Need Opnions on What To Do

[RichoVZ]

Hey guys,

i am having a bit of a dilemma here in my life. At the moment i am working for a company, but it isnt something i see myself making a career out of. I am 20 years old, and i want to get my career under way. Only problem, im stuck between two things and i dont know what to do!

My two ideas are...

1) Go to uni to study Exercise and Sport Science / Commerce

2) Get an apprenticeship as an auto electrician


In my mind, both have positives and negatives

Uni
+ Meet alot of new people sharing the same interests
Job opportunities after is well spread
Experiences gained through uni
- Currently in debt, so paying for loan, rent, food, going out etc
Want to start a project ute but cant through uni
Uni is very expensive, and if afterwards i decide i dont like it, wasted money

Apprenticeship
+ Get to do my project ute
Great pay once i complete
I can find it local if i want, or far away
Can pay for loan, rent etc
- Can't at the moment see myself doing it 5 years down the track


Thats all i cant think off, if anyone got others things they cant think of to add to the lists, please do.

Im just unsure where or what i want to do! just need some guidance

[VrWagz1]

I woulnt say a auto lecco is highly paid job, you are always bending to the whims of the customer wanting it cheaper. I would say the first option is the better long term option if you are passionate about it. How ever i dont think that is a long term option either as far as exercising and being healthy forever. I think if electrical gets you then do an electrician appreticeship. I think you would be better off getting a fi/fo job in the mines in w.a. and get the dollars while the mining boom is on, while your young. You will have debts paid off and a fair whack for a house in a few years. just my thoughts.

[leonthalion]

I would say go to uni, with the way things are going nowadays you’ll need a degree to work at Coles. The main advantage uni would have apart from the money/education are the people you meet, not to mention future connections with tomorrows up and comers. its always hard at first and everyone does it tough, but the gold at the end of the rainbow is well worth the trip and if you change your mind just try and transfer as much credit as you can and go for something else, if nothing comes to mind just stick with a bachelor of the arts in what ever you dam well please. that piece of paper is your ticket to travel, meet people, put your mark on the world (not to say you couldn’t do it being a sparky, just be a hell of a lot tougher) and climb the corporate ladder to get you paid . Well that’s my 2 cents.

[Shounak]

Go to uni. You needed a degree to work at the Woolies servo I worked at.

The manager would only hire uni students, as they made the best workers. Every employee, bar the manager and 2IC were uni students at one stage.

You can't go wrong with a degree. If you can hack the work, do it. Doing an Auto Alec apprenticeship won't be easy though, I foresee a lot of physics etc.

[AttaBoy]

Not only you are limited to Uni, there are TAFE courses which you can do as well and that I find tafe is more hands on approach and practical. Depends on what you study.

[andyman]

go the apprenticeship, its good for 4 years steady pay and at the end you have a qualification which you can use anywhere for a job,

if you feel its not where you wanna be you can go to uni as a mature age student, while doing that you could be doing cashie weekend jobs like sound installs etc,

if you have debt allready and have another 2 years or so to go, go for the trade, do you want to be paying off 2x loans, full time uni, while working a part time job,

[leonthalion]

Not only you are limited to Uni, there are TAFE courses which you can do as well and that I find tafe is more hands on approach and practical. Depends on what you study.

most tafe courses are singular or part of uni modules, this is usefull if the subject that you wish to do is not available yet. other than that there is no major difference as the same level of practical is achieved however with more theory.

[andyman]

TAFE courses which you can do as well and that I find tafe is more hands on approach and practical. Depends on what you study.

+1, if you are more practical orientated this is good, tafe is dirt cheap in comparison to uni,

[Scooter79]

Don't let the financial situation be a reason not to try uni. There's always things like rent assistance from centerlink of you need it. Plus you could always do paid sparky work on weekends for cash in hand. You may find that you may have to skimp a little for the first few years of uni but the payoff at the end is quite good. Also job prospects in sports science or commerce are always quite good. Look at it like this. You may think 'I'll go to uni in 5 years time and give it a go" but that almost never happens. The older you get the more responsibilities you take on. Relationships, financial, family etc and at that point going to uni could seem like a massive backward step in life.

[Ra1d]

what makes you interested in a job in the fields of commerce/sports/auto electrical? if i were to do a trade it would be electrical, its a trade that will never be defunct and opportunities in it are nearly limitless (mines, own business, commercial, domestic).

if you are interested in uni but arent sure if it entirely for you, why not continue at your present job and enrol in the next semester at uni. you could do 2 units externally to get a feel for uni life and the context of the course you do. in my experience at uni you really need a part time job to keep the $ ticking over and keep you motivated.

gl anyway

[nicko]

Go to uni mate. if you study (at uni) and have earnt a certain amount ($18,330 thats in SA anyways) and you are renting and have left school for 18months or more, then you can apply for youth allowance, and rent assistance. This works out to abuot $250+ a week. There are also tonnes of scholarships at uni, i recently got one for $4000 a year just to study. Uni life is great to mate and you can always fast track your course and get it done sooner.

[RichoVZ]

thanks for all the replies guys, really good to see some diverse point of views.

i dont know if anyone has the same "problem" as me but i have times where i want to do something, and then a little later its the other thing, and a bit later its back to the original thing.

so say im with my mate working on his HR ute, i dont know but it sends me into the 'auto apprenticeship trade' state of mind. and thats what i want to do. but then say im working out or i watch the right movie, it puts me in that 'go to uni and become all i can be' state of mind. guess it will take some time to get everything sorted.

but is it possible to get a job as an auto electrician without doing an apprenticeship? i was thinking of maybe before i apply for uni, i could give it a try and see if its really what i want to do. and if it is, well, id get into an apprenticeship and continue. or if it isnt what i want, i know to go to uni.

or maybe i could do it part-time while i'm at uni? but pretty much id work as anything for the first year of uni to make money, and once i get things sorted, i could fall into a part-time job which i could possibly turn full-time once i graduate or something.

but keep the replies going mates, id really like to see more opnions

[Garth]

take the advise of someone who has been there done that

do a trade, head off to a employer and find yourself a apprenticeship.
auto electricians arnt exactly the highest paying trade, become a normal electrician and head of and specialized, refrigeration electrical is good coin. or on a general construction site.

you can do uni when ever you want. a aprenticeship will al ow you to earn coin, live for now, and enjoy life. you can save up and conduct your uni degree when ever you want after that, and not have a hex debt.

im a electrician and im on 100k plus a year, with a car and a phone and all that crap suplied.

the office person with a degree in buisness management at my work is on 70k, with a car and a phone. and all his usual crap
im sure you can do the maths.

[Full Spectrum]

I might be biased with a sporting background,

I like plan A.

It might take some time but if you got onto an AFL club you would be set for life.
It's getting more on the Sport Science side everyday. Plenty of opportunity's ahead in time.

[CSP]

20? Hell if you're like me you still won't know what you want to do for a "career" for another 10 years!!! LOL!!!

Do whatever you FEEL like doing at the time. The thing is, you're only best at what you REALLY want to be doing.

[leonthalion]

+1, if you are more practical orientated this is good, tafe is dirt cheap in comparison to uni,

not really if you consider the amount of modules in a uni course, or doing individual modules over time. no only would it take longer to acheive the same modules but it would also cost more, as they are like everything, buy in bulk and you get more for your buck.

[Troyziee]

so say im with my mate working on his HR ute, i dont know but it sends me into the 'auto apprenticeship trade' state of mind. and thats what i want to do. but then say im working out or i watch the right movie, it puts me in that 'go to uni and become all i can be' state of mind. guess it will take some time to get everything sorted.

think u gota look at it as wats ur hobby and wat can b ur career,

i luv working on myne n my mates cars on tha weekends aswell, and years ago wondered if i should go into some tradie job, as i luv workin hands on, but thats just more of a hobby/spare time thing.

but im in uni atm (well TAFE actually) and its hard, having school all week, with homework everynight and then trying to work part time on the weekends, its hard, but im looking into the future and the rewards that will come after the hard work is done

[MasterOfReality]

Why are people saying uni is expensive?

Its not.

Your HECS repayment begins after you finish your degree and start work. Even then you have to be earning over a certain amount (can't remember now). The amount they take out in repayments is a percentage of your income (I get 8% taken out). You don't really notice it either.

These days uni students don't have to pay the compulsory service fees thanks to voluntary student unionism. Most services at campus have now turned into a user pays system, which is the way it should be. I remember paying $400 a year for sweet fk all so all the clubs and societies and student union ****ups and protest trips could be maintained.

With textbooks, that can be expensive but if you are doing an apprenticeship, so is buying a chest of tools. Most textbooks average around $150 unless its some sort of specialised subject. During my 8 years of study I have a collection of nearly 40 textbooks. You can buy second hand textbooks, or go to the library and borrow the book out, then head down to your photocopy room and go nuts.

Either way, sit down and work out what you like, and then go for the option which will provide the best financial return in the end. That way you cannot say that you wasted any time or money getting educated, whether it be through tafe or uni.

[leonthalion]

Why are people saying uni is expensive?

Your HECS repayment begins after you finish your degree and start work. Even then you have to be earning over a certain amount (can't remember now). The amount they take out in repayments is a percentage of your income (I get 8% taken out). You don't really notice it either.

you have to be earning over $50 -70k per year before they start taking 8% depending on what degree/level of competancy.

[BullittSV6]

I just finsuhed uni last year with a 6 month work placement as part of the course at Flinders Uni in Adelaide.

It was tough financially as I didn't have a job, was straight out of high school, didn't have a car, but I quilified for Youth Allowance from centrelink and managed to quilify for a scholarship so that got me over the line.

Unfortunately, as inflation rose, centrelink and my scholarship so midway through second year I had to get a job and ended up working at Hungry Jacks on Rundle street for 11 months.

I ended up resigning from hungry jacks in 3rd year as my engineering work placement started which was back home in Whyalla and gave me a good cashflow for 6 months.

I ended up working as a casual in the Adelaide office with my placement company in 4th (and final) year so my cash flow was kept steady from that. They eventually offered me a job here in Whyalla as a graduate electrical engineer which is where I am today.

So what have I learnt? Graduating from uni basically gave me a base. You could almost say if you pass your course then you are worthy of a position in that field to start learning all over again.

I made lots of mates at uni, played for the footy team and ended up in a premiership side. It was fairly easy for me in first year financially but unfortuately the Howard government didn't index Youth Allowance to keep up with inflation so I had to work.

The most potrent advice I can give you is do whatever will make you happy the most. That way you will be passionate and motivated and when the going gets tough in anything you do, you will remember what made you do for the first place. The hardest thing is staying motivated so always remember why the hell you are spending 4 years of your life in lecture theatres or covered in grease.

[v8oz]

Uni is hard without any money, but its a lot more mentally challenging than an apprenticeship. I'm through 2 years of Uni after doing 1 year of an electrical apprenticeship.

TBH, it really is up to what you want to do.

[Ra1d]

yeah as someone said you really need to define what you enjoy as a hobby and what you want as a career. if im doing a stereo install in my own car or in a mates car, i love it...but at the end of the day when the jobs all done i usually think, thank christ i dont have to do that everyday.

if you are even considering uni, you should just enrol part time to get the jist of things (if you're eligible for direct entry). do one semester, if you cant see yourself committing to it at the present point in time - drop out, or take a leave of absence. at the end of the day it will cost you 5 or so months to get a clearer idea of what its all about.

the average person changes their careers more than 3 times in their life, and furthermore mr average only really has the proper life experience and mentality to decide what he wants to do when he is 30+. so dont be too worried about making the wrong choice at the moment. sure your mates or whatever might be setup or on their way to being setup, but thats them.

/end rant :P

[vlv8vic]

go to uni. someone has probably already said it but it isn't really that expensive if you are careful. The government helps.
Most people who have been to uni will tell you to go, most who haven't will tell you not to bother. If you go it's a bunch of additional doors opened. If you don't go those avenues wont be available to you.

[AttaBoy]

Also consider how you learn best. Getting into uni was a mistake on my part. Too much theory crap. I should have joined TAFE because I learn better by doing practical things and with more hands on approach. Because I need more stimulation to 'get it'. Anyway I'm on my last year of uni and will never go back.
I'm not saying UNI is bad, its just not suited for some people.

Everyone is different and have different priorities.

Do what you think is best for you....and good luck. If things don't go the way you want then get out of it. Don't force upon yourself.

[vlv8vic]

you have to be earning over $50 -70k per year before they start taking 8% depending on what degree/level of competancy.

wish mine was like that!!!! i lose about that amount and have been for 3 years despite earning well under 50k. Also i think if you earn over 48k most of your tax return money (if you get some) goes back to HECS.