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As far as Im concerned, you are a slag for quoting the name of a Clash song on your post

That aside, stick to the day job. I am juggling work and college to get my Plumbing qualifications, and its a killer. Glad I did it and worth the career change, but if yer 'undecided' then carry on working and get money behind you

If in doubt go to Uni, have a laugh, get a part time job and work during your holidays.

Make sure you don't pick too hard a course, so you can get a good final result and don't have to work too many hours (a foolish mistake I made).

If you are going to take a year out do something with it like earn cash for six months then travel for the other six.

If you have the opportunity to earn money to make next year a little easier stay with your job, I would personally, but then I have never been a great student.

Let me just start with a massive thank you all for taking this post seriously and contributing your thoughts without any digression.

Id like to respond to each of you individually but thatd be a bit extreme so here goes....

Its clear the general consensus is that I should stay and work for another 12 months, to be honest if i had a shit job I wouldnt be able to leave soon enough, its just that its a great job, good for the confidence, lots of young ladies to chat to and itd allow me to accumulate a shitload of money.

Mikey - As for getting laid, its q.difficult to get laid when you live in the middle of the countryside, to be honest most sex is in relationships anyway but unless you go out into the city (norwich) at night then its probably easy. Just cant handle the idea of clubbing yet.

As for the subject of my degree, my initial plan is a years foundation/introduction into art/design leading into a Graphic Design degree, which should lead to a career in something vaguely related to be honest BUT as ive said before on here im also quite inclined towards Architecture, so itd be a case of testing the water really.

Last Word - Head vs Heart....well head and heart are with both options, its not as clear cut. Id like a bit of hedonism, but itd be superb with several grand in my pocket.

Rude Boy - thats a good point, im 21 right now and would be 22 next september so in theory im gonna be older than the 18/19 year old girls who would be arriving in the septembers so thats gotta be a useful advantage and I dont look that old.

Diplododus - thanks for the thoughts, thats good idea too! Although I would thought they could jst gimme the money back in one go afterwards

Mart, Ace, - cheers

rrankin - thats the thing though, working part time would limit my social interaction and i would get a job that wouldnt be much fun probably - personally i find certain jobs almost impossible to even face the idea of, like working in a shop...too neurotic.

Bimmercat - thanks, i think the time will prob fly by working and have a good time, got a great new group of friends up there too. the moneys gotta make things better in the long run.

marino - thanks for posting, surprising that you of all ppl arent encouraging the sexual hedonism but again i think your/everyones point is too valid to ignore.

Its probably for the best, im going to contact the uni and see what they say about next year. Hopefully itll work out for the best. Thank you all again for your contributions.

Ah no problem! Maybe one of the cooler things about becoming old and decrepit is the benefit of being able to pass on one's experience to the younger generation in the style of a Jedi master and his/her apprentice.

Ultimately it's all about being happy and I count myself lucky as I am very content.....and old!

You students .. you are already complaining about being too busy and you haven't even started yet

I don't want to sound like I think you will be making a mistake in taking a year out, but the advice seems one sided so I want to balance it out a bit and as a graduate share my pearly thoughts of wisdom !

If you have a big interest in socialising pick the right course and you will have plenty of time. My course was one of the few really heavy workload ones, but many of my friends had only 10 - 20 hours a week scheduled and the rest was "homework". Even working long hours everybody on my course had an active social life, although I have to say a few 9am lectures were missed due to hangovers!

As a rule you always get Wednesday afternoon off for inter-university sports, so with a bit of lucky scheduling or the right coice of electives you can get the whole day off.

If you plan to do a foundation, but potentially move onto a full time degree after a year you will be facing four to five years before you graduate. Add another year out that'll be six years before you even start whatever career you go for.

The traditional student part time job is bar work, and being the friendly barman at your hall / students union / student hang out is a huge boost for your social life!

Whether you become a student this year or next, you should budget and spend as if you are already one. You should also keep doing some studying, like an evening class or distance learning, as the brain forgets how to think academically and skills like essay writing.

PS - remember that Andrea Spinks has gone back to college - you may get lucky!

Good luck

lol thanks rrankin for your thoughts. Ahem, know which college shes gone to? ...shes gotta be older than me too. The way I see is that age doesnt really matter tho if ur aiming for a qualification that u want to use. If your going for social reasons only you should go when ur 19 or whatever, but i want both....22 isnt really much older and im gonna have the life experience on top too....and in the long run ill be ok probably because hey....i dont HAVE to go at all....?


thanks for your comments marino, although i cant work out if ur wishing me luck at work/uni or in trying to pull andrea spinks...either way cheers.

ID :

Permit me a few observations. I've worked in universities in Britain and overseas for over 25 years now and latterly as someone who laughably had responsibility for student applications and entrance procedures at a highly venerated university. And even they (and me) could get it spectacularly wrong.

Point 1 : Just by having second thoughts about the course, the college/university or actually going at all means that you may not think the timing or the act is right. If in doubt, don't do it. You can always go at a later stage and universities like older students for any number of reasons.

Point 2 : If you're going just for the social side ; drink/drugs/sex/city life, then depending where you go you may be AWFULLY disappointed. You seem to be having a bit of a life doing what you do now and gradual entry into the adult world of work will inevitably lead you to the opposite sex and the joys therein. Have a bit of fun, travel, earn some cash and drink excessively and have indiscriminate sex BEFORE college/university. You'll work and study better there and you'll be a lot cooler than the vast hordes of male undergraduates bursting with testosterone and spot cream.

Point 3 : If you go to college/university next year, don't blow the ?8-9k you'll have in your pocket. You'll have greater need when you graduate. You will need that amount EVERY YEAR, so you might as well let the loan scheme fund it as you'll end up borrowing anyway to a greater or lesser extent.

Point 4 : If you go to get a degree in order to earn big money, study law, accountancy or business. If you go to get a degree to learn and develop as a person, then choose something you love and are PASSIONATE about, regardless of what others think.

Point 5 : Choose your college/university very carefully. I chose Manchester for my first degree because I could watch my football team AND study with a brilliant professor and I hadn't prepared for Oxbridge entrance exams. I chose Cambridge for my postgraduate degrees because by then I knew where and who I wished to study with.
Whether we like it or not, there is a class system within colleges and universities and if you're the one who will pay the majority of the financial burden, then try for the very best one you can. Of course, each college/university has its own specialisms and you must try and balance the two.

In sum, this is a personal viewpoint, and I suspect your mind is practically made up. If it was me, I'd work and enjoy life for a year or two and then try and get to the very best place I could doing something I loved. Apart from the money-making degrees above, it still holds good that place is as important as subject for many future employers.

I hope this helps. Whatever you decide, the best of luck to you.