Thread: Jobs

I wasn't sure where to post this but here goes.
I don't want to be in school anymore, I can't stand it. My brother recently got accepted into Cambridge university and I'm feeling like im in his shadow. I can't stay there, so basically, what jobs can I do that don't require highers/Alevels?
I don't want to go onto further education, so any ideas are welcome!

It depends what interests you. It's always best to go for a job you like because the fact is its going to take up a heck of a lot of your time. If money isn't an immediate issue, you could try an apprenticeship. It pays peanuts but it gets you qualifications at the same time as on the job experience which can be invaluable. For example my brother is paid pop star wages for a job he does in an accounts department of a nationwide company. Technically he isn't formally qualified as he doesn't have the 'on paper' credentials that others in similar roles do but he went straight from his apprenticeship at 17 into that job and is now invaluable so twice a year when he asks for a pay rise he gets it because they don't want to lose him.

If you don't fancy that then you can start at the bottom of any career ladder and work your way up. I have to admit I prefer this method anyway. I would rather have a ground level knowledge of a jo if and when i reach management level so I know exactly what every person under me should be doing rather than coming straight from uni and thinking i know it all because I have a piece of paper in my hands.

The main issue is that starting at the bottom is always going to pay less, but work hard and you'll progress quickly, and you wont have a hefty student loan to pay off either!

Sit down and write a list of careers that you think you might want, then list the reason you think you'd enjoy it and be good at it. Have you already left school? if you haven't is there a careers advisor you can speak to who can help guide you? If not the jobcentre has people who can help direct you on a career path.

Hi Lozzy

I may well have misunderstood your previous posts - but you seem to have suggested that you have got Highers:

'Thank you very much. I've got my self highers (aka a levels) and don't especially want to go to university, just because I don't like a class enviroment, I'm thinking about doing open uni though'.

If you have, your options are different to basically dropping out of school at 16/17.

Your boyfriend is off to Dartmouth which suggests he is a young man with ambition and drive. I'm sorry to shoot from the hip but how do you think he might feel about having a girlfriend who has dropped out of school and has no ambition? The people he will be training alongside and ultimately compete with in his career will be most likely to date and eventually marry girls like them - Nurses, teachers, accountants, solicitors, Vet & dental nurses, other Officers...

If you are labouring under the delusion that military wives are largely housewives, you'd be wrong. Some of course are, particularly whilst raising their children, but most have a career to which they return. We spend A LOT of time alone. Independence, gritting your teeth and getting on with it, carrying your share of the load (and often more than your share) is how it is. It really isn't some glamourous life where a nice house is provided by the military and you putter about whilst your husband brings home the bacon. You'll be called on to contribute in every way...including financially.

Ultimately, of course it is up to you. You can leave school now and end up flipping burgers, or as you hate your school so much, you could look into going to college and either getting your highers (if you haven't already) or studying something which interests you, but if you sit at home doing some dead end job whilst your boyfriends horizons expand at the rate they're going to, you will get left behind.

I agree with Heli, might seem hard, but she is right..... don't give up on yourself as you think that it would justify you moving down to Dartmouth with him, 'if you aren't at school there is nothing stopping you moving down with him'

One thing, I think that you need to more independent and put yourself and your future first for a bit, he is going to be taking a new challenge/chapter/life and you need to keep yourself busy, which in turn will make you a better support for him, he doesn't need to be worrying about you and financially how the two of you are going to cope and you expecting him home the whole time as you are stuck in a little flat not working living on JSA......

Try an apprenticeship, get a part time job where you are at the mom whilst you continue your education, (retail perhaps..) however, also, just open up any newspaper at the moment and you will see how tough it is out there, the world has changed since i didn't bother going to uni, I was lucky and was able to work myself up to where I am now...

I would say, don't do anything rash and don't give up on yourself, because also, if you two ever did split up, you don't want to be bitter and resentful that you have no career due to moving with him. Sorry if this sounds harsh and I am sure that he isn't the whole reason why you don't want to continue education, just if you decide it is not the path you want to go down, that you are doing it for the right reasons

Good luck hon in whatever you chose, just think about it long and hard, you have your whole life in front of you
xxxxx

Hi Lozzy

I can honestly say I know how you feel. When I took my GCSE's I was going through a really hard time and I just wanted to get away from school and learning and do something more practical. As it happened I carried on with my A levels but missed loads of college for one thing and another and pretty much failed all my exams.

I was completely gutted. I didn't want to fail and having worked through my college years I realised I was more ambitious than the routes open to me as a school leaver. I worked my arse off from that point and I did everything I had to in order to reach University. I loved it there. It was a world away from school and college and such an amazing experience.

Now I am studying for a MSc and I am just about to finish on a really good graduate scheme that has taught me so much. I am so lucky that my parents pushed me to stick with education. My OH's didnt and whilst he is doing well in his career now I know he is jealous of some of the opertunities that I have had because I continued my education.

I am not saying University or College is for everyone (in fact I personally think too many people go who would be better off doing on the job training) but I would say know WHY you aren't going. If it is just because you don't want to study you will find having a career really tough. Even people who progress "through the ranks" have to study to get better jobs.

If you are really serious about vocasional training I would start exploring apprentiships and internships. It will be poorly paid at first but you will progress. If you want a job that is always recruiting and will train you up- have a look at social care. It averages abour £7-8 an hour (down here anyway) and normally will provide you with training and prospects- its tough and not brilliantly paid but its very flexible and can be a bit more meaningful than shop work.

Don't give up, you'll kick yourself when you reach 30 and you have feck all to show for it!

Why not do evening classes? If the thought of full education isn't good, get yourself a job and attend a p/t evening class for whatever you want. I did my Alevel psychology p/t, 1 evening a week as a fast track for a year, instead of 2yrs. You're young, have no kids, you have all the time in the world.

Join job agencies, temping agencies, get a feel for what you want or can do, then have a look at reentering the educational system.

But you need drive, being an Officer's OH has standards to go with it, not to be mean but how will it look in 7yrs time when you've got a dead end job in maccy D's and he's a high flyer? Not good

I understand all the comments, and appreciate them.
But Im not leaving school to be with my OH, I now understand I need to sort my life out first. He is going to go down whilst I sort my work and we'll just see how long distance goes. And I'm not wanting to go to university because I see no courses I want to do, and I would prefer to learn through training then do a course I don't want to do. And my exams are next week so, ill have my highers soon. And I also don't see the point in staying for my last year when there are no more highers o would like to take, I've done all the ones that I need/like. I understand that my OH has ambition and might not appreciate a 'drop out girlfriend' but he is helping Mr just now to find careers that I can do, he helps me find ambition. I've been looking into the insurance industry- becoming a broker, it seems like a good job and I have connecting to some people who own a business that specialises in it.

I'd echo the advice given, although I left school with A levels, and earn very good money, the initial years were hard work, harder than Uni life, but having worked hard, I earn more than most of my old school friends.

But I'd decided that Uni wasn't for me, as I didn't have a plan and I knew I would drift because I was inherently lazy in school work, but I also knew that A levels opened up more opportunities than without them and proved I had the desire to work to an employer as they were "optional" something I'd made a choice to do.

Remember, when thinking about a career, hours of work and portability of the job plus enjoyment, what makes you tick, this last part, you probably don't know at the moment if it's your OH who helps you find your ambition, and that's ok, but you will be the one that needs to maintain it.

Honestly, with the current job market, I wouldn't leave school if you have an option of another year, unless you have a job to go to, because the social life of school is better than that of the unemployment office.

Also, and this isn't being rude, I wouldn't buy an insurance product off a 17/18 year old, maybe because I've worked in insurance in the past/crotchety old sod, but my gut feeling would be, how do you really know what I need in my life when you haven't lived...

That's not to say you won't make it, that's just me, I'm an odd one, but, a lot of those jobs require you to sell to family and friends first, because if you can't sell to them, who can you sell to, I just know I couldn't, but then I don't do sales for a reason! Although if you are outgoing, chatty, self starter then maybe sales is for you.

Just don't jump because it seems greener, have a plan and make the move when it's best for you.

Having gained O levels at comprehensive school, I completed my A levels at 6th form college in 1984, and by the end, knew I didn't want to go to university / polytechnic. In those recessionary days, there weren't many engineering apprenticeships (I lived in West Midlands so looked at automotive factories), so I did what was effectively a nursing apprenticeship (sadly no longer available, as all nurse training is college / university based). By the end of that training, I had decided what I wanted to study, lined up a place at university and saved enough money to take over a year off travelling. I came back to UK, signed up for local NHS nurse bank and joined TA as a nursing officer, which provided good training, interest and money while studying / during vacations. Later, I have had many jobs, studied full time for a MSc and also studied for Certificate in HE at night school.

So, a few points to highlight -
Colleges (6th form / technical / FE) may be better places to study than school
Getting academic qualifications under your belt is never wasted - and some options are only open to people with eg Highers
Getting other qualifications / experience is also valuable - I've had opportunities because I can speak Spanish, use GPS, coach orienteering etc.
If you don't want to study straight from school, there are other options eg Open University, night school etc.
getting good
Working while studying is possible - even preferable to doing just one at a time

Personally, I think it is hitting home to you that they have chosen the path in life whereas you have yet to do so. Does it make you feel is as if you are not as grown up as them as you are still at school studying but they are getting out in the world to start their adult lives?

TLC x

I agree, I wouldn't leave school right now, the job market is an arse. If it's hard for someone with experience and qualificiations to get a job, you will find it very hard for you too

How about a vocational career that will give you a pratical skill you can apply to wherever you are based? It can be hard to commit to a career with kids and the life the army requires of you (moving, time commitment etc). I wont be able to commit to a new job any hours outside of school or weekends as I wont have childcare cover and we cant afford to pay for it (it defeats workign the extra hours). My hubbys ex wife trained as a childminder, she loved it and she could do it wherever they moved to. Or hairdresser, beauty therapy etc would always be something that you could train as and work in local salons or self employed.
I wouldnt throw away your education though, may seem liekt he easier route just now but you may regret it later in life, as I do. I didnt stay on for my Highers and now wish I had done. I have since completed many college courses but I have never been able to find my 'niche' so to speak and feel I could have more of a career had I stayed on at school.

You can always go back and get qualifications later if you really feel it isn't for you. Through circumstances I won't bore you with I don't have any Highers/A levels but I do have a degree and a masters. You don't always have to go down the conventional route if it doesn't suit you.