1st Yrs: How has the first semester at Uni gone for you?

Doing nursing- pondering why I am bothering when looking at pay. Going out to 1st placement and mixed bag- every nurse I have spoken to has said not to enter this profession. Time tax etc. deducted not much better off than a band 2.
Uni itself just feels like a box-ticking exercise and overall so far, I feel why we are at uni for this- rushed/not very confident lecturers.

I did nursing in the 1980's/90s qualified and left after 2 years to pursue support work with addictions etc. I went back during the pandemic/lockdown as a nursing assistant ( band 2, my registration lapsed ) and I was horrified by how much it had changed. No time at all with patients/'clients'. I did love it when I was training and the few years after, especially when I worked in A&E because time with patients is always limited in A&E anyway and the pace of work suited me.

if I was doing a nursing degree now, I would not stop at that but buckle down and take the academic route, ie MA and Doctorate/PHD ( DNP ) and then I would go into research. 'a Ph. D. in nursing enables a nurse to conduct medical research that may enhance the nursing profession as a whole ' also sometimes research allows you to interview patients and nurses alike. id think about why you wanted to do nursing in the first place, don't let others put you off, if it is really what you have an interest in doing. If indeed you think you would like to be 'better off' and more comfortable financially later on and that your heart really isn't in it, then you do have options to transfer and do something related like social work for example or go into medical sales even, there is definitely more money in that ! I'm sure you will work it out, keep talking about it I'm sure it helps you bounce ideas around and gather more information.

I am here because my son wants to drop out, he doesn't like the course he is doing and has come home for the holidays and is not going back. currently he hasn't done anything rash like tell anyone at uni he is definately leaving, but neither did he approach the student support hub at the uni either.. I am trying help him work out if he wants to transfer to a different uni, leave and get a job, defer on medical grounds ( mental health, he's also dealing with his first difficult break up, having been in a very close relationship for over a year. He is 20, has had mental health issues in the past and been referred on to specialists etc ) currently there is a 4 week wait for a gp appointment, so probably best to contact a 'private' counsellor or go the self referral route to local NHS 'talking therapy'. I am just trying to find out about all the options he may or may not have. I will really struggle if he doesn't do anything at all, I am not working at the moment, instead I am looking after my elderly parents that live locally, my dad is my mum's carer ( she has Alzheimers ) and I try and support my Dad as much as I can. In an ideal world, my son would take over the caring role and I'd go back to work. I can't quite see that happening !

Hi there 1st Year Uni students
As 2023 comes to a close as does your first semester at University, we want to hear more about how you feel this time has gone

Perhaps you're surviving on caffeine, feel like you're acing your assignments, mastered the art of the 10-minute power nap, or things haven't quite been what you expected...

Take your vote and tell us more below!