A general life/uni question for ye all

Hi, TSR newbie here.

Basically I'd appreciate any advice if anyone can give it..

I'm 22, and to cut a long story short I've been suicidal for about a quarter of my life due to my violent mother. Escaped last year (literally ran out the door), and went to stay with a relative. Since then i've been in recovery, spent months in psychiatric units, therapy, medication and so on.

ANYWAY, the only thing on my CV is a 2 year stint at woolworths, years ago. Apart from that I've done f--- all due to the abuse. On the plus side, I did spend the years becoming very proficient on the guitar, and music in general. My other strength is english/humanities.
Having escaped though, I feel my life is slowly back on track and I need to get a career going.
But I have no idea what to do, all I know is what I DONT want, namely another Mcdonalds type retail job.

So I'm weighing up the options - do I aim for a degree in october with the Open university?? (finance isnt a problem)
Actually i cant think of any other option....joining the armed forces (boyhood dream) isnt on the cards cos of my medical record.

So if I were to look at it like a timescale....in 3 years time, I could have a degree, or I could have done 3 years of work... I have no idea..

any advice much appreciated

Reply 1

Miss Communication

I'd go for the degree. (: Good luck! (:

Reply 2

costaerer

try and do a degree :smile:

Reply 3

nosignal456

You're young, go for a degree while you still have no commitments. Always best to start rebuilding from the ground up.

Good luck, glad things are looking up for you

Reply 4

Helsy

Why don't you try applying for a full Uni degree? You've still got some time to get some form of application in with UCAS. There won't be much left, but it's still an option.
Or you could do that next year.

But I think if you like the idea of doing a degree (OU or anywhere else) then I think you should do it! :smile:

Reply 5

poshbloke

Why don't you try applying for a full Uni degree? You've still got some time to get some form of application in with UCAS. There won't be much left, but it's still an option.

yeah, but unfortunately I have no A levels to speak of, only 6 GCSEs at C grade.
So I don't see why a uni would let me in...or is it different because I'm a 'mature' student...

But then again I need some socialisation...sitting in my room studying for years sounds...awful

Reply 6

kerily

Original post by poshbloke

Could you look into doing an Access course? These are intense 1-year courses which lead to a degree at a regular university at the end. Or you could go back to college and do some a-levels, and then apply through UCAS in a couple of years' time.

Either way, I think it's impressive that you're turning your life around after such a horrible start. Good luck to you :smile:

Reply 7

iain112

If you feel you can leave all your family friends behind (only saying this because i regret moving away to uni) then go for the uni degree, however a better option maybe just to go to college and figure out what u want to do there first with a taster course, good luck anyway :smile:

Reply 8

Lamps08

Watch this son: http://kaotic.com/8160_This-Is-Just-****ed-Up.html - then go get that degree!

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 9

nunugab

Do a degree, I think the challenge and environment could have a therapeutic effect on you. Good luck mate

Reply 10

screenager2004

Go do a degree and follow your dreams.

Just as a talking point: I went to university A for a year, then left and worked in fast food at minimum wage for a year, then went back to university B.

Personally, I found the year working at minimum wage more fulfilling than being at University A. I was a lot happier and satisfied as a person to be earning a wage and doing something physical with my hands every day with a regular routine, rather than studying for some useless piece of paper that is ridiculously overpriced. A lot of people just assume that being at Uni is better than working for minimum wage, but it's not always the case.

That being said, I've found University B way more enriching than the job and Uni A. Maybe it was where I was mentally, or the timing. Some unis are better than others, (some are literally worse than working in fast food). I suppose I'm trying to say: don't have unrealistically high expectations, do your research first and make sure it's what you really want.

Reply 11

becky.fm

What's your other option other than doing a degree?

Reply 12

llys

Original post by poshbloke

Do you like working with your hands? You could do a degree or apprenticeship in Guitar Making (here or here or here). I'd find that pretty awesome as well as therapeutic and if money were not a problem it is a change of career I would consider (in my case not for guitar though). I don't know how good these degrees in the UK are though. (In other countries, you normally learn instrument making through apprenticeships.) I'm thinking the entry requirements might not be very stringent because such a course is based on practical skills rather than academic history. If you want to apply for something else, you could in the meantime do a short course.