Seeking Advice From Those Out Of School

[st4ccer]

Hey guys, year 12 this year, ive chosen most hard subjects including specialist maths, math methods, and phsysics. Im not planning on going into any uni course that will need these. But it will still give me a nice score at the end of the year as im not half bad at the subjects. I was thinking of doing a Film editing/directing course but at the moment im sooo over school, already busting out with all the stress. I really dont have the patience of doing another year or more of school.
At the moment i want to take a year off after this year, just cruise around Australia stopping at a town every now and then, look for job for say two weeks just to get use to having to depend on myself on doing things. Originally i was going to go to Europe and hitchike through but its kinda scary doing that by yourself. Specially after watching hostel.
But anyways along we move, after my year it will give me some time to think. I was thinking of starting a business, still unsure what but hopefully the year of cruising Australia will give me some ideas.
What my question is, what did you do after you finished school?
My mum wants me to do some sort of education after school, did you have a problem with your parents about what you decided to do?
Im really bewildered at the moment, and although i probably have a better idea of what im going to do after school than most my friends, i think at the moment im just more occupied with how ill support myself. I really dont want to live at home all my life :P. Anyways whatever you guys can share with me will be extremely appreciated.

[tu plang]

Specially after watching hostel.

Yeah, i would hate a trip to europe to turn into a b-grade movie, that would be pretty disappointing ;) .

A year off is probably a pretty good idea but there are a few things to think about; you have to be motivated to actually go back and start learning again and you have to remember that when you do start you'll be surrounded by kids younger than you, doesnt seem that big a deal but the difference between the way 17/18 year olds behave at uni and the way 19+ year olds behave at uni is vast.

Also don't get any grand ideas of moving out of home if you plan to study, mooch off your parents as long as possible :p . Most people who move out of home end up moving back anyway.

[Drizz]

I recommend you do go oversea, do a year of your degree overseas somewhere so you can continue education providing if you do wanted to got uni.

Going oversea gives you new perspectives, this is especially important if you like to start a business IMO. I don't think you will regret that decision.

[stinkytodamax]

I felt a bit lost after leaving school as you do. Travelling is an awesome thing to do and great to tick off the box and the experience is like nothing else. To give you an outline of what I did after school finished read below if your not interested that's cool just trying to provide a different perspective on life.

I knew that I didn't want to be a mechanic like my father and he also discouraged me he still says to this day work with your head not your hands. I was fortunte enough to have the full support of folks no matter i choose to do.

For the first few months I did what I could in their workshop to help out as I assessed my next move. I had been accepted to uni to do a double degree in phy ed and commerce but I didn't want to bludge off mum and dad for the next three years as they gave me an excellent education and I thought now is the time to stand on my own to feet. It didn't quite happen that way becuase I ended up travelling around the coast of NSW for a couple of weeks and got a bit bored. I ended up attending the Australian Business College in Canberra leaving me to drive 200k's from Goulburn and back every day. I got the shits with the ABA and left with a diploma in six months with a good average mark that I could wave around at employers. again it didn't quite work that way I had a few job interviews in event managment and didn't get a gig. Until out of the blue a got a call regarding a job in comercial real estate selling office buildings and developments sites. After one meeting I packed the car and moved in with three of my best mates. Hoo ray indepedent at 18!!

I've been in the job six years now and haven't looked back. Started uni 4 years ago and finally getting towards the end (property valuations degree if it means anything to you). Moving straight into the workforce is the best thing that I have done. It pays for my house and all the bike crap I continue to buy every week. i guess what I'm saying is just because you don't do uni straight after school isn't the end of the world. From what I recall of yr 12 teachers they just bashed it into you that you need to have a degree to get anywhere in life. how wrong they were. The only reason I'm doing uni now is that work is paying for it. I could earn just as much without the degree! maybe more actually because I would spend all my time reading and writting 10,000 word assignments.

I guess to add a bit more to my experience is the experiences of my friends. A number of guys and girls travelled which was fantastic as they got to see heaps of great places but what it also did was set them back a year in life. Some are in their late twenties and just getting professional qualifications now that a number of their peers had two years ago.

Good luck with whatever you choose. You only get one go at life so make the best of it.

cheers

john

[bools]

The idea of getting a job every two weeks from town to town sounds great but unrealistic . Look u need to ask your self what recognised skills do i have to earn money ? If you are young the chances are not many . Hospitality can be a way to earn good money and travel around the world . i.e. kitchen work , front of house ore bar . With that said, if i was u work your arse out for 6 months full time in oz , save your coin , then go see the world as a holiday and if you pick up an odd days work hear and there great . Trying to see parts of the world on a working visa is hard . You just fall into the grind and dont see a great deal .

[Foggy]

Hi mate,

There are some very informative replies here, so take them all on board. Here is my 2 cents.

As a 4th year high school teacher-in-training, I would highly recommend taking a year off after school to work (I myself worked at Coles) - It will give you time to clear your head and have a good think about what you really want to do with your life. Plus, you will get a taste of what it is like to really live and rely on yourself (and you will have some $$$ to spend on those things that you could never afford as a school student!). I knew I wasn't going to work at Coles my whole life, so it was also an incentive to make me want to go back and study - else i'd be stuck filling shelves for the rest of my life. My parents thought I was crazy when I told them I was taking a year off - but it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

As for falling behind friends, don't worry about it. When you're young, you look forward about 5 years and think that you will be finished university and working full time in a job you got with that degree - this is true for some people. For the majority, it is not. Nearly all my friends changed their degree halfway through uni, or finished their degrees and got careers in completely unrelated fields (2 mates have Psychology degrees - one is now a draftsman and the other works full-time at Woolworths). I myself am turning 24 this year and only just finishing my double-degree in high school teaching. Remember, life is not a race - it should be savoured and enjoyed. There is plenty of time to work in your life. But you're only young once, so make the most of it.

So many people fly through school/uni and aim for the engineering/medicine/lawyer high pay/status careers - and there is nothing wrong with that. However, once they have achieved this and got the job, some people tend to look back and think "OK, I got the job with the big pay packet.....but it sucks hard and I don't like it." - This is a dilemma that many of my friends are facing right now. 5 of them studied various forms of engineering at university. They have been working for 2/3 years now, and 4 of them hate it and are contemplating career changes already, despite the decent pay packets - because when all is said and done, aiming high is fine providing you actually enjoy where it takes you.

Lastly, i'd advise you to not study something just because it seemed like the 'natural' progressive step in your life - make sure you really want to do it. I started a degree in electrical engineering because that was the trend - everyone was studying at university. I quickly realised it was not for me at the time and dropped out and worked at Coles. This is another reason why I recommend taking a year off to clear your head of all the pressure put upon you poor year 12 students. Think about what you really want to do - don't feel you have to go to uni because your parents/friends are all thinking that way. Again, a year off will allow you to do this more effectively.

Sorry for the essay, but it is a subject I feel particularly strongly about, and one which is not discussed at great length at school. I hope I cleared up some of the realisms/myths about life after year 12 for you. I hope you learnt something from my personal experiences. Life begins after school. - Mike.

[brisneyland]

Note that school is very different to uni or tafe. Well maybe tafe, I've only ever done a four day course there.

I would wait till I was a bit older to take a year off and go travelling. Do a film editing/directing course (1/2 years at tafe?) and then take a year off. Bring a video camera and make something of it!

Me, I went straight to uni and nicked off to the US every summer holiday to work at the snow. After a few years of that, I took a semester off and travelled around, came home to finish my degree and worked in an entirely unrelated field before starting postgraduate studies. I do wish I'd taken more time off.

[Pebble]

I finished off year 12, couldn't really afford to go to Uni so did a Geology course for 2yrs at Tafe, that was really good as it got me work experience for 3 months out in the Tanami Desert at a mine 2 weeks on and 1 week of, fly in fly out of Darwin. I met my husband to be there as well and we took off together after I finished my course. I've been working in hospitality or the mining industry since, well untill the kids came along.

Something to consider is the fact that the mineral industry is really booming at the moment and will be for the next 10yrs or so. It may not be your cup of tea, but a short course (6months or so) would get you qualified to become a drillers off sider or something, jobs like that are in huge demand and probably pay more than you could wish for at your age. I would take advantage of it.

My advice would be to at least finish year 12 otherwise you won't have the motivation to go back to it or will have to complete it at tafe later on. Getting a trade behind you is always a good thing as long as you could find something you enjoy doing.

There are lots of dollars in Mining but you would have to be disciplined not to blow it all on entertainment on your weeks off, save instead & buy a house by the time you're 25.

[MasterOfReality]

I second the mining option, whether it be as an engineer or operator.

When I left school, I didnt really know what to do.

My dad suggested mining engineering as my grandfather was a mining engineer/mine manager and liked it a lot, so I thought why not, I'll give it a go - although my maths and physics was very average.

I did the 4 year mining engineering course - at times I felt like dropping out, but it gradually became more interesting as I got a grasp on the concepts.

I started work in central qld as an underground miner then moved out to western nsw as an underground mining engineer. I started work before the mining boom, therefore whilst the salaries werent awesome, they werent that bad. I got sick of living in the bush so I decided to go back to uni to do a phd in mining engineering. A couple of months after I started, the mining boom took off and I was getting phone calls almost every week asking me if I wanted to quit uni and start work. The salaries on offer were around $100k - that blew my mind as I was only 23 at the time.

So now I have just about finished the phd, and do research/consulting work in Brisbane. The bonus is the city lifestyle coupled with mining boom salaries.

So yeah, if you want to get a headstart financially, you really cant go past the mining sector - and plus you get to play with big trucks and explosives as well.

[Hopper]

I finished yr 12 last year and went straight into uni this year. I kind of wish I took a gap year now but it's not because I hat uni. Uni is way way way different to high school, it has less contact hours (21-23 per week for me in mining engineering). And you can do as much or as little work as you want, no one forces you so your results are up to you and how much you work. Don't be afraid that if you take a year off you won't know many people at uni, you make friends easily and will find heaps of people with the same interests as you.

The reason I am partially regretting not taking a gap year is because my mate from last year is doing that. He did it through the gap organisation and right now is in Squamish Canada teaching rock climbing and other outdoor activities at a camp. He is also gonna be spending a fair bit of time around Whistler too.

What I'm hoping to do is spend a semester on exchange in another country, my sister spent 2nd sememster of second year at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and said it was the best experience of her life. Good thing about that is she is now really good friends with someone who has a holiday house in Whsitler and they said I can use it whenever I want :D