Looking for a career!

Thread in 'Other Chat' started by UmarK96, Jun 14, 2013.

  1. UmarK96

    UmarK96 Member

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    Hi Guys,

    Im 17 and i work in a call centre. the job is good but its a dead end job. I want to start in a career in something, But i dont know what. Im more of a hands-on person.

    from you guys experiences, what would be the best job for me?

    Any advice will be much appreciated :D
     
  2. el_bandido

    el_bandido Member

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    Find something hands on that you're interested in and apply for an apprenticeship. Ideally find something that will give you proper qualifications too, like a city & guilds NVQ level whatever as well as industry standard qualifications.

    Basically narrow down what you want to do, research what you need to earn good money in that area and then get your arse in gear for the hard work you'll need to do for the beginning of that career.

    Call centres are shit, 3 months was bad enough for me! Good luck with whatever you do decide to do anyway.
     
  3. Blackett

    Blackett No Comment

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    Anything working at Driftland.

    Ian. :)
     
  4. adam0bmx0

    adam0bmx0 Active Member

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    Hmm, i've been lucky in the way my career has gone.

    I nearly went down the apprentice route, most likely the car/garage side but at the last moment decided to do a degree that was quite specific (fee's were alot less back then) I always had an interest in engineering, used to sail dinghies/yachts so did a degree in Naval architecture, fininshed that, got a job within 6 months on a graduate scheme which has served me well and set my career on the right track, never needed to worry about job redundancy etc.

    So maybe consider something that works out long term, trouble is at 17, you don't know what you want to do long term!
     
  5. hoagy5

    hoagy5 Member

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    HGV Mechanic is good because it gets you in the motortrade, plus it is better paid than a general car mechanic. It is less rushed and you dont have to deal with customers if you work on a fleet. You can get an HNC/D paid for by the company and likely your LGV licence which is handy for drift car transportation. Remember that after 19 the Government won't pay for your training so you need to be signed up before 19.
     
  6. Snode

    Snode Member

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    that is probably the best advice anyone can give you imo. If you feel like you dont like uni and studying from boring endless books, you are probably right. Being a hands on person myself, I wasted 5 years trying different courses and all kinds of suggestions and BS and all that time the only thing in my mind was "why am i not working on cars as I have always wanted?". I felt empty and miserable, I don't know how to explain it. A degree in something can only do you good to be honest, if not for the degree itself then about the way it transforms your way of thinking.

    Me, finally at 23, I have just passed my first (!) year at uni doing HND motorsports eng and today was the last day of my 6 week workshop apprenticeship. 6 weeks 9-5 with no payment at all, tiring as fook, it is dirty and smelly and it feels better than anything I have ever done in my whole life! So if you have even a rough idea of what you would like to do in your life, go for it, embrace it and I believe it will work to your benefit and happiness.
     
    #6 Snode, Jun 14, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2013
  7. Bladerider

    Bladerider Ajudged scoundrel !!

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    Experimental parachute tester.

    Pay must be good and I bet the adrenaline rush makes drifting look like a mug of horlicks !!

    :D
     
  8. lezbrucelee

    lezbrucelee Southwall Smokers

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    I'm a cable jointer for UK Power Networks, specifically I'm what is known as a troubleman. I basically repairs faults on the electricity networks. Its a good stable career, people are always going to want electricity and its one of the few jobs out there that isn't affected by recession. Sometimes it can be a challenge (faults aren't easy to find all the time), Its fairly dangerous as we work on the network live so there is a lot of health and safety stuff involed but it would be an excellent job for someone that is hands on and doesn't want to be in an office.
    I left school with mostly C grades, so you don't need all A's, and went straight into an apprenticeship learning cable jointing, working on the overhead line network, and fitting which is maintaining transformers. My apprenticeship was 4 years long but was paid and all the qualifications I now have were paid for by the company, 14 years on and i'm still working for the same company, on good money, got a good pension and most importantly I enjoy my work. The only downside is that I do shift work and its annoying when it clashes with drifting or I have to work xmas day but not everyone employed by the company does shift work, so there is the option not to do that.

    It is something you should look at, i'm not sure who your local network operator is (it might be Scottish power), have a look at your electricity bill and on there it will give you a number to call if you have a powercut that would normally be your local network operator, have a look on google for a HR department number for them and give them a call about applying for a job.
    If they're not taking on staff at present perhaps try another utility i.e waterboard or the gasboard, if your looking for longterm these are normally good longterm employers, failing that look at the contractors they use it can be a good stepping stone to get you experience which will help in later life.
     
  9. lezbrucelee

    lezbrucelee Southwall Smokers

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    #9 lezbrucelee, Jun 14, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2013
  10. tathan

    tathan Member

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    Go uni, do most difficult degree you can. Nobody wants more people with degrees in sociology, they're just stealing our oxygen. I did motorsport engineering BEng and had about 5 job offers before I even took my finals. You could do this or auto engineering, mech engineering, aero engineering - any would get you a good job. And you get to drink everything for 3 years. Everything.
     
  11. UmarK96

    UmarK96 Member

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    Thanks guys, i am really looking into a apprenticeship in mechanical engineer as i need income (due to family reasons) but there are no apprenticeships in Scotland.
     
  12. Jamie D

    Jamie D // NO DREAMING //

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    i'm on an apprenticeship as a mechanic through Nissan training in a dealer. it's not a job i want to do when i'm qualified but at the end of the day you get paid to learn, secure job for a couple years, and come out of it qualified so not too bad really
     
  13. aaronblue

    aaronblue Active Member

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    I just finished my final phase of training to become a fully qualified aircraft technician within the RAF. I joined rather late at 26 but its been the best 4 years of my working life so far. I left school and went from job to job like you im more hands on. Joining up was a big disicion for me but its paid off big time. ive traveled all over the world and met some great people. Its not to everyones taste but it might be something worth looking at.
     
  14. Blackett

    Blackett No Comment

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    Really?

    Apprenticeships in Scotland

    I was an apprentice in the Royal Navy (includes Scotland), I joined HMS Ark Royal in Rosyth (near Edinburgh) in 2000.

    Good luck finding a job, if you have resorted to asking on DW then I am not sure there is much hope for you.
     
  15. Bladerider

    Bladerider Ajudged scoundrel !!

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    Sounds about right,

    You had an apprenticeship in the Navy

    Now you photograph dirty sweaty men getting their back ends out in car parks !!

    Maybe a vocation change to "recruiter" is in order !!

    :D :D
     
  16. Blackett

    Blackett No Comment

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    Lol...I used to be more enthusiastic about giving advice on here, feeling a bit jaded lately.

    Ian. :)
     
  17. LiamGTR

    LiamGTR New Member

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    Asking someone else what the best job for you would be can only end wrong. Work is where you spend most of your life so find something YOU want to do. You're only 17 you have loads of options

    Go to sixth form? (Dunno about age)
    Go to college
    Get an apprenticeship
    Join the armed forces
    Pay for private/vocational courses
    Go to Uni (obviously after college)
    Go up in promotion at current job?

    Personally I done the scary route and after college I got a full time job and didn't go to Uni (even though the industry I work in nearly demands one) and long story short I earn more than a lot of people who went to Uni from my year, I have ZERO debt and drive a DC5 (at 21 that's not too bad).
     
  18. random tim

    random tim Member

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    Hey man. I saw this when no1 else had replied and was gunna leave a nice sarcastic response but being as everyone else has been helpful i'll be helpful too :thumbs: Have you thought about construction? I left school 11 years ago at 18 after staying on to do my A levels and was in your situation, the only reason I did them was because i didnt know what to do with myself, i just knew i didnt want to go full time in the kitchen in my local lol. Towards the end of sixth form i started going to work with my old man on sundays labouring on shop fits. I enjoyed the work and this led to me doing a 3year apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery. I wasn't as lucky as most of the other lads at college. My dads boss wouldn't take me on as an apprentice so i only got paid a 4 day week, although i was on more an hour than them so it worked in my favour, and during the college holidays I got paid 1 day a week as overtime ;) The job took me all over the Uk and i learnt a lot more than just the carpentry. Eventually got made redundant and me and dad went our seperate ways and I got a start with a local firm who did some very high class work. I got to spend time in London and a year on the IoM and it was awesome. The company folded and now through me just taking a quick 2week handyman job on an agency I now work for a large office fit-out company working all over the Midlands as a site supervisor. I still get to do some hands on stuff and i'm currently working towards my NVQ3 in site supervivision to go with my NVQ3 in Carpentry and Joinery. If I stay here i should get the chance to move up the ladder as even though my friends all say I've got a good job and I've done well for myself, I am at the bottom of the chain in the company so I have something to aim for to get me off 'the bottom rung' as it were lol Hope this is of some help and it give you an idea of some other options. Like with my situation, if you cant find an apprenticeship, see if a local builder will take you on just as a labourer and let you have a day off to go to college each week and also offer you the chance to help with certain tasks on site. Hope my little story is of some help. Good luck in what ever you choose to do fella
    Tim
     
  19. hoagy5

    hoagy5 Member

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    I think he is looking for some ideas of interesting jobs Ian ;-) In all fairness I didn't know what I wanted to do at 17, all I knew was I didn't want to be doing Computing and Networking at college, and working in a BP garage on rhe weekends, because it was dull as ditchwater. In retrospect Navy or RAF would have probably suited me fine and sometimes I wish I had gone down that route.

    BUT - I know a few people in the forces that hate it. Trouble is when you are in you can't leave (I'm not sure this is true mind!)

    The O.P has a job, and he has aspirations, but doesn't know what they are.

    This thread is interesting because before I thought every drifter was a mechanic or in the garage trade!!
     
  20. iamben

    iamben Active Member

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    I haven't read the replies except Bladeys because he makes me laugh but I was always told if you want a career then firstly think of something you love and then find a way to make money from it.

    If you love cock..become a fluffer.
    If you love music..become a guitar.
    If you love cars..become a transformer.
     

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