course advise needed

Post by Ben
As I was good at computing the A-Level course went quite well, I was kind of
pushed into doing it at University - although I never liked Maths, and
wasn't doing Maths at college, so I decided to go to UMIST to do Computing
Science (they do not require Maths A-Level).
However, when I got to UMIST I quickly discovered the majority of the course
was very dry and the Maths modules were very intensive - I just clicked off
(as I found it so boring) and so didn't do well at all, in fact I only
passed one module in the whole year (Java Programming - 56/100), and did not
bother attending a lot of my exams.
I got results and decided I no longer wanted to stay on this course (when I
went to speak to my personal tutor at UMIST to discuss my unhappiness and
options, he told me I shouldn't be so selfish, and consider the good career
prospects of this course, which would enable me to support my future family
well etc. - besides the fact I am evidently gay. I felt this was completely
inappropriate and demonstrated to me how crap this University actually was
in lots of ways).

I agree with your thoughts about UMIST, I'm quite glad to see the back of
the place as well. Out of curiosity, who was your personal tutor?

Post by Ben
....
I know it's a very vague and somewhat open question, but anyone got any
suggestions?

Maybe you could do computer science at Manchester?

Ben

2004-09-09 11:59:52 UTC

No you need Maths A level, and I don't want to go into the computing
industry.

Post by Ben

Post by Ben
As I was good at computing the A-Level course went quite well, I was

kind

Post by Ben
of

Post by Ben
pushed into doing it at University - although I never liked Maths, and
wasn't doing Maths at college, so I decided to go to UMIST to do Computing
Science (they do not require Maths A-Level).
However, when I got to UMIST I quickly discovered the majority of the

course

Post by Ben
was very dry and the Maths modules were very intensive - I just clicked

off

Post by Ben
(as I found it so boring) and so didn't do well at all, in fact I only
passed one module in the whole year (Java Programming - 56/100), and did

not

Post by Ben
bother attending a lot of my exams.
I got results and decided I no longer wanted to stay on this course

(when

Post by Ben
I

Post by Ben
went to speak to my personal tutor at UMIST to discuss my unhappiness and
options, he told me I shouldn't be so selfish, and consider the good

career

Post by Ben
prospects of this course, which would enable me to support my future

family

Post by Ben
well etc. - besides the fact I am evidently gay. I felt this was

completely

Post by Ben
inappropriate and demonstrated to me how crap this University actually was
in lots of ways).

I agree with your thoughts about UMIST, I'm quite glad to see the back of
the place as well. Out of curiosity, who was your personal tutor?

Post by Ben
....
I know it's a very vague and somewhat open question, but anyone got any
suggestions?

Maybe you could do computer science at Manchester?

jess

2004-09-09 12:30:21 UTC

Post by Ben
I loved English A-Level, but do not like the idea of doing this at
degree level because
a) I don't really enjoy reading long texts or novels, I find that if
something doesn't spark my interest from the offset that I become
easily bored and lack motivation to continue to be bothered with it.
b) lack of career prospects.

if you're only interested in furthering your career perhaps you shouldn't do
a degree?

jess

2004-09-09 12:31:15 UTC

oh, and it's *advice*.

coyboy carl

2004-09-09 16:42:23 UTC

if you're only interested in furthering your career perhaps you shouldn't do
a degree?

yes, because a degree will only earn you on average £400,000 over your
lifetime than no degree.

oh wait.

hmmmm.

Ben

2004-09-09 16:50:16 UTC

Im more interested in being contented than rich, but really would like to go
through the experience of Uni and get a degree. Will go to Manc Uni open day
in October.

if you're only interested in furthering your career perhaps you

shouldn't

Post by coyboy carl
do

Post by jess
a degree?

yes, because a degree will only earn you on average £400,000 over your
lifetime than no degree.
oh wait.
hmmmm.

coyboy carl

2004-09-09 17:43:45 UTC

Post by Ben
Im more interested in being contented than rich, but really would like to go
through the experience of Uni and get a degree. Will go to Manc Uni open day
in October.

As well as earning more, having a degree will open many more doors for you
than not.

Ignore jess ;-)

cc

jess

2004-09-09 22:59:11 UTC

Post by Ben
Im more interested in being contented than rich, but really would
like to go through the experience of Uni and get a degree. Will go
to Manc Uni open day in October.

As well as earning more, having a degree will open many more doors
for you than not.
Ignore jess ;-)

come on.

having few lectures is attracting him to english even though he doesn't like
reading.

is he *really* suited to a degree?

coyboy carl

2004-09-09 23:17:27 UTC

Post by Ben
Im more interested in being contented than rich, but really would
like to go through the experience of Uni and get a degree. Will go
to Manc Uni open day in October.

As well as earning more, having a degree will open many more doors
for you than not.
Ignore jess ;-)

come on.
having few lectures is attracting him to english even though he doesn't like
reading.
is he *really* suited to a degree?

I think everyone has a responsibility to educate themselves to the best of
their ability.

cc

Robert de Vincy

2004-09-10 07:56:08 UTC

Post by Ben
Im more interested in being contented than rich, but really would
like to go through the experience of Uni and get a degree. Will go
to Manc Uni open day in October.

As well as earning more, having a degree will open many more doors
for you than not.
Ignore jess ;-)

come on.
having few lectures is attracting him to english even though he
doesn't like reading.
is he *really* suited to a degree?

Agreement.

I was kinda sympathising with him at first, when it seemed that he was
just lost about which course was best. But when he posted his "English
has only a few lectures so that's good" message then I lost all feelings
of support for him.

Perhaps he should wait a few years and then respond to one of those
"GET A MBA DEGREE FOR LIfE EXPERIANCE!!!!" spam emails. No lectures at all
for those.

--
BdeV

Toby

2004-09-10 09:55:12 UTC

Post by Ben
Im more interested in being contented than rich, but really would
like to go through the experience of Uni and get a degree. Will go
to Manc Uni open day in October.

As well as earning more, having a degree will open many more doors
for you than not.
Ignore jess ;-)

come on.
having few lectures is attracting him to english even though he
doesn't like reading.
is he *really* suited to a degree?

Agreement.
I was kinda sympathising with him at first, when it seemed that he was
just lost about which course was best. But when he posted his "English
has only a few lectures so that's good" message then I lost all feelings
of support for him.
Perhaps he should wait a few years and then respond to one of those
"GET A MBA DEGREE FOR LIfE EXPERIANCE!!!!" spam emails. No lectures at all
for those.

Certain universities emphasise independent learning to a much greater
degree (leading to a err great degree) and lectures certainly aren't
mandatory at certain unis...Why should he not be suited to university
just because of the way he wants to learn? Please note, I am assuming
the best about him...

Robert de Vincy

2004-09-10 10:56:41 UTC

Post by Toby

Post by Ben
Im more interested in being contented than rich, but really would
like to go through the experience of Uni and get a degree. Will
go to Manc Uni open day in October.

As well as earning more, having a degree will open many more doors
for you than not.
Ignore jess ;-)

come on.
having few lectures is attracting him to english even though he
doesn't like reading.
is he *really* suited to a degree?

Agreement.
I was kinda sympathising with him at first, when it seemed that he
was just lost about which course was best. But when he posted his
"English has only a few lectures so that's good" message then I lost
all feelings of support for him.
Perhaps he should wait a few years and then respond to one of those
"GET A MBA DEGREE FOR LIfE EXPERIANCE!!!!" spam emails. No lectures
at all for those.

Independent learning = more reading, as opposed to listening to someone
else tell you stuff in a lecture/lesson format. Yes?

He's already expressed a dislike for lots of reading.

Maybe if he puts the books under his pillow at night, then the
knowledge might soak through into his brain. Then = no reading, no
lectures, and the chance for a great social life. That's the answer!

Post by Toby
Please note, I am assuming the best about him...

So was I, until it became apparent that he didn't like anything that
uni was offering him. (Or, at least, the things he'd looked into.)
If he approaches university with a certain expectation that is at
odds with reality then he's never going to be happy with what it
can offer.

I'm not being mean, honest! Don't I often stick up for the
"underdog" point-of-view here? Stop making me feel so guilty!

--
BdeV

Toby

2004-09-13 11:35:00 UTC

Post by Toby

Post by Ben
Im more interested in being contented than rich, but really would
like to go through the experience of Uni and get a degree. Will
go to Manc Uni open day in October.

As well as earning more, having a degree will open many more doors
for you than not.
Ignore jess ;-)

come on.
having few lectures is attracting him to english even though he
doesn't like reading.
is he *really* suited to a degree?

Agreement.
I was kinda sympathising with him at first, when it seemed that he
was just lost about which course was best. But when he posted his
"English has only a few lectures so that's good" message then I lost
all feelings of support for him.
Perhaps he should wait a few years and then respond to one of those
"GET A MBA DEGREE FOR LIfE EXPERIANCE!!!!" spam emails. No lectures
at all for those.

Independent learning = more reading, as opposed to listening to someone
else tell you stuff in a lecture/lesson format. Yes?
He's already expressed a dislike for lots of reading.
Maybe if he puts the books under his pillow at night, then the
knowledge might soak through into his brain. Then = no reading, no
lectures, and the chance for a great social life. That's the answer!

Post by Toby
Please note, I am assuming the best about him...

So was I, until it became apparent that he didn't like anything that
uni was offering him. (Or, at least, the things he'd looked into.)
If he approaches university with a certain expectation that is at
odds with reality then he's never going to be happy with what it
can offer.
I'm not being mean, honest! Don't I often stick up for the
"underdog" point-of-view here? Stop making me feel so guilty!

Sorry.

Matthew Huntbach

2004-09-09 12:29:52 UTC

Post by Ben
However, when I got to UMIST I quickly discovered the majority of the course
was very dry and the Maths modules were very intensive - I just clicked off
(as I found it so boring) and so didn't do well at all, in fact I only
passed one module in the whole year (Java Programming - 56/100), and did not
bother attending a lot of my exams.

Well, you can do programming, and a lot of people find that hard. Maybe
there's another computer-related degree elsewhere that would suit you better.
What were the aspects of the UMIST degree you found dry or intensive?

Post by Ben
I got results and decided I no longer wanted to stay on this course (when I
went to speak to my personal tutor at UMIST to discuss my unhappiness and
options, he told me I shouldn't be so selfish, and consider the good career
prospects of this course, which would enable me to support my future family
well etc. - besides the fact I am evidently gay. I felt this was completely
inappropriate and demonstrated to me how crap this University actually was
in lots of ways).

A little unfair. All academic staff have a quota of students to be personal
adviser to, but there's no training and some are better at the job than others.
The fact that one maybe didn't handle the situation well shouldn't reflect on
the whole institution. Looks to me that he thinks well of you and didn't want
to lose you, and was just struggling and failing to find the right words to
express this.

Post by Ben
So I left and have decided that I do want to go to University and get a
degree - but that course was wrong for me. I'd like to go to Manchester
University in September 2005 and do something different. The only problem is
I cannot decide which course or area to go into.
I loved English A-Level, but do not like the idea of doing this at degree
level because
a) I don't really enjoy reading long texts or novels, I find that if
something doesn't spark my interest from the offset that I become easily
bored and lack motivation to continue to be bothered with it.
b) lack of career prospects.

An English degree from a respected university like Manchester would be well
regarded by employers. Most employers aren't looking for specific degree
subjects.

Post by Ben
I know it's a very vague and somewhat open question, but anyone got any
suggestions?

The trouble is, you seem to be going through various options and in each case
telling us you aren't really interested in it, you seem to get put off when
it gets a bit hard. You don't like maths, you don't like reading, etc - well,
it might help if you tell us what you *do* like.

Matthew Huntbach

Ben

2004-09-09 15:19:34 UTC

Thanks you for your detailed reply.

I think my main problem is that I don't know what I want to do as a career.
I thought about teaching, but I'm not very sure it's "me".

I am quite techy/geeky in some ways, into A/V gear, consumer technology etc.
Argh - this is so difficult!

<snip>

Post by Matthew Huntbach
Well, you can do programming, and a lot of people find that hard. Maybe
there's another computer-related degree elsewhere that would suit you better.
What were the aspects of the UMIST degree you found dry or intensive?

It was mainly the maths theory (which a lot of was apparently covered in
A-Level Maths, but they needed to get all the students up to the same level.
Also, we did a module in Computer Architechture, which carried on from the
A-Level theory but quickly became very involved. The lecturer for this was
my personal tutor, he was Greek and a lot of people couldn't understand what
he was saying or meant a lot of the time.

Post by Matthew Huntbach

<snip>

I think he was more concerned about drop-out rates for his course. I kept
saying to him "why should I put myself through three years of hell, slog it
out on things that completely bore me, just for career prospects and
money"?.

I quite like the idea of Marketing - but Manchester don't do that.

<snip>

Post by Matthew Huntbach
An English degree from a respected university like Manchester would be well
regarded by employers. Most employers aren't looking for specific degree
subjects.

True, it would. I did love English in college, and apparently it's quite
easy-going with few lectures per week. I think that's definately one I
should look into.

Post by Matthew Huntbach
The trouble is, you seem to be going through various options and in each case
telling us you aren't really interested in it, you seem to get put off when
it gets a bit hard. You don't like maths, you don't like reading, etc - well,
it might help if you tell us what you *do* like.
Matthew Huntbach

Max Power

2004-09-09 15:36:14 UTC

Post by Ben
I quite like the idea of Marketing - but Manchester don't do that.

I'm pretty sure they do, or at least the UMIST Management school do.

Ben

2004-09-09 15:43:04 UTC

Yes but it's "Management (Marketing)"

This school has a reputation for very intensive courses, I had a mate who
did it and he never had time to himself, was working constantly etc.

I'm not lazy, but I do want a life while I'm at Uni too.

Post by Max Power

Post by Ben
I quite like the idea of Marketing - but Manchester don't do that.

I'm pretty sure they do, or at least the UMIST Management school do.

Robert de Vincy

2004-09-09 15:45:27 UTC

Post by Ben
Thanks you for your detailed reply.
I think my main problem is that I don't know what I want to do as a
career. I thought about teaching, but I'm not very sure it's "me".
I am quite techy/geeky in some ways, into A/V gear, consumer
technology etc. Argh - this is so difficult!

If *you* don't know what you want, then it will be even less likely that
someone else will.

Are you not just experiencing a realization that university is not quite
what you thought it was going to be, and that whatever you pick will not
be suited to you?

I would put a hefty sum of money on any bet in favour of claiming that at
least 95% of university students find that some of their course is shit
and they really don't want to be doing that part, and some of their course
is the best thing since baked beans. So far, you've found that CS involves
maths and English probably involves a lot of reading -- both things you
have said you dislike. If you're hoping to find a degree course that
contains only things you like, then you're either going to have to call
in a favour from your fairy godmother or be very disappointed.

Unless you're incredibly gifted, university is meant to be challenging.

--
BdeV

Ian/Cath Ford

2004-09-09 19:58:09 UTC

I'm guessing, seeing that it's in the first line, thatit coul dhave
been Music? :-)

Ian

Ben

2004-09-10 15:34:47 UTC

No I couldn't rememebr my other C grade, I know I got 9 though, so actually
I remember now I got a B in Music and only one C in Physics - oh GCSEs seem
such a long time ago!

Post by Ian/Cath Ford

I'm guessing, seeing that it's in the first line, thatit coul dhave
been Music? :-)
Ian

John Porcella

2004-09-11 00:34:00 UTC

They obviously do not deduct sufficient marks for poor spelling in English
examinations!

--
MESSAGE ENDS.
John Porcella

Ben

2004-09-14 16:13:02 UTC

Get over yourself you swotty pedantic little tit.

Post by John Porcella

They obviously do not deduct sufficient marks for poor spelling in English
examinations!
--
MESSAGE ENDS.
John Porcella

Rehn

2004-09-11 19:24:17 UTC