Any unemployed Grads here?

Oldernotwiser

crescend0 wrote: »

I know but I've heard this ignorant "It's a less academically challenging subject" kind of !!!!! about all the creative subjects

There's no real reason for a creative subject to be academically challenging. Creatively challenging, certainly.

Oldernotwiser

starsinmycrown wrote: »

Now they've changed the goalposts to this 5 A-C passes crap. Which is fine if youre young and youve been pushed to get this as the benchmark. But my friend who is 36, hasn't got 5 a-c passes. he has 4. and when he was at school there were no ucas points or pass quotas, thus he finds himself unable to apply for many jobs which state this as a requirement. Many people are therefore in a position where they didnt work to their full potential at school, have since proved themselves yet are still judged on their performance as a 15 year old. There are so many qualifications now for X,Y,and Z that its hard to change careers or direction or find a new job in another sector. I despair at the way things are today i really do, and it's no wonder we are sitting on here arguing about the best thing to do.

It's not too hard to pick up an extra GCSE, if that's what's needed, or he could look on the bright side and realise that his lack of a full Level 2 qualification would allow him to do a whole course at this level for free.

It really isn't hard to change career direction in your 30s or even older, colleges are full of learners doing just that. In my previous role I was helping 20 plus people a week, most of whom were looking to achieve more qualifications and change direction.

I think that you underestimate people's potential and their ability to learn and grow.

lynzpower

youd say that ONW BUT

I have been looking for a course for someone I know, he does not have Maths GCSE.

Pretty much all the courses we have found so far are in the daytime- suitable for the unemployed, not people like him who need that GCSE in order to say "Ive done it"

starsinmycrown

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

There's no real reason for a creative subject to be academically challenging. Creatively challenging, certainly.

It is very difficult to write a good academic essay in the arts though. I went to a top ten uni and I can count on the fingers of one hand how many people ever got over 80%, compared to something like maths, where what you have written is either right or wrong. It's very difficult trying to get top marks in an arts subject, mainly because of the element of subjectivity involved from your marker and because much of the marking criteria is based around intangible aspects which your examiner feels you either have or haven't got.

It's frustrating if you want to get good marks rather than just a pass. I'd try my hardest to work and get 78 on one module. Next time I'd try to use the same formula and get 60%. Sometimes I wouldn't read the text and get 68% by just bulls**ing it, next occasion I'd memorise huge chunks of Anglo-Saxon, and feel I was ready for anything, only to be told that "It didn't seem as though I had revised the text". Argh! I found the whole process very draining. I had to do a lot of presentations in front of audiences too, which was really nerve wracking and again, it's difficult to assess your performance. It takes a long long time to be able to do it first time every time and to work out exactly what markers are looking for, so it's not easy if you are trying to really succeed, rather than just sit it out.

Oldernotwiser

lynzpower wrote: »

youd say that ONW BUT

I have been looking for a course for someone I know, he does not have Maths GCSE.

Pretty much all the courses we have found so far are in the daytime- suitable for the unemployed, not people like him who need that GCSE in order to say "Ive done it"

Has he looked at doing a Level 2 in Numeracy with Learndirect? That's equivalent to a GCSE in Maths , can be done at all sorts of times at a Learndirect Centre and will be free.

Personally, I've worked at several FE colleges and I've never come across one that doesn't offer both GCSE English and Maths as evening classes, the demand for these is so great.

starsinmycrown

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

It's not too hard to pick up an extra GCSE, if that's what's needed, or he could look on the bright side and realise that his lack of a full Level 2 qualification would allow him to do a whole course at this level for free.

It really isn't hard to change career direction in your 30s or even older, colleges are full of learners doing just that. In my previous role I was helping 20 plus people a week, most of whom were looking to achieve more qualifications and change direction.

I think that you underestimate people's potential and their ability to learn and grow.

Level 2 is another kettle of fish altogether, because some courses like teaching or some nursing courses won't accept it and need a GCSE.

I speak as somebody who is trying to get an extra GCSE now! It's difficult certainly with maths, because methods now are so different to when we were at school. I'm in a GCSE group, and 90% of us are baffled. There is no intermediate tier now, so most are forced to do higher. Some of the content on that course is mind-boggling, and is similar to material that would have been in A level maths a few years ago- things like Surds, quadratic equations, 3D trigonometry. For somebody who didn't pass 12 years ago, to come into a group and learn a syllabus that is designed as a follow on from KS3, and a gradual step up, it's frankly terrifying. Most of us are out of our depth, and the leap up from level 2 maths is a high one.

My last exam was 26 questions in 25 minutes, and many of us screwed it up. Our tutor told us that one session at nightclass would be about 4 weeks worth of work at year ten, but we don't have time for 5 lessons a week as adult learners, or time to go over things constantly with teacher support or to build on existing knowledge gently. Many of us don't even HAVE existing knowledge! There are people in my group, who have been there 2 years running, who still have Ds. My last maths class was at foundation level in 1998. I know somebody who is doing English GCSE and finding it very different from school. GCSEs are courses that really aren't designed for adult learners with no qualifications to come in and start afresh from.

Oldernotwiser

starsinmycrown wrote: »

It is very difficult to write a good academic essay in the arts though. I went to a top ten uni and I can count on the fingers of one hand how many people ever got over 80%, compared to something like maths, where what you have written is either right or wrong. It's very difficult trying to get top marks in an arts subject, mainly because of the element of subjectivity involved from your marker and because much of the marking criteria is based around intangible aspects which your examiner feels you either have or haven't got.

.

I wasn't talking about arts subjects; my degree is in Literature and it wasn't, and wasn't intended to be, a creative subject.

Oldernotwiser

starsinmycrown wrote: »

Level 2 is another kettle of fish altogether, because some courses like teaching or some nursing courses won't accept it and need a GCSE.

I speak as somebody who is trying to get an extra GCSE now! It's difficult certainly with maths, because methods now are so different to when we were at school. I'm in a GCSE group, and 90% of us are baffled. There is no intermediate tier now, so most are forced to do higher. Some of the content on that course is mind-boggling, and is similar to material that would have been in A level maths a few years ago- things like Surds, quadratic equations, 3D trigonometry. For somebody who didn't pass 12 years ago, to come into a group and learn a syllabus that is designed as a follow on from KS3, and a gradual step up, it's frankly terrifying. Most of us are out of our depth, and the leap up from level 2 maths is a high one.

You have to be joking! GCSE Maths harder than it used to be? They give the topics very grand names but the standard is appalling, as anyone who's taught teenagers with a Maths grade C will tell you.

However, you may be right about the jump from the Level 2; this is why some universities no longer accept it.

gingerdad

Sharon87 wrote: »

Why do people think that Media is a 'soft' subject? It drives me crazy, it's an academic subject people! I worked bloody hard to earn my degree and I hate people dumbing down my degree, just because it was Media! A lot of people that were on my course thought it was soft, and guess what... they failed and dropped out.

As I said, I have a Media degree and don't expect to be on 30K for many years yet. I'm just trying to get a 12K a year job at the minute!

Rant over.

only on experience, my best mate did it and he was serious about it shame everyone else was just there for the beer and to come out and say hey i've got a degree.

I wish you luck.

gingerdad

crescend0 wrote: »

I know but I've heard this ignorant "It's a less academically challenging subject" kind of !!!!! about all the creative subjects

The graphic designers i work with, don't have degrees but do have good jobs?

GD