I found the "Preparing for HSC" thread interesting, so I thought lets hear what peoples ATAR (or no ATAR) was and where it got you today :)
Where Did Your ATAR Get You?
[Deactivated] on 13/08/2021 - 13:24
Last edited 13/08/2021 - 13:26
Last edited 13/08/2021 - 13:26
Comments
I came from an academically selective school (not for rich people, one based on testing). It was easy to overthink the UAI (what it was called when I graduated) and I don’t think our school cohort had a healthy view of it and it factored in way too much into our idea of self-worth.
I was told by my mum that my HSC would be the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life and the rest would be easy.
And while the rest has not been ‘easy’, she was right in that I’ve never worked so consistently hard in my life. It was a tough year mentally and emotionally as it is for many teenagers. A thousand times in that year where I would have otherwise given up today, I refused to quit and stuck it out and worked hard for a good HSC mark.In the end, I got a score in the mid-80s which was lower than my friends, comfortably above average for my cohort, and a score that I am incredibly proud of. I was never a very good student (including uni) and this is the best mark I l’ve ever achieved, and it got me comfortably into the degree I chose to pursue.
When that degree sucked, I swapped into another degree program after a year. I’m not even sure if my UAI factored into that decision by then. So I only know for sure that my UAI was valuable for a few months after I got it, then I never really thought of it again.But I’m pleased I pushed through there. I look back and I’m proud that I showed grit and maturity during a tough time.
Lovely story, I think it's something that we don't teach kids enough, about the value of grit, instead focusing too much on the marks. Thanks for sharing.
ATAR is simply Year 12. A score reflecting but only your years as a CHILD, in tiers 1 & 2. It is the follow-up Tertiary tier that "gets you somewhere". Why didn't't you pose this question the end of Primary? Bc it is irrelevant.
My score was around 40 and now I'm in IT with only an adv dip earning 82k.
You don't need a high ATAR to be successful.
I got ATAR of low 80's but I can't remember what it was exactly. Graduated B. Comp Sci with GPA 6.5 / 7. Personally, I breezed through Uni and was only recently diagnosed with ADHD, which is why I did better in Uni than high school and why it was easier.
Where did it get me? Not sure… still trying to figure it out. But it wasn't where I was expecting, I was initially pursuing photography (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/101401).
92 ATAR
• qualified as an accountant, personal trainer and looking at doing a grad dip in counselling at the moment along with a podcast series.
• got myself sorted with my first house by 22 having been employed as a trainee accountant from the age of 19 during my degree.
• Main enjoyment has been seeing the look on my friends / colleagues faces when they find out I got such a decent score - I don’t come across as someone who would have reached those heights 😂.
• Main enjoyment has been seeing the look on my friends / colleagues faces when they find out I got such a decent score - I don’t come across as someone who would have reached those heights 😂.
Wow why was that? Didn’t like school or people thought you were bad at it?
FYI, for anyone that didn't complete high school in Australia but would like to apply for uni' I suggest looking at the "Special Tertiary Admissions Test" (STAT):
https://stat.acer.org/au/about-stat
STAT does not test specific academic content. It's more about your natural potential, your ability to think. Basically, if you can cope with tertiary study.
I know someone who dropped out of high school because of mental heath issues. At the age of 23, he sat the STAT and got a respectable 94%. On the basis of that he got into his first choice of law school.
So, please, please don't think that the ATAR determines the course of your life.
The STAT test was my pathway into uni:
- Sick in year 12 for 1/2 the year, completed 3/5 subjects.
- Decided I was finished with school, and wouldn’t go back to complete it.
- Worked for a year. Undertook the STAT test and got a reasonable mark for uni entry.
- Completed 1st year uni, reasonable GPA.
- Transferred into a course / career which looked interesting, but not something I had ever considered.
- Completed undergraduate degree, gained employment, clinical graduate diploma and now MBA.
- Work as a Director in healthcare for government, love my job everyday.
I am a strong advocate that marks in high school don’t matter, but how they teach you to learn, be inquisitive and self directed are the keys!
People have always put a lot of value on university degrees. My experience is that all my friends who did apprenticeships or started working after high school ended up doing much better in life. The reason why is that most who studied straight after Year12 had no real idea about what they wanted to do and ended up getting degrees in which they never worked in the end. Many who started work early ended up owning homes and having families and careers while I was still struggling at university, and if these friends needed degrees or further education work would organise it with them. And some choose to study as mature students, but mostly not until they were much older and owned homes.
Totally agree.
98.6
Arguing with randoms on OzbClassic
99.10 UAI
Unimelb Medicine
Surgical trainee now, ~200kGreat job!
Uni Melb has undergraduate medicine?
had in the UAI era
@TightAl: I have an open mind. Feel free to educate me on the company or their competitor company then. No one here will be able to name one that pays that much. Unless he's like a co-founder or a niche start up or something
95+ ATAR.
Go8 university studied commerce. Distinction average. Now working in technology consulting.Based on my personal knowledge, in the context of certain industries (such as accounting, finance, consulting, engineering), marks in school/university aren't the be all end all.
I have worked with people who do not have a bachelor's degree (e.g. Tafe), or those who have come from universities that are traditionally considered less prestigious. I think success is more to do with the individual's attitude and work ethics.
What I will say is that employers will more likely invest into developing connections with the top universities. This will provide more opportunities than if you were to attend a non-top university.
Different from the rest here, my ATAR was 45 without bonus points. Thanks to a great score in the stat test I got into my IT degree. Im currently 2 years out of Uni and am working as a IT project manager at a fortune 200 company (not a fancy one) making 70k. I urge everyone to look into stuff like the stat test if their ATAR is low.
That’s awesome, it seems like the majority people that have shared their atar were the ones who achieved a high score, so thank you for posting this :)
IT AND project manager on 70k? I swear that's like 300k level salary on whirlpool
ATAR: Low 90s (maybe 92 or 93).
Where it got me: into the degree I wanted and surrounded by intelligent, kind and high achieving friends who have since then encouraged and pushed me to achieve more than I thought I would have by my late 20s. Don't use the degree any more but the life lessons learnt were much more valuable.
Also: occasional bouts of anxiety that I'm not doing enough (even though statistically I'm fine) because everyone around me is just incredible.
Agree with the overall sentiment that ATAR and further education isn't the be all and end all, but it definitely helps create opportunities if a white collar life is what you want.
Scored in the mid-60s. Definitely could have scored higher with a bit of care and effort.
Completed an undergraduate degree in a field that wasn't my first preference, but gave me an appreciation for the amount of work tertiary education required. It was a foot in the door.
Entered the workforce for a few years from an opportunity that came about because of this undergraduate degree. Worked in that role/business earning a comfortable salary for a few years.
Decided to change career paths, go back to study and pursue the career I had been interested in since my teenage years. Granted admission into a course that has a median ATAR of 95+ at most major universities because I already had an undergraduate degree under my belt. Nearing the end of this degree now, managing to maintain a strong GPA throughout the entire degree - helped by the fact that I had already completed tertiary education and knowing what the standard needed to be.
Long story short; ATAR doesn't define the rest of your life, it just means that sometimes you might need to take the long road and open up some doors by yourself rather than taking the direct route.
Nice!
if you can read and add a few numbers together you can go to university.
50, just a dead end generic job. But hey at least I invested in crypto back in 2012, started mining in 2015. So doing pretty well for myself.
Just barely got a 90 back in 2017,still in Uni right now and have jumped from a few health science courses(psychology and occupational therapy) with some TAFE inbetween/concurrently. Ironically my highest ATAR degree,and the one I'm currently finishing,admitted me based on TAFE results.
I'm working as a contractor in the health industry right now but would really like to jump ship to another industry after my degree finishes (or even now)
ATAR = 0 did a uni pathway, which i did well in the degree getting a HD average, now a contractor in IT.
99.8. ICU registrar
Work 4x 13 hr days followed by 3x 12 hr nights in a row followed by 6 days recovery time. COVID is tearing up the place.Keep hanging on there. There will be light at the end of the tunnel. Just don't know how long the tunnel is.
Great work, hope you and your department colleagues are doing okay.
Can't remember the score - it was a long time ago - but got me into law at uni. Subsequently worked in finance and short term money market, then marketing, consultancy, and currently in academia.
ATAR is only one route. One of my children did well in Year 12, and went straight through uni, internship, etc.l, into a project management role. The other two followed 'alternative' pathways, through sitting an entry exam or doing a bridging course. One works in health and completed qualifying certificates, and the other has worked as a manager, then casually to complete a degree and Grad Cert. Good that there are many options now.
98's got into an allied health course
Good for steady income but more has come from investments.
Zero. Hated high school.
Short version:
Went to Tafe. Went to uni. Worked in corporate world for a bit and hated it.
Sat the Gamsat, went to med school, consultant physician now.Love stories like this.
How old were you when you decided to go to med school / decide to become a physician? Why that and not any other career path?
At a similar crossroads myself.
Decided to go to med school at 25. Started at 27. Had to learn science because I hadn't shown up to that or maths since year 9. Got a tutor, read high school textbooks etc.
Honestly at the time like all immature mid-twenty year olds, I don't think I thought it through. I had something to prove because we live in a world that doesn't tell us we are just fine no matter what we do. There's too many bullshit metrics that we are all measured on. I decided to do it though because I lost a few family members to cancer and I hated feeling so powerless. It was enough to drive me all the way through. Now that I'm on the other side I have a very different perspective, and that's that as a doctor, you are more often than not just as powerless, but now you have the knowledge and expertise to guide people through their inevitable journeys.
If I had my time again, if I truly knew back then at 25 that I really was capable and just fine and worthy no matter what I chose to do, I'd probably be an artist of some kind, maybe a musician. And I'd go at that just as hard as I did for medicine and live and breathe it into something incredible and bring people true joy. But I have no regrets. I have enough money now for that to be an option for my kids and I am happy with that because I grew up in a single parent family with no money for anything.
Thank you for your insight as someone approaching a similar crossroad myself.
I suppose i work a rewarding, balanced and ethical job in environmental engineering, but recently considered whether i should further challenge myself, with the idea of transitioning into the medical industry. I went to the effort of studying and ranking highly in the gamsat.
I suppose as you say, we are all in reality to an extent helpless, and a better use of life would be to learn to accept that and pursue happiness and resurrect musical hobbies/reconnect with friends rather than continue the endless struggle to somehow measure up.
Unfortunately the view from the other side is often one that is obstructed (without first getting to the other side), one that can be so hyped in society and full of unrealistic expectation and promise.
As a high achiever and contributor, as well, i suppose there is nothing worse than the idea of feeling inadequate or helpless
@Prosp24: If you pursue a career in medicine, you pursue a lifetime of frequently feeling inadequate and helpless. A lot of the time we are simply ineffectual against the overwhelming course of nature. Environmental engineering is on the precipice of exploding as a field, with airborne viruses likely to become more prevalent, and climate change impacting our homes and work spaces.
That feeling of 'wanting something more' in my opinion (and with the benefit of hindsight) is actually a loss of a sense of connection to people. It's easy to connect people in this field, much harder in ones more removed from the community. If you play an instrument, try busking somewhere and seeing how it feels. Or volunteering within your community. You may find that it was simply that interaction and connection that was missing all along. I wish I had of known that.
ATAR is over-rated.
Business acumen and hard work would lead you to greater success than an equivalent person with a high IQ and no drive.
The richest people I know, who are on rich lists, had quite average atars
reading the comments, I think I must have stumbled onto whirlpool
I got a UAI of 84 and graduated from Macquarie with a Health + Psych double degree (but tbh, I scraped my way through, felt a lot of pressure from my highly educated parents and being compared to kids in the wider brown community who did way better than me in the HSC). I have been working in administrative roles in the APS since, which I am very happy with (without the degree, I wouldn't have gotten my foot in the door into the APS) but I wish I had focussed on a single degree and not accumulated so much HECS, really dunno why I forced myself to do it.
<deep gravel voice> It's not what my ATAR is underneath, but what I do that defines me. </deep gravel voice>
97.35. Went on to do a BAsianSt and a BEd at one uni, GPA of 4.0, awarded University Medal and Valedictorian. Honours at another uni, awarded another University Medal. Now a high school teacher. Kids always ask, “Why are you a teacher?!?” when they found out what I got. “Because I get to geek out in my favourite subject all day long,” I say.
It sounds like you enjoy your job :)
Kids always ask, “Why are you a teacher?!?”
It's really sad that anyone who is even mildly intelligent gets that reaction when they want to go into teaching. Why can't it be a prestigious job in Western countries? I've read so much literature on the power of good education. You might save someone's life as a doctor only to have them come back if they're a druggie or something but teachers can change generations, poverty and society for the better. Instead you go to uni for 4 years minimum, go in debt to earn maybe slightly higher than the average wage.
TER 79.7
Did 2 years of science & finished uni after 5 years with a Bachelor of Nursing.
Worked, travelled, got married & had kids.
Went back to studying & did Medicine, finished at 40.
Still studying & exams to go, but nearly at the end.
Don't regret anything.
Thats pretty impressive
I too regret nothing!
Sniffs cocaine
Mine was 52 - had lots of shit going on at home and really only went to school to escape home life and see my friends. My parents weren't bad, I just had sick siblings that eventually passed away a few years after I completed high school.
Took a job in retail and hated it. Grabbed an apprenticeship which enabled me to get additional qualifications and earn a trade. Working in industry lead me to OHS - enjoyed this heaps better than my technical skillset (for a job, I still love my technical skills/knowledge my trade gave me) and progressed through TAFE courses and University to earn additional qualifications. It's been a 15 year journey full of enlightenment. I actually pursued my safety career based on it being something I enjoyed. I'm not done with study - looking at doing a master's next year, just super difficult with 3 young kids who want to know why you can't play on the weekend!
ATAR is not everything - but I believe it provides you with options. I was lucky to be able to carve my own path - maybe that's something more about my character than anything else. I tell my children they need to learn/study so they have choices to do what they want - if that means being happy in a job that might be considered undervalued in society or that has low remuneration, who cares? If they're happy (even for the interim) that's all that matters, and with a higher ATAR (and hopefully the knowledge of how to study, apply ones self and a solid educational foundation) from high school, they should be able to progress further in education/career when/as/if required. What I express to them is that they should attempt to avoid the opposite; not having choices, being stuck in a job/occupation that they hate, but require for a living, which might ultimately impact their life outside of work.
My path has been unconventional (if a conventional one exists). I have a second house, live comfortably with 3 kids who go to a private school and do not have any significant financial pressures that were part of my life as a child and the struggles of my parents. I got this way through the extra work on weekends, studying after work during the week and a desire to learn more. I'm not on a $200k salary, but I'm content (for the interim) with being able to not have work worries on the weekend, being with my kids in the morning and evening and playing an active role in their lives; sharing my difficulties and struggles with them from my own life to give them a perspective and hopefully give them a little grounding (they have a very easy childhood compared to me - perhaps the real revelation there is that I didn't really have a childhood… I'll need to think about that more)!
Education can give you choices, choices will give you freedom.
Thats seriously impressive. You are a living example of lifting yourself up. I cant imagine losing siblings and then having to figure out a way..
With age comes wisdom and I hope someone takes your advice to heart
Yes - hopefully my kids! I always kept thinking that someone had it worse of than me, all through my life. I hit a bit of a rock bottom last year; was in a manager position with a lot more money but lots more stress (though in hindsight I think I was putting this directly on myself rather than workplace induced). Was clinically diagnosed with depression/anxiety; I had just been living a monotone emotional life for the last decade, however unbeknown to me. With therapy and having someone listen to my story, they made me appreciate the struggles I have been through as being difficult and to not discount their impact.
I'm so much better now with some medication and therapy and it's changed my perspective on mental health. Previously I didn't think I had any issues because I was still functioning - I could get out of bed, hold a job and be a parent. That said, I was void of emotion, hated socialising with anyone outside my immediate family and felt terribly alone, even when surrounded by my wife and kids. I think COVID and home working escalated my boiling point, and after breaking down emotionally a few times for reasons I couldn't identify, I finally listened to my wife and sought help. Best thing I've done in, at the very least for the benefit of my kids and wife.
This whole process has made me wonder how many others might be thinking/in the holding pattern I was in for 10 years, and again, might not realise they need help based on their individual perspectives of what they believe poor mental health is or societal stigma…
Do you work in IB (Morgan Stanley, Goldman etc)?
Does the 175 make up for the extra hours or does it kinda feel like you have 2 jobs each paying 90k demanding 80-90% of your life and energy?
I ask because I once wanted to go into finance, but I realise the hours can be extremely competitive.
@gram: I feel like I may have missed the boat in terms of my own youthful enthusiasm and motivation to wear a suit and tie.
But kudos to you, well done sir, may you use your powers for good and ne'er evil.
No op as I was doing subjects that was ineligible for an OP (QLD). Now an Electrician earning over 100k with good conditions. Very happy
Mid-60s. Airline pilot. Spent a lot of time after I'd finished school doing the work I should've done while I was at school. It was worth the effort.
Are you still flying planes considering covid? Or is there other things you do?
Flying again now, but had about 15 months off due Covid. The flights at the moment are mostly international freight, no passengers unfortunately. Covid has been a big reminder about what a fortunate position it is to have a well paid job you love.
Is flying fun or boring as a job? I assume auto pilot does 90% of the flying, so you don’t have much on?
@cloudy: It’s different to what people expect. I think most people think it would be similar to driving a car that can drive itself. The difference is that we are in a really complex environment and have to get it right 100% of the time. The autopilot does do most of the flying, but hand flying an airliner at high altitude with people moving around the cabin is a boring nightmare anyway, and would quickly take all of our attention. The fun part is the landing, which we still do manually 90% of the time.
The part that keeps you engaged is that every day is different and you are constantly managing situations that come up. A lot of our time is spent contingency planning for various abnormalities, and even though the autopilot does the manipulation, it will only do what we tell it. Managing the energy of a heavy aeroplane, particularly on descent is a real challenge. We take a lot of pride in trying to make every flight as close to perfection as we can because that’s the safest way to fly. Nobody has ever quite had the perfect flight yet though!
I don’t feel like I’ve ever worked a day of my flying career, it’s genuinely enjoyable work and offers a favourable lifestyle in the better jobs. But it wouldn’t be for everyone.
@Gearoff: This might sound silly, but do you/have you gotten flight sickness, I mean flying through just a little turbulence really get my gut churning. Any tips with how to handle it?
@cloudy: When I was younger, I bought tickets to take my then girlfriend up for a scenic flight over Sydney Harbour in an old DC-3. Before the flight, they fed us cream cheese canapés, champagne and then sat us in the back row for the flight. I have never felt so sick in my life. It was such a rough night and in the back row it was truly horrific. How I didn't throw up everywhere, I'll never know. The non-pilot girlfriend loved it, but tragically I didn't even feel like being rewarded for my effort afterwards.
Other than that fateful night, thankfully I don't usually have an issue, but I've known plenty of people who do. My suggestions would be where possible try to have a window seat near the middle of the plane (i.e. around the wing). Usually, if you get motion sickness, it's the result of a disconnect between what you're seeing and what your vestibular system (inner ear) is feeling. Having a window means you can see the horizon move and your brain will associate that with what your vestibular system is feeling. Being near the wing minimises the movement you'll experience - the plane acts a bit like a see-saw and you'll get a bit more movement at the front and back. Some people find ginger tablets help, and/or chewing gum. The more you fly, the better you'll handle it. I taught a guy to fly once who had terrible air sickness in small planes, but after plenty of exposure he got past it and now flies for an airline in Japan.
85-89 ATAR (I can't remember, it was 10 years ago)
Bachelor of Commerce
Risk Management @ Big4 BankI should've studied harder and smarter in high school AND uni but didn't/couldn't…
Learned later in life that "workplace politics" is how to get ahead in corporate LOL69 ATAR in 2010. Got me into BIT at UWS. Currently making 150-200k per year.
99.55 managing to fail to gain entry to combined law at Sydney. Which was fortuitous because I would never have dealt with the workload in study or in practice.
Bummed around some talented student programs for maths and physics before realising I appreciate an elegant proof or an empirical finding that forces large shifts in theory, but that's not what being a scientist is most of the time.
Has a break, studied some arts, business, ended up finishing a psychology degree. Now I teach psych students the maths and stats they need for their theses.
It'll do.
I never really wanted to work, to be honest.
Do you teach at a University or do private tutoring
Private.
The pay is slightly worse but conditions are better.
And there's no 3-7 year job application to complete (i.e. a PhD)
Great. You could also consider teaching in TAFE but you're tied up 9am to 5 pm
@utsc: Yeah I just don't want to work for anyone else at this point.
I don't know all the features of the job I want.
But I know I don't want to work for an organisation.
Maybe one today that will change.
Probs not.
76, now working in engineering field, income varies $150-250k depending on projects and hours worked
UAI 96.5
Did well in interviews and UMAT to get into med school
medical doctor in mental health i.e Psychiatrist
13 years training including med school, intern, resident, registrar
Recently finished
Age 32
600kRip me why am I doing icu
There's many ways to make money.
I'm sure you could make a killing taking on regional locum jobs.But there's more to life than money!
Because you enjoyed physiology and procedures too much haha
600k?! Is that a total or p/y?! wowww
Many private specialists charge 500$ + for 1 hour consults. So quite reasonable to make $4000/day. Even with over heads (insurance/rent/admin etc) definitely possible to make that much money especially if you work in an area of demand where people are willing to pay the big bucks. (Northern suburbs lol).
Explains why our health insurance costs are so high. In my opinion these rates are not justifiable and are only possible because there is no real oversight or caps on what specialist can charge and a medical insurance system that pays the bills
And yes there is a lot of training and responsibility involved but there is also a fair amount of greed and protectionism in the medical specialist industry and the salaries are bit obscene. Still I guess it is more justifiable that a doctor earns $500 per hour than some parasitic divorce lawyer or the like
@qvinto: Worth noting this at the upper end of the spectrum.
Health insurance cost is a different ball game as there is usually limits on what an insurer will pay for any procedure.
Almost all health insurance policies don't cover consultation fees only hospital and procedure fees.
you can be sure, no 32yr old specialist is charging 500$ and hour.
@Psyched: A minimum of $400 per hour for any consultation? I hope I never need to see a psychiatrist
@[Deactivated]: Oh well, don’t have anything to prove to you. You can see what the Medicare rebates are. It’s not based on “experience” … prior to getting to that level you’ve already been working for 7 years minimum as a doctor to qualify as a specialist … that’s usually enough “experience” for most people.
@MrThing: My mum saw a gynaecologist, 15 min consultation for ~$270, quite normal for specialist, booked out for months in advance, she sees patient after patient none stop.
@MrThing: Really? Finish school 18, 4 years med school gets you to 22. 10 years to specialise after med school sounds right doesn't it?
@[Deactivated]: yep so everything goes perfectly, no resits, no failed tests, no issues getting into courses, no holidays, open your own private consultancy
just a whole lot of perfect luck.
ye nah
I love my job but do deal with suicidal people (suicidal people is usually on a daily basis), drug affected people screaming abuse, child abuse, those who have become mentally unwell due to medical illness/disease, and basically anything you can think. I work in the hospital system as a contractor and also private. This COVID-19 pandemic has increased a lot of mental health problems in the community - the mental health toll has sadly been huge. It has been countless hours of study and sacrifice from family and other pursuits in life.
You deserve every $ you make.
I'm curious as to whether you would work in only the hospital system if it reimbursed as well as private.
The reality is public mental health system is not coping with demand in many areas.When I read reports like this, it gives me a sense of peace that I made the right decision not to work directly with individuals with mental illness, due to me recognising the huge responsibility and the emotional cost of providing such services. I struggle with the suffering I see and experience in my own life. I am only more convinced over time that I do not have the required skills or temperament (character?) to work with mentally ill people on a daily basis and to also manage some personal growth at the same time.
Thanks for the insight. I hope you personally are doing ok, and have self-care routines and access to social support, just like we all need.
Hey Psyched,
Congrats on your achievement. As I consultant I imagine lifeit must be incredibly sweet, I was wondering if you might be able to give some insight into how family/lifestyle friendly you found the Psych training program?
From my understanding, you can get into Psych training program pretty much after intern year. Is the training program full on? Do you do heaps of nights and/or shift work? Did you have to travel to different states or different regions of your state? Does it require heaps of OT/on-call etc…
Keen on knowing how you found the whole journey.
I got at least an A or better in all of my subjects except English which I got a B and achieved the highest VCE results at my small school, which was only 87 and I didn't even follow it up by going to Uni as I deferred the course I got accepted into and got a job doing similar stuff and hated it so didn't go back. Which I means that my score didn't really get me anywhere at all. The job I am in now is very niche and quite well paid but has nothing to do with my high school results what so ever and was more of a factor of getting into entry level jobs, working hard and demonstrating my capabilities, which in turn got me promotions and other side opportunities which I have turned into a career.
failed highschool, got uai of 64… thought i was fuked and my life would mean nothing.
went to tafe to get my astronaut license. now I am elon musks personal space rocket driver go to guy.
jeff bezos hates me because I turned him down
I make 800k for the pleasure of driving big dick shaped objects
Ok, now put the spliff down…
Lol ok who am I kidding. I cracked up. Good one :)
ATAR (UAI at that time) of 93.5 - quite limited by my pursuit of sport and other extracurricular pursuits during my final years of school and results were in contrast to what was "expected of me" much to my teachers (and parents) disappointment,
nevertheless worked hard in uni from that point, Undergrad degree then post grad.
Like Paraneoplastic above, I am now what some term a "human tradie" - fixing your internal scaffold with plates and or screws.
ATAR gets you through the door, but there are always ways into any desired career with enough hard work and determination. The time I spent focusing on other skills during school was definitely not a waste and has made me the person I am today. Balance is vital.I don't know what ATAR is, is it scaled or the absolute marks you get in your exams? I got 65% in my school final year.
I am now a software engineer earning around 130k. Been out of uni for 13 yrs.
Qld OP1 whatever that is the equivalent of.
Did medicine in QLD.
Now working in Haematology (blood diseases). It's like oncology for nerds. I really like it.
Did 6 months of Locum work this year so my income is a bit artificially inflated by that in the last financial year. Now back in registrar life.
Nowhere haha. Got 79 atar, worked all through uni and dropped out for a while, got a public service job without any help from doing any uni or results from a decade ago. I applied for public service jobs for a long time and couldn’t get a foot in the door, worked all kinds of retail/hospo/customer service jobs inc call centres, that was valuable. Regret now not smashing out my arts degree and picking up law earlier but I can still do it - screw working 80 hour weeks though, they can shove that.
I know a married couple where neither got a ATAR/TER but finished high school (barely). One is a specialist doctor now and the other works in corporate finance at a international bank. You can do anything if you put in the time and learn the alternative paths.
Yep small improvements are better
If you try to improve then you will overtake people
Still it's a hard mentally