want, there are a lot of Micky Mouse courses out there that won't actually help you get a job. In my expereience it was the best time of my life, I met people from all walks of life and many are still (10 years later) my closest friends oh and I met my wife there, so turned out alright for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 You are obviously a bright feller and at a bit of a crossroads.Whichever way you go you will be ok. Well done quitting the job and not being taken for a mug too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubix Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Here's the good thing about an education: unlike most other things in life, once you have it no-one can take it away from you. Plus, on your death bed, many years from now you'll mostly regret the things you didn't do, not the things you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myhvslr Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Go for it,your only 22 and three years soon goes by,before you know it you will have your degree and wonder why you hesitated in the first place! AND you will only be 25! go for it mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarka Posted June 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 cheers for the replies chaps. I thought it might help to see what people i dont know thought of it, just seemed like friends and family would tell me to go for it if they knew its what i wanted to do, instead of say what they really thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Harry Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 The only thing I would say is that a degree does not mean you will walk into a good well paid job. With the more specialist degrees it can be harder to get a job because there are less about. My sister in law has a degree in Zoology and a masters degree in animal behaviour. She has a job in the field but it's far from well paid. My wife has a degree in accounting and finance and is now a chartered accountant and is a manager at her firm. I think it helps to know what you want to do when you finish your degree. But at the end of the day the decision is yours and talk it through with your family. Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Fox Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 (edited) I did it when i was 27, completed a social care and psychology degree ..... decided after 4 years (i re sat a levels again as i didnt take it to seriously 1st time around!) i didnt want to work in that field, and then went onto train as a driving instructor. You are only 22 man, whipper snapper ........... GO FOR IT!, you will only regret what you havent done, not what you have done! Good luck. Edited June 23, 2008 by Hot-Shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldrick Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Don't rule out 'distance learning' as a means of getting a qualification. Although I've already got a degree in ship science, I'm currently wading through a College of Estate Management postgraduate diploma in surveying. It's about 14 hours per week of study on top of a usual working week as a land agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 bear in mind that degree isn't focussed at a particular profession so you could come out of it still with no idea. I'd be looking more at getting an idea of what you want to do and starting from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedbradshaw Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 imho it sounds like a pretty pointless degree....is there anything more it will enable you to do than your diploma ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Jeremy Clarkson sums it up better than I could ever........... >>here<< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 IN general a degree is a good thing. My suggestion is, if you can identify a job/career which you aspire to, see what degree is needed, do that degree. ie look at the end game (the job) then work out what route/course to get there is. Ask employers who you want to work for (if you know) what degrees they want to see in new staff. go for it !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ME Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 I started work at 17. I blew out the course I could have taken to become a chartered surveyor for a job in freight forwarding. I have done OK now but if I sold my company tomorrow I would still probably struggle to get a job in anything outside my current industry as all I have is 17 years work experience and 5 GCSES. Education gives you choices. As Mung said you have plenty of time to work. Afterall when people do start work what do they talk about ?....retirement and when they can stop work !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob300w Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Jeremy Clarkson sums it up better than I could ever........... >>here<< Yep, pretty well sums it up, but in the 5 years since he received his degree. he ain't done too bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurcherboy Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Nike LB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 ............. 43 years without the degree, 40 with. Big deal in the long run. Sod that, 33 yrs working then retired Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Just get on with it, whatever you choose to do. If you don't like something - change it! I have done so many times, always to the betterment of my lifestyle. Just do it - you'll know if it's right or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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