I Think I Made A Wrong Choice

[Bluebear 0]

So next year I am attending "videreg?ende." I do not know what you call it, I guess the school system is a bit different. But this is my 10th school year, so next year will be my 11th. About two months ago, we had to make a choice what we wanted to do next year, and where we wanted to go. I decided to go with "Allmenn." The first year is very similar to all my previous school years, so it is about the same. They have the "normal classes", like English, mathematics, gymnastics, history, science and such. In the second and third year you get to choose what classes you want. I do not know why, but I have always looked at this as the best choice you can get. But I am starting to realise that I am wrong. I have always wanted to get an education, where you can get a well-paid job. It is so frustrating, because I think this was wrong of me. I do not want to do this.What I really want to do is something called "Media & communication." You can become a photographer, journalist and things like that. Creative jobs, and that is what I like. I love taking pictures, my computer, photoshop and computer-stuff in general. Something I would love to do is making designs, games and web pages. So as you might have realised, my choice is wrong for me. And I realise that, but I guess it is a bit to late.And that is horrible! I do not want to sit the rest of my life on a freaking office where I am bored, I want to do what I love. I know that I can apply on it in two years, but I feel like I am wasting my time... And I do not know what to do. I used to be so excited to start at "videreg?ende", but now I do not know. I feel like I have done something stupid. Because this is really not what I want to do.So I need some help, some advices or just a shoulder to cry on. I do not know what to do. I have "Media & communication" as my second choice, so if I do not get my first choice, then maybe my next one. But here you need quite good grades in order to attend such a school, and I am positive that I will be accepted to my first school - the one I really do not want. We get the answers in July.I just do not want to waste my time, my life. There is so much I could do instead of this...Please, help me.

[truefusion 3]

How old are you? Am i to assume you're in the tenth grade?—or does "10th school year" mean something else? How long will this course which you feel so wrong about last? Is there really nothing but picking a job after you're done with all the courses? Let's say you do get picked for the "first choice." Does that mean you can't later go on to study about what you want to do (assuming you get no free time)?

I just do not want to waste my time ...

No matter what you do, you're wasting time.

[Bluebear 0]

No matter what you do, you're wasting time.

Well I do not want to waste my time doing something I do not want to do.

I am 15 now, born in 1992, so I will be turning 16 this year. So I can change after one year, but then I will feel like I have wasted a whole year doing nothing. If I continue doing the same, I will be attending second year. If I choose to try to get into M&C, I will be attending first year. So... I will be wasting a year. I am just wondering if I should continue with the school I do not like, or if I should change after a year... Arg, I have no idea.

[shadowx 0]

to be honest, i wouldnt worry too much over it, i gotta be honest most jobs nowadays, at least in the UK dont go just by your grades or education, your first job might depend on them more but jobs after that one will depend much more on your experience at your previous jobs and what your previous boss has to say about you. So for your first job it might not be exactly what you want, but on the side you could do some amateur photography and maybe try to see if you can do some freelance stuff for a local magazine, even design menus for local takeaways, or shop adverts for the paper shop down the road. Design a few website templates, see if you can sell them. All of these things then build up to be a portfolio that you can go and show to your interview and say " Look i made the wrong choice at school but as you can see from my portfolio my skills haven't suffered and i am certainly able to play a big part in your company". IMHO Experience = Gold, Education = Bronze. On my ICT college course we didnt learn anything. All i learned was a new word "relational databases" and that you should wear an antistatic wristband when taking a computer apart. So even if i got an A in that course (which i didnt ) i wouldnt have any useful skills unless i learnt them myself (which i have ) and i can prove that with my portfolio.You'll also find that if youre going into computers, including web designing but especially technical stuff they will probably test you anyway and will certainly ask to see examples of what you can do. Bottom line is education comes second to experience in this world, and teachers might say otherwise but theyre wrong, it is still important but even if you get an E in an exam but get the equivalent of an A in their little test or your portfolio is rated highly, youre better off. ^_^If youre not convinced then you can always swap courses surely? Phone the place and tell them the situation and ask to change courses or something. But still make a portfolio and do some freelance work, it will get you some cash to This reminds me, i really need to send off my CV and example codes :/

[Bluebear 0]

Maybe you are right, but still it is so annoying. It is something I wish I could re-do, and I feel so daffed right know... Maybe I should follow your advice; doing what I like at my free time.I guess having it as a hobby would be okey, but still not as good. But thank you, anyway.

[lefehe 0]

You know, at certain moments in life it is easy to feel frustrated by the feeling of not being in the right school, or in the right job, or with the right person.That is perfectly normal. But it does not mean that you have just to sit down and wait till that feeling passes. You need to be proactive in order to get out of that crisis (yes, it is a kind of crisis) and with a satisfactory answer to your doubts and fears.Why don't you take a couple days to carefully consider your present situation? It would be great if you remembered why you made that choice from the very beginning. You could have lost track of your own original goals, and you could also have lost most of the joy of the process of becoming a professional in the area you are interested in.Whichever conclusion you get at the end, remember that it is always wise to admit a mistake -- in case you positively realize you have made one. And don't forget that all mistakes can be corrected if you really want to.I wish you the best.Regards,-L.

[k_nitin_r 8]

On my ICT college course we didnt learn anything. All i learned was a new word "relational databases" and that you should wear an antistatic wristband when taking a computer apart.

 

The ICT course is probably something that employers look for on a resume when hiring. Back in the earlier days of computing, it did not matter whether one had a college degree so I wonder where we went wrong.

BTW, relational databases in particular have an interesting history. The idea of a relational database was formed by Dr. Edgar F. Codd who wrote in a journal by IBM about the System R4 Relational (I like to think of "R-4-Relational" as possibly SMS lingo for "R-for-Relational", though they didn't have such marketing gimmicky sayings and text messaging back then). This article was published in 1970 and it was not until 1977 that a firm named Software Development Laboratories (later renamed to Relational Software) build a product that came to be known as the Oracle database.

You see, in the ICT courses, they fail to mention the more interesting parts of computing history. IBM decided to act on an article published in its own journal only in 1983 with the Query Management Facility, and, yes, it was for working with the IBM DB/2 database. Both Oracle and IBM DB/2 are still around today; Oracle is a leading database vendor and makes the most in licensing revenue among databases whereas IBM DB/2 is still offered by IBM.