Please help regarding Uni courses....(pretty long)

[beating_hooves]

I'm going into my second year at 6th form college so it is time to start thinking about Uni. I hate college, I hate the work, and every day I go I feel like I'm wasting my time but then again I know I'm not because I need the grades to get a job. I don't find the work hard, I just hate doing it and find it hard to get motivated. I have always been like that, since the beginning of school.

Well I'm in two minds about the whole thing. I'd love to work with horses, perhaps at a competition yard training and competing the horses, or maybe one day owning my own sport horse stud.

So, one mind is telling me to study Equine Sport Science at Lincoln university, the campus is amazing and the course covers all aspects of riding and handling. There is livery nearby so I could take my horse which would be fantastic.

But on the other hand I think, do I really need that degree? Will it really get me a decent, well-paid job where I can support myself and a horse to compete with? So my other option is something very different and to study Law if I can get on a course. It will be a hell of a lot easier to get a job and it is very well paid. But it would mean I would have to find a different University where it is almost certain I won't be able to take a horse, which worries me a lot. I have never been away from horses for longer than 3 weeks in my entire life and it is really horrible to think I may have to give up riding for a few years.

I'm so confused and thinking it may be an idea to take a gap year and get experience in both areas before making a desicion and it will also mean I can talk to people and discuss my options.

Please! Any advice for a very confused 17-year old??

 

[rgbilyeu]

I'm going into my second year at 6th form college so it is time to start thinking about Uni. I hate college, I hate the work, and every day I go I feel like I'm wasting my time but then again I know I'm not because I need the grades to get a job. I don't find the work hard, I just hate doing it and find it hard to get motivated. I have always been like that, since the beginning of school.

Well I'm in two minds about the whole thing. I'd love to work with horses, perhaps at a competition yard training and competing the horses, or maybe one day owning my own sport horse stud.

So, one mind is telling me to study Equine Sport Science at Lincoln university, the campus is amazing and the course covers all aspects of riding and handling. There is livery nearby so I could take my horse which would be fantastic.

But on the other hand I think, do I really need that degree? Will it really get me a decent, well-paid job where I can support myself and a horse to compete with? So my other option is something very different and to study Law if I can get on a course. It will be a hell of a lot easier to get a job and it is very well paid. But it would mean I would have to find a different University where it is almost certain I won't be able to take a horse, which worries me a lot. I have never been away from horses for longer than 3 weeks in my entire life and it is really horrible to think I may have to give up riding for a few years.

I'm so confused and thinking it may be an idea to take a gap year and get experience in both areas before making a desicion and it will also mean I can talk to people and discuss my options.

Please! Any advice for a very confused 17-year old??

i would take a gap year.... i hated school when i was in... spent a couple years doing various jobs, and then settled down.. now doing a degree in sociology because i enjoy the subject and can progress to criminal behaviour which again would be because it interests me (i can also fall back on this)

but have equine qualifcations and training under my belt, because i realised that down the road(now its when my hubby retires as we will both be 38) that i will open my own training yard, and possibly go into breeding depending on the quality of mares and stallions in the area we will live in at that point.

i think too much is placed on going to school and getting grades to get the high paying job. get a job that you enjoy. you dont live to work you work to live. if you are happy doing admin work do it, or if you want to get a law degree get it, if you want to work with horses do that.

but a gap year or even two will allow you to figure out who you as an adult on your own two feet are, you might realise its not the person you think, i have friends i went to school with just finishing their bachelors and id say about 75% now have no idea what to do in life, and have no function outside of school and have no idea what they can put their degree to use towards.

 

[Sofi P]

I think a gap year could be a good idea for you too, what about applying for a uni course and defering for a year? Then maybe spend some time working at a competition yard or as a working pupil somewhere, you could even go travelling before starting uni.

Have you spent any time working with horses already? I had to make similar decisions to you it seems and for a while I thought I might want to work with horses instead of going to uni. But then I worked 6 days a week for 10 weeks at a RS and quite frankly I found it boring by the end. Bits of it I loved and generally it was great but it wasnt mentally challenging enough so I got bored. Maybe you should give it a go for a trial period if you havent already before deciding on a career with horses right away.

And if you decide uni is right for you, what course to do and where to go is really important. As a comparision, I did geography at Manchester and a girl I work with did equine science at Myerscough, we're both on the same graduate scheme with the same opportunities (and the same pay!) Personally I think you're better off studying something you're interested in because you're going to have to put a lot of effort in whatever you do. BUT I would say you should try and go to the 'best' possible university as this is a big factor that employers consider when hiring.

I hope this helps, you should try and get as much advice as possible when making these decisions so definitely go see your college careers advisor. Maybe even go see a uni careers centre and see what sorts of job opportunities there are available depending on what course you do.

 

[icegirl]

This question has come up before from a poster saying they hated academic work, didnt want to go to uni, had no particular career in mind (and lots of people dont at 17!) but felt they "ought" to go. Which kind of answers the question really.
So Im going to repeat what I said to them
Had you considered working abroad with horses? There are jobs out there - a friend of my daughters was offered one on a ranch in Texas and my daughter was offered a job working with Icelandics in Sweden. Depending on where you go, you might learn a language, boost your confidence, get a look at a different way of doing things and improve your horse skills, all in one go!!!
At the very least you will earn a bit of pocket money and get some experience of another culture. The world is full of people who went to uni because they "ought" to and loads of them drop out. Maybe you will want to go back to studying in a year which is fine - at least you have given it some thought and grown up a bit by then.

 

[ponylover88]

Law isnt that easy to get a job in, its long hours, low pay while training (5yrs at uni, only 4 i believe are student loan covered, the last year is £18,000 or something shocking alone!) then you have to do a year in placement covering all aspects on extremely low pay before qualifying. Insurance is astronomical for owning your own company too so even if you wanted to eventually, you cant go out and open your own straight away due to legalities and also insurance!

Equine sports science ... im doing equine science now, i was advised to do this in preferance to ESS as its classed as more scientific and employers will class it as a science degree. Also lincoln doesnt have a fab reputation AFAIK for animal related degrees, and its one of the reasons why i didnt go there (the other being i found the equipment very poor in comparison to other unis). I cant say i overly enjoy it at the moment, some bits i really do enjoy but others i dont but its inspired me to realise what i really want to do afterall... with a 100% employment rate

 

[jumper_stars]

Ahhh reading this is like reading my life story... I had no idea what I wanted to do when I left school so I took a Gap year last year and LOVED every second of it - really helped and changed my views on life.

I wanted to do something with horse and avoid uni altogether but my parents were very concerned as if you dont have a family farm or your parents dont set you up with a potential stud you will never make it (well 99% of the time) to the top.

So I have finally come to a compromise as there was never a hope in hell I would go to uni and do accounts or law or medicine so now I am doing my BHS for a year so it will allow me to teach and then next year I am going to get a agriculture degree which in a sense does have bus mang etc in it so all parties are happy (however I am planning on opening a Event planning business) very confusing I know but I have managed to marry all 3 aspects!!

Do your passion... its what you will succeed in but remember to always have a back up plan

 

[HorseHelen]

i think you may be best off having a gap year before university to really sit down and decide what you'd like to do ... thats what i did anyway, worked for a year for an insurance company gaining office and admin experience and got some money together so i could go travelling to australia for 6 weeks, was amazing

i too wanted to go to agricultural college to do a-levels and a GNVQ in something agricultural related (with the intention to do equine studies at uni)but my parents though i would be better off staying at 6th form college and doing a-levels in academic subjects which is what i did. before i took my gap year i had a place to do english at leicester uni but once i had chance to think about it i decided i would do law because it seemed more likely to lead to a well paid job

to be honest looking back i sometimes regret not doing equine science as i would love to work outdoors with animals but in reality i probably picked the best option in doing law. i am glad i did have my gap year though as otherwise i would have ended up on an english course which in hindsight wouldnt have been very enjoyable for me

that said it has been very hard work doing law. i graduated in 2005, did my lpc part time whilst working as a legal secretary and i still havent managed to get a training contract .... have started doing some voluntary work in order to boost my cv up a bit at the citizens advice bureau. however am now making hundreds of applications and hope to get something very soon so i can qualify as a solicitor

i would also say that the law degree itself isnt the most exciting subject. it involves a lot of memorising of cases to pass the exams as long as you can write a good analytical essay too. however the lpc course is a lot more interesting because it is based on the law in practice

good luck with whatever you decide to do

ps could you possibly think about living at home whilst doing your degree so you dont have to give up your horse. something to think about anyway

 

[beating_hooves]

Thanks so much for all your replies, its really helped

I think I'll have a chat with my parents, and perhaps organize to talk with some people who are in the equine business themselves and it can give me a bit more insight.

Its just teachers at college that are quite pushy into getting you to apply to uni asap.

 

[jumper_stars]

Thanks so much for all your replies, its really helped

I think I'll have a chat with my parents, and perhaps organize to talk with some people who are in the equine business themselves and it can give me a bit more insight.

Its just teachers at college that are quite pushy into getting you to apply to uni asap.

Ahhh DONT be bullied... Im 20 and still trying/think to apply for uni lol!!

 

[cob1]

I left school and got a secretary job after dropping out of uni early (my biology teacher pushed me into doing Human Genetics and i hated it)!

They saw my wasted talent and offered to train me as a civil engineer (i went to college day release to do a HNC). I since moved into Quantity Surveying and am now going to be starting my last year day release doing a BSc (Hon) in Quantity Surveying. I get paid to go and work pay all costs - win - win solution.

Sometimes 'tis hard fitting horses, uni, work and my fitness regime in, but i am managing!

I dont know if there are any options for day release study whilst working?

 

[heartofrainbow]

I did a degree in equine science, and am now completing another course, which will enable me to work for myself!

I did the degree because I wanted too, not because I necessarily wanted to work with horses, although they are the love of my life lol!

I need to keep my brain active and interested, and therefore I chose a topic I knew I would find interesting and want to do the work! I found myself reading textbook after textbook, journal after journal! I never felt like I had put enough into my assignments etc, and they were fun to complete!
If I had chosen another degree, that I wasn't as interested in, I don't think I would have done aswell as I did!

You don't necessarily need a degree in horses to get far in a career, because sometimes working as on a yard can lead to other paths, but a degree may help you get a better paid job (although not always the case!)

 

[joosie]

This question has come up before from a poster saying they hated academic work, didnt want to go to uni, had no particular career in mind (and lots of people dont at 17!) but felt they "ought" to go. Which kind of answers the question really.
So Im going to repeat what I said to them
Had you considered working abroad with horses? There are jobs out there - a friend of my daughters was offered one on a ranch in Texas and my daughter was offered a job working with Icelandics in Sweden. Depending on where you go, you might learn a language, boost your confidence, get a look at a different way of doing things and improve your horse skills, all in one go!!!
At the very least you will earn a bit of pocket money and get some experience of another culture. The world is full of people who went to uni because they "ought" to and loads of them drop out. Maybe you will want to go back to studying in a year which is fine - at least you have given it some thought and grown up a bit by then.

Brilliant advice

I went to uni because it's what we do in our family, it's what's expected. I studied journalism - I did enjoy uni and came out with a decent 2:1, and I don't feel like I wasted my time. But I'd been interested in journalism for about ten years, so it was worth the commitment, even if I never use it. If you don't have a very strong interest in studying a particular subject at uni - DON'T GO TO UNI. You may end up regretting the time you wasted!

The summer I graduated I went to be a ride leader in the mountains in north Italy for three months. Then I worked in the Channel Islands for eight months with showjumpers. After that I went back to Italy to work at a riding school - and ended up staying for two years!! I finished there at the start of June and after just three days at home I came out to do my current job - groom, ride leader and Pony Club teacher in Portugal. Working with horses can be so, so tough and yes there are times when it gets dull if you're not in the right job (in Italy things started to get very "same-y" which is mostly why I decided to move on) - but the rewards outweigh the tough bits and besides, if you do what I did and choose to work abroad, doing it in the sunshine all year makes it even easier to tolerate

loved it, loved uni, got my degree... haven't given it a second thought since then!