Opinions on where to go next in life

[JimBeed]

Well I'm coming up to the end of my long stretch at doing a HND at university in england, long by the fact i failed the first year once due to personal reasons.

At the moment i am feeling fairly tired and bored of being in education, and want to get out there and do something more, earn some money, live a non student life.

Part of me wants to go off and get some kind of work, and spend more of my free time practising bass and playing music in my free time, with possibly making it a more integral part of my life considering how much it makes me happy doing it.

The other part of me wants to do the degree so i am the same as the rest of my family having some form of higher education( as the hnd is higher education this is flawed logic i know), But i dont know quite how i would cope doing the Degree as i already struggle on the hnd at times.

Just wanted your opinions on this state of mind i have. As i thought most of you are past this point in your life and have gone through possibly similar experiences. Thanks.

Sorry if it is a bit long, this is the shortened version of the same question i just put on talkbass (Though i might regret that considering some peoples attitudes on that site).
Anyone that reads this to the end has my gratitude :rock-on:

 

[mayfly]

Finish the degree.  If you quit, you'll never get back to it.  Jobs and money will always be there.

 

[Cagey]

For those who don't know, HND = Higher National Diploma, which I suspect is the equivalent of an Associates Degree in the US.

As for what to do next? Tough call. Here in the States, a full bachelor's degree is about the equivalent of what a high school diploma with focus used to be. That is, next to worthless, outside of proving on paper that you can read and write. You need a Master's to command any kind of serious money/respect, and that comes with caveats. You're not going to get any real money right off the bat. So, while you may be more desirable than trailer trash, it's not a huge leap. At least here. Things may be different there.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you don't do it now, it's highly unlikely you ever will. Then, without the paper, many positions are simply unavailable no matter how qualified/experienced you are. Another thing to keep in mind is that many institutions don't care what your degree is in, as long as you have one. Call it a "pay to play" deal. No degree? Bugger off. Don't care if you're Einstein or Tesla reincarnated. Also don't care if your degree is in medieval fencing, sociology, political science, basket weaving or something equally useless as long as you have a degree.

It's all a bitch, and unless you go into something serious like law, medicine, or engineering you'll never use any of it, but you have to pay your dues or you'll never get anywhere.

 

[DangerousR6]

For those who don't know, HND = Higher National Diploma, which I suspect is the equivalent of an Associates Degree in the US.

As for what to do next? Tough call. Here in the States, a full bachelor's degree is about the equivalent of what a high school diploma with focus used to be. That is, next to worthless, outside of proving on paper that you can read and write. You need a Master's to command any kind of serious money/respect, and that comes with caveats. You're not going to get any real money right off the bat. So, while you may be more desirable than trailer trash, it's not a huge leap. At least here. Things may be different there.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you don't do it now, it's highly unlikely you ever will. Then, without the paper, many positions are simply unavailable no matter how qualified/experienced you are. Another thing to keep in mind is that many institutions don't care what your degree is in, as long as you have one. Call it a "pay to play" deal. No degree? Bugger off. Don't care if you're Einstein or Tesla reincarnated. Also don't care if your degree is in medieval fencing, sociology, political science, basket weaving or something equally useless as long as you have a degree.

It's all a bitch, and unless you go into something serious like law, medicine, or engineering you'll never use any of it, but you have to pay your dues or you'll never get anywhere.

I do agree with what you're saying Cagey, and it holds true in the U.S., but he's in the U.k. I'm sure they have a different view on education than we do here in the states... :dontknow:

 

[JimBeed]

Thanks guys, makes alot of sense.

Yeah what Cagey said does ring true.
I mean my sister has a Masters in  English Literature and something else.
She works an office job doing Proofreading and other such things to her strengths, but still not exactly what you would call amazing.

But yeah finishing the Degree now is a  case of another 12 months to 18 months, whereas if i do it later it will be another 3 years.

All depends on when i apply to do the Top Up if they accept me with what are  Slightly above pass at best grades.

 

[Jcurl02]

Best is to push through, get it done in the next 12 to 18 months.  You'll be very glad you did.  Once you are done then if you still feel the need, take some time off before starting in the job market.

 

[riverbluff]

Stay in School and finish the Degree.  My wife is from the UK, she got he BA from Cambridge and then got her Masters in the US.  She is in education in the States (She teaches History and a couple different Universities).  One of the community colleges she teaches at gets a lot of non-US students because it is close to a US Air Force base.  The HND is recognized as slight higher then a High School deploma in the US. 

I realize you are in the UK but with the way many companies are international now a days it's best to get the BA (or BS) degree just so you have that "Piece of Paper"

The longer you stay away from education, the harder it is to go back.  I took a long break after my first college attempt but finally went back.  Trying to balance work, wife, kids, and school to complete my BA and MBA was a lot of work.

Long answer for a short question...but stay in school.

V/R
Bill

 

[Wyliee]

Finish the degree.  If you quit, you'll never get back to it.  Jobs and money will always be there.

Agreed.  Finish the job you started (school).  If nothing else, it shows a prospective employer that you can start a task and finish it.

 

[bagman67]

Finish the degree.  If you quit, you'll never get back to it.  Jobs and money will always be there.

Agreed.  Finish the job you started (school).  If nothing else, it shows a prospective employer that you can start a task and finish it.

This ^^^^^


I have hired lots of folks, and it matters to me that someone can adhere to a long-term program and complete it.  It speaks of discipline, self-control, and focus on distant goals.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

While a college degree here in the States doesn't mean as much as it used to, it is still an easy way to put yourself higher on the list.  If there is a pool of applicants, the ones with degrees generally get the breaks first.
Patrick

 

[stubhead]

Wanna know something else? the "student life", as you call it, is something you'll look back on with longing, after you get out and find yourself in "real" life. I was really poor the whole time I was in college, but I sure had fun.

 

[Mor Paul]

I know I'm not working on getting my degree for fun. My dad worked for 28 years, I think, at the same place, and he's having trouble getting a job because he has an associates degree, where people want masters. 3 decades of experience isn't quite cutting it, and with all the crap going on with my family, it's a pretty big shame.
I'm going for my masters in Material Science Engineering, and maybe I'll go further. My best friend happens to be going for a chemistry degree with a focus in synthetic materials, so maybe we'll be working together sometime, ha.

If you can finish your degree in 12-18 months, do it. Save yourself the hard times later, because they'll last a lot longer and hit harder.

 

[JimBeed]

Cheers for all the replies guys, had a talk with course people aswell today and going to persivere and do the Top up to Degree after doing the HND.

Well long as i get some kind of summer job i hopefully will be able to afford staying at the city my university is in over summer hopefully at the same place i would be at during the next academic year anyways.

If that goes ahead then hopefully ill have a summer full of Bass practice, earning some money, band practice and a gig or two possibly. Which might well be the summer break i need right now once the HND is over and done with finally.
Possibly even be able to start saving for a second warmoth slowly if im lucky  ccasion14:

 

[elfro89]

Hi man, wish I had found this post sooner cause I have a few things to say about this.

I'm in the second semester of my 3rd year BA (hons) degree; after having completed my HND last year (I too had to repeat first year). To begin with I have to acknowledge that every course is different and even the same course can vary depending on the institution, and to further complicate my arguments, a lot depends on who teaches you and what mood they are in.

All this aside, I can tell you that it's not easy, compared with the HND, saying the degree is a challenge is a severe understatement, it's not so much the work, its the workload. I am in constant battle with what I can only describe as mood-swings between eagerness and motivation to full on depression and lethargy. Add to this the nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I am just wasting my time, or that I'm not as good a student as I think I am, or perhaps I could have gone to a better uni, or done a better course... and the list goes on. Stephen Fry, a man I respect a great deal said in an interview, that everyone no matter who they are has these feelings that they could be doing more with their life and that everyone else is seizing their opportunities on a golden chariot, and that somehow we don't measure up. This describes my time at uni perfectly, I feel I could be doing so much more but I know I physically can't.

Enter having a degree vs having job experience. My tutor said to me having the degree is not enough to get the job, it's mearly a stepping stone to getting your foot in the door. To firmly get your foot in the door you need experience to back up your degree; only at that moment do you have your foot in the door. Any one of these things without the other limits your chance of getting a job in your chosen career path. My tutor said to me that being at uni and only doing the work required to get your degree is tantamount to suicide, he said you should be doing everything you can outside of uni work to expand your experience and show you have the courage to go balls out in your field. It honestly seems like a mammoth task, coupled with my mood swings the pressure is unbeleivable. If I graduate, I will feel like the Feckin' king of Scotland.

My advice is to stay and go through it, If I left after my HND, the jump from doing nothing to this course would literally kill me.

 

[JimBeed]

elfro everything you have described yourself as feeling during your time at university is exactly how i have been feeling lately.
I keep feeling like im doing worse than i should be doing, but when i look back i did the best i could at the work, and at the moment im standing on just passing the HND.
So god knows how ill feel on the Degree, but i might find it ok, if another year of struggle.

 

[Alfang]

Cagey Nailed it

 

[whitebison66]

I'll join the chorus: finish the degree.

 

[Graffiti62]

Well I'm coming up to the end of my long stretch at doing a HND at university in england, long by the fact i failed the first year once due to personal reasons.

At the moment i am feeling fairly tired and bored of being in education, and want to get out there and do something more, earn some money, live a non student life.

Part of me wants to go off and get some kind of work, and spend more of my free time practising bass and playing music in my free time, with possibly making it a more integral part of my life considering how much it makes me happy doing it.

The other part of me wants to do the degree so i am the same as the rest of my family having some form of higher education( as the hnd is higher education this is flawed logic i know), But i dont know quite how i would cope doing the Degree as i already struggle on the hnd at times.

Just wanted your opinions on this state of mind i have. As i thought most of you are past this point in your life and have gone through possibly similar experiences. Thanks.

Sorry if it is a bit long, this is the shortened version of the same question i just put on talkbass (Though i might regret that considering some peoples attitudes on that site).
Anyone that reads this to the end has my gratitude :rock-on:

Wrap up your degree, my friend. I'm not exactly sure how different the collegiate experience is in the UK compared to the States, but I'll be honest when I say it was the most fun I ever had in my life. I could talk intellectually with people, the ability to explore different cultures was much easier due to the diversity, and I was able to make a LOT of lifelong friends. Once you get out of college, you'll want nothing more than to be back in it--its almost like "Shawshank Redemption" when Morgan Freeman talks about being instituionalized.

I say wrap things up, and once you have piece of mind in your back pocket, go for a different experience if you choose to do so.