[amel]

Im thinking of dropping out of uni because i really dont like my course- people may find its a bit late during the year to quit but in my course there are placements and things and im kinda hating the practical side of it.
anyway, so i was thinking of looking for a simple office job within a big-ish company, but i was wondering whether i would be able to develop a career this way. or would it be better to go through the apprenticeship route? I have good GCSE's and average a-levels.
Are there any success stories out there?

[jfinney94]

(Original post by amel)
Im thinking of dropping out of uni because i really dont like my course- people may find its a bit late during the year to quit but in my course there are placements and things and im kinda hating the practical side of it.
anyway, so i was thinking of looking for a simple office job within a big-ish company, but i was wondering whether i would be able to develop a career this way. or would it be better to go through the apprenticeship route? I have good GCSE's and average a-levels.
Are there any success stories out there?

Well yes you can work your way up, but it would be easier to get that promotion with some qualifications. You may actually find it hard to gain an entry level job in the 1st place, so maybe an apprenticeship is a good route to follow.

[Duck and Cover]

I think a lot of it depends on the company you'd be working for as well.

On the one hand, working for a larger organisation may have more opportunities to move into other roles, but on the other hand you may be able to grow and develop more in a smaller, growing company where you have a more diverse role.

[ForKicks]

It depends massively on the company. Be open about your ambitions and just ask Best time would be when they say 'any questions?' at the end of interview. It's actually a great question to ask and would provide you with the most important bit of information you need if you want to work in it full-time.

[dr.phalange]

DON'T QUIT

I'm an office junior at the minute and it's just tortureeee - in my experience girls/women are extremely bitchy and back stabbing in offices

Plus you talk like it's easy to get such a job?! You can have mine if you like I'm quitting to go to Uni in September!

I honestly believe that if you quit Uni then you will regret it.

[ForKicks]

(Original post by dr.phalange)
DON'T QUIT

I'm an office junior at the minute and it's just tortureeee - in my experience girls/women are extremely bitchy and back stabbing in offices

Plus you talk like it's easy to get such a job?! You can have mine if you like I'm quitting to go to Uni in September!

I honestly believe that if you quit Uni for such a job then you will regret it.

I agree and appear to have missed the obvious that OP is thinking of quitting

Stick it out OP! 2 more years of uni is nothing. Just work hard and do it underdog style

[dr.phalange]

(Original post by ForKicks)
I agree and appear to have missed the obvious that OP is thinking of quitting

Stick it out OP! 2 more years of uni is nothing. Just work hard and do it underdog style

In the past year of being an office junior I have realised more and more how quick life goes and have had enough of being stuck in a boring and very patronising job when I know I can do better.

Maybe OP should think about starting another course or changing modules - I'm not sure how your degree/uni works.

I may be slightly biased, but IMHO you can do a lot better and if 2 years of not enjoying the practical side of a degree is what it takes then it will be worth it

[n65uk]

(Original post by amel)
Im thinking of dropping out of uni because i really dont like my course- people may find its a bit late during the year to quit but in my course there are placements and things and im kinda hating the practical side of it.
anyway, so i was thinking of looking for a simple office job within a big-ish company, but i was wondering whether i would be able to develop a career this way. or would it be better to go through the apprenticeship route? I have good GCSE's and average a-levels.
Are there any success stories out there?

What course are you doing?

[amel]

(Original post by ForKicks)
I agree and appear to have missed the obvious that OP is thinking of quitting

Stick it out OP! 2 more years of uni is nothing. Just work hard and do it underdog style

yeah but i find my practical side of the course sooo tedious and just everyday work life is boring- another two years would be torture itself!

[amel]

(Original post by n65uk)
What course are you doing?

im doing an nhs course (physiotherapy) so im thinking that if i dont like the practical side of things then theres no point in doing the course at all.
and if you're all wondering, yes i did do some work experience- but i could only get a day in my local physio department and of course they gave me a very basic overview of what i would be doing...now ive been on a few placements, im not so sure anymore...

[amel]

(Original post by dr.phalange)
In the past year of being an office junior I have realised more and more how quick life goes and have had enough of being stuck in a boring and very patronising job when I know I can do better.

Maybe OP should think about starting another course or changing modules - I'm not sure how your degree/uni works.

I may be slightly biased, but IMHO you can do a lot better and if 2 years of not enjoying the practical side of a degree is what it takes then it will be worth it

how long did you work there for? were there not any opportunities for other job roles?
there seemed to be a lot of these roles advertised on the web nowadays (perhaps because of students going to uni??) so i thought it might have been easier to get a job with a few more vacancies going...

[ForKicks]

(Original post by amel)
yeah but i find my practical side of the course sooo tedious and just everyday work life is boring- another two years would be torture itself!

It wouldn't be torture Being kidnapped in the desert for 2 months would be torture!

It's just not desirable

[dr.phalange]

(Original post by amel)
how long did you work there for? were there not any opportunities for other job roles?
there seemed to be a lot of these roles advertised on the web nowadays (perhaps because of students going to uni??) so i thought it might have been easier to get a job with a few more vacancies going...

I am still working there, I finish in September for uni. The people are extremely patronising, the women are very arrogant and seem to think they own the place because they've worked there for centuries, and the men are pervy.

I think it's because there is such a high turnover of admin staff - a lot of people move around to try and look for something better etc.

What did you want to do with your degree? Surely you can do something else - just off the top of my head you could use Open University and get a job at the same time. You could try for apprenticeships (if you can hack the shocking wages!)

I applied for between 50-100 admin jobs August/Sept 2011 and the place where I work now was the first and only interview I got offered - it's very competitive and everyone is looking for experience.

Just a few things to think about

Try not to make any rash decisions!

Edit: Just read through your other comments above - you will find a whole new meaning of the word tedious if you quit Uni to be an office junior!
I'm sorry but I'm just being honest!

[amel]

(Original post by dr.phalange)
I am still working there, I finish in September for uni. The people are extremely patronising, the women are very arrogant and seem to think they own the place because they've worked there for centuries, and the men are pervy.

I think it's because there is such a high turnover of admin staff - a lot of people move around to try and look for something better etc.

What did you want to do with your degree? Surely you can do something else - just off the top of my head you could use Open University and get a job at the same time. You could try for apprenticeships (if you can hack the shocking wages!)

I applied for between 50-100 admin jobs August/Sept 2011 and the place where I work now was the first and only interview I got offered - it's very competitive and everyone is looking for experience.

Just a few things to think about

Try not to make any rash decisions!

Edit: Just read through your other comments above - you will find a whole new meaning of the word tedious if you quit Uni to be an office junior!
I'm sorry but I'm just being honest!

i was just thinking that if i find my course boring, im also likely to find the rest of my career not very interesting too. maybe if i get an office junior job, ill be able to slog it out for a few years and then maybe branch out into something that i find more interesting to do- i understand everyones comments about finding a job maybe difficult...but perhaps if i just get my foot in the door as it were and trying to find a department that i really enjoy would be more worth it in the long run? :s

[dr.phalange]

(Original post by amel)
i was just thinking that if i find my course boring, im also likely to find the rest of my career not very interesting too. maybe if i get an office junior job, ill be able to slog it out for a few years and then maybe branch out into something that i find more interesting to do- i understand everyones comments about finding a job maybe difficult...but perhaps if i just get my foot in the door as it were and trying to find a department that i really enjoy would be more worth it in the long run? :s

Is there no other option for you? Is it either stay in your course or get a boring office job?

To go from doing something practical like physiotherapy to sat at a desk answering the phones and making brews is absolutely crazy IMO
I don't know why you would even consider it!

Trust me - if you quit for a 9-5 job you'll realise that you've actually never had it so good as you do now.

Why can't you slog out your degree?

Someone with a degree > someone who quit their degree to become someones b***h!

[amel]

(Original post by dr.phalange)
Is there no other option for you? Is it either stay in your course or get a boring office job?

To go from doing something practical like physiotherapy to sat at a desk answering the phones and making brews is absolutely crazy IMO
I don't know why you would even consider it!

Trust me - if you quit for a 9-5 job you'll realise that you've actually never had it so good as you do now.

Why can't you slog out your degree?

Someone with a degree > someone who quit their degree to become someones b***h!

what im trying too say is, if i dont enjoy the degree then i wont enjoy my career either even if i do slog it out for the next two years. and by what you're saying about office jobs, its a no win situation...
an office job cant be that bad right? even if it is a couple of years wont do any harm, and then by building up experience, i might be able to branch out into other work (not just making tea all day :P)
i was thinking of doing an apprenticeship- even though the pay is soooo bad, it may be a better way of building up my skills for a different career?

[dr.phalange]

(Original post by amel)
what im trying too say is, if i dont enjoy the degree then i wont enjoy my career either even if i do slog it out for the next two years. and by what you're saying about office jobs, its a no win situation...
an office job cant be that bad right? even if it is a couple of years wont do any harm, and then by building up experience, i might be able to branch out into other work (not just making tea all day :P)
i was thinking of doing an apprenticeship- even though the pay is soooo bad, it may be a better way of building up my skills for a different career?

Obviously it's your decision so if that's what you want to do with your life then that's absolutely fine. Personally I don't think you really know what to do and getting a job in an office seems like the easiest/safest option.
Surely there must be something else you want to do other that physiotherapy/office work? It all depends on what office you get into - the bigger the better IMO. My work place is pretty small, everyone knows everyone, everyones bitching about everyone, it's like you're being watched 24/7 and the people are extremely arrogant.

My advice to you now would be to research into as many different career paths as you can and try and get other experience before quitting your degree - surely there is no need to quit just yet as you'll be finished soon?
You could take this summer to 'find yourself' and start a fresh next term either still at uni or in a job that you really want to do!
There's no stopping you taking other courses for example teaching courses (not sure if you are interested in that sort of thing but it's just an example!)