Hey guys, yes this is a lame subject but recently I've been really thinking about what I'm doing with my life.

Currently work at a nightclub and I've just applied for another job at a pub. But even if I get the pub job, I'll still only be working 3/4 nights a week.

I went to college doing media as I like design/graphics. Started a uni course this year and it just wasnt for me for 2 reasons.

1. Too much paper based design.

2. I feel like I'm not creative enough for graphics, but I'm technically good with it.

The way I look at it, I love graphics and I can really appreciate them, but can't do it that well myself, like people who love football but aren't talented/professional. If you get me.

My true 'passion' lives with cars, been a huge love of my life since I was little, but ofcourse, like everyone I want to earn big money and imo car mechanicing isn't well paid enough.

I just have no idea what I'm aiming for, I'm a fairly intelligent guy. I'm just totally unsure. Just wondering if my CP brothers and sisters could give me Amy advice.

Hope mods dont mind me posting this.

Thanks for reading.

Alex

Edited 14 April, 201115 yr by Prox

what about a part time college course at least that way your working and getting education at the same time. my mate is in a similar boat, he just started a part time course and earns extra money fixing cars for cheap at his council garage so its win win for him.

Tbh its up to you what you want out of life! i always wanted to be a truck driver and now i am, sometimes think why but its a job not the best paid but its guaranteed work although id love to have the time to be a trained mechanic but i dont.

But I wouldn't know what to study at college.

I don't know what I want our of life, same as everyone, an enjoyable job that pays well, I have friends and have had girlfriends with lots of money and they just live the dream.

Mate, seriously it doesnt matter what job you do, until you look in the mirror and figure whats going on with your hair and ear... your fucked hahahahaha

only joking kid

tbh I'm 29 and still have no idea what i want to do with my life, I've actually turned my hobby into a full time profession by teaching martial arts but I've actually always been geared towards the uniformed services and probably still will end up in the police or something before too long.

it depends what you want to do with your life, some people are destined to be rich and others are destined to have to work. i have a job that wont make me rich but it affords me a relatively good lifestyle but with stress and ups and downs but i enjoy it and its easy work, whereas every other job I've done I've been unhappy and unsettled

find something that makes you happy, dont get stuck in a rut

Do what you enjoy! Mechanics aren't the best paid but if you work hard and learn a lot you could open your own garage, work hard, make it profitable open a 2nd... Wont make you a millionare but you will always have work and you will enjoy it :)

aree do what your happy with, basically u live once enjoy what u have got and live your life how u want. i dont have much but fuck me i love life and accept what i have

I'm working in a off-liecence at the moment. Its dull, boring, minimum wage, and its nights.

But I like my current lifestyle, I pritty much work for my faience and my car.

Id LOVE to get a job in a garage, but I'm 20 now, so I have to pay for qualifications , which i cannot afford.

__

What about some sort of engineering design prox? surly theres something like that?

What uni course were you doing? I've been doing web design for 7 years, currently at uni doing graphics and working two days a week as a graphic designer. They key thing you need to look at, is what area of design interests you most. For me its print. Once you've found that, either spend some time working purely on that area of design, and specialise in it; or find a course that will suit it and see how things go.

If you're interested in cars and graphics, perhaps look into potential jobs in decal design? Or even automotive editorial design? Working for PVW for example?

In any case, uni should be where you work out what you really want to do, so long as you know you like design, find a really open design course and give it a go. (Stick at it btw, because you'll tend to find you wont specialise in a certain area until 2nd year).

Edited 14 April, 201115 yr by asherz

Appreciate all the comments

I was doing Graphic Communication BA (Hons) at bath spa

but how would i go about trying to do them graphical/car jobs?

Try and get in touch with some companies that you'd like to work for Prox.. enquire about apprenticeships or placements at as many places as possible but also see what kind of qualifications they look for...

There's always a way and you should definitely keep pursuing what you enjoy..

Like I said in the other thread though if you're even considering another uni course then you need to jump on it quick time.. Although in saying that there are plenty of HNC's and HND's in Graphic Design and similar areas at colleges...

Right from school I've known what i wanted to do as a career. Learnt about the industry and went for the appropriate qualifications.

Uni to me is abit pointless unless you know what you want to do when you leave. Many students dont. All it means to me is a qualification saying you can learn.

Apprenticeships are the way forward imo. Yes you start at the bottom but most uni students I've seen start at the bottom of any company anyway!

Motor vehicle trade is crap money and always will be. There's too many cowboys letting the car industry down. Hence the reason i looked to aircraft maintenance. Dont get me wrong i love cars. But as a hobby. Unless your completely obsessed about them you'll be sick of working on your own car at the weekend after a full week working on civi wagons!

Everyone says regardless of the money you'll enjoy it etc but you work to live not live to work. Just abit defeatest if youve settled for 12k a year changing brakes on rep cars n family wagons. Its a job at the end of the day and we all have jobs to pay bills, buy nice cars, houses and so on and personally i want nice cars and big money. So i picked a career that satisfy's this!

You looked at car design or something? I know very little about that i'll be honest. But there has to be someone you can approach. Show your interest and possibly some work experience to get your foot in the door.

Edited 15 April, 201115 yr by neil_dubgt

Again, appreciate the comments, i know loads of people who find their careers in their mid twenties, i just feel like i'm in a rush, i'm 19 next month (7th May, PM For Address )

But yeahh i do like the sound of working for PVW or something similar, that'd be insane.

A friend of mine used to work for Redline and he said the money isn't great unless you stay there for a good while!

Yeah i've thought about car design, i may have to look further into that and see if it's for me.

I'm with Neilybaby.

Although a different story, i left school knowing what i wanted to do and went to college and got qualifications for it. Just i then grew to dislike it haha. And I'm not willing to leave my current job until i find something (in what i went to college for) that i know i will actually enjoy. I know exactly what job that is too, I'm just waiting for it to become available then pounce like a hungry tiger.

also, people often ask me why i don't get a job working with cars, as i do enjoy it. But i know if i did, I would be sick of it by the time i got home and probably wouldn't wanna spend time working on my own car. I'd much rather keep that as a hobby.

your not the only one,

I've been at Morrisons for 3 years and still dunno what i wanna doo, Did College and passed most stuff, Wanted to do something with Sound/Music but half way through the course started to hate it and still doo, now dunno what to doo,

I've been looking at Courses at Morrisons now as I'm aparenlty a really good employee and can run the department when theres no Managers on and could move up on, But I'm not sure its were i wanna go, it sort of enjoy it but depends on what mood I'm in and what the mood of others is too other wise its like hell, Also customers anoy the crap out off mee, how can they be so stupid and not read signs .. meh

:)

Nah i am really glad that i'm not the only one, just feel really rushed to get into something as i want everything now

i guess something will happen <3

I'm a firm believer of you have to do what makes you happy in life, whether it's climbing up buildings, digging trenches underground, sitting in front of a computer...anything. We're not on this planet very long, so do what makes you happy. University in general puts you in good stead CV wise these days, although with so many people getting degrees (myself included, doing Computer Science), it does question the value of having a degree compared to a few years ago. Maybe grab a few more prospectuses from a few different unis and see what kinda thing is available elsewhere? never know, you may like the idea of it and decide to go back.

Have you ever thought about any 3D modelling / CAD stuff? quite diverse I guess...The whole design world I guess is like any other, you need to get your foot in the door somewhere even if it' at the bottom working for a web dev agency chopping stuff up in Photoshop...

Either way bud, good luck!

J

Appreciate all the comments

I was doing Graphic Communication BA (Hons) at bath spa

but how would i go about trying to do them graphical/car jobs?

Bath spa have a really good graphics course if I remember correctly. Nice little canteen/pool table area too haha

If you think you have the skills, ask if you could work at PVW or somewhere similar for free for a few months, just learning the ropes and getting a taster of what goes on (kind of like a long work experience). I know it doesn't sound beneficial, not being for pay and all, but a good reference from them along with the fact that you've worked for a automotive editorial mag could go a long way.

The only real problem is, specialising in graphics should really be in areas such as print/marketing/web/editorial etc. Choosing cars is will instantly limit yourself :)

When i went to college after leaving school all i wanted to do was being able to paint for a living but reality was i was never going to be able to make £££s by doing that so i chose to send my CV out to advertising companies and see what came about ,lucky enough one of those companies asked for an interview and offered the job even though on a lowly paid position as a jr designer but learning the ropes .

I was with them for 2 yrs and spread my wings to work in London earning more money doing record album covers but it opened my eyes on how cut throat the business was and i became disheartened with it all so i went to college to retrain in Fashion communications for 3 yrs but i still after those yrs of training fell into management level in Retail again after a few yrs i was bored and looked to something else and ended up doing some jobs doing gardening and then taken on by a private school to do their grounds and after 7 yrs I'm still there and doing some outdoor teaching with the children which proves quite satisfying at times but it does have its boring moments like most jobs .

The moral of all this is life is a funny thing and it throws up a few surprises as if someone told me when i was working in London that in a few yrs time ill be working as a gardener for a school i would of laughed .If i was you Alex i would send out a load of CVs to advertising companies as i did and learn from the bottom but be prepared that for a couple of yrs you might earn peanuts but at least give you an insight and who knows in a few more yrs time life might chuck in more surprises

i study at Northbrook college in sussex doing a degree in Motorsport Engineering and we use CAD all the time, we have autocad, inventor and solidworks and we also use CFD, there is quite a bit of paper work but unfortunately that is the price for a qualification most employers in the motorsport industry want to see before they let you loose on their projects. because its a college the teaching style is less formal, much smaller more sociable groups. but we go out racing woth our formula renault (with a 'pro' driver) i volunteer for a bloke who is head of an engine design team at ricardo vehicle developments who happens to race a formula ford which was set up through college you should give it some thought

Motorsport engineering at Northbrook

i can get some pics if you like?

we are racing our formula renault in formula 4 tomorrow at brands hatch i can get some pics if you like?

not many unis have practical sessions or even a race car to start off with but we have a few.

i'm in a very similiar postion it's so frustrating :( i've spent the last 3 years training and working as a mechanic and i hate it like everone said i reall cba doing my own car when it gets to the weekend. it's under paid and a shit trade. (so rule out mechanics if you havn't allready)

But i can't leave, all though it's driving me mad working there as i need the moneys :(

One good thing is trade disscount and accsess to ramps and other tools though :p

My career has been a bit varied and I'm still unsure what line of work I'd like to get into.

I started off as an electrical engineering apprentice, got me a few qualifications in that then decided the company I was working for was a bit biased towards the mechanical engineers and left.

I then started working just as a storeman for the company I'm with now but I've worked my way up the ladder a bit and I'm now doing quality assurance for them and they are putting me through college to get a qualification behind my hands on experience.

But I'm now starting to get bored with the company as in the last year they have lost their 'investor in people' approach to work and just act like a bunch of accountants, constantly penny pinching. Its got to a stage its effecting the way I work and the type of people I work with so it might be time to leave.

But I don't know what, I don't have enough experience to get a good QA job elsewhere and I don't want to take a step back. But I'm thinking offshore might be a good career move, but its just getting my foot in the door of an offshore company.

I think when your young though you can do a few career moves to find the one that suits you, I'm 23 and I'd hate to spend the next 42 years doing what I'm doing. You'll probably find if you have a few career changes the experience you gained from past jobs will help you in some way in future ones even if they seem unrelated.

Neil and B-Shaw are totally, 100%, right IMO.

I've got the same sort of problem as you Alex, I'm on my second year at college studying motorsport engineering and its all theory and bores me to death, we have formula fords and renaults we race but i hate single seater cars and just find them soo boring. I've decided uni is not the path for me as I'm more hands on and can't be arsed with the paperwork. I want to get a job working for a motorsport company or tuning company, like Sumopower or Garage-d places like that but i feel to get a job there i need an apprenticeship in mechanics under my belt which i don't really fancy, it'll be crap pay and boring, i basically want to go straight into the good stuff without doing the boring stuff first but i don't know how to go about it and will probaly have to have to just try for a mechanics apprenticeship :/ Anyone got any ideas?

Cheers

All my mates who get between 30k and 80k did not go to uni! Neither did I, I wish I'd got into something alot earlier like your age while you can get qualifications for free and by your mid tewntys you'll be on a good wage

It came down to for me and my mates do you want money or debt(uni)? basically :)

That's not really fair, uni doesn't always mean crippling debt by the time I finish uni ill only owe 4k because I'm smart with my money and I work lots and don't go out on the piss(not a lot anyway) and by contrast my brother who doesn't work at all and gets pussed every nights at uni is gonna find himself nearly 20j in debt you just need to be good with monies