anyone who has done DofE?
I'm 18 and currently on a gap year whilst i decide what the hell to do with my life. I thought about DofE as it looks good on your cv and it'll get me out the house. What are people's experiences with DofE and is it worth it? I feel that i'll be the oldest as a lot of school kids do it and i'm just not sure if i'll enjoy it, i'm also not sure what kinds of activities i'd like to do so if anyone has any advice that'd be great!
Elizabeth has.
Original post by Articultr
I'm 18 and currently on a gap year whilst i decide what the hell to do with my life. I thought about DofE as it looks good on your cv and it'll get me out the house. What are people's experiences with DofE and is it worth it? I feel that i'll be the oldest as a lot of school kids do it and i'm just not sure if i'll enjoy it, i'm also not sure what kinds of activities i'd like to do so if anyone has any advice that'd be great!
Hey
It's worth checking out the DofE website 
I've done the Bronze award and it was great, the expeditions especially, they were fun, created memories with friends!
I learned a lot from it too 
(edited 8 years ago)
I finished my Bronze expedition yesterday and I can tell you that it's really tiring (especially as we got so unlucky with the heat...!). However, it's a really good thing to do, simply as a life experience as well as being something fairly impressive for your CV (Not to mention that the independence can feel great). Am hoping to do Silver next year as well.
Activities wise, I helped out at a Brownies' group for Volunteering, did swimming for Physical and learned a language for Skills. It's really a personal choice, so I can't really give much advice - but the DofE website has a long list of possible ideas which I found really helpful when trying to decide.
I'm sure that it would be a great thing to do if you're looking to get out of the house though. Good luck and I hope you decide to do DofE!
Activities wise, I helped out at a Brownies' group for Volunteering, did swimming for Physical and learned a language for Skills. It's really a personal choice, so I can't really give much advice - but the DofE website has a long list of possible ideas which I found really helpful when trying to decide.
I'm sure that it would be a great thing to do if you're looking to get out of the house though. Good luck and I hope you decide to do DofE!
i dont think any of my employers ever gave a toss about my DofE award
Waste of time. Employers/unis don't give a ****. Don't do it. Find some volunteer work at local charity shops.
Original post by Little Toy Gun
Elizabeth has.
Apparently it took her two years to finish!?
Original post by UpInTheMorning
Apparently it took her two years to finish!?
Does it? I'm that close to her.
Original post by Articultr
I'm 18 and currently on a gap year whilst i decide what the hell to do with my life. I thought about DofE as it looks good on your cv and it'll get me out the house. What are people's experiences with DofE and is it worth it? I feel that i'll be the oldest as a lot of school kids do it and i'm just not sure if i'll enjoy it, i'm also not sure what kinds of activities i'd like to do so if anyone has any advice that'd be great!
Hi, I've done my bronze award and have now almost finished my silver, just my hike to go.
It's really easy and looks really good on your CV. For Bronze all you have to do if 3 months volunteering, 3 months of a skill and 3 months of a physical activity. Then you just have to do an extra 3 months of one of the above so that one of them is 6 months long. You will also need to do a 2 day, 1 night hike which is usually good fun. When me and my friends did it we had several A2 students do it with us and we made a video diary as we went around and took funny pictures of us planking everywhere. You can upload any pictures you take etc to the eDofE site so you don't have to spend ages writing up what you did each time.
Finally, all you need to do when you've completed your 3/6 months, go to someone who knows you are doing it (over 16 and not a family member) and get them to write a paragraph or so saying you've made some progress in whatever it was you were doing.
There are tonnes of examples of different things you can do if you look on the DofE website. I also think you can bypass Bronze and go straight to silver if you do an extra few months of one of the activities but you'd have to check on that.
If you've got any extra questions feel free to ask, like I say I've done bronze and have almost finished silver...
Emma
Original post by KöniginderSchnee
Waste of time. Employers/unis don't give a ****. Don't do it. Find some volunteer work at local charity shops.
I've given interviews after seeing a gold award on a CV. I think it's a worthwhile award.
Original post by burnsy2023
I've given interviews after seeing a gold award on a CV. I think it's a worthwhile award.
Do you ever ask to see proof of the award?
I've done my Bronze DofE and I'm starting my Silver sometime soon. I think it's a good thing to do, if only to get you out of the house. The expedition was a blast. I did the practice with my friends but couldn't make the qualifier so I had to go with strangers. Doesn't really matter though. If anything, it was more fun! The volunteering is the only bit I'm not too keen on, but that's just because a bunch of hyped-up 8 year olds is rather tiring to manage.
Original post by christopher23
i dont think any of my employers ever gave a toss about my DofE award
That probably isn't true. No one is going to give you a job because you have done DofE, but it does say a bit about the person, mainly that they are willing to get off their arse and do something.
Original post by christopher23
Do you ever ask to see proof of the award?
I should point out that, so far, no employer has every actually asked to see evidence of any of my qualifications, so I wouldn't read anything into it if he hasn't.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Articultr
I'm 18 and currently on a gap year whilst i decide what the hell to do with my life. I thought about DofE as it looks good on your cv and it'll get me out the house. What are people's experiences with DofE and is it worth it? I feel that i'll be the oldest as a lot of school kids do it and i'm just not sure if i'll enjoy it, i'm also not sure what kinds of activities i'd like to do so if anyone has any advice that'd be great!
Personally i wouldnt bother but whatever floats your boat.
Original post by Articultr
I'm 18 and currently on a gap year whilst i decide what the hell to do with my life. I thought about DofE as it looks good on your cv and it'll get me out the house. What are people's experiences with DofE and is it worth it? I feel that i'll be the oldest as a lot of school kids do it and i'm just not sure if i'll enjoy it, i'm also not sure what kinds of activities i'd like to do so if anyone has any advice that'd be great!
I've done Bronze and Silver D of E, almost finished Gold and yes, I would highly recommend it as it shows potential employers that you have drive and commitment.
Original post by Articultr
I'm 18 and currently on a gap year whilst i decide what the hell to do with my life. I thought about DofE as it looks good on your cv and it'll get me out the house. What are people's experiences with DofE and is it worth it? I feel that i'll be the oldest as a lot of school kids do it and i'm just not sure if i'll enjoy it, i'm also not sure what kinds of activities i'd like to do so if anyone has any advice that'd be great!
I've done bronze and silver, and i highly recommend it! The trips were so enjoyable, and honestly if you self-organise it, you get pick some really amazing places to go and how you want to travel (I've cycled, my friends have sailed/kayaked/water-rafted/etc etc) However, if it's solely to pad up your cv, then no I don't recommend it. DofE I think is more about having a personal experience rather than using it as a work advantage. If you want activities on your CV, I think you should aim more at volunteer work with known global organisations (like WFFT) or even start your own charity! I've done this with a few friends and we've had nothing but positive feedback about our self-initiated organisation
Waste of time.
Original post by Articultr
I'm 18 and currently on a gap year whilst i decide what the hell to do with my life. I thought about DofE as it looks good on your cv and it'll get me out the house. What are people's experiences with DofE and is it worth it? I feel that i'll be the oldest as a lot of school kids do it and i'm just not sure if i'll enjoy it, i'm also not sure what kinds of activities i'd like to do so if anyone has any advice that'd be great!
I did Bronze DofE and I'm not sure whether I want to continue to Silver. DofE is a great thing to do, but it depends on several factors.
1.
The person who is organising it. Assuming you're starting at Bronze, you're probably going to be given a group leader. If they're disorganised or you aren't confident in their ability to teach you stuff, you're going to have a less pleasant experience.
2.
The people you're doing it with. If you're doing it with close friends, make sure they are friends you completely like - not people who will walk all over you. Otherwise you'll be the one sitting up at 9pm with one other person trying to cook pasta because everyone else decided to have a strop, or be getting shouted at for doing something wrong (even when they refused to help plan the expedition.
My memories of DofE are less than pleasant. At the time, I hated it, but not because of the walking or being outside - the arguements and everyone blaming me just got boring, and during a time like that you need all the emotional stability you can get (because let's face it, wondering around in a wood, being lost, and trying not to cry is not the best thing to be doing with your time, regardless of the certificate you may get at the end).
Perhaps not the best advert for DofE. Don't be put off by what I experienced, just think about who you're going to be doing it with before setting off.
Original post by Articultr
I'm 18 and currently on a gap year whilst i decide what the hell to do with my life. I thought about DofE as it looks good on your cv and it'll get me out the house. What are people's experiences with DofE and is it worth it? I feel that i'll be the oldest as a lot of school kids do it and i'm just not sure if i'll enjoy it, i'm also not sure what kinds of activities i'd like to do so if anyone has any advice that'd be great!
Hi
I'm currently doing Gold. I started doing bronze but for various reasons had to stop, but always wanted to re start, although by the time I did I was old enough to do Gold so have gone straight to Gold.
Ignore others saying you need to do all 3, you don't. About the only restriction is age, and yes it takes longer if you have not done the others but it's possible. Your choice, do all 3 or just do whatever one you want.
I don't have much else to add on choice, there is a massive list for each section on the DofE website, but then if you pick something not on there you can probably still do it-they can't list everything and if it's clear what it is they should have no problem. It's really personalized to you and what you want to do.
I basically only wanted to post to try and balance out the replies you have, as many seem really negative, and I think that's unfair. To me DofE is what you make it, if you do whatever choice your given or try and do it all with a group of strangers it probably won't work.
You don't have to be in a group of school children to do it. You do have to register through somewhere (you can find one near to you here http://www.dofe.org/takepart/) but that does not mean you get joined into a group there. But I imagine that will depend on how they work. If you don't want to be put into a group make sure you ask them about it before you join with them.
I registered through college but I'm not doing any of the sections with anyone through college-I am choosing what I want to do. There's lots of opportunities to search through partially for the expedition, so you just join these people for that part, and then do all the other bits by yourself at whatever place you want to go to. http://www.dofe.org/finder/Default.aspx?ResultsOnPage=20&UserType=2
And finally, It is useful for interviews. I've only had one but the person interviewing me was really interested in it, asked me lots about what I had done/what I am doing. Simply because I have a 'current aims' section towards the end of my CV and it's in there.
Hope the information helps. and most of all I hope you choose to do DofE!
Enjoy it
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