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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! ๐ ๐
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 ๐
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 ๐
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'. ๐
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 ๐
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! ๐
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