Are you edumacated?

I was very lucky to scrape through my final year of High School, believe me. Part of me is convinced that they gave me the few extra points needed just to make sure I didn't come back! lol. It looks like your Teaching degree did come in handy in the end, even if you didn't actually teach a lot in your life. Not in the conventional sense anyway! I smetimes wonder if I would be anywhere different if I HAD of made the effort, because the time has gone by regardless. But of course I can't ruminate in what could have been, so would rather concentrate on what IS. As for your comment above about wishing to start a family but never getting the chance; I wish I knew exactly what to say to you to make you feel better about that sharra, but I am sorry to say that I do not know what those words should be. I am not in this position myself so can't possibly know how that must feel. All I hope is that many other joys in your life have helped in some way or another at times to fill whatever emptiness you may sometimes feel in your heart.

This is a great attitude to have sharra and as I have shared before, it is the "here and now" and the "what can be" that we need to focus on, not what could have been or what isn't! You are fortunate to have found a partner in life that compliments you and creates a sense of belonging and completeness! I too am fortunate because my Wife is someone that accepts me for me and I have no pressure to ever be something I am not! How could I possibly want anything more than that in someone I love? What we experience and learn from day to day and how we deal with it are all intertwined in an ongoing mess of magic and pain! Sure it may be difficult at times, but when we look back on it all, was it really THAT bad? Would we even BE who we are at this moment if it weren't for all of it? There are many, many things I would love to go back and change but I can't. so here and now is where I am; and "There and later" is where I WISH to be by using the knowledge of all I have experienced to its best advantage. I will continue to fail, continue to cry and continue to suffer for as long as I shall live; but I will succeed, laugh and attract goodness at much more frequent intervals! Ain't life a conundrum!

Very funny James I am sure you made school an interesting place for everyone. You are right that my teaching degree did come in handy in that it taught me how to manage the world I was in and so on. I do use it in many ways. Whenever I train sometime my teaching side comes out and that has proved useful many times. As for the family I came to think that maybe that was not part of my life path. It just never happened and I dealt with it in the end. I see it as the fact that I would not be who I am now if I had not lived my life the way I did. So I accept it. Besides if I had been someone else I would not have met my partner and had the joys that I found with him so I have had pleasure in this life. I do not feel the emptiness any more as it is fill now with him and whatever pains I had have healed. I appreciate education as it is good at opening up ways of thinking and doing things that you never would have thought of yourself. This can be gained by working with other people as well. I liked having my mind opened and broadened but life experience can do that as well. I have learned that thinking about the present is the way to go but it still does not stop me stressing about things I want to shape but have no control over. lol. You are right that you cannot change the past but you can learn from it and learning is always good for you no matter what kind it is.

You are lucky to have been given freedom in this regard as there is a lot of pressure on the younger generations these days to get educated. It's just so competititive nowadays! Well I can assure you that your English degree has certainly paid off and it is clear that you have strong skills in that department. I have come close on numerous occasions to chasing some degree or another, but I always seem to end up distracted with my career itself. Maybe one day I will end up pursuing something. I would love to study Philosophy, Pyschology and maybe even Law one day. Let's see! Thanks for sharing mimpi.

I am sure you will James. Just follow your heart. My sister was a student of Philosophy and according to her, it's most under rated yet the most enlightening subject on earth. It gives answers to all the queries that a man supposed to have. And yes, my parents have been extremely liberal in their views and never ever imposed themselves on us sisters. This is a good thing however later in life, I did hope that they could have been little more stern and imposing on some occasions! Many times, in later life, I had thought of pursuing studies, may be MBA but that's something I couldn't really do. May be I am not that ambitious and take life the way it comes. I am happy today, except for a little this and a little that but then we are never satisfied, are we?

The good thing is that you now get to be forceful and imposing on yourself! Getting a PhD for pondering sounds pretty cool to me I must admit!

Fall back, build something in these enonomic times ? . No takers my friend. So many finished houses here and no buyers. But there is a lot of truth in your statement, although it could take me little while to refresh teh subject, one has the experience which does not go away.

Why don't you build a new world economy then Alok?

An Engineer Alok? So get offline and go BUILD something! Your own circumstances are not uncommon from my experience. I have a guy here that is in Sales and his degree is in Agriculture! Regardless of the conflict here, there is no question that the discipline and knowledge he gained from his time studying, has helped him greatly. Life can take us in pretty much any direction but knowledge is ultimately knowledge! The good thing in these circumstances too is that there is always a fall-back option if different paths taken don't work out as planned.

Heya suruchi. I agree with you that holding a degree can provide you with an edge, but I don't see it as the be all and end all of everything either. Experience counts for a heck of a lot more in my opinion, but it's becoming so competitive out there, it's not even easy to GET the experience anymore without that degree. I have no educational qualifications as such, but I'm fortunate to have around 15 years of experience in my field. It was a very different working world when I started out though!

I interview many people on a regular basis and it never ceases to amaze me how educated many of the candidates are! A lot of the positions are entry level ones as well, so it's definitely becoming far more competitive out there. A solid education used to be a sure fire way to secure a great job with a good salary, but not anymore!

Yes I agree. Today they hire only dgreeholders even for the job of trainees or internship.

I would consider myself to fall under a similar category Bo. I didnlt like school either as they never seemed to want to teach me anything that I cared about. It was all so methodical. This was the last few years of High School mind you and I was a constant source of frustration for my Teacher's and Parents because I was a straight A student for my first 8 years of education. I appreciate that there are many careers where a degree or qualification is a necessity, but I have been fortunate to not be in that type of career myself. Experience speaks with the loudest volume in my opinion, but a degree certainly can help! I hope to one day pursue something that I am passionate about and to do it for me and not because my career has putpressure on me to have it. Educating myself in what interests me sounds like the most attractive plan to me too.

I was passionate about history but I could never find a way to make a living in it. I tried teaching and found that I did not like all the discipline and problems that go with high school. Maybe teaching adults would have been better but getting the experience needed proved to be impossible. The only other thing I was every really passionate about was having a family and that is the one thing I never managed to do. Such is life.

When I was growing up, we were taught that is what girls did. They grew up, got married, and raised kids, cooked and cleaned, had a pair of slippers and a drink waiting for their man when he got home. We were also taught not to question authority. Even though in the back of my mind, I did not believe this load of societal crap, I followed the rules, because I was young and lacked the confidence to break out of the mold. If it had not been for that, I probably would not have had a family either. I wouldn't change things the way they are now, though. I would not have gained the knowledge and experience I have, if I had followed a different path.

I never realized until now that you had pursued your Anthropology studies later in your life Lash! Good for you. And I especially logve tjhat you did it because of personal interest more than for any other reason. I hope to do the same one day and seek knowledge in something I am passionate about for ME and not for any other reason. To be honest there is a certain degree of stubborness on my part when it comes to getting a degree also. I am the byproduct of a Father that was adamant I would never succeed in life without one, so I of course dug my heels in to prove that to be wrong! lol. I remember doing an EQ test online a while back and will see if I can find it again. It was a complex version and not one of these silly quick ones. By the way, you may have just uncovered a good angle for your book title if you ever write a memoir! "From Freecell to Intellectual Freedom" the Grandpa Lash Story.

I used to play that game a lot myself Lash. Also Spider Solitaire and Hearts. I don't even want to think about how many hours.....

Freecell can teach us a lot. The major lesson I learned from it is that as far as possible you must give yourself space. Lash

i cant say ,they actually forced me,i actually loved to study medicine.my parents were finding it difficult to send to a medical school(fees)but then seeing my enthusiasm,they felt they would be doing wrong ,if they somehow didnot manage to send me.later on ,my younger sister became a doctor(she is studying for her P.G) and my brother became a pharmacist(they won scholarship)

That's good to hear then riya. Having an ethusiasm for what we are learning would make things so much more bearable! It sounds like you and your siblings are a talented bunch!

Many Parents try to realize their dreams through their children and can be quite pushy when it comes to education! The important thing is that the child is able to have a say in what they learn and why. You have not stated what the case is with yourself, but I am hopeful that Medicine was an area that you too enjoyed and it was not a forced scenario that you struggled with. I must say though that you are undoubtedly the most educated House Manager in the immediate area for sure! lol.

I kind of agree with your first statment in some ways sarah, but I also do think that even if a degree earned does not compliment the career someone is in, there were still positive things gained from achieving it! You sound very much like me by the way! I too have achieved success in my career without any degree and have little or no desire to go chase one at this time either. I never stop learning!

That's a very valid adage sarah! I have always had an interest in Law myself and even being a Lawyer appeals to me because I'd be paid huge amounts of money to argue! I also feel that there is something to be learned from each and every person and each and every day. This is what life is about! A degree or education in general, basically supplements these life lessons. In other words, it's like a theory/practice balance. Maybe I will study one day, maybe I won't. This is something I am not really clear on yet, but I am happy in the knowledge that even without ever entering a College or University at any time in the future, there is still an unlimited number of lessons life itself will teach me. All I can hope is that the lessons aren't too harsh! lol.

That's true. The more knowledge you have, the better you are. I can see wanting to earn a degree in one field just to find that you don't really want to wiork in that field. If I had the time and the money I would love to take a course or two in law but there is no way under the sun I want to be a lawyer.I believe in the adage if you are not learning, you are not living. I also find that you learn something everyday.I also like " The more I learn , the more I learn how much I have to learn." What is so great is that you don't have to go to college to study anything.

20 years!!! My goodness that's a long time. 20 years of real experience in the field though, would be of tremendous benefit and hard to ignore! I agree with you totally that education falls under different categories. Book smarts versus street/life smarts. Personally I have learned more from life than I have in a classroom and I don't expect that to ever change. I do believe though, that pursuing booksmarts in parallel with having street smarts will differentiate me even further. The things you learn from a book coupled with real-life experiences can empower anyone! I just lack the discipline for academia at the moment is all. I like the fact you are pursuing an education for YOU as well. One day I hope to do the same and actually embrace study rather than shunning it. I am sure that if i find something I am passionate about, this will come far more easily than I realize. Good luck with your studies and life in general Loverbear and I appreciate your response to the discussion.

Getting up on your soap box is perfectly fine with me Loverbear! How was the view from up there anyways? I tell you though, I wish someone would give ME a mercy diploma! I'm not too proud to accept one..... I can't prove it 100% but I am pretty sure that I too was passed in the final year of High School just so they could get rid of me. It wasn't due to bad hygiene though, I was just extremely disruptive! lol. I have read many references to hazing in the past too. Not just cases in Colleges and Universities either, but in the Military as well. It is a sad reality for many and I hope they are able to have success in stamping it out. Victims are people with their whole lives ahead of them and the overzealous stupidity of others can often be fatal as you have shared. Idiots.

OMG!!! I just checked my post and your post. I apologize soo much I am totally mortified! I was writing the post when my BF came down for me to help him with some other work. We think he might have had a stroke and my mind is totally on him right now. So, of course, after two hours of work I lost my train of thought. Again I apologize for the last paragraph. I hope you will accept my apology...I am sooooo very very sorry!! You are a hero though, for working like your are and making something of your life and doing it the hard way.

Really? Das ist gut Dawnald, wunderbar! I never would have guessed this at all. I would love to be proficient in languages, but all I have achieved in my life in this sense so far is a handful of phrases in several dialects and good old English! lol. If I do end up studying one day, I want to do it for the enjoyment as well and not because I feel I have to.

Wunderbar indeed, especially in Germany. lol I wouldn't mind learning another language one of these days too!

Wow!.. you know German..any other languages?

I remember you mentioning your German Degree some time back actually. I agree totally about degree's not being any indicator of common sense. Some of the smartest people I've ever meant weren't degree holders and on the flip side, I've interviewed people with MBA's for example that couldn't find their own butts if they tried! (These were SOME people with MBA's and it's just an example, so don't go getting funny on me if anyone out there's an MBA holder! lol)

Wow, that's a pretty impressive educational pedigree there! I suppose balancing books and finding your own butt aren't necessarily relatd, so all's well that ends well. If they WERE related, it might be a different story entirely! lol.

My Dad is one of the smartest people I know and one of the few who is really good in just about every discipline. He got a BA in Physics at MIT and an MBA at UCLA. He could have gone in for a PHD but he just didn't want to be in school any longer. And being a physics major, obviously he's good at math. And yet he never did quite grasp the concept that if you spend more money than you make, you will have a deficit. To the best of my knowledge he can find his own butt though.

I changed states in High School also guybrush and went from WA to QLD. It was very different for me too. But for me the complete opposite happend, at first I was placed in the advanced classes with the older kids. This didn't stay this way for long though as from Year 10 onwards I was a nightmare. lol. I remember the Public Service criteria as many of my school mates left in Year 10 to pursue this and also apprenticeships. This was in the mid 80's. Sometimes I too regret not trying at school, but I have ended up doing OK thankfully. 51 is not a setback either by the way and we have Lash that replied here get an Anthropology Degree in his 50's! The best thing about it is that his motivation was personal and NOT because of having to learn these things. By the way, if not making it much past High School makes you and unedumacated moron, then sign me up mate and I'll join you in sharing this title. Let's get t-shirts made, start a website and then watch millions of others join us!

Thank you for the compliment guybrush. You are no slouch yourself! Life has taught me far more than any school ever could have and I am fortunate to be well travelled, well read and highly motivated! I never experienced the SA, NT or ACT educational systems, but I must admit I was very surprised to find even the WA/QLD states as different. I thought it would have been the same all over the country! Anyways, life is a constant education and I am happy to continue on my current path for now. Maybe one day I will pursue studies in one field or another, but I will look at something like this when I can do so for ME and not so much for my career. And I never want to hear this "too old" crap again either mate! Age is but a number and we are AUSTRALIANS my friend..... Unstoppable, unflappable and immensely capable!

Good for Lash - he's done marvellously, hasn't he? I feel too exhausted to even think about following his example! We moved from Darwin to Canberra - my parents thought the ACT would have a brilliant education system, but I found it quite the opposite. The NT at that stage followed the SA system - we had an amazing choice of subjects in Darwin, and a big, new, state-of-the-art school. Had we stayed there, I probably would have trundled on and ended up doing some kind of journalism thing - but never mind. As you say, there's always the t-shirts! Incidentally, you always strike me as being tremendously intelligent and well spoken/written - so it just goes to show!

It is great to hear that you are seeking a career that compliments your actual education. I have no doubt that it can get tedious at times, but years pass regardless and you can either end up in the future WITH a degree, or without one. Either way, the years will pass regardless! This sounds odd coming from me, I know; but I just can't get motivated to pursue an academic path even though I know it would be of benefit. Good luck finishing your studies and I am sure you will; land a wonderful job in due course!

After High School? Well I started out in hospitality actually and also did some labouring jobs and things like that. I then hut my back badly when I was 19 or so and couldn't do manual jobs and decided I wanted to to be in Real Estate, so I conned my way into a job with a local agency. I worked in this industry for two to three years and then ended up being poached to work for a mobile communications company. I have been in the mobile and internet technology field ever since and for around 15 years now.

Thank you very much. I hope you don't mind, if I may ask, what did you do after high school?

Yes, you are right in saying that different industries have differing requirements to achieve a career in them. I am in technology marketing and business development, so a degree is essential if I was to join a company for the first time as an inexperienced person; but the degree is of no concern if I HAVE experience already. Thankfully I fit into the experienced category! Personally I too feel that exoperience is far ore valuable than a degree, but if you are starting out, then a degree has become a necessity for many fields otherwise you tend to be overlooked. Hopefully you will end up in a career one day that inspires the same level of passion your degree did. Sometimes we have to walk across a few stepping stones in life to get to where we need to be. So stay positive and BELIEVE and I am sure you will get there in due course. Good luck mein_traum.

Nothing worth having in life comes easy mein_traum. I guess this is why victory is so sweet!

Thank you for your support! I do believe that maybe someday I can do what I want, though it would take some time and much effort.

Even though youi are working in a different field to your education, I definitely don't think it was wasted lingli! I have a guy that works for me in Sales and his degree is in Agriculture! lol. But what he learned was application, discipline and ultimately gained knowledge; and that will serve anyone well. Determination is certainly a major factor though, no question. Take care yourself and thanks for commenting.

You have an impressive cross section of qualifications there moumita! When I was in school though, I had the opposite mentality. Exams didn't worry me in the slightest, but studying was something i just had no patience for whatsoever!

A fellow University of Life student! When do you think they will put together a graduation ceremony for us then Rose? I am sure there will be many, many people there if they ever hold one!

Sometimes our ability to embrace an education all comes down to timing! Personally I disliked school immensely, but maybe if I were to embrace it now, things would be fdifferent. One day I may just try! Good luck with your Diploma and I am sure it will open many new doors for you. Welcome to mylot too!

Welcome to mylot kometer. Your circumstances are very common for sure. Many people these days are under tremendous pressure from family to get degrees and it is considered a must. What you have said is true though and it WILL end up being useful in some way, even if it is boring at times along the way! Good luck with it and before you know it, you'll be done!

That's it! Some people go to Collages and put all these little bits of information together; and the really lucky ones go to Unicyclersity where they get to learn even MORE stuff like riding little bikes and things.