For e.g
I have a degree in Buss/Commerce (Hospitality), I'm currently a retail salesperson. And before that, I worked in IT Helpdesk.
The closest thing to hospitality I have ever done was work in a cafe and that was BEFORE I started studying university. Haven't touched hospitality jobs since.
So per title: what did you study, and what related / unrelated field do you work in now? And have you given up trying to look for said related job?
Not quite CCIE, CCNA and on track to CCNP :)
Not to put you down, but, CCNA is a walk in the park, any Tom Dick and Harry can get a CCNA. CCIE is when you'd be really considered a "Network Engineer". With what you have now, in most companies, your title will be technician as Davo93 mentioned.
Aerospace engineer - no jobs
Work - fire and hydraulics engineer
Dat change in career tho
I think it evolves as you age and mature. I look back and see that I didnt enjoy the industry (My Degree) I was working in and did it only for the social-economical benefits. Once your financial stresses ease and you mature into your own person you dont box yourself into your "degree"
My journey so far. B.Comp Science -> DB Programming Job -> Field services => M.Finance -> Fixed interest rates products => Team leader -> Business process manager/BA => Photographer x3 Years => Part time IT / CONSTRUCTION WORKER Gyprock and internal fitting. Specialising in old residential buildings.
lol
Yup… that was my managers' reaction too :)
I'll bet you're much happier your current job
Yup for sure! Love watching things come into place and when finishing touches are completed. Even wrote a program to calculate minimal cuts / joins to standard size pieces of gyprock per wall and stud sizes.
But dunno how long I can enjoy it. Its a tough physical job! My coworkers are built like tanks and I struggle to lift stuff.. damn puny arms.
I studied Multimedia and have ended up being a Webmaster for a large retail company. Had to spend a couple of years in store before I got here though lol
b a in literary criticism now in finance. my nephew recently has scored a very well paid first appointment as a surveyor…apparently there is a shortage.
I did Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, working as an estimator in the building industry. All that's needed is excel skills, and that's only to automate my job, as much as possible, so I can spend time on ozbargain, reddit or youtube. Could have left in year 10 to do this job. Very depressing, been applying for other work; no responses. When I started engineering, there was heaps of talk about an engineer shortage, load of tosh, just like now, where talking heads and politicians repeat the fiction of a STEM shortage. If you look at university career statistics, there's very little demand for those skills in Australia.
what sort of job are you looking for? Im assuming not estimating again.. but true, estimating, its really something a year 10 kid can do.. definitely dont need a degree for it..
Well, I like automation, but I'm also quite hands on. I could probably call myself a 'maker' but I've never participated in that 'space'. I'd really want to be doing R&D or similar.
Only point with estimating is, it can get more difficult, but it really comes down to on the job training. Definitely don't need to complete an engineering degree to do the job. Beats sales though…
what aspect of it can get difficult? (not a smartass question)
@Thenarrator: Learning all the costing associated with something. For instance, in the building industry, there will be consultants who have to try to figure out with reasonable accuracy how much a building project will cost. They'll have to go through a lot of layers, including materials, labour, government fees, logistics, loans, list goes on. Similarly, a lot of these things require a decent understanding of what takes place to be able to reasonably accurately predict the costs, or set off the BS detector if something doesn't seem right. If someone works in a capacity like mine, where the company I work for manufactures AC ducts, well estimating the cost of it is quite simple when I have plans that state what size and length. It really hasn't got an option of getting complicated at all.
@sd4f: Do you feel like youre wasting time in AC estimating, not learning? I mean you can go into building estimating and learn so much more right
@Thenarrator: Well, like I said earlier, I would prefer to do R&D, like that's why I did mechatronics. If I wanted to stay in the building industry, a civil degree would have been much better. The only reason that mechanical engineers are still hired in the building industry is because AC systems are under a mechanical subset. Ideally I'd be building robots or automating things, or making electromechanical devices that do things, which is what I do at home as a hobby. But, I'm past the point of caring, I want more money primarily, so I'm prepared to leave the field completely and work in something completely different.
Absolute spot on, engineering is not in demand at the graduate level.
Spoke to an engineer who said Australia simply doesn't need engineers because all the technical work is off shored as we can't compete with overseas countries. Instead we're happy to just ship our resources, so eventually most engineers end up in project management/management.
I hate how schools still spout the rubbish we need STEM! The graduate survey is also very flawed because it counts any employment as a job. Furthermore unemployed grads are not likely to respond as it's depressing.
When I was embarking on a uni course I was given the following advice by careers counsellor:
Aside from specific degrees such as medicine/law/engeenering, most university graduates end up doing something vaguely related or completely different to their studies. In those cases, the degree only serves so the potential employer can see a) how smart you are and b) the potential to absorb on the job training.
Personally I did not believe her. But it turned out so in my case. I studies psychology with majors in statistics and childhood sleep disorders, but went on to get a govt job as a data analyst and later software developer. Nothing to do with child psychology. Didn't really help me to raise my kids any better either. So from that point of view a waste of time and (still ongoing) hecs debts ;-)
majors in statistics —-> data analyst, seems to have something in common
Your stats major proves you're good with numbers, and isn't data analysis all about working with large sets of data?
True, my stats subjects probably got me the job, but my main interest was in child psychology, and I had many more psych subjects in my transcript
Computer Science now work as Developer
Property developer or software developer?
if he plays minecraft, both!
I mean software developer (for me developer just means software developer - guess i'm a nerd). But I'm considering to go back to Uni to do Postgrad diploma in Stats because I want to work in Data Science area.
Graduated with a Bachelor of Business (International Trade) and landed a job in International shipping. Unfortunately our major clients were automotive and mining (and you know how both industries are down the toilet now). So our organisation had a BIG global restructure and our jobs were outsourced to Thailand, accounting to China and I.T. to India - seems to be more common.
So feeling fed up with the corporate world (corporate politics and mis management), Im studying a diploma in Community services work and a diploma in Project management. Big change but seems to be rewarding and sustainable.
Business Management now I work in Digital Marketing. Not complaining though.
Finished Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering.. and now working in Coles Supermarket
Civil Engineering, now a Civil/Tunnel Engineer
Eng & Comm degree. First job as knowledge leader. Don't ask :) just a fancy title. Now a controller.
whats a knowledge leader and whats a controller? i did same deg as u
domain knowledge in company's biz systems process & negotiated commercial model when mobilizing new contract in eng site. pretty much job learnt on the job. basically when we win a contract, we roll things out as per company best practice tools.
controller as in looking after finance/money for company's best interest :)
Let's see:
Right out of high school, I came here and did a double degree: Business/ information systems.
Went back home . Worked as a sales coordinator for a shipping company. Asked to be transferred to our Melbourne office, so that I could be with my soulmate. We got married.
I started volunteering at a special school around that time.Completed a Cert IV in Disability , then a Diploma in community welfare.Got a full-time job working with young adults with mental illness ( and emotional disability).
Fell pregnant. Had kids. Suffered from post-partum depression. Did a Degree in Psy because I wanted to understand what was happening to me. Ended graduating with honours. Got offered a job straight after my graduation: worked with sexual deviants.
I fell sick. Had to quit my job because I wasn't getting better.Had surgery.Started a Masters in social work out of boredom.Loved it.Got a part-time job with a Non-for-profit organisation. Accepted a full-time position once I was fully recovered. Got promoted within the same month to team leader. Now I'm in a managerial position and I hate it.
Starting a new job in another country in a little over a year. Its a quasi-teaching job. I've been seriously considering doing a BA in English and French literature. Just for the fun of it. Just because I'm a little tired of face-to-face ,intense human interactions. Book-to-human interactions seem safer somehow :)
tell me more about these sexual deviants
tell me more about these sexual deviants
It would be a breach of therapist-patient confidentiality.
sorry, just wanted to see if there was anyone else out there with a balloon popping fetish.
Sounds like you have had a good amount of experience in a number of different fields….something to look up to
B Sc (Psychology/Cell Pathology) > camera retail > AMEX > Camera retail/Research Assistant > PhD (Anatomy officially, more injury prevention/Public Health/Behavioural Science)/retail
I am nearing the end of my tim as a PhD student and starting to stress about what to do next.
Sounds like you have had a good amount of experience in a number of different fields….something to look up to
I have glowing references from all of my past employers and a long list of referees but its hard sometime not to feel like a failure.
All those jobs feel like false starts and I keep having to go back to the starting line, hoping that my next job will be one that I am passionate about, is intellectually stimulating and that I can reconcile with motherhood.
As for
I am nearing the end of my time as a PhD student and starting to stress about what to do next.
The sooner you start looking for a job, the sooner you'll find one.Congrats on the soon-to-be-completed PhD :)
worked with sexual deviants.
Have we met before? Haha, just kidding. No really, have we met?
Its unlikely that we've met. I rarely go to Perth. Its too close to my home country. The pull to buy a one-way ticket and fly home is too irresistibly strong when I'm in Perth.
Ok I'll bite:-) Favorite job out of all the ones you've had?
If by 'favorite' you meant the most interesting one, then it must be getting paid to 'listen' to complete strangers share their atypical sexual fantasies. You can't beat that :)
If by 'favorite' you meant the one that came more naturally to me, then its motherhood but only because I have amazing children.
If by 'favorite' you meant the one that made me the happiest , then it would have to be being a wife. I was exceptionally good at it for almost a decade but towards the end, I changed..I became selfish.I wanted more, demanded more than I was willing to give. It wasn't fair to the person I was with. It wasn't fair to our kids.I had to leave :(
@wiki, u're an idjit.
I'm saying sorry in advance. I've read and kept my comments to myself, but unfortunately now I'm putting in my 2 cents worth, with kindness in my heart for both of you… So please forgive me.
You both are (idjits). You both seem more unhappy apart than together. What if one of you met your fate today? Wouldn't you regret the lost time together? Get it out of your systems, scream in pillows, take up boxing or whatever other thing works for you. Accept yourselves as imperfect, especially Wiki who clearly holds herself to high standards and has suffered for it, (been there, done that ;) ) but worthy of each other's love then set about finding a solution that you can both live with, even if it's not perfect and if only for a year, then agree to a date to renegotiate and find new solutions as you go along. You may have needed this time apart, but don't overdo it. Life is short. Hug, say sorry and get on with it. Laugh about it together in 40 and 50 years time. He wants you to come home Wiki. JJB, Wiki clearly needs something very much right now, to a point of taking some risks you may both regret. Maybe you could make a sacrifice to give her what she so desperately needs for a little while? If only for the sake of both of your mental healths. Remember that jobs aren't permanent, no matter how satisfying (been there too). There's an old expression: 'Home is where the heart is'. Where is your heart?
@Miss Dior:
Thanks for saying what I have been wanting to say. Yes JJB and Wiki, I have been following your story faithfully. You both love each other dearly,so please, just live happily ever after :)
I have a masters in archeo-geophysics, GIS and remote sensing,+a degree in geography and im now a project manager in events and exhibitions! Couldn't be more different…
IT/Engg degree -> now selling handicrafts on etsy and enrolled back in uni.
What engineering field?, seems like alot of study to go through with limited rewards.
how did this happen?
was it difficult to find a job/intern? :O
Some Engineering jobs tied to manufacturing, and also a slowdown in economy means certain industries are shrinking. Mining boom is over and manufacturing industry has gone over seas too.
So there is an over supply of graduates and not enough entry level jobs to go around.
Finding a engineering job is very hard! The fact is Australia doesn't need as much Engineers as Uni's are pumping out.
I know many people with HD average, good people skills that have been job less for years.
I didn't do a degree or much studying after I left school, now after reading this thread I feel like the only one who didn't!
I am 33 and currently working as a manager in a large company and studying a diploma of leadership and management at tafe with plans to progress to a degree next year. I am lucky as my work has a study assistance program so are paying for everything provided I pass.
Not sure what degree I will study but will look into it more closely when I am closer to finishing my diploma, still have 10 months to go.
Seeing as half of ozbargain is in IT can someone hook me up with a job?! Haha jokes (but not really) or really? O_o
Medical Science, till last year was working as IT Sales consultant, now Real estate agent.
Finance -> Airline Pilot.. bit of an odd jump!
Well done! Can I ask what the pre-requisite was to become a pilot?
Might consider that once I get sick of being an Engineer.
I think you need good Math and Physics (which should be easy as an Engineer). That plus depth perception etc.
No prerequisite to become a pilot, other than having the ability to hold a class 1 medical (really not difficult) and to pass a police check for your ASIC.. Oh and have lots of cash to spend on getting your licences! Anywhere from $60k - $100k.
And then be prepared to earn ~$35k per year for the first few years, topping out at ~$60k for a few more till you've got the multi turbine hours to join a non-regional airline like Tiger, Jetstar, Virgin etc.
It is a labour of love (and luck to be fair),and not something I'd suggest anyone get into without serious consideration :)
Back to prerequisites, a good brain for maths certainly helps. You don't need to have really high grades in it or anything, but will need to be able to do intermediate arithmetic in your head whilst flying which is something you pick up more and more into your training. The physics side is all fairly practical and taught to you during all the different exams you need to do. Definitely helps if you're a people person too. The industry is scarily small. You'll meet loads of people and they all know each other!
Honours in Economics. Many of the job opportunities at the time (this was the recession we had to have in the early 90s) when I graduated were in Canberra, and I decided I didn't want to live in Canberra. With some family there I'd spent a winter once there and that was enough.
Now a HP BPSA (Business Partner Solutions Architect) doing presales on HP SANs, servers etc
I did finance at uni and then I have a diploma in financial planning. Now I work in IT company servicing the finance industry. Yeah.. not related
Did you end up realising that Financial Planning was mainly a sales job? It's a shame man.
Bachelor of Arts in English (Literature and history). Work in IT support. So yeah.
Have a BEng in EEE (UCL, UK), a MRes in Applied Physics (RPI, USA) and a PhD in Applied Physics from the (UCL, UK).
My first job in Australia was at KMart, during which I did a Forklift Drivers License.
I then got work related to my field at Unimelb for 6 yrs and whilst there, I started retraining.
Took me 3yrs to complete Cert IV in Building & Construction (Building) and a Diploma in Building & Construction (Building), both done Part Time
I now work as a Construction Manager for a Medium sized custom home builder.
could've just done civil eng :S and a cert in management or something. Guess everyone finds their own path
I guess but I had no intentions to move to Australia originally.
There was no security in my Uni job.
Everyone except Professors (Permanent) are on contract.
Imagine living from contract to contract all your life?
I made the decision early to change careers early and used the project management skills I got through my PhD to run jobs quite smoothly.
Still you're right, if only I could have turned back time.
I would have done a carpentry apprenticeship or civil engineering in the UK. Could have been more prepared for a life in Australia.
Studied Accounting became an Accountant :)
My higher education has been:
B.Engg in IT
Masters in Info Sec
Started at big 4 bank after Uni as a tech BA. Was on an "ongoing" contract @75k (inc super). Absolutely hated my job, and really wanted to get into the technical aspects of info-sec. Moved to a boutique consulting firm after a year and a half (took a bit of a pay hit; ~60k). Worked there for 3 years moving up the ranks (was on 90k towards the end). Am presently with another big 4 bank (140-150k salary range). Love my job and work colleagues; and have made heaps of social and professional connections. :) Getting paid well is a cherry on the cake.
Worked my rear off when I was in Uni doing my Masters. Got an HD average. Had a non-existent social life during Uni (money was very tight), and my go-to recreation was gaming. Once I started working, I scaled back on studies and personal projects and basically focused on enjoying life.
My 2c to anyone looking for advice (FWIW):
- Study hard and get the best out of your education.
- Pick a niche that fascinates/interests you AND is a marketable skill.
- Network a lot (e.g. going to conferences etc) while @Uni or as part of special interest groups.
- Keep up-skilling. Never let your skill-set stagnate.
- Don't worry about money, focus your efforts on being amazing at your job; money will inevitably follow.
- Don't let anyone get you down/pi$$ on your dreams. There will be many who will discourage you, especially if what you want to do is especially difficult. If you persevere, you will do very well in life.
Addendum: Australia has a tiny (and almost insular) market for a lot of Industries. As a result, it is rarely a bad idea to actually go work overseas should an opportunity present itself; especially when certain industries experience a slow-down (or at worst, a significant upheaval). The benefits are twofold, working overseas definitely broadens your horizons and gives you a significant exposure to different ways of doing things as well as exposure to a different work-culture. The other benefit is that you can maintain "currency" (i.e. stay current) and there is constant growth and accrual of experience.
I studied Journalism and Philosophy then spent years as a software trainer (SAP) and HR consultant and now I am an education designer for VET and Higher Education. I did volunteering at radio stations for a few years after my studies, but it wasn't as glamorous as I was hoping.
That's a huge leap lol. From humanities sector to It and now education.
How did you get into those roles? Was it by way of recommendation or did you do the hard yakka, trained for certificates and applied to all your positions like everyone else?
I convinced people to take a chance on me on a couple of occasions. I'm pretty persuasive and adaptable. I also started from the bottom when I had to.
hey jimmyjack72 I'm interested in becoming an education designer any advice how to get started?
I was hoping to read someone's story on how he moved from being a doctor/lawyer/banker/accountant/engineer to being a professional DOTA/League of Legend/Counter Strike player….Nobody?
They wouldn't be on ozbargain as they would be living the dream.
I can't lie.. but i can pretend, if it helps you in any way? :)
Girl gamer even better !!! Every nerd's fantasy !
Internet Communications and web media.
Own a bike shop with a very average website. Lol.
Average, how average? No I'm kidding. Lol. Stop it you sound so well, not normal. :)
Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), over 15 years of experience in engineering, construction and project management.
Looking for work now. :(
hey, u did a bit of construction and design? which did you like more?
Started with engineering design after finishing my degree, built an engineering team from ground up for a new start up. With engineering then comes technical marketing and sales, loved that part as well, travelled most of Asia.
Later part of my career are more on construction project management, seeing a 300,000m2 40 meters high pre engineered steel structure going up is a lot of fun. Managing the project is very challenging especially a multi disciplinary, multi nations team. We are after all only human :)
What do I like? I guess it all depends on where are you in life now, start with design then move on to project management is a good path. As a well rounded engineer, you must have all these experience from design all the way to completion. Specialisation in design or project management add values to your career assuming that you have been exposed to the complete project life cycle. Armed with experience in both design and project management, people can't BS you on what can't be engineered or can't be built.
I've wanted to do design first then project management but since grad recently, i've ended up in project managemnt role.. and finding it difficult to go into design. Do you think its harder to go from construction to design 5, 10 yrs down the track?
@Thenarrator: It will be very tough but not impossible. Age is one, salary is one. Most of the "engineering" are just another iteration of an existing design, fresh grads guided by senior engineers can crunch numbers all day long. Serious engineering (dam, gas processing plant, road/rail/underground transport, etc) are done with an international team of experts, an individual contributions to a project of this scale is very very minute. Project management for mega projects are done by teams as well but contributions from each person can be seen clearly.
@ganymede: do you find it challenging to adapt from a design environment where everyone is well educated and professional, well dressed to an environment where you deal with people from trades background, adapting to their "way of doing things" in the industry and understanding the technicalities with each trade? How did you adapt?
Too over qualified i am guessing? Ridiculous but usually the pathetic excuse. No offence. Just saying. Good luck in your endeavours :)
Non taken! I do sense the inferior complexity at times. :P
BSc (physics, math) -> work for decade in Public Service records management. Go figure.
3/4 journalism degree, discontinued.
BA (politics) -> work last 20 years in IT administration, network management. Go figure.
Not a big fan of vocational education. :-)
Engineering grad. Currently unemployed. I regret everything.
Do some casual or part-time work, even two or three days a week, and get to know some people and build some networks. Don't stay unemployed for too long, you start to become bored and unmotivated.
Most importantly though is your resume and interviewing skills, make sure you have it polished up and attend resume workshops if your university still offers them. I went to mine and they offered some pretty decent help.
Nothing to regret.
You just need to move on.
Getting hung up on regret only hangs on to the disappointment.
were you a credit average or distinction average? or .. was it pass …
Distinction with extra currics, volunteer work and unrelated work experience
too many of distinction average students with EC + volunteering.. see them everywhere. What do you think you have over others?
@Thenarrator: the fact he wasn't a lazy prick and wanted to do something extra to make himself more employable? what does someone that doesn't have EC volunteering have then?
@insular: what I was saying was, just because you are D average with extra curriculars doesnt mean your automatically employed. In fact, a lot of people are D with ECs. you need to have something they dont.
Bachelor of Music Technology (Audio Engineering with music theory added in) -> band rehearsal studio -> travel -> Sales/Tech Computer store for last 4 years. I am addicted to technology argh!
A year ago i finish a Dip of Web Design - haven't made up my mind if i want to pursue that full time yet. Ah procrastination. Meh i think i'll do some more travelling :D
A lot of companies come up with bullshit roles with the word "engineer" at the end just to sound fancy.
I've met a "Desktop and Networking Engineer" before that doesn't even understand what vlans, trunking, bonding mean. I'm not even related to network engineering and i understand it and can set up a simplistic version of it on different hardware. After some probing, all he did was deliver desktops and sets up the static ip. Bullshit.
DaveB: Do you at least have CCIE or similar?