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| Paulie |
So is it all it's said to be?
Pretty much finished university, and now its my time to find a full time job and start my career. Having been job hunting since last september, my question i pose to you is a university degree all it is said to be?
If i had my time again when i was 18 finishing high school, theres prolly no way in hell i would go to university. Why do I say this. I find if you arent 199% commited to university its pretty pointless. Sure your gonna get your degree with a C average or wateva, but from my experiences its the last thing an employee looks at, so why waste 4 years doing it.
I must admit in writing this i am a bit soured by the whole job hunting experience, a pile of rejection letters and emails sitting right next to me lol. How is a 22 year old supposed to have minimum 3 years commercial experience. :(
Anyways was wondering what uni leavers or people that left school @ 18 thought, and if they would do anything differently or even there experiences. And yes i know there was a similar thread before.
edit: i did a Information Systems course, was looking for pl/sql development, data analysis jobs. Just more oracle/database stuff. |
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| escee |
thats what you get for getting an IS degree rather than a CS degree :)
but yeah. Getting experience, and a decent amount of it, is a pain the ass. Im lucky i got my job when i did or i probably would be like you in 6 months times. Done with uni with no experience. Go back and do honours? At least you can bum around for another year or so. |
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| kelsta |
I completed the HSC/Yr 12... was accepted to do HR at Uni but decided I wasn't committed enough to go through another 4yrs of study. Plus living out of home was expensive and I didn't like the idea of being constantly flat broke like my friends.
I started looking for entry level positions in HR/Recruitment companies & luckily I was able to start full-time with a very small company within a month. Since then it's been all good and the 3 companies I have worked for have supplied all the on-the-job training/support I could've wished for.
I wouldn't change a thing. I am exactly where I want to be with work and I was able to spend my time learning while earning $, so my lifestyle didn't have to suffer too much.
On the other hand friends who did go through Uni are also equally as happy to have that bit of paper in their hands.. but like you say Paulie, alot of places request experience that you don't often get while at Uni. I guess it really depends on the industry/job market etc. |
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| narcism |
should of picked a course where you get that piece of paper you know there is a demand out there for you.
Im lucky like that though, can pick a number of countries which i can go to.... first stop UK to hunt down rob dougan :p
and the pay is better then in australia ;) |
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| mikey79 |
Mmmmmm... interesting thread - don't remember seeing a similar one b4 but that might be just cos I haven't been round these forums for very long...
Paulie: Basically with me I'm the exact opposite of the path you have gone down... I pretty much failed Year 12 (1997) :( How could someone fail? Well... I f'n did somehow - only one in my school to achieve such a lowly status :( :( Just completely had had enough of the crap that school was... Was more interested in "escaping" each day + getting into the bongs and all... And obviously as a result never went to Uni or anything... Could have went to TAFE I guess but at the time I just wanted to hit the "freedom" of life after school... Couldn't think of studying any more at all...
Luckily I had my one passion in IT which I was all pretty much self-taught in... And I just had this delusional idea that I would be snapped up + in a well paid job in no time etc etc... But it was quite the opposite - for 1.5 years outside school I was just doing part time work here + there... And then finally landed my first FT job... Lasted there for 6 months + then was again jobless for a few months... Then in March 2000 I landed the job where I am at still to this day... Was very very lucky to get it - got my foot in the door + all that...
And right now I'm about to embark on an IT course at TAFE (part time evenings)... Which would probably mean nothing when compared to any sort of IT Degree from Uni... But beggars can't be choosers right? Maybe one day I'll end up at Uni...
But now I'm 24, haven't studied at all for 6 years straight + am about to get back into it again... And boy do I wish that things wen't differently... If I had had the choice to go back I'd definitely have gone to Uni... Sure things are working out for me now - but I can't help thinking about the "what if..."
It's almost like a chunk missing out of my life that so many others experience but I simply missed out on... :(
So anyways... My point is, that it's a long hard slog - you can't expect everything to fall into your lap... Your degree would definitely help you in the long run... Once you get some good experience under your belt you compared to me in a job interview and they would just show me the door straight away!
Maybe you should set your bar a bit lower in terms of what work you will accept? Obviously all should be IT based, but why not try to get in thru the easier tasks + work your way up? That's what I have pretty much done at the job I am at now...
The stuff I was doing when I first got to my current job I absolutely hated... But it was work + slowly but surely I could see a future there...
So, anyways... Enough of my rambling about my past - most of the earlier times I would rather forget... But, basically the grass is always greener on the other side isn't it?!
I would do anything to have gone down your path... But meanwhile you, having got that piece of paper in your hand expect everything to just come to you with the snap of a finger... And, basically with IT the way it is these days that just ain't gonna happen...
Believe in yourself... Keep on plugging away + and it'll all eventually turn ur way :) |
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| eRRaTiK |
i did an IT degree and when left uni it was just after the net frenzy had crashed (badly) so entry level positions became scarce and demanded a lot more from candidates (x years of commercial experience, strong skills in 5+ applications, etc). i spent a good 4-6 months applying for IT positions, got myself on several agency lists, but it wasn't happening. Just a bad time to graduate. Eventually depression hit. Luckily for me I had support from friends and motivation from my gf (at the time).
I wasn't broke though, as I was working in a call centre (I'd been there for two years, having started during uni) so I used the customer service experience to get me into a technology company (TPG). They were paying $13 per hour. I wanted in so I buried the pride and accepted. A month later I applied for both OzEmail and AOL tech support. Got offered both. I went to AOL, did tech support for 3 months and hated it with a passion.
I started looking back at what I was good at -- customer service Landed a nice customer service job in an IT company this time (through Seek), took a slight drop in pay but the company was better located and the environment was much more positive.
14 months later and I'm a Team Leader, and enjoying the opportunities that I'm currently being presented with. Pay has jumped considerably since that $13/hr @ TPG and my team is great.
A tip Paulie - don't limit yourself to what you studied. I was sending out 15-20 emails a day for ANY position that I felt I was qualified for, just as a temporary step to get me into the IT industry. Now that I'm in the industry, I can't see myself going back and following the technical/programming path that I had studied in uni.
Get yourself to interviews and then SELL yourself. That's the key. If you present yourself as confident and able to face challenges, interviewers will take note of you. At one point I was doing 2-3 interviews every second day.
When I hire people I look for the attitude. Sure the experience helps separate candidates but I've found that someone with years of experience isn't necessarily the right person for the job if I don't see them fitting in with the team.
Of course, a lot of the stuff I learnt in uni is outdated or not really applicable to my current role. However, I don't consider it a waste. It was an experience that helped me develop personally to to where I am today, and I'd gladly repeat it again.
Moral of the story? Persistence pays off.
In the time that you are looking for work, be productive. Write applications, make websites, go back and review what you learnt in uni (oracle, sql, etc), learn new technologies and tools. The more you can add to your resume the more you can sell yourself.
You will get there, maybe not the way you envisioned or planned, but if you stick with it and keep focused -- it'll happen for you. |
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| Ian^ |
| or just find a course for about $480 (if i've converted from pommie pounds right) that will lead u to a job thats underpaid but what u want to do :D |
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| jizza |
| quote: | Originally posted by mikey79
I pretty much failed Year 12 (1997) :( How could someone fail? Well... I f'n did somehow... Was more interested in "escaping" each day + getting into the bongs and all |
i'm no dr. phil here but do you reckon there's some correlation there? i'm not being judgemental either, just thought perhaps maybe you answered your own question... sorry if it comes across a bit damning, its just an observation.
i actually studied the same course as paulie. the same uni, same campus and on the most part, the same classes. the difference is - he's graduated. i have one final year to go, the soothing thought of that fact coupled by my goal of finshing what i started are the sole reasons why i'm persisting with the course.
i dreaded uni from day 4 but not nearly as much as i dread the real world. so i dont envy you paul, if anything im kinda sad. sad that we cant lunch at that doner kebab place like we used to :( |
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