The I Feel Down Topic.

[Poisson]

Outside Broadcasting, that I used to work in, is much the same, but more used for things like sports events. There's a lot of it, work everywhere but it's hard graft. If you're not freelance you're most likely paid very very little. I make more working in a nice warm workshop now instead.

 

[Matt.GC]

GCSE’s. I can tell you a lot about quadratic equations, Britain's turbulent post-war rebuilding efforts, write a pretty good essay, I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral, I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical.

Cool. Some of this stuff is even pretty interesting.

However, I’m slowly starting to forget how to do.. like.. human things. Like holding a conversation. Or eating. As a person thats a tinge on the spectrum, I struggle with these things normally. I’m absent minded by default. I forget things I don’t really care about.

But really, all those things have been dialled to eleven as of recent. I’ve been basically doing an extra period after school for revision, and man, I just back home and crash and burn. I sit on my bum and just look at my phone for hours. It’s bad! I can’t even sculpt anymore. That’s the one thing I’m good at doing! I’m even getting behind on homework because I’m so exhausted.

For every step I get better at poem analysis, I can feel my comedic skills rusting a freezing. It’s not like the bright and jolly circumstances the world is in currently is helping, either.

I’m genuinely question how well I’m going to cope with the “real world”. To be frank, no-ones really sold it to me. Because of the struggle with my studies and pretty frequent thoughts of my own mortality, I don’t know if I can feasibly work a normal 9-5 job and keep sane. I don’t know if I will be able to cope with being a mere number-crunching cog in a pointless machine we call a “business”.

Im not a doozer! Im a fraggle! Ive got far more pressing matters than money or work or commuting, like making weird little creatures out of clay. Like, get this; one day I’m just going to straight just close my eyes FOREVER. Im sure it’ll be very nice and relaxing, eternity will come around pretty quick and someone’s gotta feed the worms, blah Dee blah. But I get to do absolutely nothing! That’s so boring!

Even weirder, it seems everyone else around me is either getting on with/preparing for a job that they only pretend to care about, so they can have enough pieces of metal and plastic and digital numbers to gain possessions like a “fancy car”. And they keep doing this until their heart stops beating and they are thrown in a little hole and forgotten about in like 3 generations. They act like they’re going to live forever!

Everyone keeps on talking about “investing and retiring at 30”, I get ads about investing at I’m fifteen years old! I don’t care! I don’t think having a great excess of funny little coins in a ceramic pig are going to seem all to important as I get to enjoy breathing for the last few times. I don’t want to die and just think I’ve been used as a tool for my whole life. I want to think that I’ve done something that pleases people instead of a pie chart, and make people laugh and have fun instead of make people a little more bank.

I mean my parents jobs look like my own living nightmare! My dad spends a lot of time at work, has his laptop out almost all the time doing work, and he’s only off for a tiny portion of the year. And what makes me feel especially bad about saying all this is that I know he is doing it for me and my siblings, so that we can have opportunities to learn stuff and try and succeed in our lives. And sometimes I’m too tired from my - in comparison- petty work to hold a proper conversation with him after he has done so much more work in a day than I do in two. It’s like a dung beetle saying he’s tired to SISYPHUS.

Am I inherently a greedy person for wanting to do something that isn’t going to give my possible future family the best financial edge so I can have a job that inevitably pays less that I enjoy a lot more?

Don’t panic; either way I’m sure there will be some nice things to look forward to whichever way I spin it. It’s not like my polymer clay is going to evaporate, every church organ I touch falls apart instantly or Efteling is going to be swept away in a freak tsunami from a nearby oxbow lake.

I also quite enjoy eating food and breathing fresh oxygen.

Ugh. The brain fog is real. I’m very lucky I have some pretty lovely things to look forward over half term and my long summer holiday after I finish secondary. Aye yie yie.

Enjoy my Wikipedia page of a vent piece. That’s why I haven’t been around here for a bit. I feel better already about it to be honest.

If you don't mind me saying, you don't post like a 16 year old. I find your posts quite interesting, well written, and entertaining. You seem to have your head screwed on, so I wouldn't worry and would suggest that it's just mind talk.

I have a son in year 11. Clever lad, doing well, and feeling under pressure. He spends most of the time withdrawing in his bedroom with ****** headphones on, is always rude to me, acts entitled, criticises me all the time, and has is own little ways. But you know what? I still love him like the day he was fresh from the womb. He doesn't get into trouble, he doesn't harm anyone, he's a top lad at school, and really puts me to shame at that age.

So if he doesn't like me now, so what? He's hormonal and under pressure, it'll pass. He'll never talk to me, but he opens up to mum. He thinks I'm a clumsy idiot, but "dad does a lot for us. He works really hard to give us a good life". He loves me, and if your folks are worth their salt, they'll understand. Trust me.

You've got a lot on your plate right now mate. You were only born 5 minutes ago, but you're about to put the big boy pants on soon, and before you do that you've got your first big life altering challenge. There will be plenty more of these to come, and bigger ones too. But when you think of it like this; 2008/2009 was like yesterday to much of us. But in that time, you've gone from barely being able to open your eyes, to turning into an adult with a brain full of knowledge. You'll never achieve such a rapid change for the rest of your life. We've all been there, and it isn't pleasant.

Lessons I've learnt from going through it myself, raising kids to that age, and employing countless school leavers and grads:

1. Teenagers are intelligent and more advanced than we give them credit for. We expect them to act "like adults" and knuckle down. But also expect them to do as they're told and abide by social norms. We restrict their freedoms. Then you're told that the next few months is make or break. It sounds like you're doing the right thing, and I bet your loved ones understand.

2. Once you're free from secondary education, it's extremely liberating. Although the academic standard required increases, they'll lay off you a bit in college or sixth form, you'll be trusted and treated more like an adult. You'll be surprised how much you'll change by the time you finish year 13.

3. "9-5" doesn't really exist. It's an old fashioned stereotype. Over 60% of the workforce don't work in jobs stereotyped in adverts and by school careers advisors. Get over that now to avoid future disappointment. The money is where the **** is. Always will be. Don't put pressure on yourself to have a grand plan of fitting societal stereotypes. Sounds like you're intelligent and knuckling down with your GCSE's. They're little more than a ticket to A Levels and no sod will look at them ever again. Your A Levels are your tickets to university, and no sod will ever look at them again either. Don't do anything too specific at university, do something you're good at, interested in, and can be applied to a broad range of industries.

4. Related to the above, get over any plans you have of waltzing out of education and walking in to your dream job. It rarely ever happens. I'd be a rich man if I was paid for every time one of my younger staff came fresh out of uni, realised the world wasn't what they were expecting, saddled with debt, and getting all depressed about it. Almost all of them (the good ones anyway) either quickly put their heads down and got promoted, or got their dream job eventually. You know why? They had the education and a kick *** reference from me about how awesome they were, the full package for prospective organisations. Employers took them over the entiteled tossers who had walked out expecting their dream job to land on their lap, or had dossed around for a couple of years waiting for employers to knock on their door.

5. Don't worry about a full-time career yet, have an outline plan only. You'll be surprised by seeing how much your bank balance increases by every month in any old job at a young age acts as an incentive . The pressure will remain on your studies, whereas work will just be turning up on time and grafting. Going to college? Work a minimum wage job in a chippy or something like that whilst you're there. Going to uni? Get a nice little bar or supermarket job. Never be late, never go sick, enjoy the social aspects, and cash in. Don't ever let it jeopardise your studies, but it's a win win situation. Employers get a good employee for a few years, you get experience, stuff to fill the CV up with, and money in the bank. Trust me, work isn't like school. A hard working employee is worth their weight in gold and normally treated well. Worry about how you'll adapt to your chosen career path in the future, you have so much time right now. You could still be a good 10+ years away. And by that time, you won't have education or family commitments to worry about (unless you get someone up the duff!), plus you'll be older and wiser.

I completely understand where you are coming from right now pal. I fluffed it and gave up when I was your age and I've paid the price ever since, and now trying to rectify it at 42 when it's much harder (kids, mortgage to pay, the day job still needs to be delivered). I had the good fortune of growing up in an easier world than you, but you appear to have your head screwed on much tighter. You have time on your hands mate.

Don't worry about the brain fog, you're focused on what needs to be done right now. A few months in your life is a lot longer than a few months in your parents life. Soon, it'll be all over and you'll be ready for the next challenge. And they get easier and easier when you get older. Summer will be here in no time.

It may not seem like it right now, but this is the beginning and not the end. First big step of thousands more. You'll be fine, you're not the finished prodct yet. Just get through it and make sure you tell us lot all about it! I look forward to all the gloating!

 

[Matt N]

@Matt.GC That's a great post, and I agree with a fair amount of it, from my own experiences.

I won't lie, though, it's also making me worried about my own circumstance. I worry that I've put my eggs slightly too much into the educational basket. I've done GCSEs, A Levels and an undergraduate degree, which I got relatively favourable grades in all of for the most part, and I'm currently doing a postgraduate degree. I'm 6 years older than @The_bup, and am in the position where entering the world of full-time work now looms dauntingly close and I feel very unprepared for it.

In the spirit of what your post above says, I'm very much prepared for the prospect of my first job out of my MSc (I finish in September) being a minimum wage, "unskilled" (I don't agree with this term, but I can't think of a better one) Tesco-type job. I've applied to some of the bigger industry-specific graduate schemes, but I've already been rejected by 2 (I'm still waiting to hear back from the other one), and while I know graduate schemes are the most competitive of competitive jobs and not the be all and end all of skilled graduate employment, my utterly lacklustre performance in the 2 graduate scheme applications I've had back so far does not fill me with confidence that I have what it takes to succeed.

I know very well that beggars can't be choosers, and I'm in a position where I'm wholly average at best in the grand scheme of things and have practically no leverage to be anything other than a beggar, so I'm starting to think that it might end up having to be "unskilled" work for me to begin with. And if that's what's needed, I have no qualms about doing it. But this fills me with worry, as people have told me that it's "employability suicide" to do this sort of work for too long after uni, and that if I stay in this sort of work for too long, I'll never get out and be able to carve out the skilled career I want. To me, any job seems better than no job, but apparently employers frown on this sort of "unskilled" work after uni if you want to get into a skilled career. I just have this immense fear that this year is truly make or break if I ever want a "skilled" career in industry, and that if I screw it up, I'll never get this chance again.

At the same time, I also have this immense fear lurking in the back of my head that my attempted entry into the professional world will expose me as utterly incompetent and prove that everything I've ever achieved has largely been due to luck or me managing to chance my way through ("fake it 'till you make it", as they say). While I've achieved things on paper, I always have this voice in my head telling me that I didn't truly deserve them, that I just managed to get lucky, and that work will expose me as some kind of fraud.

This is why I absolutely hate thinking about the future... at this point in my life, perhaps more than any other, it just absolutely terrifies me.

 

[rob666]

Try looking at the future as only tomorrow and the day after, and plan for the "real" future within that timeframe.
"I know I'm trying to head towards x, but that is miles away, this week I will try to get on with this and that in preparation."

Worked for me when I had big turds on the horizon.
That and going on the odd rollercoaster.

 

[NuttySquirrel]

@Matt.GC That's a great post, and I agree with a fair amount of it, from my own experiences.

I won't lie, though, it's also making me worried about my own circumstance. I worry that I've put my eggs slightly too much into the educational basket. I've done GCSEs, A Levels and an undergraduate degree, which I got relatively favourable grades in all of for the most part, and I'm currently doing a postgraduate degree. I'm 6 years older than @The_bup, and am in the position where entering the world of full-time work now looms dauntingly close and I feel very unprepared for it.

In the spirit of what your post above says, I'm very much prepared for the prospect of my first job out of my MSc (I finish in September) being a minimum wage, "unskilled" (I don't agree with this term, but I can't think of a better one) Tesco-type job. I've applied to some of the bigger industry-specific graduate schemes, but I've already been rejected by 2 (I'm still waiting to hear back from the other one), and while I know graduate schemes are the most competitive of competitive jobs and not the be all and end all of skilled graduate employment, my utterly lacklustre performance in the 2 graduate scheme applications I've had back so far does not fill me with confidence that I have what it takes to succeed.

I know very well that beggars can't be choosers, and I'm in a position where I'm wholly average at best in the grand scheme of things and have practically no leverage to be anything other than a beggar, so I'm starting to think that it might end up having to be "unskilled" work for me to begin with. And if that's what's needed, I have no qualms about doing it. But this fills me with worry, as people have told me that it's "employability suicide" to do this sort of work for too long after uni, and that if I stay in this sort of work for too long, I'll never get out and be able to carve out the skilled career I want. To me, any job seems better than no job, but apparently employers frown on this sort of "unskilled" work after uni if you want to get into a skilled career. I just have this immense fear that this year is truly make or break if I ever want a "skilled" career in industry, and that if I screw it up, I'll never get this chance again.

At the same time, I also have this immense fear lurking in the back of my head that my attempted entry into the professional world will expose me as utterly incompetent and prove that everything I've ever achieved has largely been due to luck or me managing to chance my way through ("fake it 'till you make it", as they say). While I've achieved things on paper, I always have this voice in my head telling me that I didn't truly deserve them, that I just managed to get lucky, and that work will expose me as some kind of fraud.

This is why I absolutely hate thinking about the future... at this point in my life, perhaps more than any other, it just absolutely terrifies me.

Actually if there was anything in @Matt.GC's post I didn't agree with it was not to study anything too specific as a degree. So many degree courses, while interesting, don't actually have a clear path to progression to a good career, making you no more prepared for employment at 21 than you were at 18.

I think you've made sensible choices @Matt N in picking a degree course that gives you sought-after skills and then continuing to a Master's than gives you a specialism. By all accounts, you are excelling academically and you work hard.

I'm concerned that you feel disheartened by only two rejections to graduate schemes. Those positions are extremely competitive and they'll receive applications from dozens of strong applicants. You are assuming you didn't get the position due to a "lacklustre performance" but have you asked for feedback to determine if this was actually true in either case?

I wouldn't advise rushing too quickly into non-skilled work, unless you really need the cash. It takes time to find your first job and there will be more rejections - don't take these personally, but look at each one as a learning experience. What did you do well? What could you have done better? Does your uni have a careers center that can help you develop interview skills?

You've said that you want to go into industry, but - if I may say so - you do seem the type that would be suited to an academic career. Many such positions will be funded by industry partners in any case, so there's good money to be had, and quite often the work you'll be doing is a lot more interesting than in employment. Consider all options available to you before fixing on one direction or another.

 

[rob666]

Come on Matt, get yourself a job in a park for a while to pass the time, you will be chief exec, or whatever they are called this week, within a decade.

 

[Matt N]

Come on Matt, get yourself a job in a park for a while to pass the time, you will be chief exec, or whatever they are called this week, within a decade.

Unfortunately, I don’t live anywhere near any parks… even my nearest thing fitting the loose definition of “theme park”, Brean Theme Park, is a good hour’s drive away from home. If I lived anywhere other than the West Country, that might be a sound suggestion!

Actually if there was anything in @Matt.GC's post I didn't agree with it was not to study anything too specific as a degree. So many degree courses, while interesting, don't actually have a clear path to progression to a good career, making you no more prepared for employment at 21 than you were at 18.

I think you've made sensible choices @Matt N in picking a degree course that gives you sought-after skills and then continuing to a Master's than gives you a specialism. By all accounts, you are excelling academically and you work hard.

I'm concerned that you feel disheartened by only two rejections to graduate schemes. Those positions are extremely competitive and they'll receive applications from dozens of strong applicants. You are assuming you didn't get the position due to a "lacklustre performance" but have you asked for feedback to determine if this was actually true in either case?

I wouldn't advise rushing too quickly into non-skilled work, unless you really need the cash. It takes time to find your first job and there will be more rejections - don't take these personally, but look at each one as a learning experience. What did you do well? What could you have done better? Does your uni have a careers center that can help you develop interview skills?

You've said that you want to go into industry, but - if I may say so - you do seem the type that would be suited to an academic career. Many such positions will be funded by industry partners in any case, so there's good money to be had, and quite often the work you'll be doing is a lot more interesting than in employment. Consider all options available to you before fixing on one direction or another.

I picked the degree I did at 18 because rightly or wrongly, I thought it offered the sweet spot between being narrow enough to carve out some sort of employable specialist skill set, but broad enough that it kept my options open, as I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I was in Year 13. I sometimes wonder if I went too broad picking a Computer Science degree in hindsight, though… having seen how hard my sister had it looking for marketing jobs after her Journalism degree (she’s found one now, but it took her a good couple of months and applying to many, many different jobs), it’s made me fear that I will take even longer, as she had more extracurriculars under her belt than I do. That was part of my motivation for doing an MSc; I thought it might help me become more specialist in Data Science specifically, and particularly when combined with the chance I could do an industry-linked dissertation over the summer (my course offers this option, and I think I’m going to try and take it if possible), I thought that might make me look more desirable. I still worry, though…

The one rejection I got gave me a feedback report that said my strengths were “growth” and “collaboration” and my weakness was “counterpoint”. The other I got said that I was rejected due to “other applicants better matching the role”.

The thing I always think about academic work is that I don’t feel like I have enough of a burning passion for a specific area to do something like a PhD. From what I’ve read about doing a PhD, it’s 5-7 more years of little to no money, as well as a very intense workload, so you really need that deep passion to pursue one specific thing for 5-7 years, and I’m not sure I have that. I currently feel reasonably strongly that my MSc will be the end of my full-time academic journey for the time being, and that my next step after it should be into the world of industry and earning money. Although with that being said, I’d also be reluctant to rule anything out entirely; I said until midway through second year that I’d never do a Master’s, so who knows, really?

Try looking at the future as only tomorrow and the day after, and plan for the "real" future within that timeframe.
"I know I'm trying to head towards x, but that is miles away, this week I will try to get on with this and that in preparation."

Worked for me when I had big turds on the horizon.
That and going on the odd rollercoaster.

I honestly think that may be a way forward for me, Rob. I’m someone who likes having things meticulously planned out and knowing exactly what’s coming rather than just doing things impulsively on a whim without thinking them through, but I’m also not someone who can confidently stand up and make plans for the distant future, simply because it terrifies me and so much is unknown.

Since the age of about 16 (since GCSEs, really), I’ve tried to only plan out the relatively foreseeable future (i.e. next year or so, or next professional “stage”), and it has actually worked in my favour reasonably well thus far! I’ve had A Levels, a degree and an MSc fall into place using this sort of thinking, so there’s clearly some merit in that approach.

 

[NuttySquirrel]

The thing I always think about academic work is that I don’t feel like I have enough of a burning passion for a specific area to do something like a PhD. From what I’ve read about doing a PhD, it’s 5-7 more years of little to no money, as well as a very intense workload, so you really need that deep passion to pursue one specific thing for 5-7 years, and I’m not sure I have that. I currently feel reasonably strongly that my MSc will be the end of my full-time academic journey for the time being, and that my next step after it should be into the world of industry and earning money. Although with that being said, I’d also be reluctant to rule anything out entirely; I said until midway through second year that I’d never do a Master’s, so who knows, really?

A PhD would typically be 3-4 years. Anyone who spends 7 years on one is doing it wrong!

It's a myth that there's no money in a PhD, in your sector there are likely to be many funded PhD opportunities, often with sponsorship from industry. My other half did a sponsored PhD at Bristol uni which gave him a decent, non-taxable income for four years and the opportunity to do a placement at the sponsoring industry partner. Had he chosen to, he could have taken a job with them at the end of the four years, but decided to continue in academia as a research assistant.

You do of course have to have an interest in your subject, but it can be very rewarding to become an expert in something. You've also got to be good at working alone and disciplining yourself to set your own goals and work towards them because your supervisor isn't going to do this for you.

It's definitely not for everyone, but like I said it's worth considering all options and maybe having some conversations with people before you've binned the idea off entirely.

 

[Matt.GC]

@Matt.GC That's a great post, and I agree with a fair amount of it, from my own experiences.

I won't lie, though, it's also making me worried about my own circumstance. I worry that I've put my eggs slightly too much into the educational basket. I've done GCSEs, A Levels and an undergraduate degree, which I got relatively favourable grades in all of for the most part, and I'm currently doing a postgraduate degree. I'm 6 years older than @The_bup, and am in the position where entering the world of full-time work now looms dauntingly close and I feel very unprepared for it.

In the spirit of what your post above says, I'm very much prepared for the prospect of my first job out of my MSc (I finish in September) being a minimum wage, "unskilled" (I don't agree with this term, but I can't think of a better one) Tesco-type job. I've applied to some of the bigger industry-specific graduate schemes, but I've already been rejected by 2 (I'm still waiting to hear back from the other one), and while I know graduate schemes are the most competitive of competitive jobs and not the be all and end all of skilled graduate employment, my utterly lacklustre performance in the 2 graduate scheme applications I've had back so far does not fill me with confidence that I have what it takes to succeed.

I know very well that beggars can't be choosers, and I'm in a position where I'm wholly average at best in the grand scheme of things and have practically no leverage to be anything other than a beggar, so I'm starting to think that it might end up having to be "unskilled" work for me to begin with. And if that's what's needed, I have no qualms about doing it. But this fills me with worry, as people have told me that it's "employability suicide" to do this sort of work for too long after uni, and that if I stay in this sort of work for too long, I'll never get out and be able to carve out the skilled career I want. To me, any job seems better than no job, but apparently employers frown on this sort of "unskilled" work after uni if you want to get into a skilled career. I just have this immense fear that this year is truly make or break if I ever want a "skilled" career in industry, and that if I screw it up, I'll never get this chance again.

At the same time, I also have this immense fear lurking in the back of my head that my attempted entry into the professional world will expose me as utterly incompetent and prove that everything I've ever achieved has largely been due to luck or me managing to chance my way through ("fake it 'till you make it", as they say). While I've achieved things on paper, I always have this voice in my head telling me that I didn't truly deserve them, that I just managed to get lucky, and that work will expose me as some kind of fraud.

This is why I absolutely hate thinking about the future... at this point in my life, perhaps more than any other, it just absolutely terrifies me.

It's "career suicide" to lounge around in a job waiting for the great big thing to land on your lap, yeah. But that is distinctly different from what we're talking about here. The societal stigma attached to not doing a job you're qualified in is an old fashioned argument from back in the day when there was less competition. So if you do one thing, please completely forget that nonsense.

Think of it from an employers point of view. What are they looking for?
1. "Is this person qualified to do the job/scheme"?
2. "Is this person worth investing in"?
3. "If we invest in this person, how much money will they make us/what function will they fulfill/how will they make my life easier"?

Basically the reverse of what I did. From a young age having 2 and 3 nailed from work, never had number 1 and was held back. But you can prove number 1 already so that's ticked off, your work experience will tick off 2 and 3 as they prove what you're like as an employee.

Imagine Mike.N is going up against you, equally qualified, same age, jolly nice guy. Q. "So what have you been up to the past few years?" A. "Well I've been reading, and doing hobbies. Been searching for work in this field but been waiting for the right opportunity as there hasn't been much out there."

@Matt N walks in afterwards, same question. A. "Well I've been searching for work in my field but been waiting for the right opportunity as there hasn't been much out there. So in the meantime I've carried on in the pub I was working in part-time when I was studying. I was quite good so started doing more and more hours. They then made me a supervisor, and I'm now the Assistant Manager. I enjoy it but I really want to do work in my qualified field."

Who do you think gets the job?

Aim high, so absolutely right to go for the biggies first like you have been doing. Keep lowering your expectations until you get something, and it'll open doors if you never take your eye off the prize.

I appreciate the social stigma that it sounds like you've been exposed to. But that's mostly garbage. I know, I've had 26 years of it, and seen dozens and dozens of grads go through it.

In fact, I'm at work right now and just finished a conversation with 4 people on a similar subject.

1 is 16, and came in with year 10 work experience in 2023. By Wednesday of that week it was like she'd be working for me for years! I told her she needing hunt me down after her GCSE's but not a moment before, and I'd take her on in a heartbeat. And I did, even though I didn't really have room, and she's been with me since last July. Excellent, always in on time, honest, hard working, intelligent, and soaks up the hours. I'll bend over backwards to get her a transfer to a location close to uni when she starts, and she'll come back to me in the holidays. She'll always have a job with me until she goes on her way and gets into what she actually wants to do.

Another is 23, transferred in from uni £30k in debt and has been going through the classic "I didn't think life would be like this" motion and has all these unrealistic expectations put on her by others. She's decided she wants to train as a teacher, and she's so important to me that I'm moving mountains to ensure she still has a job while she continues to study, and as a backup if things don't work out.

Another is 19 (took her on just before 18), did her A Levels and doesn't know what to do in the future. But she doesn't have to know right now, she's young, intelligent and has grown so much at work. If I had a position, I'd promote her tomorrow, and will one day if it's what she wants. If she doesn't, then she's safe here and we'll support her through.

The last is a member of my management team, and is 27. Walked in this morning to see a note to herself about applying for the level 3 apprenticeship in operations management (she has a good set of GCSE's but didn't do her A Levels). Looked at open university, but decided why bother when my employer will pay me full-time wages to do an apprenticeship for free? And it's done, she can get promoted and do a degree apprenticeship, all paid for, and then get another job if she likes.

All of them have good work experience, and either are or will be qualified. And they'll have my full support. Even if I looked at it from a selfish point of view, they all make my life as an employer easier. With what they've done for me, their experience will make a prospective employers life easier.

The importance here is that you have time Matt. You're still very young and have the support of your parents. You're highly intelligent and will be a very skilled individual. You have so much time for worrying about the other stuff and evolving your plan as time progresses.

Don't get what you were looking for? Look at something else. And then look for something else again. It's not binary by any stretch of the imagination, so please don't listen to naysayers. You don't have to have a structured plan, just finish up your masters, graft hard in the best job you can get, never stop searching for what you want. Setbacks will happen. But as someone as qualified as you will be, you don't need to be concerned about the future. Once that's all out the way, all you have to focus on is the bits you don't have.

Sorry for long posts, but it just annoys me when older folk, the system, and social media put out these fake narratives that puts unnecessary pressure on you guys. 1 step at a time, and you do have time.

 

[Matt N]

Thanks @Matt.GC; that post is definitely what I needed to read.

I guess it doesn’t help when I doom scroll through sites like Reddit, Quora and such, where people say things like “If you haven’t got a first from a top 5 uni, done at least 1 relevant summer internship and written at least 5 academic papers in your spare time, you’re absolutely f***ed”, “I really feel for all these poor uni students who’ve been sold a sham; STEM degrees aren’t worth the paper they’re written on these days when online boot camps exist” and “I’d hire a 16 year old school leaver before a 21 year old uni grad”. As someone who got their first from an ex-polytechnic university that isn’t overly renowned and is not even doing their Master’s in a “top” uni (my MSc uni is a Russell Group, but not one of the “top” ones), and does not really have any meaningful work experience, comments like these do not fill me with great confidence.

When concocting my CV, I’ve thus far decided to focus on some supercurricular (is that the right word?) things I’ve done as well as academics to try and get around my lack of meaningful work experience. For example, I’ve emphasised an industry outreach event I attended and spoke about my dissertation at last April, and as stupid as it might sound, I’ve also highlighted some of the various data analysis projects I’ve done around these parts. I figure if I want to get into data science/analytics, some supercurricular proof of me doing descriptive analytics, data visualisation, some other techniques like hypothesis testing and some general data analysis and derivation of insights are better than nothing! I also had some people from a consultancy firm in London contact me and request a Teams meeting about one of the projects I’d posted on here once, which did make me wonder if some of the stuff I’ve done on here could have the unintended side effect of being potential CV fodder for data analytics roles…

Off the back of our discussions, though, I’ve decided to stop wallowing in self-pity and actually be proactive and do something positive, so I’ve booked an appointment with the careers advisor for our academic school. I figure that if I outline my current predicament and worries to them, they might be able to give me some further guidance.

I also guess that I have relatively low stakes on my side as well. As my dad reminded me once, it’s not like I have a mortgage to pay or a family to feed. I still live at home with my parents, and I have relatively minimal outgoings, so it probably doesn’t matter that much financially if I don’t score the big thing straight out of uni and spend a bit of time in a lower-paying job building experience.

 

[Poisson]

I left uni after a foundation year, realising it wasn't for me.

Since then I've done 9 months in retail, 2 years in metalworking, 2 years in TV, 2 years in warehousing maintenance and now 3.5 years in my current job.

Finding what you want straight away is almost impossible. Also even knowing what you want is almost impossible. Retail was for money whilst working out what I wanted to do, metalworking wasn't for me, TV OBs were fun but the pay was poor so took a much better paying job in the warehouse looking after conveyors. That was decent but dead end, so took my current job on an apprenticeship, short term paycut but M-F, 9-5 semi flexi working is much better for me since I struggle to sleep and am injured so walking 30000 steps a shift isn't realistic anymore. You can't predict what will happen, sometimes a change of direction is what's required.

 

[Matt.GC]

You can't really plan for anything. We're in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution right now, and we still don't know how AI will change numerous industries.

When I chose what I did in 1999 I didn't know what would happen. I have advanced skills that are now no longer required. I know a lot about cuts of meat, I can do manual stock and order pin point accurately at a lighting paceI know exactly how EHO's operate, I can manage finance, I'm pretty knowledgeable in employment law, and I'd know what to do if there was a bomb threat. I can spot problems a mile away.

I'm now a box ticker and agony aunt, filling out forms and phoning people all day, presiding over machines and people walking around with handsets picking online orders in an increasingly autocratic environment. Little room for knowledge and creativity. But mainly the rubbish parts now remain. The unsociable hours, Christmas a write off, the 16 hour days when some sod tucks you up. The threats, the assaults, the abuse. All the **** remains, but the fun and creativity gone.

That's why I decided to have a plan B, C, and D. Everything changes. You can't predict the future, and at the moment the best laid plans could be useless in a matter of months. Life just isn't black and white. Cover as many bases as possible.

I would imagine these people on Reddit and Quoras etc got stung, made mistakes, and want to blame everyone but themselves for their own problems. It doesn't mean you have to listen to their sour grapes. Just like me writing this right now, they're just people on the internet, nothing more.

 

[QTXAdsy]

Only the ice hockey fans (if any on here) will understand but...Fife Flyers. My battered bruised and endangered club on the edge of going under if you have followed the recent news and utterly calamitous season it's been.

'Nuff said.

 

[The_bup]

Got in a car crash.

Some pisshead drove full speed into the back and then ran off.

We made brief chase, but he hopped over a fence and that was that.

Well now I’m almost certainly late for school…

 

[The_bup]

Ooh.. everyone’s looking at me….

 

[Leigh]

Had to go a step further with my news disengagement note and completely cut off a friend group who have been bombarding my DMs with far right content.

I didn’t want to but I just don’t feel like I have a choice now.

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

Got in a car crash.

I'm appalled that none of us asked, but presumably you're ok and safe?

 

[The_bup]

I'm appalled that none of us asked, but presumably you're ok and safe?

Yes. We were in a company car, so insurance is all figured out - I think - I’m fifteen I literally have no idea how that all works.

The experience itself was a bit of a flash; like it almost never happened. This is a pretty normal reaction; I’ve had this happen before and I’m sure everyone reading this would know too. However - despite car crashes being very loud, it also felt quite quiet at the time.

Otherwise, it was everything else about it that was particularly weird. There was absolutely no world in which anyone in my car would’ve been even injured, but the whole thing certainly does bring you closer to your mortality. I felt especially bad for my older sister (who was sitting in front of me in the passenger seat) as she also found out a boy she knew quite well in her primary school had recently died in a scooter/motorcycle accident.

Wether it was the adrenaline or the running, we were all pretty shaken up. I noticed a slight deficit when playing piano, and considering literally every hobby I have heavily relies on my hands working properly. The story I have is pretty cool though. Car crash plus chasing an actual criminal is pretty cool. But, I’m trying not to brag about it because it just feels kind of off to do that. Although, I did bring it up seriously once and some probably thought It was simply hyperbole and hence funny… Im not one for hyperbole though. What do they know about being in a crash anyway? Unfortunately, it still seems the real world will hit them like a brick…

And now my mum has been made redundant from her job - it’s been a rough week. Not been feeling in my A game, through perhaps a death through a thousand cuts scenario. It seems everything has been going perfectly catastrophic wherever I’ve been, my actions, my absent mindedness all the way down to my tone. I don’t want to be a nasty person to be around, but I can’t help but feel I am actually the worst person in the world. I’m sure I can derive some self improvement from this; being critical is how you notice problems and all, but I’ve fully accepted in my brain that the broad strokes of this are some kind of weird delusion that you get sometimes. You have highs and lows, it’s just the way of the world and I’m sure it’ll blow over eventually… just needs to drip down to how I feel too.

Literally as I write this, I have managed to ****** some crumble. I was meant to check the oven for temperature and that instruction seemed to completely pass me. Oh my god, I am the biggest **** wipe known to man. Why am I here.

I find it very cathartic to regurgitate all my absolutely incoherent thoughts about everything onto the internet. The thought of someone actually reading it is very nice to me. I often find it weird how many times I hear other people post things on the internet, and then get shocked or embarrassed when people inevitably dig it up or try to use it against them. I know the internet is public and definitely not a safe place, but regardless, I believe my thoughts with every fibre of my being, and I shouldn’t be afraid of them. So, that was a long winded way of saying thanks.

Wow I could open a Star Wars movie with this one!

 

[Alix]

@The_bup glad to hear you weren't too badly damaged by the crash. Sounds like you're having a run of bad luck at the moment, try not to beat yourself up re the small things like crumble - it happens. I'm (a lot) older than 15 and still sometimes have bad weeks/months and even sometimes burn the crumble. Keep looking after yourself and those around you - hope things improve soon

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

Yes. We were in a company car, so insurance is all figured out - I think - I’m fifteen I literally have no idea how that all works.

The experience itself was a bit of a flash; like it almost never happened. This is a pretty normal reaction; I’ve had this happen before and I’m sure everyone reading this would know too. However - despite car crashes being very loud, it also felt quite quiet at the time.

Otherwise, it was everything else about it that was particularly weird. There was absolutely no world in which anyone in my car would’ve been even injured, but the whole thing certainly does bring you closer to your mortality. I felt especially bad for my older sister (who was sitting in front of me in the passenger seat) as she also found out a boy she knew quite well in her primary school had recently died in a scooter/motorcycle accident.

Wether it was the adrenaline or the running, we were all pretty shaken up. I noticed a slight deficit when playing piano, and considering literally every hobby I have heavily relies on my hands working properly. The story I have is pretty cool though. Car crash plus chasing an actual criminal is pretty cool. But, I’m trying not to brag about it because it just feels kind of off to do that. Although, I did bring it up seriously once and some probably thought It was simply hyperbole and hence funny… Im not one for hyperbole though. What do they know about being in a crash anyway? Unfortunately, it still seems the real world will hit them like a brick…

And now my mum has been made redundant from her job - it’s been a rough week. Not been feeling in my A game, through perhaps a death through a thousand cuts scenario. It seems everything has been going perfectly catastrophic wherever I’ve been, my actions, my absent mindedness all the way down to my tone. I don’t want to be a nasty person to be around, but I can’t help but feel I am actually the worst person in the world. I’m sure I can derive some self improvement from this; being critical is how you notice problems and all, but I’ve fully accepted in my brain that the broad strokes of this are some kind of weird delusion that you get sometimes. You have highs and lows, it’s just the way of the world and I’m sure it’ll blow over eventually… just needs to drip down to how I feel too.

Literally as I write this, I have managed to ****** some crumble. I was meant to check the oven for temperature and that instruction seemed to completely pass me. Oh my god, I am the biggest **** wipe known to man. Why am I here.

I find it very cathartic to regurgitate all my absolutely incoherent thoughts about everything onto the internet. The thought of someone actually reading it is very nice to me. I often find it weird how many times I hear other people post things on the internet, and then get shocked or embarrassed when people inevitably dig it up or try to use it against them. I know the internet is public and definitely not a safe place, but regardless, I believe my thoughts with every fibre of my being, and I shouldn’t be afraid of them. So, that was a long winded way of saying thanks.

Wow I could open a Star Wars movie with this one!

Perhaps you were born slightly too late, young sir. It sounds as though a blog would have / could be a wonderfully cathartic thing.

Points on recognising that the negative feelings and thoughts are part of a healthy balance, but ought not to define you for the rest of time. Acknowledging them, investigating them and letting them flow over you is an admirable trait. You are not the worst person in the world, there's usually someone else who can beat you for that title, often someone you know.

Chin up Buppy. Plenty more Fright Nights to attend and have various masks you've slaved over pinched by security at.