Bachelor of...

[Rachael]

Now Bath (on the basis of occsionla visits) and Aberystwyth (having lived there for 3 years) are both eminently civilised places to live. The one thing to check out in each case would be the cost of living: Bath has the look of being expensive.. and whilst I was in Aber (late 80s into the 90s) numbers rocketed and increased demand was already sending prices for some halls-rooms to almost three times what was needed in the late 80s.

My top tip with either place would be get a cheap car and/or a decent bike and try and find somewhere to live that's far enough off the standard student track to save you £££ on getting a roof over your head: you only had to go 4-5 miles in the early 90s in Aberystwyth.. and I suspect a bit of a commute still pays no matter where you are.

[Zainub]

I'm currently giving me exams to get a Higher Secondary School Certificate, (that's equal to having done A level) , I plan in future, God willing, to get a Masters in Mass Media Communications from KU

[Sarah.F]

i take chemistry, maths, further maths and PE. i only took C1 in january, along with a chemistry module. I got an A in C1. I took D2 before half term (its easier than D1) and i still have M1, D1 C2 and M2 left. M1 is on tuesday and im not lookin foward to it! what was your module in january like? I also want to carry on with all four at A2.
Do you have any idea what you want to do when you leave university? because im not really sure! Maybe something to do with accountancy. but the reason i want to do a maths degree is more because i find maths interesting and it makes sense.

[Mongoose]

Sarah, don't worry if you've not decided what you're doing after uni. Just do what you enjoy / are good at for now. I changed halfway through the first degree I took, because it wasn't really what I wanted to do. I took it because I thought it would be useful. After my second degree I trained to become an English teacher. I'm near the end of my first full year of teaching and I've just given my notice in! So at nearly 27 I've got to find another career. You've plenty of time to find the path you're going to take.

[Mongoose]

That last post probably wasn't that reassuring. The point is, I've screwed up to an extent and not made the right choices, but I've still got a chance of getting a good job that I'll enjoy. I'm actually looking forward to the future and have many options. So there's no pressure to choose a lifelong career as soon as you get a degree. I reckon I'll probably do at least 4-5 different things during my working life.

[Statto]

I didnt find the M1 exam in January that hard, as long as you can remember the formulas and how to find the vertical horizontal components of forces that is most of the exam covered. As for a job, I was thinking about accountancy but I'd probably be open to better offers if they came along.

[Andy Mellon]

Blimey! That sounds like my recent life Mongoose!

Started off at university doing Chemistry. I then found that I didn't exactly enjoy being in the lab for days on end - and potentially poisoning myself at regular intervals.

I then had to find a career and ended up applying for an accountancy job as I thought it was well paid (that's what they tell you anyway) and got the job. However, with accountancy I have found the following problems:

(i) You end up working over 12.5 hours most days. 5 of which you don't get paid for as they do not pay overtime
(ii) The salary is not as good as most people would believe (I know a shop worker who earns significantly more than me)
(iii) Based on the hours I work, at some points I have earned below the minimum wage in effect.
(iv) Very, very little job satisfaction as you point out what others have done wrong rather than offering constructive, helpful advice (in the majority of instances)

I could go on. But take my advice whoever thinks accountancy would be a good idea. Don't do it. If you want to do finance, do investment banking. The hours may be slightly worse, but at least you get paid for the hours you do.

I now need to find a new career path, but don't know where I can get some decent, free careers advice (apart from driving up to Warwick and seeing their university advisor)

[Mongoose]

My dream would be to become a writer - mainly freelance stuff for sports magazines. I still hope to achieve it one day, and when I finish teaching in July, I'm going to resume a writing course that I had just started. Throughout my life my carrer plans have changed as follows:

Age 5: footballer for Liverpool FC (and England, naturally)
Age 13: Maths teacher (sorry!)
Age 16: Languages teacher, retiring at 40 to grow greens to sell at market
Age 18: footballer for Walsall, then Aston Villa, then finally my beloved Liverpool (and England, naturally)
Age 21: journalist
Age 23: English teacher
Age 26: anything but English teacher! Maybe a mundane job (mixed with some writing in my spare time), retiring at 40 to become a thatcher in Dorset (still mixed with some writing in my spare time).

Anyone else have a similarly mixed career path?

[Kirsty Harris]

You know, Mongoose, when I was a child I wanted to be a teacher, then when i was a a teenager I decided I wanted to be an Accountant (god knows why!!!) but ever since I did a bit of voluntary work when I was 15, I've always wanted to work in my current field, working with Adults with Learning Difficulties, so I think I'm quite lucky.

[Mongoose]

Full credit, Kirsty. I'm sure a lot of commitment and patience is required. My mum has worked with kids with learning and behaviour difficulties. I could never do that. I walked into the Learning Support department at school last week, when we had exams going on. It was like walking into an overage creche, with kids doing differnt things everywhere. The SENCO was trying to organise exams for about 20 girls aged 11-13, some of whom can barely read and write, while others won't do anything without checking it with an adult first. It's draining work at times, and sometimes there's little or no apparent progress. I'd go mad pretty soon, but the staff there just keep going. Amazing.