Career Decisions (UK)- Calling all uni students/grads

[Guest]

I'd appreciate it if only those with experience would answer (those that have been through uni, graduated, or the equivalent or have a career in IT but I appreciate any help).

 

So just to put a little context to this, I'm 17 and at the end of this academic year it'll either be off to uni or whatever it is I choose to do. Basically, I'm unsure myself of what/where I actually want to go with my career. I know roughly what I want to do, just not exactly which of my options I wish to take. So here's my two main options (what I currently want to do):

 

1. Come September go off to uni to study Computer Forensics for 4 years, hopefully going off to a government agency once graduating or work for a private firm(they tend to recruit from the uni I have my eye on) - highest paying option, great opportunities, chance to travel the world etc. 
2. Come September, apply as an IT Technician in the RAF - half the salary of that above, good benefits, and I think I'd enjoy it just as much if not more than a career in the sector above. 

Now, the reason I can't make my mind up is because I'm not sure if uni is for me, hence why I'm asking current/past uni students. Basically, I've never really been an academic person.... Not because I don't have good grades, I actually have pretty decent grades, but just because I've always been a physical hands on kinda guy... I'd quite happily work each day doing a skilled manual job. It's not that I'm not willing to put any effort in, I just don't want to become a student that's battered with coursework/exams, never has a chance to breathe or sleep and just generally hates what they do. 

 

So, what's uni like? What's the workload like? How much free-time do you actually have to yourself/to work a part-time job? What's a typical day for? Do you regret going through university? 

 

Cheers!

[baxtmann]

do you like studying and working your butt of with no sleep? thats what university is like. A good one anyways.

[werto165]

I'm doing mech eng at newcastle, first year you only need 40% to pass and you get around 30 hrs of teaching each week, thursdays first semester are good as occasionally you get free days but next semester it's 9am to 6pm , the work is slowly picking up and it's getting more frequent. 2nd year is meant to be hardest and third year easier than second. I should probably be doing more work but I've been playing too many games and helping other people build PC's . 

[Guest]

do you like studying and working your butt of with no sleep? thats what university is like. A good one anyways.

 

Not particularly... Who does? I mean, I'm willing to put some amount of effort in, but not to the point of becoming depressed because of it... I'm amusing you went to university 

[Guest]

I'm doing mech eng at newcastle, first year you only need 40% to pass and you get around 30 hrs of teaching each week, thursdays first semester are good as occasionally you get free days but next semester it's 9am to 6pm , the work is slowly picking up and it's getting more frequent. 2nd year is meant to be hardest and third year easier than second. I should probably be doing more work but I've been playing too many games and helping other people build PC's . 

 

I heard someone else say 1st year is a breeze, then it picks up. So what's the scale or your workload? In comparison to A Levels or equivalent (guessing more, but just how much more?)

[werto165]

I heard someone else say 1st year is a breeze, then it picks up. So what's the scale or your workload? In comparison to A Levels or equivalent (guessing more, but just how much more?)

To be honest, materials science is just stuff I did at A-level, CAD is okay just takes a while and can be fairly annoying. "professional skills is just excel and matlab, so really not that hard. Maths part is just a breeze. Its just the thermodynamics and the fluid mechanics that's the tricky part because both of the teachers for it are not the greatest.

[AresKrieger]

I heard someone else say 1st year is a breeze, then it picks up. So what's the scale or your workload? In comparison to A Levels or equivalent (guessing more, but just how much more?)

Junior year (3rd) for most majors is the hardest as the material ramps up in complexity and relies on past material you may or may not remember well

[Touché! Good Sir]

I'm doing a major in control systems and oh boy! Is it tough! But its worth it if it interests you a lot (and the pay after graduation is waaay more (double in most cases - triple in my brother's case)

[Guest]

Anyone got any info on careers in the RAF (personal experience/info)? Whether it's a Technical and Engineering role, or anything else, any help/insight would be greatly appreciated