Speaking as someone that left school @ the age of 13 & now approaching 40 my one regret is that i never found out what my educational boundaries were?, so to speak. Would of loved to go to uni:confused: . I've not done bad since leaving school, But i still have that lingering doubt:suspect: . Mods lockdown if this is too moody! :loopy:

I am 42, just done my GCSE English as I left school before my taking my exams.

I have just signed up to do AS level, so you are never too old.

Try On line learning through Sheffield College

Thanks for that. I will give it a go.

Originally posted by DJI66
Speaking as someone that left school @ the age of 13 & now approaching 40 my one regret is that i never found out what my educational boundaries were?, so to speak. Would of loved to go to uni:confused: . I've not done bad since leaving school, But i still have that lingering doubt:suspect: . Mods lockdown if this is too moody! :loopy:

I went to uni and it did not improve my job prospects one bit.

It was worth it for the life experience :heyhey: but not for the money you have to shell out nowardays.

ive never had a full time job since leaving school in 1985 .......till now :)
however my cv is full of part time college corses, nvqs, training schemes and other qualifications.....mainly in computers
word processing
spreadsheets
desktop publishing
databases
Computer / network building and repair
customer service

still cant get a job in these areas lol

nearest ive got is im currently in cnc drilling for pcbs
along with cleaner
painter
odd job man

i wouldnt bother - im at uni and its awful - just constant work to do all the time, constant deadlines to meet and whenever you do get a free bit of time constantly worrying about the next bit of work youve got to do but dont have a clue how to do it. You cant read novels, all the books you read are to do with the subject and if theyre not you feel guilty.

No, dont bother. You havent missed anything

(unless you do some mickey mouse 12 hour a week uni time course that is)

It's worth going to uni if A) you can afford it and B) you are realistic about what you are going to get out of it. My degree cost me a fortune, and didn't help my career one little bit, but the friends I made, the life experiences I gained, and the sense of achievement I got from studying a subject at degree level means that I have never regretted going.

Get in touch with the Open University.

Sheffield College run Access courses, they can get you into uni.

Originally posted by DJI66
Speaking as someone that left school @ the age of 13 & now approaching 40 my one regret is that i never found out what my educational boundaries were?, so to speak. Would of loved to go to uni:confused: . I've not done bad since leaving school, But i still have that lingering doubt:suspect: . Mods lockdown if this is too moody! :loopy:

oops ignore the above im on my laptop for the first time, anyway, just wanted to tell you , i did pretty rubbish at school, but have always worked hard since leaving, however i started uni at the age of 30, so if you want to do it, whatever your intrested in even if its a mickey mouses degree, jules

I left school with no qualifications, but once I had my daughter I decided to study at evening classes.

Leading on from that I did some more studying and eventually progressed to doing a degree part-time at University whilst also working full-time.

I wish i'd been in a position to go to University full-time because i've heard so much about how people have made life-long friends at Uni and also doing a degree does invariably help in your choice of career.

But, you're never too old to study and learn new things. If you want to build your confidence first, start by doing something you enjoy doing, then work up to whatever you want to do - degree: (all the Uni's offer part-time courses) or if you're quite disciplined try the OU.

You'll probably also find that many of the people on the part-time courses are a similar age to you too.

Good luck

Many Thanks to you all for replying,
Especially Hels & Jules.

It was just one of them "What if" situations and i'm going to apply for a "Mickey mouse" part time courses 1st.

Again, Many Thanks for your help

:thumbsup:

Dave

Oops, nearly forgot Rosie, Sorry.

my degree was a joke. The university was a mess, seriously under equipped for my course and the lectureres didnt have a clue (except one, bless him). lincoln school of art and design (in hull)... for reference.... bad experience for me and a lot of my friends (if not all)

However! I have made some amazing friends i thought i would never make and it was certainly the best time ive had in my life. Thats probably why i am in about £15,000 debt :)

I did an Access course at Castle College and had the time of my life! I was 36 when I finished that and went onto uni to do a degree in English Studies.

As a mature student uni was VERY different to college. On the Access course all students had to be over 21 and most were in their 30's and 40's. Working with mostly 18 year olds can be challenging at times! There are mature students on my course but not many. There are pluses and minuses in working with such a younger age group (I'm sure they'd say similar about working with us oldies) and for the social side of things I preferred college.

I still have 1 and a half years of my degree to do as I've had time off for serious health problems but am going back to uni after Christmas and I am looking forward to finishing and getting a job!:)

One of my uncle also left school in the age of thirteen.:)

I'm on my last course of my Open University Degree and it cost me nothing.

Speaking as someone that left school @ the age of 13 & now approaching 40 my one regret is that i never found out what my educational boundaries were?, so to speak. Would of loved to go to uni:confused: . I've not done bad since leaving school, But i still have that lingering doubt :suspect:

Hmmm education can be a great thing, on the other hand I wish I could persuade my son and daughter that Costume Design in Croydon and Media Studies in Leicester might not be the best choices they can make. 3 years building up debt, no obvious inside track to a job that will make up for 3 lost years when they could have been earning money and getting ahead in the real world. Ah well, I'm sure they know what's best for them ... ???

You've not done bad since leaving school DJI66? Good for you!

How come you managed to leave school at 13, I thought the minimum leaving age was 16, and I left in 1967???

The present government have pushed "Life long learning" so find out what your local college has to offer or look online for distance learning courses. You're 40 so there at least another 25 years of working life in you. Make the most of yourself now.