[Closed] 17 doing A levels and I hate it...

Wait til you get a job, then you'll look back on it with fond memories....

I didn't particularly enjoy the work - I don't think many people did. But I loved college, the lessons, the sport, mates, everything about it.

First or second year?

These are the best years of your life......it's all down hill from here yoot.

It gets better...

Stick with it, honestly... Sounds cliched but you'll regret it in years to come if you don't stick out the year or so you've got left, to get the pieces of paper that say you have A Levels.

Besides, if when you're older you decide you do want to further your education (and most people do at some point, at any time from 18-80), it will be much easier for you to then get onto further education like an HND or a degree if you've got the A Levels already than if not.

Also, work sucks, and there's no jobs for 16-24 year old's anyway! Trust me, much as you don't like it at the mo, the grass is definitely not greener on the other side...

First year, I just want to work and get out in the big wide world. :s

I liked school, and A levels. Part time job, get pissed a bit, flirt badly with girls, jumpers for goal posts etc.

What don't you like about it?

I hated it, but it opens the door for Uni, which I loved. Stick with it.
Then do an apprenticeship and get a real job.

What subjects are you doing? You've only got a few weeks till you've finished your first year, and then (assuming you're going to a normal college like I did) you will get to drop one subject, so you'll be doing less work, less lessons, more free time, and you've got rid of your least favourite subject.

Like everyone says, A levels are a great thing to have - but not everyone needs them. Wait until after your exams, see what your results are like, then talk to your parents, have a think, talk to your friends, talk to some career advisors (your college should have some, or connexions or whatever can help), come back here, and have a good think. Definitely wait until your results before making any big decisions.

Al, I love the social side it's the work, one word...overload. : )

- Hence me posting this on a Sunday night... : P

A levels, who needs them, what you want is a rich daddy.

Theres not a lot of jobs out there, so doing a levels is like work, you need to to it to get the grades, and hopefully get a better job.

If you where not doing a levels what would you be doing if you couldnt get a job,

sitting at a computer talking to strangers, offering advice,having a laugh, and doing the occasioanl face plant.

I hated sixth form so I left and went to college, turned out that was also shit. Unis has been great. 6 weeks left and it will all be over and I can call myself a master of engineering.

Al, I love the social side [b]it's the work, one word...overload[/b].

I'm currently doing A2's and no matter how hard I try I always seem to open the results letter to find bad grades. Hopefully once I finish in around a month I got a year in New zealand

Yeah, it is only 2 years I suppose. 😛

Thank God I have a release in the form of a 2 wheeled beauty. : D

No but then I messed mine up badly. Things got better by university.

As a teacher, I'm bloody glad I'm not doing A levels these days, its non-stop exams with no breathing space. You just need to get stuck in and keep thinking about the good times ahead after that final exam in Year 13 and easy street at Uni!

I'm currently doing A2's and no matter how hard I try I always seem to open the results letter to find bad grades. [b]Hopefully once I finish in around a month I got a year in New zealand [/b]

a-levels are great

because they get you to uni, or wherever you want to go.....

exams and coursework come to rule your life at the time and there seem to be a million things youd rather be doing,
BUT the harder you go at it now the more options to do what you want will open up.

What subjects are you studying? I remember struggling with physics and maths and having a horrible time with them. After I was encouraged to drop them and just keep history and geography I really started to enjoy it.

If you are studying 3 or 4 A-levels why not look to drop to 2. You will still be able to get to university on that, although higher grades would obviously be needed to keep the UCAS points up.

English
Art
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Psychology

Any idea what you want to do? I believe any A levels are better then no A levels, no matter what job you're going for, but if you're interested in something completely different, it might be why you're not enjoying those subjects.

Dunno just wanna get a job and be a success at something.

As a teacher, I'm bloody glad I'm not doing A levels these days, its non-stop exams with no breathing space. You just need to get stuck in and keep thinking about the good times ahead after that final exam in Year 13 and easy street at Uni!

i agree with.

I am in my 1st year of uni now doing a masters in civil engineering. I struggled with maths all through my A-Levels. I started with further maths, then dropped to normal and ended up with a C. not amazing but my physics and product design grades got me into uni and it's great. People say that A-levels make you work the hardest and I think it is probably true. Although some things at uni have been hard it is so relaxing to be able to do what you want and when. The stress of exams has gone and I am finding that I am doing well in things that I found really hard at A-level. It is a fresh start (cliché I know) but it is true and you can forget about everything that hasn't worked out in the past and just live for the present! (even more clichéd!)
Also I just got a new bike so it doesn't get much better than that 😀

hexhamstu - Member
6 weeks left and it will all be over and I can call myself a master of engineering.

hmm, and like every other student, you'll get a job and realise you know heehaw! 😀

mikehopkins - Member
English
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Psychology

That Psychology A-Level is probably the one that causes you the most grief to get good grades in... and it sounds like you have no specific plans for it.

Remember you have options other than all or nothing if it gets that bad staying on top of the work load. It was the best advice I was given.

A levals and degree and professional exams were all really swearfilter , I had bad exam dreams every April till I was in my thirties . But those exams laid the foundations for financial security , being a smart arse in pub quizzes and a job I enjoy . Suck it up do the work and get yourself the best results you can. It is genuinely worth it.

Dunno just wanna get a job and be a success at something.

It's all too easy to take something easy or promise yourself something will just be a temporary thing, then get stuck in a rut. Best to decide what you want to do (or at least have some idea), before you go and try and do it. Until then, might as well stay in college IMO.

Uni is awesome by the way.

interior design? what can you see yourself doing? then get work experience in the job you want to end up with before you start a degree.

Dunno just wanna get a job and be a success at something.

If you leave education now, with no qualifications, unless you're very lucky or have one hell of a lot of natural talent for something (ie. football or Golf), you'll be lucky these days if you could make a success of yourself stacking shelves!

This isn't a slight against anybody out there who doesn't have qualifications, especially those that have done well for themselves, just sadly a result of the state of affairs we are in today. Quite simply, there are more than 1 million 18-24 year olds out of work, and most of these have no real qualifications (you spotting a pattern here?).

If you don't like your A Levels, change them. If you don't like the A Levels you change to, change them again. Or change to a more vocational qualification perhaps if that suits.

DO NOT THINK for one moment you'll be able to leave college and just go and get some work... 30 years ago, yeah no problems, but times have changed drastically sunshine.

Incidentally, I'm saying this as a highly qualified 31 year old, that struggled so badly being in and out of work, I've decided to return to education yet again to pursue something that I'm really passionate about.

The more qualifications you have, the more choice you will have in the path your life takes.

I didnt do my a-levels, instead I did an apprenticeship. I earn more money than many friends who did do rthe a-levels and uni route, and i have been earning that money for longer. But i wish that i'd dont emy a levels, as now that im older and i want to change career and go to university, I find myself in a position where its alot harder to gain entry to a course.

I'd say stick with it, its only a year.

Ok, thanks for all the advice, didn't expect that much of a response. : )

druidh - Member
mikehopkins - Member
English
Art
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Psychology
Teacher or social worker then....

Eh?

heh! A-levels were so easy. You only work a few hours a week. And that was twenty years ago. My son (who is seventeen), seems to spend virtually all his time at home. I enjoyed college far more than sixth form though. Plenty of girls, beer and fun.

Trust me pal, once you get a job, even if you enjoy it, it'll be 5 million times worse than what you're doing now if you want to get on.

You'll graft hours you wouldn't believe possible, come under pressure that will scare you silly and spend hours at night awake worrying about work....WORK!

HTH. Have a nice life.

Realman = Conman

samuri - out of interest what is your job?

completely buggered my a levels too. big mistake, really limited which uni i could go to and even a lot of the engineering type job now ask for your a level results :|. In hindsight i have no idea what happend to me through college. hated every day i had to go there, no real friends, and i didnt really know what i was going to do afterwards so had no motivation. even so i went to university as was expected and it is flipping ace!

its shit at the moment but it gets a lot better.

Left 6th form after the first year, started an apprenticeship instead. Best thing I ever did. Always got decent results but hated 6th form. In work I can end up doing long hours, have less days off than in school, but I have my own house, car, company van, couple of holidays a year. Hard work, but worth it

I'd echo some of the other advice. It may seem like hard work now but these times are golden for you - getting, retaining and progressing in a job is hard enough without coming from a base of no qualifications.
If it's any help - I hated school with a passion. I left before my highers in 5th yr (Scottish) but was allowed to sit them and passed them all which got me to Uni. Did a double Comp Sci/Electrical engineering degree and have done lots of different things from there. Without that graft I would not be doing what I do now and living the life i lead. I've travelled, setup and sold businesses and now do a job I enjoy in a beautiful spot. Dig in and enjoy it because you obviously want to be successful and the only person that can make that happen is .... you.
An alternative of course is a trade however i would say that the best tradesmen are the ones that treat it like a business - i.e. treat clients well, responsive and take pride on what they do. You can't teach that.

Penrod Pooch - Member

Realman = Conman

Oh yeah - I forgot about that! Did the guy ever get his money back?

hmm, and like every other student, you'll get a job and realise you know heehaw!

Hahaha very true!

I hated 6th form and wish I'd went to college instead. Got me into uni though and things worked out alright in the end but still wish I'd chosen better A-Levels to do something different at uni!

Oh and for me uni/working life are way better than 6th form, don't believe the "school days are the best of your life" stuff.

Dunno just wanna get a job and be a success at something

Being a success is all about optimising the chances you have in front of you. Suck it up and nail your A-levels whether you're enjoying them or not, and you'll at least be on the right path mentally to succeed.

So yeah, Student the **** up! 😀 😛

heh! A-levels were so easy. You only work a few hours a week. And that was twenty years ago. My son (who is seventeen), seems to spend virtually all his time at home. I enjoyed college far more than sixth form though. Plenty of girls, beer and fun.

Trust me pal, once you get a job, even if you enjoy it, it'll be 5 million times worse than what you're doing now if you want to get on.

You'll graft hours you wouldn't believe possible, come under pressure that will scare you silly and spend hours at night awake worrying about work....WORK!

You did A levels 20 years ago, now with modular exams they are a living nightmare from where I'm sat (teaching biology). It seems to more to be far far tougher these days. True you can retake and come out with better grades but the pressure lasts non-stop for the full two years rather than what I and maybe you did which was piss about for 1.5 years then work like hell for 6 months. Cant do that now.

I'd say stick it out and try to get the best results you can, does sound like you are getting sick of education so maybe look at taking a couple of years out before doing the Uni thing (I waited until I was almost 30, loved it and came out with a 1st). You'll have more motivation and much better life skills to make it though the degree with a good results and have more fun while there, you'll also have a much better idea of which degree to do.

Yup, I hate A-Levels. It's not the amount of time there, but just how much more difficult it is compared to GCSE. Also, the curriculum seems to suck the fun out of subjects. In about two months college spoiled Maths, Physics and Chemistry for me.

but just how much more difficult it is compared to GCSE

Hang on a minute....

I thought A-levels had been progressively getting so easy that a 5 year old could do them by now. Or have I been misled somewhere?

But seriously, the clue's in the name: A = Advanced 😆

I cant really remember the biology papers from when I did mine in erm... 1991 ish but I remember finding them easy. I teach it now and find them hard. So I think you've been misled Zokes. The ability to retake modules means they can be harder but people can get better results following much more pressure.

Stick with it, it gives you so many more options for the future. you say you want a job, but in what? If you don't know then finding one can be a nightmare. I hated A-levels and didn't do amazingly well but as I did 4 (English Lang, Art history, Spanish & French) I got enough points to get to university. had the most blinding 4 years at Essex Uni, studying Psycholinguistics....waaayyyy easy than a-levels and something I enjoyed and wanted to do. remember a lot of jobs now you need a-levels..including the police! Stick at it, it will pay off.

[i]samuri - out of interest what is your job? [/i]

I work in IT. It's not relevant though. I've been a chef and worked in the telecomms industry too. Work is always as I've described if you really want to do well at it. Although yep, IT has definately been the most strenuous for me. There was a time that 70 hour+ weeks every single week were perfectly normal.

So I think you've been misled Zokes.

Sorry - missed the 'tongue in cheek' emoticon 😆

Come the third week in August, year after year, and without fail; just about every media outlet will report in the morning that there have been a record number of students achieving A grades. By lunchtime on the same day, there will already be a number of 'experts' explaining that this has nothing to do with improved teaching, nor increased intellectual ability of the students. Instead, it's all because the exams are becoming 'too easy'. 😕

The choice of A Level subjects matters a lot. I did Business Studies A Level in 1999 and the standard was barely above GCSE.
A few friends who were very clever in a social context struggled with A-Levels.
I still have the odd nightmare that I have to resit my A Levels and go back to school as a 31year old, although I can't recall feeling much pressure at the time.
If you hate A Levels and find it difficult then I would investigate a more practical type of career. University is fun but is hugely overrated in terms of job prospects.

You'll graft hours you wouldn't believe possible, come under pressure that will scare you silly and spend hours at night awake worrying about work....WORK!

This isn't true for all jobs. Mine's very relaxed and low-pressure, it's almost like being at uni but this time I'm doing all the fun bits and getting paid for it.. Sure I work horrible hours, but the upshot is I'll never be bothered about working a normal 9-5 again when I get back into that 🙂

I found my A-levels to be the 'hardest' thing I did: ie the 'uphill struggle' of learning from what I understood at the time to what i needed to understand was harder at that level than it was in seven years (i liked it so much I went back) at university. (well, with the exception of one real bastid amongst several rather pleasant post-registration health/psychology/therapy modules I have muddled my way through since).

So stick with it: it might be 'downhill' from year 13! 😀

Also, work sucks, and there's no jobs for 16-24 year old's anyway!

You just need to get stuck in and keep thinking about the good times ahead after that final exam in Year 13 and easy street at Uni!

People say that A-levels make you work the hardest and I think it is probably true.

I'm going to say all of the above are very dependant on which uni you go to and which subject you do. My first year was a shock, I was expecting to have to work hard but I had to do so much more work than A levels I hadn't even previously thought it was possible to do that much. It only got harder each year, more enjoyable but harder all the same. I'm yet to have a year where I've had to do less exams than A levels, In my second and third years I had more exams than GCSE's and in a shorter space of time, of course all were much, much harder than A levels. When I did an internship last summer and had evenings and weekends free, I didn't know what to do with myself.

But on the flip side I believe last years graduation in my degree had 100% employment, I've had multiple job offers from places I'd love to work for, as has everyone else I know in my year. And on top of that it's been great fun because I've enjoyed the work I'm doing.

Basically if it's hard work, that means it's worth something to someone, even if it only shows you can work bl**dy hard. So keep at it, work your arse off and smash those exams.

Iain