Now or later?

[Nic]

Hi everyone!

I'm 17 and need to decide what to do and I would really appreciate people's ideas because I'm not sure what to do or what would be best.

Bascially, I have two options. The first is to stay in England, carry on my Spanish to degree level, then move to Spain. Or I could move to Spain after a few months of leaving college/getting my A-Levels and do my training over there straight away and then find a job.

I'm not sure which one to do and it would be great to get other people's take on my predicament :)

Thanks!

Nic

[que]

firstly, i guess, the question would be what do you actually see yourself doing in the future, profession wise? Is there anything in particular you like doing/want to become? Regardless of the country you are in.

[Nic]

firstly, i guess, the question would be what do you actually see yourself doing in the future, profession wise? Is there anything in particular you like doing/want to become? Regardless of the country you are in.

To be honest, I'd love to teach english to speakers of another language. Failing that I'd probably go into something like IT. And if absolutely everything went wrong then I could go into an accountancy firm as a junior. (I really want to avoid that though)

[Ben]

Getting a degree sounds like a good plan one way or another, as it is always useful in the future, but is there anyway you could do the degree in Spain? If you do it in England you can always spend an Erasmus year in Spain. My sister did that and had a great time. I suppose this all depends on how desperate you are to get here. Another option is to do apply for uni in England, but defer a year, and have a gap year in Spain, at the end of which you can either stay in Spain, or go back and do the degree.

I think looking into whether you can do the degree here could be a good next step.

[Nic]

Getting a degree sounds like a good plan one way or another, as it is always useful in the future, but is there anyway you could do the degree in Spain? If you do it in England you can always spend an Erasmus year in Spain. My sister did that and had a great time. I suppose this all depends on how desperate you are to get here. Another option is to do apply for uni in England, but defer a year, and have a gap year in Spain, at the end of which you can either stay in Spain, or go back and do the degree.

I think looking into whether you can do the degree here could be a good next step.

Thanks for the advice. If I do go to uni then I'll be going to live in Spain for a year in my second or third year (depending on which uni i go to) and I'd probably be working as a english speaking assistant in a school.

As for a gap year thats out of the question really because when I would finish my degree (4 years) then my sister would be starting and if i took it to 5 years (including the gap year) then they would be paying for two of us to go to uni at the same time which can't be done unfortunately because otherwise it would have been ideal.

Today, I've been looking into the course you suggested on the other thread and I could do that before moving to Spain so that I have some teaching qualification with me. Do you know if the certificate is recognised in most places around the world?

I think you're right when you spoke about looking into doing my degree in Spain because that would be fantastic. (I'd be pleasing everyone then lol!) I'll have to look into that tomorrow after I finish work.

Thanks for the advice :)

[Ben]

Do you know if the certificate is recognised in most places around the world? I think so, but best to check that out with the colleges that offer the course.

[Alan]

I think the English degree would be looked on very favourably if only because it's being done in English.

[Nic]

I think the English degree would be looked on very favourably if only because it's being done in English.

Thanks and yeah I agree. If I go to uni then I would probably do my degree in Spanish with something like Business or Management and would probably go to the University of Leeds. The fact that I've carried on my studies to degree level would also, I hope, make me look even better because I suppose it proves I'm motivated and determined (and fairly ok at Spanish).

Getting into university shouldn't be a problem because in my AS Levels in Spanish I got a B and then for my actual A Level, which I will take this coming summer, I'm predicted an A (I hope I achieve it :) ) so with those grades I should get in but my only problem is if I decide to go to uni I'm looking at in excess of £10,000 worth of debt.:(

[rob]

I'd suggest doing a gap year in Spain and then a degree involving spanish but not with Business or Management because its not all that needed and any training in a job related to these two you would get trained on anyway.

I'm about to do my year abroad as a language assistant in what is my third year at uni.

The year in spain would make it much easier for you at degree level, but its likely you'll have learnt spoken spanish and so you'll learn a lot of grammar et al at uni. In addition to that, instead of having just one year in spain on your year abroad, you will have had two byt he time you have done your year abroad.

In addition to that, if you didn't find Spain to your taste and wanted to come back, you'd have a degree as a backup if you needed a job or something.

Furthermore, a degree in Spanish would prove your ability in the language as I'm not sure whether saying to an employer that you can speak spanish is enough. Obviously you'd get tested on your level of spanish but i think a degree also shows competency in it since you'll have studied spanish literature or history in the language

[Nic]

I'd suggest doing a gap year in Spain and then a degree involving spanish but not with Business or Management because its not all that needed and any training in a job related to these two you would get trained on anyway.

I'm about to do my year abroad as a language assistant in what is my third year at uni.

The year in spain would make it much easier for you at degree level, but its likely you'll have learnt spoken spanish and so you'll learn a lot of grammar et al at uni. In addition to that, instead of having just one year in spain on your year abroad, you will have had two byt he time you have done your year abroad.

In addition to that, if you didn't find Spain to your taste and wanted to come back, you'd have a degree as a backup if you needed a job or something.

Furthermore, a degree in Spanish would prove your ability in the language as I'm not sure whether saying to an employer that you can speak spanish is enough. Obviously you'd get tested on your level of spanish but i think a degree also shows competency in it since you'll have studied spanish literature or history in the language

Thanks for the advice rob. It's great to hear everyone's oppinion because I really am stuck. I can't really do a gap year because of the thing with my sister (like i explained before) but if its an ideal world then that's what I would do i think. Is that what you did then? What do you plan to do after your degree (if you don't mind me asking)?

The reason I said taking Spanish with something like Business or Management is because of my dad. I'm having this massive, recurring arguement with him at the minute. He doesn't see Spanish as a 'pratical' or 'proper' subject so he's really set against me doing it but says he'll let me if I take it with something "pratical" like business or management. (I know its seems a bit silly... but he's really... traditional and protective I think are the right words).

[rob]

I wouldn't have said business or mangement are that practical in the real world as employers view them as one of the easier subjects at university. You could try looking at some other subjects that he regards practical, god knows there are so many varied subjects available that you won't be lacking choice.

You also try explaining that Spanish is infinitely more practical than most subjects as with most jobs it is bound to be and asset, whereas if you do a degree in chemistry and go into public relations it will clearly have no use.

Obviously if he still won't listen then at least find a subject that he thinks is practical and that you will enjoy, if you don't enjoy doing the other half of your degree, you won't do as well so its in your interest to search further than business or management.

I didn't take a gap year, although I wish I had now as it would have no doubt stood me in much better stead for university level Spanish.

As yet I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I do Spanish with International Politics, with the majority in Spanish and the rest in Politics. Its not as interesting as it sounds but its not as political as you'd imagine. I choose modules that tend to stay away from the theorhetical side of international politics and instead prefer to look at things like intelligence, humanitarian intervention, things that are more concrete in nature than political theories are.

I suppose given what I've studied working for the EU, Foreign Office or something like that is what I'm aiming for. But I know I could do translation work, journalism and that sort of thing.

Although I understand Spanish doesn't provide you with a clear outline as to what work you'll do in future, like law can, I think the beauty of a language is that you can go into any line of work and it will be useful there, so as long you make sure it will get used.

Also, with regards to being able to afford uni, if you do a gap year you can accumulate a lot of money to go towards this. You can also work while at uni and you can get tution fee loans as well as maintenance loans. Obviously you're looking at a large amount of debt once you leave uni but the interest rate on the loan is very low and the payments are reasonable. If you don't pay them back within 25 years, the debt is written off, although I'm not sure how this affects your credit history.

If you want to ask anymore questions feel free

[Nic]

Thanks for the advice rob :)

Have you stayed at home then or do you live on campus? If I go to university then I have to stay at home (one of the conditions on me going to university) so it gives me a grand total of four universities that I can go to. These tend to focus on Spanish with another language or with History/International Relations/International Development/Business/Management and Politics.

Personally, I would prefer to do a joint language degree but another one of my conditions is that I have to take something 'practical' with it. So I don't know what to do.

Also, is it a big leap from A Level Spanish to University level Spanish?

One thing that I worry about is that if I do a degree, get myself into debt and then realise that, after all that, it wasn't worth it in the end because it hasn't been that beneficial to me because I could have done what I wanted without it, if you get what I mean. What do you think?

Thanks again for your advice. I really appreciate it. ;D

[greytop]

......
One thing that I worry about is that if I do a degree, get myself into debt and then realise that, after all that, it wasn't worth it in the end because it hasn't been that beneficial to me because I could have done what I wanted without it, if you get what I mean. What do you think?
...... ;D

Don't get too fixated on University only as a means to a job. You cannot know what the future will throw at you and education is not only about knowledge. It's also about learning life skills and getting on with diverse people.
I never made it to a university and regretted it until I was in my forties when I studied with the Open University for a BSc. That was hard work but very rewarding and I met a lot of interesting people but still slightly regret not having three years of total immersion in study & life while I was young.
If you get to do Spanish that you obviously love, then look on the rest as a necessary evil and do the best with it you can.
And you'll probably be in debt for the rest of your life with mortgages, kdis, cars etc. so it'll be good practice!
Buena suerte in whatever you choose.

[Brian]

Don't get too fixated on University only as a means to a job. You cannot know what the future will throw at you and education is not only about knowledge. It's also about learning life skills and getting on with diverse people.

Listen to Greytop. Although I have a B.A. in Spanish, I haven't used it much in my professional life.

University does include career development, but as Greytop mentions, it's also about developing life skills, maturity, and critical thinking. You will definitely benefit from a season of higher education. And don't resent it! It will be some of the best years of your life! :)

[Ben]

I have a philosophy degree which I always used to think was completely useless as it hasn't contributed directly in anyway to any of my professional ativities past or present. However, I later realised that, for starters, it taught me how to write. When writing philosophy essays I learned how to organise, structure and present information (though admittedly I learned a lot of this in English lit at school). It also taught me how to make critical choices such as exactly which areas I needed to study when it got to two weeks before my final exam and I still hadn't done a thing. In those days we called it 'question spotting', but I think there was a skill learned in there somewhere that has served me well from there on.

So, yes, there is a lot to be said for getting a degree now and having it, and all the skills it teaches you, under your belt forever.

[Nic]

Gracias a todos ;D

Just when I thought I had decided... now I'm not so sure. I agree with everything that you've all said. I had a careers interview thingy today to try and sort out what I want and he said well from what you've told me you've alredy made up your mind (meaning moving to Spain in a couple of years) so I thought well maybe he's got a point but then I've come home and had a think and read what everyone thinks and as much as I agree with what the career's guy said that it sounds like its what my heart wants the most, I can't help but agree with you guys as well...

I know that there are quite a few things that you learn at university (such as critical thinking, life skills etc) that I probably will not learn any where else so in that way I guess going to university would be good. I don't resent going to university really, although sometimes I must sound like I do, but I really don't. A few years ago, going to university would have been a dream come true but then 'growing up' over the last few years has changed my perspective on things. It would be great to have a degree to my name followed by BA Spanish and ..... but then I don't know... tengo una sensación desagradable.

Just out of interest, does anyone think I'm being irresponsible if I decide to go to Spain in a couple of years?

[Ben]

No, not me. How about the Erasmus option though? You do those couple of years in the UK now at Uni, then 1 whole year in Spain, then only another 9 months in the UK to finish off the degree, then back to Spain?

[Nic]

No, not me. How about the Erasmus option though? You do those couple of years in the UK now at Uni, then 1 whole year in Spain, then only another 9 months in the UK to finish off the degree, then back to Spain?

Thanks.

Most universities offer the year abroad in Spain which I would do in my second or third year and then return to England to finish off the degree. Its in the year abroad where you either go for the Erasmus option or go through the British Council (to be a language assistant). So if I do go to university then that's what I'll be doing.

I know this sounds bad but I just don't want to upset anyone in my family and friends etc. I don't want to feel like I'm letting them down.

[richardksa]

I know that there are quite a few things that you learn at university (such as critical thinking, life skills etc) that I probably will not learn any where else ...

Mark Twain remarked that he never let his schooling get in the way of his education. There are plenty of places to learn critical thinking and life skills and the best place in the University of Hard Knocks. You get lessons you never forget.

I know this sounds bad but I just don't want to upset anyone in my family and friends etc. I don't want to feel like I'm letting them down.

Don't go living your life by what others think. The only person you will let down is yourself. Cutting apron strings works two ways!

An education is a good foundation for life and those bit of paper that prove you have learned something are quite useful at first, but soon become obsolete and experience is what employers look for. Do what you want to do and do it your way. (Sounds like a cue for a song!)

I had two trainees once. One came up the hard way, the other had the best education money could buy and a fine degree. After a month I let the latter go. The former worked his way up and now runs operations in the United Arab Emirates. (His mother wanted him to get a steady job in a bank!)

[Nic]

Thanks for the advice ;D

Mark Twain remarked that he never let his schooling get in the way of his education. There are plenty of places to learn critical thinking and life skills and the best place in the University of Hard Knocks. You get lessons you never forget.

Yeah I guess you're right, and so is Mark Twain, that the University of Hard Knocks will deal me enough lessons through the course of life so I'm not going to loose anything by not going.

Don't go living your life by what others think. The only person you will let down is yourself. Cutting apron strings works two ways!

Again, I agree because the way I see it people should be happy that I'm living my dream or at least trying to and not angry because I'm not doing what they want me to do. But then I understand that they just want the best for me.

And as for the two trainees you had.. wow.. that's an amazing story. I guess it shows that you don't have to have the best education or the highest qualifications to go far.

Its not that I'm afraid to put the hard work in that you have to do to go to university but I just don't think its what I want and at the end of the day shouldn't what I want be my priority? :confused:

[Ashley]

If you end up working for a few years and realize that the jobs you want require a degree, well, then having worked for a few years in Spain will make you a much more interesting applicant for a lot of universities. I think having a degree opens up a lot of doors, regardless of what you do a degree in. Morgan Stanley might hire a lot of people with Economics degrees, but they also recruit people with engineering, english, history degrees. In fact, I was just told by my careers advisor that 50-60% of graduate jobs are totally unrelated to degree subject.

You're the one who has to live with these choices, so be sure that whatever decision you make is your own. I turned down the university my dad went to (and a great uni it is, too) to move 5000 miles from home at 18. While my parents knew I'd applied overseas and we'd even visited, it was still a big adjustment for everyone when I announced at dinner that I'd accepted a place on a 5 year degree in Scotland. I didn't even make my decision because I knew it was 100% right for me but I knew I'd always regret it if I turned down the chance. Home is always there but opportunities abroad aren't!

[Brian]

I think having a degree opens up a lot of doors, regardless of what you do a degree in.


Definitely, a bachelor's degree helps.


I turned down the university my dad went to (and a great uni it is, too)


Vanderbilt?


Home is always there but opportunities abroad aren't!

Excellent point.

[Ashley]

Vanderbilt?


nope, Dartmouth. I didn't apply to college anywhere within a 3 hour flight of Nashville, so maybe it wasn't such a shock to my family when I chose St Andrews.

Vanderbilt is a great uni, though when I worked there I got dirty looks for always wearing my UT t-shirts.

[Brian]

nope, Dartmouth. I didn't apply to college anywhere within a 3 hour flight of Nashville, so maybe it wasn't such a shock to my family when I chose St Andrews.

Vanderbilt is a great uni, though when I worked there I got dirty looks for always wearing my UT t-shirts.

Lol. Being from Kentucky, I can understand that completely.

[Nic]

Thanks for your advice :D

If you end up working for a few years and realize that the jobs you want require a degree, well, then having worked for a few years in Spain will make you a much more interesting applicant for a lot of universities.

I was actually thinking the very same the other day. I mean there is nothing to stop me from going to Spain and if, after working there for a while, I decide that I want to get my degree then there is nothing really stopping me from doing it. I mean universities offer lots of courses for 'mature students' and I also found out the other day that you can apply for a student loan up to the age of 54!! I was shocked, I thought it would be about 25 or something... obviously I was wrong.. which I am pleased about. ;D

I knew I'd always regret it if I turned down the chance.

I know that its a great opportunity but I just don't think its the right thing for me. If it turns out that I'm wrong... then I guess I can always fall back on my "Plan B" (well Plans B, C, D... there are several lol) and I can at least say that I tried to live out my dream.

Thanks again for the advice, I really appreciate it.

[Nic]

Well, after all that thinking I think I have finally made a decision about what I am going to do.

Drum roll please......

I am moving next summer!!!!

Its been both a hard and easy decision to make. Hard because my family are really against it but easy because it really is what I want.

I will be moving in about june/july time once the exams are over with and I will be moving with a friend from my spanish class. Right now we are looking into the prices of renting and finiding jobs over there. Does anyone have any ideas on this?

We've decided that at first we're not too bothered where we live so long as we can afford to live and find work.

Thanks again for all your help!

[Ben]

Great! Well done!

Where to live depends a bit on what kind of work you want. Will you start with looking for seasonal work in a resort (in which case the Costas or the islands would be best), or will you want to move straight to a big city where you can try to get involved in something a bit more permanent? (In which case the safest bet is Madrid or Barcelona)...

[Nic]

Me and my friend are a bit... seperated... on this topic. I would love to go straight to a city and find something a bit more permenant but she would rather live by the sea and the beaches.

What I think will probably end up happening is living somewhere costal at first, to find a job and get ourselves settled into the Spanish way of life and then after we've established ourselves, and the seasons over with, move to a city where we can find more permenant work.

This feeling of making such a big decision in my life has brought about a mixture of feelings too. Its like being really excited, impatient and terrified all at the same time.

[Ben]

Barcelona has sea and city! Or you could start down the road in a resort like Salou or Sitges, then head to Barcelona.

[Nic]

Sounds good. Thanks!!! How easy do you think it'll be to find work? Are there plenty of jobs available? We both speak Spanish to A Level standard and are obviously fluent in English.

I was also thinking about possibly suplimenting my income with teaching Spanish to ex-pats or teaching English in private lessons. Would this be successful over there?

[Marina]

You can for sure find work as an English teacher, in this case private lessons pay more but they also tend to be more irregular.

[Nic]

Thanks for the advice :) I'm terrified but absolutly can't wait at the same time. I just keeping thinking "This time next year....."