uni v apprenticeship (1 Viewer)

[alax dillon]

so the last couple days ive been thinking about uni. we went to HSC study day for english in wagga the other day, and i think i kinda like the idea of uni.

if i were to go to uni, i would do something english related, cause thats where my strengths are, but the thing is i dont want to pursue a career that follows english anywhere, i was planning on going into hospitality. if i were to go to uni i would go to CSU cause i dont want to move too far away. ive had a look at the courses that CSU offers, and the only thing related to hospitality is some sort of management course....and i want to work in the kitchen. possibly even do some bartending, which ive already started doing. but part of me wants to go to uni now

so what should i do?
i see myself with three options

1. go straight into an apprenticeship after the hsc
2. go to uni and study for three years for the hell of it, then do an apprenticeship. by this stage i could have decided i dont want to go into hospitality, or i could have already thought "screw english"
3. scrap the whole hospitality idea and become a journalist/english teacher/author who has a job that just barely supports my writing.

i know i have the capability to go far in hospitality if i do so, but at the same time, i am pretty sure i can do well in something related to writing.

then theres all the eachers and other kids in school telling me that im wasting my brains and that i should be heading off to ANU or something in the near future

any tips?

 

[spazamataz]

You don't have to look at uni as simply something that gets you a job at the end.

Many people do uni courses because they want to learn more about something they find interesting, or like I did, i'm doing something I find interesting, as well as something that will get me a job at the end of it.

You could always do masters/doctorate after your bachelor degree and that can get you a fair amount of money (so i'm lead to believe).

It also depends on your learning style. For example, could you find yourself sitting through lectures? Or more hands-on learning?

I had the same issue as you where I couldn't decide between a few things, so I just took a chance and went to uni to do the degree i'm doing. Remember, you can always switch to hospitality later on, or vice versa.

Good luck

 

[chrisnumber1]

why dont you do the apprenticeship, then in 3 years you would have earned some money(not tons but some money nonetheless). by that time you would be 21 and you could apply as a mature aged student if you were still interested or were not happy Or apply to the uni with a gap year, do the apprenticeship(dont tell your employer) then decide in 12 months time. i think giving up an apprenticeship would be not as bad as giving up a uni degree.

 

[alax dillon]

You don't have to look at uni as simply something that gets you a job at the end.

Many people do uni courses because they want to learn more about something they find interesting, or like I did, i'm doing something I find interesting, as well as something that will get me a job at the end of it.

You could always do masters/doctorate after your bachelor degree and that can get you a fair amount of money (so i'm lead to believe).

It also depends on your learning style. For example, could you find yourself sitting through lectures? Or more hands-on learning?

I had the same issue as you where I couldn't decide between a few things, so I just took a chance and went to uni to do the degree i'm doing. Remember, you can always switch to hospitality later on, or vice versa.

Good luck

i get what youre saying about the not going to uni purely to get a job; i was thinking about doing a uni course merely because i like english. if i were to actually do english i dont think i would actually want to go further in that field, even though i know i could do well.

the thing is if i were to hold off on an apprenticeship for three years, i have less of a chance of obtaining an apprenticeship, because ill be competing against kids who are 16, 18, and ill be you know 22. albeit the fact that i could have more experience in the kitchen than one of these kids, employers in hospitality dont look at experience, because what theyre gonna do is essentially break you down and teach you from scratch. if i go into hospitality for an apprenticeship, my career will benefit largely from going into it straight after school.

why dont you do the apprenticeship, then in 3 years you would have earned some money(not tons but some money nonetheless). by that time you would be 21 and you could apply as a mature aged student if you were still interested or were not happy Or apply to the uni with a gap year, do the apprenticeship(dont tell your employer) then decide in 12 months time. i think giving up an apprenticeship would be not as bad as giving up a uni degree.

i like this idea. thank you. i just worry that by the time i finish an apprenticeship, i wont have the guts to go to uni. you know to go back to school after being in the workforce for four years, and not only that, id be going back to school with people who are mostly still kids. not sure if i would have the balls to get into it.

thanks for your advice guys definitely very helpful.

 

[ajdlinux]

I suppose another question you have to ask yourself is how sure you are about your future ambitions in hospitality. You might find you change your mind about things after you've started - in which case you may be right in saying that it could be difficult to find an apprenticeship after finishing uni.

Also, not being biased or anything, but you should definitely come to ANU

 

[monstermunch]

From what you have written it sounds to me that your heart lies with hospitality, Uni will always be there. Do you want to go to uni because you feel it is something you need to do to validate yourself or is it something that you genuinely want to do.
Ultimately you need to do what will make you happiest and whatever decision you make won't be the end of anything. You will always be able to do English at uni or hospitality at tafe so whichever way round you do it shouldnt have any long term damaging consequences.

 

[-Lemon-]

Huh?
99% of people who get 'English' degrees from CSU become kitchen hands or waiters anyway..?

 

[spazamataz]

Come to think of it, you could see if CSU offer it by distance, and do the course over say 4 or 5 years concurrently with the apprenticeship. Just an idea!

Actually, one of my friends looked into doing that with CSU, but ended up deciding to go to uni at the end of the year.

 

[Chemical Ali]

------------------------------------- <-- the apprenticeship line

everyone above this line should do an apprenticeship

and stay out of uni

 

[alax dillon]

I suppose another question you have to ask yourself is how sure you are about your future ambitions in hospitality. You might find you change your mind about things after you've started - in which case you may be right in saying that it could be difficult to find an apprenticeship after finishing uni.

Also, not being biased or anything, but you should definitely come to ANU

lol and what exactly is so good about ANU?

yeah they genuinely do prefer to find younger ones when it comes to apprenticeships (not sure if i mentioned that already or not?), and thats probably the biggest, if not only, thing stopping me from putting my hospitality on hold and studying english for a few years (at CSU or ANU? hahahaha)

From what you have written it sounds to me that your heart lies with hospitality, Uni will always be there. Do you want to go to uni because you feel it is something you need to do to validate yourself or is it something that you genuinely want to do.
Ultimately you need to do what will make you happiest and whatever decision you make won't be the end of anything. You will always be able to do English at uni or hospitality at tafe so whichever way round you do it shouldnt have any long term damaging consequences.

going to uni, i think going to uni is something that i would want to do just for the hell of it really. i am not particularly set on any kind of career that will follow a uni degree, but i do love english and i suppose part of me would want to see a little bit more of it, something above a high school education.
i dont really feel obliged to do it, but when we were at the CSU study day, and the group of extension two english kids were there, the sheila we were talking to was talking to us as though she had already naturally assumed that we were all going to uni straight out of school, and that made me kind of wonder if maybe i was throwing away the little bit of intellect i had, and i was heading down the wrong path. i dont feel obliged, but i am starting to wonder if i would be better off/happier following something after four years at uni.

Huh?
99% of people who get 'English' degrees from CSU become kitchen hands or waiters anyway..?

not planning on being a kitchen hand or a waitress. id be doing a four year apprenticeship to become a qualified chef.

Come to think of it, you could see if CSU offe
r it by distance, and do the course over say 4 or 5 years concurrently with the apprenticeship. Just an idea!

Actually, one of my friends looked into doing that with CSU, but ended up deciding to go to uni at the end of the year.

i did think about that, but the thing is, with a full time apprenticeship, id be expected to work upwards of thirty hours a week, and if i were in a high end establishment, i could easily be spending sixty hours a week busting me ass in a kitchen, as well as tafe which could be once a week (one week per month, depends which tafe campus im studying through), and if i were to do that, i dont think id be able to handle uni by distance. part of going to uni is the experience anyways, and i dont think id be able to get that out of distance education, full time work, plus tafe assessments. that level of stress should be reserved for the HSC!!

------------------------------------- <-- the apprenticeship line

everyone above this line should do an apprenticeship

and stay out of uni

thanks for the tip buddy.

 

[ajdlinux]

lol and what exactly is so good about ANU?

All of it, clearly Aside from the Marketing Office that comes up with the worst online advertising campaigns I've ever seen.

 

[alax dillon]

All of it, clearly Aside from the Marketing Office that comes up with the worst online advertising campaigns I've ever seen.

they cant be that bad.

whats the best bit about ANU?

 

[alax dillon]

and also if your living on campus, and dont have a job, how are you supposed to survive? i mean, you get youth allowance dont you?

and does hecs pay for your accommodation if youre living on campus?

 

[alax dillon]

Jobs are easy to get in Canberra. And no hecs doesnt cover it, but it's hardly expensive. I cover it all and i don't get youth allowance. Only have to work 10 hours min to meet rent and food. Eays as.

but what about in wagga?

 

[alax dillon]

Wagga? Why would u want to goto Wagga?


Why do you have your heart set on something englishy anyway? Nothing else ur interested in?

wagga is closest to where i live. if i do end up going to uni im not going far away.

and im just considering it at the moment. ive been pretty keen on entering hosoitality for a while now, but recently people have been doing the whole uni talk thing, and im starting to wonder if i should go to uni. if i ever do go to uni id be doing something english related, merely because thats something ive always been interested in. and its something that im fairly good at as well, so 1 + 1 = 2 really.

 

[ajdlinux]

and also if your living on campus, and dont have a job, how are you supposed to survive? i mean, you get youth allowance dont you?

If you get Youth Allowance and Rent Assistance that's $245 a week or so, which covers most of the rent even for a catered college at ANU (~$300 a week including all meals). I'm not really sure what the Canberra job situation is like since I haven't looked for one yet, but I would think that being a bigger place would mean more positions available than in smaller towns.

Even if living on campus is a somewhat expensive option, the experience that I've had of it so far has been awesome

 

[alax dillon]

If you get Youth Allowance and Rent Assistance that's $245 a week or so, which covers most of the rent even for a catered college at ANU (~$300 a week including all meals). I'm not really sure what the Canberra job situation is like since I haven't looked for one yet, but I would think that being a bigger place would mean more positions available than in smaller towns.

Even if living on campus is a somewhat expensive option, the experience that I've had of it so far has been awesome

so do you find that you can cope with the expensive option of living on campus? do you ever struggle?

 

[ajdlinux]

so do you find that you can cope with the expensive option of living on campus? do you ever struggle?

At the moment I'm paying the excess that doesn't get covered by YA+RA out of the amount I got from the government's Start-Up and Relocation Scholarships, later on I'll either get a job or beg my parents to send me $100 a week. So so far I've been fine with it.

Certainly I know a lot of people at college aren't terribly rich (full rate YA) and they cope pretty well. If you get full rate RA, a shift or two a week would cover it.

Of course if you prefer to cook yourself, the rent is like ~$160 a week and you'd be able to prepare your own stuff much more cheaply.

 

[alax dillon]

At the moment I'm paying the excess that doesn't get covered by YA+RA out of the amount I got from the government's Start-Up and Relocation Scholarships, later on I'll either get a job or beg my parents to send me $100 a week. So so far I've been fine with it.

Certainly I know a lot of people at college aren't terribly rich (full rate YA) and they cope pretty well. If you get full rate RA, a shift or two a week would cover it.

Of course if you prefer to cook yourself, the rent is like ~$160 a week and you'd be able to prepare your own stuff much more cheaply.

full rate youth allowance, thats the $370 isnt it?
and if you have intentions of going to university, does youth allowance continue in the period between the end of high school and the beginning of uni?

 

[ajdlinux]

full rate youth allowance, thats the $370 isnt it?
and if you have intentions of going to university, does youth allowance continue in the period between the end of high school and the beginning of uni?

Full rate YA is $377 a fortnight, full rate RA is $113.40 a fortnight. (Assuming you're single without children, of course.)

If you notify Centrelink of your intention to study they will continue you on your present rate of YA between end of school and start of uni. One thing you don't want to do is forget to notify them as at least three people in my class did, then they either cancel your payment or switch you to Jobseekers and it becomes rather more difficult to sort out.