So I need to some career advice, or a reality check.
>26 year old
>Been neet for 10 years
>Only some GCSES from high school
I'm trying to turn my life around, or start to anyway. Career wise what situation am I looking at? I don't know what I want to do with my life but am I too old to try college and get a "high status" job? Supposing I could even motivate myself enough... I live in the UK.
You're never too old to get an education. I saw plenty of people in their 30s or even 40s at my uni. 26 isn't even that old, you can still make friends and party with most people at college without it being weird.
You need work experience as well though. You can't afford to do what most students do and live off loans throughout uni. If you graduate when you're 30 and don't have a single job under your belt that's a way bigger problem for you than having no degree.
>>17275514
Yeah, I started college at 24 after working in retail for like 6 years.
You can do A levels at local colleges and if you do well you can jump on a decent course at a good uni. Probably best to get some form of work experience too though, just in case
>>17275514
This. 26 is not that old at all. I started when I was 24 and had a great time, met a lot of people and partied and all that.
>>17275514
I have a fake job on my cv from my dads mate who can back me up in a reference. I have two work experience jobs as well that the job centre made me do. I guess looking for a decent part time job or something would be my first move.
>>17275520
There's a college right in town so that's simple, problem is I don't think they are taking applicants until next year now.
Does anyone know how employers treat online course certificates? Do they take them seriously?
>>17275534
If you have some experience it's not that bad. Depending on how many GCSEs you have your education path looks like:
>College
2 years. You need to get enough A-levels to qualify for a degree, so if you only have a few GCSEs right now you probably have to do 2 years. For most degrees you need 4 A-levels, usually at least 1 A and 3 Bs.
>University
3 or 4 years studying a BA. Ideally you want to do the whole 4 years because a 3 year degree doesn't get a classification. Depending on what your degree's in you should be able to qualify for a decent entry-level position in your field.
Do not do an online course. They are worthless.
tl;dr if you apply you'll start next year and it'll take you 6 years to get a degree. By the time you're 33 you'll be able to get a decent entry-level position in your chosen field.
>>17275565
I have nothing higher than a C. Few lower. Guess i'd have to check the courses to see entry requirements.
This is could infomation though, exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.
>>17275590
good* not could
>>17275590
Most colleges let you study 3 A-levels if you have at least 5 Cs. Ideally to get the 4 A-levels within 2 years you need at least 3 Cs right now. If so you'd be looking at;
Year 1 -
1 A-level and 2 GCSEs
Year 2 -
3 A-levels
Degree entry requirements vary by uni but ideally you want to get at least Bs so you can qualify for somewhere decent. If you don't manage this you can still get a HNC or HND, which isn't as good but still way better than nothing.
>>17275499
Not everyone needs a 4 year degree to work, make money and eventually start their own businesses.
How about a job in the skilled trades? We will always need plumbers, electricians, construction workers, etc.
>>17275605
If double awards count as two i'll have 5-6 I think. I have 3 at least so I should be ok. I'd prefer to only do 1 year but hey, my fault for losing interest in secondary school.
>>17275499
You are eligible for a student loan of up to 2k or something, meaning you can go to college and study anything you like.
You might be eligible for further education as you didn't go to college or do A levels.
You can get any entry level job in retail, warehouses or menial jobs, you can even find work as an office bitch (legitimate knowledge of MS office will help).
I'd advise against working for an agency, you will get shitty hours and be fucked off after so many weeks.
You aren't too old to try anything, but if you are 26 and never had a job, you will struggle with finding work straight away, that said you can still get a student loan and go to university.
>>17275623
I've thought about it but I really hate diy stuff so I think i'd probably quit.
>>17275632
Worth checking, like I said every college has different requirements. Some might let you just do 4 anyway, but keep in mind it's a lot of work.
Also >>17275623 is correct, skilled labour is really lucrative as well. I went the academic route so I couldn't advise you there, but I know a lot of guys who fucked around in high school that did an apprenticeship at college. A lot of them are making serious money doing plumbing and electrical work now.
>>17275642
Yeah i'll check. From a brief look nobody seems to be taking applications at the moment, so I'll keep my mind open about skilled trades since I have some time to think about it.
