Do we really need qualifications or should we just rely on our talents?

[Deborahhh]

I've always thought about this question... however I have never asked ANYONE ...
So what do you think?
I'm a student.. Just received my GCSE results... and I did AVERAGE... could of done better though if i actually DID WORK.. (5 B's 5 C's and 1 D and 1 E... But the D AND E are not important at all - silly subjects... with silly reasons for me to get that grade!) But really.. say if i wanted to be an painter... and with a clear talent.. I could Paint better than anyone with qualifications... Or what if I wanted to be a photographer .. you get my grift now??
What do you think?

[Landy]

Deb if you're the sort of person with the get up and go to do your own thing and you have the talent and believe in yourself then Quals aint worth a thing. But those people are few and far between and more than likely you wouldn't be asking the question if it applied to you.

You sound similar to me, got through GCSE's and done ok with minimal work. I adopted same attitude for A levels and stuffed 'em. Take my word for it, pull your finger out and work hard for the next 2 years, get into uni and the 3 or 4 years after that will be some of the best fun you'll ever have. There'll be lots more hard work, but the uni experience and the rewards in the long run will make it worth while.

Or you can try and make something of your 10 C and above GCSE's but to be honest most people that can open a box of cornflakes have those qualifications so you'll have LOTS of competition! Everyone goes to uni these days so I don't think people your age can afford not to!

[tronsmith]

Originally Posted by Landy

Everyone goes to uni these days so I don't think people your age can afford not to!

I disagree with this. I think that after A-levels or even GCSEs, if a person knows what they want to do, gets a very basic role within that field and sticks with it, by the time everyone else comes out of uni that person will have3-6 years worth of working experiance which I beleive is now more important.

[Deborahhh]

Originally Posted by Landy

Deb if you're the sort of person with the get up and go to do your own thing and you have the talent and believe in yourself then Quals aint worth a thing. But those people are few and far between and more than likely you wouldn't be asking the question if it applied to you.

You sound similar to me, got through GCSE's and done ok with minimal work. I adopted same attitude for A levels and stuffed 'em. Take my word for it, pull your finger out and work hard for the next 2 years, get into uni and the 3 or 4 years after that will be some of the best fun you'll ever have. There'll be lots more hard work, but the uni experience and the rewards in the long run will make it worth while.

Or you can try and make something of your 10 C and above GCSE's but to be honest most people that can open a box of cornflakes have those qualifications so you'll have LOTS of competition! Everyone goes to uni these days so I don't think people your age can afford not to!

True... VERY true.

However i'm only doing my GCSE's for my parents. I know this is beginning to sound a lil daft.. but it's true! I've always wanted to follow up my talent in acting. I use to be with a known agency ... I received plenty of auditions.. Disney, Eastenders, The Bill.. I would get in to the recalls however I wouldn't get job...
My parents withdrew me after a few years to concentrate on school... this didn't help at all... in fact it made put less effort in than before!

I'm also 5ft11 ... and I have been scouted by two big modeling' agencies.. Storm and Elite London... BUT my parents will not let me pursue this career... they claim "It" is not the job for me.. But how do they know??!

So you can see my frustration here!
So what do you think I should do??

[Landy]

Tron speaking as the person that done what you described I can tell you you're wrong!

I got a trainee Computer programmer role instead of going to uni. 2 of my friends studied computer science at uni, both earn significantly more than me now despite the fact I have 4 more years experience.

The problem is lots of people have been made redundant over the past 18 months, so there's people looking for work that have the qualifications AND experience. School leavers have GCSE's or A levels and no experience, even graduates can't get a job at the minute because they don't have experience.

Best thing to do is get through uni let the economic issues sort themselves out and if you want to give yourself the best chance, get internships in your summers off, you'll earn cash that'll get you through uni and you'll have more experience than most other graduates when you do graduate putting you at the front of the queue!

[Landy]

Deb,

At the end of the day you have to decide what you want to do. If Acting/Modelling is your dream then work towards it, but you already know how tough it is by being shortlisted and then never getting it. This may sound harsh but girls like you are 10 a penny, there's always another pretty girl with the right look or the right acting skills waiting to jump in front of you. You only need to look at the X factor auditions to see how deperate people are for that lifestyle.

So if you are going to pursue it you need to be 100% sure in your ability and at the same time whilst living with your parents you need to respect them, so do your A levels it's only 2 years which isn't as long as it sounds, and whilst you're doing them keep putting yourself for auditions, apply to the arts schools or whatever they are that churn out the actors and actresses of the day.

Whatever you do don't rely on the fact that one day someone will see you walking down the street and decide you're the next britney spears and make you famous. Success has to be worked for whether it's a city career or fame and fortune on the big screen.

[the_icks]

I agree that qualifications are not the be all and end all.... some people are good at studying/exams.. for example the girl with 10 grade A A-levels (thaken in 2 sittings) - most people struggle to do 2 or 3 in 2 years!!!

This person is not essentially more intelligent then the rest of us, I imagine her social skills leave much to be desired.

I feel that there should be a 12 month break between GCSE's and A Levels to get some life experience, and a compulsory sandwich year during degrees.

This country is breeding lots of academics, but what we need are practical applications of the subjects. These graduates are burning out at 25/30 and ending up stacking shelves in Lidls!! It is a waste.

So I agree that education is not the be all and end all. Life is more important! if you have a skill, nurture it, don't have regrets in later life - life goes to fast!

[Emma]

I agree with both of you to be honest. I got average grades for GCSEs, terrible A-levels but still managed to get the points for Uni, went to uni, did a course for three years, which admittedly got me the job I did straight after Uni for 4 years, but is completely irrelevant to my job now which I'm in through working up positions in my team!

While I would say uni experience can help in certain careers obviously, there are companies willing to take on students with good GCSEs or A-levels and train them in-house, inw of my friends did this to become a legal secretary and left school just with GCSEs

[delude]

I believe that either way, it all comes down to the 'It's not what you know, it's who you know' sort of thing. I'm planning to go to Uni to study Computer Science and luckily have a few connections who have recommended where to go and offered help to get me going afterwards. You have to let things flow, take opportunities as they come and aim for what you desire.

[Amiethest]

I wouldn't get anywhere without qualifications. They don't look kindly upon people who operate without a medical degree.

[elliotknell]

Not kindly at all.

[claire80]

if you want to do modelling and acting then go for it but it is always best to get a back up plan in those kind of industries , i never went to uni because it just didnt interest me , i didnt see the point of going and studying something for the sake of things , i think if you want to be a dr or w/e then fine but just to do a random qualification not knowing what job i wanted to do wasnt my cup of tea.
i did ok in my gcses , did 1 year of a levels hated it , went to college to be a chef loved it but then hated it for a job , all the time i was studying i worked in a supermarket saturdays etc , worked up through the ranks and ended up in a good job , which then led to stock control and then buying/inventory .. did my qualifications help me ..prob not but people in the same role had degrees and got to that position quicker than me ..swings and roundabouts i guess .
as it turns out now i do none of them jobs and do something completley different !!

if you do 2 years of a levels which you are not interested in then dont get the grades for uni what do you do then ? you could have had 2 years work experience ....

[Monkeyegg]

It depends what you want to do. Having a degree/good A Levels etc means nothing if you want to be self-employed in a trade etc because you don't sit in front of a panel and prove yourself based on qualifications. It's more about drive, abilities outside of an exam situation, and lady luck. But there's also loads of jobs where a degree is compulsory (such as Amiethests's!).

I did AVERAGE in GCSEs, rabbish at A Levels, no degree. I started at the bottom in my job without getting a degree (after working piecemeal in a factory for a couple of years) and I've done ok considering. But I started my job 14 years ago so although it still seemed like everyone left and went to uni, I'm sure the competition wasn't as tough as it will be now, especially in recession time. And I doubt a degree would have done me any harm

[MegamanEXE]

Man, this thread have posts to long for me to read... Anyway what people prefer are qualifications. Like I'm studying Biology, I'm not going to even become a doctor, what's the point? I want to be a cartoonist and have my own company or be a Software engineer or something to do with computers. Well, It's because we, in Pakistani schools, don't have choices any more whether to study Computer Science or Biology.

Well, I think talent is needed to get the qualification.

[bmh16]

It's never good to solely rely on one thing in life. I would love to do something with music when i am older. But i am not going to put all my eggs into one basket hence why i'm planning to go to Uni, get a degree, and see what happens in the meantime! Always good to have options on the table. Always. So a bit of both is my answer!

[FurbtasticM]

Originally Posted by Monkeyegg

It depends what you want to do. Having a degree/good A Levels etc means nothing if you want to be self-employed in a trade etc because you don't sit in front of a panel and prove yourself based on qualifications. It's more about drive, abilities outside of an exam situation, and lady luck. But there's also loads of jobs where a degree is compulsory (such as Amiethests's!).

I did AVERAGE in GCSEs, rabbish at A Levels, no degree. I started at the bottom in my job without getting a degree (after working piecemeal in a factory for a couple of years) and I've done ok considering. But I started my job 14 years ago so although it still seemed like everyone left and went to uni, I'm sure the competition wasn't as tough as it will be now, especially in recession time. And I doubt a degree would have done me any harm

A similar story here mate. I was extremely lazy at school and didn't even have enough O Levels (as they were called in the day!) to go on to do A Levels.

I was only able to blag my way into college on the promise of doing an extra O Level in year one of the A Level course. I chose Physics, which I had got a D in...and proceed to get an F second time around Luckily, I also did an accounting O Level though and achieved an A, so all was well.

The A Level results were great and then the hard work started with professional exams; I am now one of just a small group of people who have my particular insolvency qualification.

Qualifications are only one part of it though. I think overall, it has to be a balance of exams, personality, the personalities of those around you and, of course, luck.

My advice to youngsters would be to put in the work at exams and then at least you have more choice.