[emptyfield]

Hello everyone, I'm writing here as I'd like some advice on what to do with my studies.

I'm 21 and I'm supposed to start my philosophy degree this autumn. I have already studied a different subject for one year and a half in my country (Italy) but then I quitted it for personal reasons and I moved here in London in June 2011. To be honest I applied to uni just for curiosity, yes I graduated from my high school with excellent grades, but still I had no idea I'd be accepted and actually when I applied I didn't even want to start a new degree, cause I felt that moving to another country alone, becoming independent from my parents, finding a job and paying my own living was quite enough for a while.

What about now? Now I know that I do want to start a new degree, but I'm still unsure if I should start in 2012 or 2013.
My biggest problem is related to work, and of course money. I have a stable job but I'm having lots and lots of problems with the new manager (the whole team is having the same problems) who actually said that she's going to mess with my rota and not giving me enough hours if I decide to study in september, and the fact that I told her that there might be this chance also blew away my promotion (and the payrise). My job is really important to me as my parents already agreed to pay my tuition fees (I can't take a loan at least for my first year, as I've already studied before) and I'm already feeling guilty for that, I absolutely don't want to depend on them for anything else.

I thought about deferring cause this way I'd have more time to figure out my work situation. Me and my team are trying to do what we can to send this manager away but, in case we are successful, it will still take the whole summer and there is no sign we will be. I will more likely transfer to another shop but I don't want to be the new one immediately claming particular shifts (as I'll be attending my classes as well).
In my mind deferring one year will allow me to save more money (as I said before I applied almost for a joke so I didn't save much last year) which will make me less anxious about my work's shifts.

On the other hand... I'm quite angry cause I think that I should take decisions about my job depending on my life, not the other way around, and there are moments when I really miss studying (but there are moments when I think that I really want to just screw around another year!).

What would you do?

(thanks for reading all that!)

[PatrickC]

I would keep working because money is quite important whilst studying especially if you want to be as self sufficient as possible. By next year you'll have more money and something you can write on your CV which means you could leave your job and get a really good part-time job to go along side your studies. Generally lots of place like students with previous experience, even if it's just in a uni SU bar or club.

If you're studying psychology it's not something like maths were in a year it simply goes out of your head. A lot of it will be literature based. In which case just make sure you keep the interest in it up by reading up on it, looking at psychology studies etc. Maybe even ask the university what book is used in the first year so you can be ahead of all of the competition when you get to university.

Whatever you do make sure you aren't disappointed with the decision. You know yourself which option you'd prefer to take, and which ever option that is I'd tell you to follow your gut feeling, otherwise you will spend a year being miserable and thinking you made the wrong choice (whether that's boredom with your job or broke-ness in your first year of uni).

Good luck with the choice I hope you make the write one which ever that may be!

[poony]

Have you ever considered Open University, you can work & study at the same time, not easy but an option

[Origami Bullets]

Telling your manager that you're planning on leaving before you have to ... always a bad idea.

[capital S]

Sounds like you don't have a grand plan on where you want your life to go; perhaps it's time for a gap year instead?

[emptyfield]

(Original post by Origami Bullets)
Telling your manager that you're planning on leaving before you have to ... always a bad idea.

Actually I was planning to talk with her in september, but she asked very precise questions and I didn't want to lie. anyway I'm not leaving, I'd be working like I work now, but I'd need a particular rota (like, no shifts in the morning during the week etc)

[emptyfield]

(Original post by capital S)
Sounds like you don't have a grand plan on where you want your life to go; perhaps it's time for a gap year instead?

ehm, I'm on a gap year since january 2011, when I quitted my degree in Italy. I don't think that another year will help me realize what I want to do, besides I'm not even interested in having a precise plan - I had it once, and my life scattered in the most miserable way ever. I just know that I want to take this philosophy degree in this university, this year or the one after.

[emptyfield]

(Original post by PatrickC)
I would keep working because money is quite important whilst studying especially if you want to be as self sufficient as possible. By next year you'll have more money and something you can write on your CV which means you could leave your job and get a really good part-time job to go along side your studies. Generally lots of place like students with previous experience, even if it's just in a uni SU bar or club.

If you're studying psychology it's not something like maths were in a year it simply goes out of your head. A lot of it will be literature based. In which case just make sure you keep the interest in it up by reading up on it, looking at psychology studies etc. Maybe even ask the university what book is used in the first year so you can be ahead of all of the competition when you get to university.

Whatever you do make sure you aren't disappointed with the decision. You know yourself which option you'd prefer to take, and which ever option that is I'd tell you to follow your gut feeling, otherwise you will spend a year being miserable and thinking you made the wrong choice (whether that's boredom with your job or broke-ness in your first year of uni).

Good luck with the choice I hope you make the write one which ever that may be!

I've been doing this job for a year now and I was really relying on my promotion, as this would mean less hour worked for the same salary, because of the payrise. Anyway you're right, next year I'll have more experience, 2 years are not that bad on a CV especially if you're 22.

I'm studying philosophy, not psychology, but what you say relates to philosophy as well - actually I think with philosophy is even much easier :P

Thank you for your words, I agree when you say that the most important thing is that I don't end up regretting my decision, whatever it is.

[capital S]

(Original post by emptyfield)
ehm, I'm on a gap year since january 2011, when I quitted my degree in Italy. I don't think that another year will help me realize what I want to do, besides I'm not even interested in having a precise plan - I had it once, and my life scattered in the most miserable way ever. I just know that I want to take this philosophy degree in this university, this year or the one after.

i don't mean the following personally, but it's just the mistake i've seen many of my friends make:

if you don't have a specific reason to start a degree, then you probably won't make it anyway. just sayin'.

[emptyfield]

(Original post by capital S)
i don't mean the following personally, but it's just the mistake i've seen many of my friends make:

if you don't have a specific reason to start a degree, then you probably won't make it anyway. just sayin'.

if you consider other reasons apart from getting a job related to what I'm going to study, which seems the most popular one to start a degree (I couldn't care less and I know it's also difficult as it's not a scientific degree) then yes, I have a specific reason why I want to start this degree.

[PatrickC]

(Original post by emptyfield)
I've been doing this job for a year now and I was really relying on my promotion, as this would mean less hour worked for the same salary, because of the payrise. Anyway you're right, next year I'll have more experience, 2 years are not that bad on a CV especially if you're 22.

I'm studying philosophy, not psychology, but what you say relates to philosophy as well - actually I think with philosophy is even much easier :P

Thank you for your words, I agree when you say that the most important thing is that I don't end up regretting my decision, whatever it is.

Sorry about that I must've misread! Yes haha I think the same thing with philosophy just keep the interest up etc.

Good luck!!

[PatrickC]

(Original post by capital S)
are you kidding me? difficult? girl, it's impossible: philosophy is an utterly useless degree in the job market.

especially for such a degree, i sure hope you have a damn good reason to study

I think we've been lead to believe in the current climate it's horribly stupid to do a degree that may not have high employability at the present. One of the biggest problems society faces is lack of education. If OP wants to learn about this subject and has the funding/not worried about paying back the loan then by all means they should go for it.

A degree shouldn't be based on whether you can get a job at the end of it. The person choosing should know whether it's employable in the first place and if that's not important to them then it shouldn't be a factor. I would be studying engineering even if it was a poor degree for getting a job at the end, I'm just lucky that my interest coincides with a highly employable course.

[capital S]

(Original post by PatrickC)
I think we've been lead to believe in the current climate it's horribly stupid to do a degree that may not have high employability at the present. One of the biggest problems society faces is lack of education. If OP wants to learn about this subject and has the funding/not worried about paying back the loan then by all means they should go for it.

A degree shouldn't be based on whether you can get a job at the end of it. The person choosing should know whether it's employable in the first place and if that's not important to them then it shouldn't be a factor. I would be studying engineering even if it was a poor degree for getting a job at the end, I'm just lucky that my interest coincides with a highly employable course.

Just to be clear, I agree with this completely - I'm just emphasizing that at least the job prospects of Philosophy ain't great to say the least, so surely OP should have a very good alternative reason to study it.