Huge great-big thank you to everyone who's replied again, I really appreciate every word.
Stringer Bell said:
Just wondering Jack Bauer, what are you doing at this present time?
I was working in a local bakery until I started this thread. I'd had enough of doing something I really, really didn't want to do. I felt slightly pressured into getting
any job as I was being told constantly by my family that I needed
something, anything. I was stressed up to the eyeballs (which is horrible - I realise people are going through things ten billion times worse than what I'm going through - I feel guilty even saying that I'm "going through" something!!). So currently, what I'm "doing" is adding to my graphics and writing portfolios every day, and deciding what to do with my life.
MrCoopz said:
BTW are u still a Season Ticket holder?
Haha, as if. As much as I'd love one, I need the money.
hutch said:
Mate, this might sound like some ridiculous advice so just ignore it if it is.
All of your advice is very welcome Hutch, especially as we're quite similar characters (don't go getting offended). I'm warming more and more to the idea of Uni, especially seeing as your life-story is similar to mine (shy, interested in graphics etc.) - but there's still some things I've got to think about. Especially career choice, which rockykabir mentioned.
Stringer Bell said:
Just want to say, Uni isn't the only option! It's not the be all and end all.
I agree, especially seeing as most people I know in high-flying jobs got there with few or even no qualifications. But my struggle to find anything is an indication that when you're starting out with no previous experience, you need a very, very strong qualification to get them to look at you twice. That said, I'd much rather go without Uni - but it's not looking like I have much of a choice.
Milanista said:
You can still find a job, but demand from multi national companies for this sort of education is slowly increasing... which is also why the government in England are trying to encourage people to go to university.
What he said. Unfortunately.
Clockender said:
I never went to Uni. Do I regret it? Sometimes. Do I earn a lot now? I do ok. Am I happy in life? Yes and thats not because of the amount of money I earn.
I joined a bank after my BTEC in Business in Finance 14 years ago. I thought I was made for life, career path and all that. I left the bank after 4 years as the job changed dramtically and I hated it. I joined a smaller company in the admin dept. When a trainee job came in the IT dept I jumped at the chance. I am now the Senior System Administrator, doing support and network admin, the next step is to be the IT manager!
This is the kind of story I'm talking about - most people I know who are in decent-paying jobs have got there this way, which makes me feel like Uni may turn out to be a waste of a few years. But then I suppose I would have a job by now if I didn't need to go to Uni. I've fixed more PCs than I can remember, I've been doing it for years, but when you're going for a job you can't say "I've got all these qualifications from Uni plus I've fixed my sister's PCs, my nephew's PCs, my neighbour's and their friends' PC's" or whatever. Doesn't stand up very well!!
clockender said:
Good luck Jack in whatever you do. You will find happiness and the right balance in your life.
Thank you so much. I hope so!!
csaunders said:
the IT field has always been a place where degrees dont mean that much, but with offshoring of IT work and the like, it now is more important then ever. Its alot easier to fall into something with a Uni degree then not... you will have alot more choices in life with that degree son...
Very true. I suppose for the cost of a few years, going to Uni is worth it. It'll work or it won't, but it's worth a try.
rockykabir said:
Having a degree is increasingly becoming a necessity.
But this also depends on the field of work you want to go into. Obviously for fields like Law, you'll need a degree. But fields like IT, hands on experience is often highly regarded - sometimes you'll find that your degree is not of any use.
My tutor at college, who used to work in a telecoms company, asked one of the guys he was training to go and fix this problem, whatever it was. Anyway, the guy went away and came back a few hours later with what my tutor originally thought was a newspaper. He'd gone away and done a REPORT on how to fix the problem, all of the different methods, the choices, diagrams, the lot. But he hadn't actually TOUCHED what he was supposed to fix. When he eventually went away to fix the problem, he fucked it up completely; and apparently, this happened more than once (with different people). So his view on degrees was different to most of the other tutor's. :|
rockykabir said:
But, you will have to ask yourself a few questions. You like design - but will you want your interest as a career?
Absolutely valid question. I'm usually a "yes" man, but a couple of months ago my girlfriend's dad said to me "to be able to understand all of this gibberish and fix it all, you must really love computers", and I nearly exploded. I don't, in all honesty. I had a PC plonked in-front of me when I was barely an age of double-digits. I played around with it, broke it, and my sister's boyfriend would come and fix it. He'd tell me what the problem was, why the problem was occuring, how to fix it, and why never to do it again. It all seemed to stick, whereas all of the other "subjects" I had didn't seem to get anything to stick (I couldn't speak French or German at school, but my Frerman was astounding).
But the thing is, I don't have any other kind of talent elsewhere. I'm a modest guy but the first thing I'd say about myself is I'm a computer whizz. Everything else I am utterly appauling at, though. There's things I enjoy, graphics being one of them, but I don't think I've got any talent in that field. The only other thing I think I'd be good at, which I'd LOVE to have a career in, is football coaching. I'm far from a great player, but I love to teach, and I believe that I'm tactically clever. But whether I could ever get into that field, ever, I have no idea.
I tried to look up the first football coaching courses you can do on the FA website, but the ones I'd need are only currently available in Wiltshire, from the looks of things (and I live in Cheshire, so there goes that idea). Plus the prices are astronomical. The basic ones are £50, which is fair enough, but the others range from £150 to £250+. Still, as much as I'd love to, and as I've already said, I'm sure it would be a very difficult career path to pursue anyway.
babs said:
A lot of the design advice seems sound here, I'd also add getting yourself a portfolio together asap. Just bung everything you've done in it and have a look through.
That's what I'm currently working on.
Cheers for all your advice Babs, you're a star.
and im guessing should i put the effort in and make myself stand out they might recruit me on completetion of my uni course, doing games technology (basicly programming design and graphics all in one then in the final year you pick your strong point and specialize in it 
