25 yrs old, starting from the bottom with a long way to go, help please

Hi Everyone

Ive been deciding whether or not higher education was something for me for about a year now, after countless hours of figuring things out and trying to see where my life is heading I've finally decided its best i go back to education to try and improve my future, my end goal is to become a Teacher and travel the world in the process.

I travelled and lived in Asia for 2.5 years (ive been home for 1 year now) and I'm set on living out there for a large amount, if not the rest of my life.

Ive been thinking of ways to sustain myself, coming up with all sorts of ideas, investment strategies but really it always boils down to the same thing, sustainability and visa trouble. I need to work in Asia in order to stay there indefinitely. So in order to live there teaching seems like the best option....

Problem is I have nothing, no degree, no qualifications and no experience.

Now unlike some who just jump the gun and go out there and hope to get something I want to do it properly with the goal of progressing as a teacher into a well paid position. I actually want this to be my career not just a way of covering my costs while i travel around for a few years.

I know that this requires me to have a degree and a teacher certificate (which i believe is roughly 3-4 years for a degree and 1 year to become a qualified teacher (QTS) here in UK).

The only thing that has been holding me back has been the thought of studying something i have no interest in, as i know i won't stick to it (i thought to be a teacher i needed to have a degree in the subject i taught, teaching English in Asia led me to believe i would therefore need an English degree). Turns out you can have a degree in any subject, they just want to to be qualified in your country and obviously have experience. This was such a relief to find this as it made my dream now a reality. I was forced to study subjects i didn't want to study whilst at college when i was 16 and wasted 2 years and came out with an E grade A Level in Geology, the rest of the subject i failed.

QUESTION - When it comes to applying to Uni's after i complete the Access to HE course would you suggest including this on my UCAS for the measly amount of points it will provide?

I don't want to make this same mistake and would like to study something i have a passion in.

I know my passions in life - Music (not producing, just listening), blogging, Photography, Films, documenting life (through video and photography)

I also have an absolute passion for improving my health through nutrition and exercise, but honestly i can see myself doing this at Uni due to the complexity of these subjects.

Really i just need to find something that i am interested in and that is relatively easy, i just need a degree, doesn't matter what subject. I guess i am sort of lucky as i do not need a specific degree in order to progress my career, simply having any degree will put me on the right track to where i want to be.

Feel free to suggest some subjects i could research further to see if they would suit me

I need to figure out what subject I want to study, I guess this means talking to people who have done courses containing my interests (hopefully this forum will have a few people)

Once i know i can then choose a similar course in the Access to HE category to aid my application into University. Now ive missed the boat this year which isn't too much of a problem because it gives me another year of working to save money to cover some costs whilst i study for the next 4-5 years.

I thought about doing the Access to HE part time but thought it would just be better to do it full time and complete it in 1 year. What are your thoughts on this,

1) is it a large workload
2) can you just study one subject whilst on the Access to HE course.

QUESTION - Seeing as i have another year to wait to start the Access to HE course is there anything I can be doing this year to help myself to make sure i pass the course (apart from saving money)

I'm unable to answer all of your questions as I'm starting Access to HE this year.

I do know though that YES it is a large workload. You're preparing for University which is also a large workload. The Access to HE course is Level 3 work which is equivalent to A-Levels. In A-Levels you take 3 subjects but you have 2yrs. With Access you only have 1.

It's irrelevant if you do it part time for 2yrs or full time for 1yr - the work is still the same. It all has to be done so why make it 2yrs unless you absolutely have to? Full time is 3 days a week for 5hrs, 1 of those including lunch (in my college, anyway). One extra day I have to go in for an extra hour to do Study Skills/Toolbox.

Personally, I think if you're just looking for something "easy" you may as well not bother. Education isn't meant to be easy and if you only want easy you're not going to have the drive and dedication you need to complete everything.

That's just my 2 cents, take it for what you will.

Hey! Well I'm going to do access to he in September. It's honestly the only way I could work out how to get into uni. I think that once I've finished the course I'm still gonna need a ton of other things. But ho hum. It apparently looks "really good" if you do it - we'll that's according to the college I'm doing it at. But there gonna say that aren't they!!



Good luck!

You mentioned that you enjoyed travelling? Have you thought about studying Travel and Tourism?
Also, what about studying with the Open University?

If studying travel and tourism involves lengthy amounts of the year sitting in a hot country, doing absolutely nothing but chilling, listening to music, drinking sugar cane juice, eating amazing street food and watching life go by then sure ill start studying it straight away ^_^

You mentioned that you enjoyed travelling? Have you thought about studying Travel and Tourism?
Also, what about studying with the Open University?

Please don't post such **** advice.

You can't study just one subject. You have to choose 3 modules out of those available to you.

So say for instance i chose Art & Media access to he course, would that be equivalent to 2-3 a levels? or would i have to choose multiple access to he courses??

Well its quite relevant really, i mean the difference would mean studying AND working over 2 years

or

Not working and studying full time.....

But as you say full time study is only 3 days per week??? Which to me is really part time. Are all full time access to he course only 3 days per week????

i think you have failed to read my entire post (it was quite long i must admit)

Im not looking for ANY easy subject, im looking for subjects that first and foremost i have an interest in and secondly something that is easy as afterall i just need a degree, doesn't matter what its in.

I am delighted to see you have the goal, now you just need to figure out how to achieve it.

But unhelpful as it might seem, you really need to work out quickly what degree you wish to study. There are a number of reasons for this, but to briefly go over them. Eliminate all degrees that will exclude you from being funded for teacher training, and do not forget you may find it helpful to get some work experience in teaching before you emigrate (give added weight to subjects that there are shortages for). Then you could try the UCAS site to see what degree’s you might hopefully be interested in, or at the very worst could suffer for three years. Then you need to find out what Access to HE course they require to offer you a place. At some point you are going to have to write a Personal Statement to support your application to UCAS. I would suggest writing this now as you will have little time once your Access course starts. Being 25, you will obviously have more of a narrative than say an 18 year old, but find the guides by subject here on TSR for pointers.

While I hate to sound like your grumpy grandfather, and at the risk of stating the obvious, both the Access and university courses will be tough, if you make a bad choice, or do not commit fully to both, your dream may well hit a brick wall. I certainly wish you well with it, as I like the idea of where you should end up.

Unfortunately not! It involves looking at tourism impacts on destinations, how sustainable they are, management and planning of events and visitor attractions + so much more! If you like travelling then there's a huge possibility that this will appeal to you, and with your experience of living in Asia, I think it would be great for you to study a course like this.

Could you not do a teaching degree?

OP: You must study something you're interested in and also, do look online at the level of university courses. mitopencourseware is a good place to spy on lecture notes to see if you're capable of doing the lectures as your E in geology (geography?) rang alarm bells. Not everyone is capable of doing a degree, you can save yourself years of hardship and disappointment if you face this truth.

If you want advice on how to pass your access course, at least tell us what it consists of? Maths? Plenty of maths websites out there all willing to teach you, etc. Just look at the modules and get googling for resources.



Please don't post such **** advice.

What about a CELTA course? I'm not sure what the prerequisites are for something like this, but it is pretty well recognised abroad.

Geology not geography

I got an E from not revising a single bit, having about 3 hours sleep the night before the test and not even answering all the questions on the paper

I failed college not because I am stupid more down the fact i really could not give a **** what happened during that time. I just saw college as an excuse not to work for another 2 years. I didn't have the option to do courses i actually wanted to do (idiot parents saw photography, media and Physcology a waste of time) so i just thought **** it.