Wanna tell me about your life?

[purpleduck]

Hi!
I am doing a paper for my careers guidance course....

Do you lot mind telling me about your employment/ career path?

Are you doing something you love doing?

How did you decide when making big career decisions? Did you make the right decisions?

And last but not least, do you feel you received adequate careers advice?

Obviously you don't have to answer all these questions, but I would reallly appreciate hearing your stories.

Thanks!

Purpleduck

Oh yeah
Forgot to ask..
Was there anyone or anything that was insturmental in steering you toward/ away certain areas?

Thanks

Started off at Agricultural College.
Graduated and moved on to work for family before getting into education side and finally did TEFL course, worked abroad, came back, worked as TA various age groups, applied to be a teacher, kept getting turnd down, now run a B&B in Dorset.

Any suggestion of what I would like to do I made to careers adviser jsut came back with stock reply, the best way into this is to become a secretary, used to try and come up with some really bizarre career paths to see if I could get her to deviate but couldn't.

Now doing something I enjoy which fits around having small children really well.

Comprehensive school
University and a science degree
Post graduate research in 3 different universities
Changed job because dh moved and I got a job in the pharmaceutical industry
Moved when dh moved again, and got a similar job with a different company
Had a work break when I had the kids
Trained as a teacher
Now work as a science teacher and love it.

Careers guidance was crap. I was told to be a secretary, in spite of being unable to spell, write clearly, or type. My mother suggested that I did sciences as 'You'll never want for a job' and she was spot on.

Left school at 16 and did a youth training scheme in an admin job, then worked in various admin posts for a few years.

Gave up work and went to university in my twenties and did a degree in psychology, followed by a post grad careers guidance course .

Now SAHM, working with young people part time, studying science part time with OU, and thinking about teaching it...

Careers guidance at school or uni never very memorable tbh!

Rubbish Comprehensive school
University to do a science HND
Then started a degree in Psychology and Law
Left to have ds
Worked in shops and pubs to make ends meet
Went back to Uni to do a Law degree
Worked briefly in a Law firm, hated the job
Started a Paediatric Nursing Course, have 1 year left to do, took a break and ....
Am now doing a science MSc.

Would have loved to be a doctor, nothing else is the same, it's the first thing I think about before I sleep and when I wake up. I can't focus on anything else, it's my vocation (or an obsession). I'm applying in June. I hope I'm making the right decision, I fear that I'm only doing it because I can't take no for an answer and I'll get bored of it after a while.

Careers guidance told me I should be a nurse instead (I didn't like it) or work in a shop.

Comprehensive (abroad.)
PhD in Classical languages.
Spent some time working as archaeologist.
Currently teaching Latin part time at uni, doing (unpaid) research and caring for disabled dd.

I love my job and would basically like a fulltime academic job, but am finding it difficult to produce enough researach due to family circumstances.

Careers advisor at school didn't know how to deal with somebody like me; most of the kids I knew in secondary went on to do farming or shelf-stacking jobs or to be carers at the mental hospital. The advisor knew very little about the university system and nothing about the humanities. (though funnily enough, the teaching was mostly good- they must have had some very educated shelf-stackers around those parts).

My parents told me about university courses but let me make my own mind up. I am very happy with my choice, just feel I am not able to do myself justice in my current situation.

Ah, missed your last question (anything instrumental in steering). In my case, very much a case of following a dream. Read Ivanhoe when I was very young, and Robin Hood; ding research on the Middle Ages seemed a natural development once I'd realised they wouldn't let me go off and be an outlaw .

I wavered for a long time between Latin and archaeology, but finally decided that I was more interested in people's thoughts than in their material remains.

The other dream I had was that of being an author (of fiction, I mean)- haven't quite given up on that yet.

Comprehensive
Left at 16 to work in a bank, then opened O level results to find I was brighter than I thought!
Back to comp for A levels
Took a year off pre university and worked in Brussels as a nanny
Went home and did a temporary admin job in the civil service by day and worked in a bar at night
Joined the Army aged 20 to escape the north east. Joined as a servicewoman but was quickly put forward for officer selection and left Sandhurst as a 2nd Lieutenant at 21.
Spent 7 years in the Army and loved it.
Left to take up a place at Durham University to study Law (My gap year had lasted 11 years!)
Left mid-course to marry my DH and follow him around the world.
Have worked as a Head's PA and a Registrar and now I'm a marketing consultant for independent schools, which fits around my girls.

I enjoy my job and it fits my life perfectly, which is the most important thing when you have children. In my dream world I'd be a solicitor - that's what my dad did so maybe that's the attraction. Can't afford not to earn for the time it would take to retrain just now.
Don't remember any careers guidance. Does it show?

scottish high school
6th year college
school of nursing

tbh, i wanted to leave home asap and get a career that would be pretty much guaranteed a job for life. i had no money and my parents wouldnt help me out at all so i moved into the nurses home attached to the hospital and i stayed there for the 3 years of my training. i was bored living in the country with my parents and i desperately wanted to live in a city and doing my nurse training ticked all those boxes

it meant (in those days) i wouldnt have to take out a student loan or anything and i got paid a wage even as a student

i like my job becuase it fits around family life and the money isnt too bad but its not what i would have chosen with hindsight. i wouldnt encourage my children to go into nursing

posh all-girls' private school-exam factory
top university
mediocre class degree-languages
worked abroad for 6 years - PR/admin jobs
Gap to have DS and DD
came back to UK
lots of charity work
now - counselling

only careers' advice ever was a tick-box form at school which recommended I should keep bees. Best advice ever - my Mum - do a typing certificate you never know when you may need it

Comprehensive A levels Art Textiles, Psychology.
College -Art & Design course
Hull uni -Creative Design (Hated it)
Transferred to different college to do design crafts.

Back to night school college after that to do
BII and NLC wanted to go in to licensing trade.
worked in various pubs alongside studying. Eventually became a Licensee/Landlady at 21. Loved it.
Then Became a Veterinary Nurse. Now sahm.
Constantly reminded by DH I have all these qualifications and dont do anything with them.
I loved being in the pub business but DH job to good to give up to join me in this.

Careers advice was dont work with animals no money in it have pets instead.
Dh careers advice was work in a warehouse
Has no degree but has worked his way up now works with computers for a bank. For last 20 yrs.
Earns more than I ever could

oops sorry 23

Comprehensive on one of the worse estates in the country!
Got 3 good Alevels but worked for 2years before uni so I could afford to go.
Did English & History at a good uni followed by a PGCE (primary)

I started off doing law but hated it. Just not for me. Changed and never looked back. I love teaching! It was easy to slot back into after babies and there's lots of part-time work. Not that I would advocate those points as career advice.

Career advice useless. There was always amazement shown at us as if it was incredulous that kids from our estate could succeed! Some teachers were just bloody brilliant though!

Fascinating thread this

Third rate private school - 6 O levels
Grammar school for 1 year and then dropped out
Nursery nurse training - dropped out- see a trend happening here?
Bummed around for a bit, temping here there and everywhere, started A levels(again), dropped out (again)
After another gap year managed to stick a three month secretarial course
Did secretarial work for numerous years then have been sahm for last 8 years

I wish I was doing a bit of both, kids and a job I loved

No I didn't make the right decisions, still trying to work out what those would have been

Careers advice was non-existent, did not understand the relevance/importance of exams/education, hence fact I am pretty much of a failure when it comes to career

Hey ho, at least I married someone who can support me , and am finally enjoying 'the good life' with my children, chooks and vegetables

I also enjoy life with dh

Yes, BB, I always knew I couldn't marry another teacher!

The one thing that growing up in poverty taught me was that it doesn't make marriage easy!

Did Norwegian Examen Artium (3 years preparation to further study, slightly similar to A Levels, but with a large multitiude of courses within directions such as Natural sciences, General, Languages and Social sciences.)

University in Norway: General Literary Science (30 credit undergraduate course, comparable to a year of a BA), Culture of Antiquity (15 credit undergraduate course)

Moved to London, as the I had decided to study the Ancient World. Did BA Ancient World Degree. MA Classics (focusing on philosophy). Got an offer from my old university to teach philosophy and do a phd at the same time. Declined as I had met and planned to marry dh. I was discussing starting on an MPhil, in preparation for a phd, with my professor, but decided to take a gap year, and learn German because I wanted to be able to read the works of some german scholars. Also, I thought I needed a break from academia and needed money.

Started temping work. As I was a computer nerd, and had an interest in graphics design, I was temping in the Advertising industry, helping preparing presentations and pitches, and doing graphics work.

Did a sub editing and proofreading course, as i decided I wanted to work in publishing.

I had also started my own software company with my dh, and did this work in the evenings, beta testing software, making advertising banners, writing help files and product descriptions.

Was offered a job with a large multinational Internet portal. Stayed with them a few years, working on multinational advertising deals from a technical perspective.
Got burnt out, and left to work full time in our own company where I have taken over the financial aspects, after recruited and headed up the sales departement and opened other offices overseas. Still do, 6 years on, but on a part time basis as we have 2 kids.

Am I happy? did I do the right choices? Did I get good career advice? Its been bloody hard work. Life is not much more than work and commitment and I am sometimes very sad not to have stayed and done the phd. I saw the university career service twice. I dont think they came up with anything useful at all. I learnt more from reading The Guardian.

Went to inner city primary school but shined (according to my mum!) so took private school entrance exams, passed one and so went off the private school.
Took two years to find my feet and left with 10 GCSES, 4 A-levels to go to uni studying history (just because I enjoyed history and thought if I was going to spend three more years studying I might as well enjoy it!).
Switched to a dual hons with English Lit after a year (so I didnt have to do a dissertation )
Decided to follow a career in Retail Management as I had worked in retail since I was 15 and enjoyed the atmosphere and felt it was something I was good at.
Got a grad job offer with Sainsburys but was told only had store available in Staines (I wanted to remain in north west, loved up and all that!) but I could have first choice the next year.
Went to do work experience for 6 months with an importers on a buying path as this is what I wanted to do (but food buying)....
... and 8 years later I am still here!
I do enjoy my job but since having ds last year feel as if i have dropped off the career ladder so to speak and so intend to move on within the industry after finishing having kids!
Good career advice for me was from my history teacher who encouraged me to do something I enjoyed at uni.

A levels
polytechnic
7 years in Bookselling wilderness.

After years of wanting to be a vet, a Gypsy and an Artist I finally decided I wanted to be a researcher then a producer for the BBC. I got very little careers advice but was told it was very competitive and I would have a hard time getting into it.

I wrote to various people for advice and was told doing a librarianship degree would be good. I liked order and books and history so did the degree. When I graduated the BBC was going through another one of their every five year changes and I figured I would have a hard time getting in (Though really I was just pretty lazy) so I was a bookseller for 7 years which I loved. I liked the security of it too, but not the pay.

Eventually I applied for a job in the Archive which was a 6 month contract. My boss told me he knew I was the person for the job almost immediately. I have been there 8 years in one role or another but have still not applied for any researcher jobs. It's getting to the point where I would have to change a lot about the way I work to move into production so even though a few people have suggested I apply for jobs on different productions I have never done so.

I pretty much decided this was what I wanted to do when I was 16. It took me another 13 years to get there but I love my job. Problem is there is nowhere to go from here unless I change my career, contract, working hours etc.I was always set on it being the BBC because I respected it so much.

all-girl's catholic school

degree in modern languages

5 yrs in france - teaching english/ translating

moved to dublin to be with DP and have DS

did full-time temping for 9 months when DS was 5 mths (needed the money!)

since then work 2 days /wk in art gallery and trying (not v hard) to be a freelance translator.

keeping languages up by courses in alliance francaise.

Feel very out of step career-wise being back in Dublin were loads opportunities for english speaker types in paris but can't seem to find my niche now.

career teacher in school was typical nervous man who had had multiple nervous breakdowns and was trying to get to retirement without another. bit rubbish. i went for a degree in my favourite subject, which is always a good idea methinks.

I went straight from school to university. I originally started a computing degree which I hated. I wanted to teach but was told by my sixth form tutor, now know wrongly, that my A levels were in the wrong subjects.

After 2 years I quit that course (I did the research myself by phoning round universities, but also called in at the local college advice centre who helped a bit) and transferred to another univeristy and a new course - a teaching degree in Business/IT education. I finished this in 1996, age 23y.

I then taught for 9.5 years. For the first part I loved my job, but after movng schools it went down hill. Was a tought school in special measures with poor discipline and even worse management, In the end I left teaching completely. I was doing one day a week teaching at a loccal prison, so took the leap. I quit with no job to go to, just the temping teaching work. I got advice from some MN teachers! Nothing from elsewhere. TBH it was depseration that made me keave.

Fortunately a new post came up at the prison for a permanent post as an Information, Adice and Guidance worker within education. I went for it and got the job. I am still doing this job, 2 years on and I do enjoy it. I only work part time due to family committments and that is how I like it. I wouldn't want to do it full time. I am having to do a level 4 NVQ in IAG, not through choice but it is ok. I now advice the prisoners of their pathways through learning and skills, and onto careers and opportunities on the out.

What an interesting thread!!
Comprehensive school
O levels
A levels
University - Hons degree in English
Masters degree
Law conversion course
Worked in law
Enjoyed it mostly but too many knobs
PGCE
Teacher, middle management