Catch-Up!

I can't quite believe I've been back in the real world for almost 4 years.  So much has happened, I've been excited about things made brave and stupid decisions, moved out, moved back, moved out and moved back in with the parents again.   In short the past 4 years has been a blast... but I've realised a few things.

I may have THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD!  I love the team and the people I work with.  However, way back in 2009 when I was so excited about having a job I took the easy option.  I'd gone to university back in 2006 to escape the world of administration and for reason's semi-unbeknown to me I didn't follow the travel dream, I got my job in administration back in 2009 and almost 4 years later I'm still there.  9th November 2009 I began work with the Ambulance Service, and frankly, in terms of my travel dreams I've rarely looked back. In fact, in terms of any other dreams I've rarely looked back.... I am however ready for new adventures.  I want to leave the land of Norfolk and live elsewhere.  I want a proper career, that isn't simply doing the groundwork.  I want something meaningful, something with responsibility, blimey I even want more responsibility, and to manage people.  Basically, just like in 2005/6 when I started on my first university plight, I don't want to be an administrator for the rest of my life.

And I should have written befoe now and fully documented my journey.  I've apparently got some catching up and some filling in to do.  This time last year I began my second Access to Higher Education Course (my first was in 2005/6).  This time round it was a Science Pathway, rather than Humanities to take me on a different pathway.   It's now complete. 

I've decided to go for Speech and Language Therapy.  Losely related to my degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, I stand by my initial principles.  I want to work with people.  I want to suport people. I want to help people realise their potential.  I want to help people enjoy communicating.  The difference?  I do not want to be a teacher.  I do want to stay working in the NHS.  And the funny thing is - the reason I want to stay in the NHS is because my sensible head says I'm paying into a pension now, and I've got to keep paying into it as long as possible.  Because I work hard now, I want to continue to work hard and I want to reap the benefits when I am at retirement age, whatever that may be in the future.

After 4 years in the real work you might say I'd grown up a bit.  Really I haven't done much of that.  You see I am eligible for a bursary - this will be my second degree - and so I am not entitled to a loan.  The bursay is approx. £2,000 a year.  Otherwise known as about £160 a month or so.  I currently earn £1,200 a month or so.  I will still have most of the overheads I have now.  So I got a second job.  A well paid second job.  I am now a children's entertainer at the weekends, and really I should now be saving for university.  But suddenly for the first time ever I have disposable income.  So guess what?  I'm living to it and spending it.  I'm hoping it'll all be out of my system in a few short weeks....but we will see!

Anyways i'll write another update in a day or two, perhas after the weekend, when I've earned those extra pennies and got it spent already.  I want to update you fully with all the shenanigans and all my plans over the coming months....because although I'm still living in the real world I am the worlds biggest day-dreamer, and I love it!!

I've got the employability factor

My goodness me, they want me. I have got a jobby. A jobby. A jobby.

It's such an injection into my life to actually have one. I'm amazed that I do.

It's such an amazing feeling getting a job. It just gives me a reason to get out of my pjamas and sing and dance and do a jog or two or three....

wow wow wow

I'm not sure what else to say on the subject at the moment....I'm so excited and I just can't hide it, la la la la la......

Yadda yadda yadda bla bla bla....I'm off to calm myself down!!!!

I'm doomed!!

Ok, so I had my second interview at the Ambulance Trust this morning, and I actually don't think it went as well as the first one. which is a shame because I left the first with a really good feeling about things that I had said and had really hoped it was mine.

anyway, I went back today, and I've had this marvelous chance re-applying for a position that I wanted before, if you recall I spent a weekend getting excited about things I could do and doing a spot of dreaming, well this is the same job that I had an interview for at the end of August.

I'm just not convinced, and now it's the end of the day, and all I can do is wait.

Fingers and toes crossed at the ready!!

nursing

On Sunday a friend of mine from uni called. We had a good little catch up, and she introduced me to something I'd never even thought about before. Nursing.

So all week I've been putting the wheels in motion. I've looked at different universities, different study options, looked at the whole degree -v- diploma debates online. I've also had a look on NHS jobs and seen what options are available to me once I'm a registered nurse. I couldn't believe just how many areas theer are to go into. So I have decided that I'm going to go for it. I've got my UCAS form filled in, and sent my application off today, and it's the first time in weeks that I've felt rather happy.

Of course I may change my mind between now and September, it's a long way off. I may find a job and really like it, but I have opened a door I never even thought about. The more I've looked into it this week the more I want to go for it. So I have applied to 5 universities, and just have to hope that one of them will take me on. I've applied to DMU, UEA, Southampton, Nottingham and Manchester. I was going to apply for UCS too, but I only got 5 options, and one of the others just pipped it to the post. It's the element of being able to move away again that got me. I'm thinking i'll go for either Southampton or Nottingham at the moment, but we'll see. I've got fingers crossed that the door is open on that path.

I have an interview on Monday for a job that sounded really good last time I had an interview for it. I hope they are keen on me. They must be, I've been there before not so long ago. The one at the Ambulance Service Trust. I got feedback from the last one, I've read the job discription a fair few times, I've looked on the NHS site, and Ambulance trust site, and read over stuff, so I'm just hoping it doesn't jump out my brain in the interview.

I do really want the job. It sounded ace last time, and I think I'd be really good at it. It would be a nice challenge, and I like challenges. So in that case, wish me luck for Monday. It may go well, it may not, but I hope it does. Just relax relax relax.

My sieve brain should be blocked up I think...just for a day. Asking me about me and things I've done isn't a problem. But asking me information about something i've read, Unless I've jotted it down and can read my notes there and then, the likely hood is that it'll not be there. I tend to retain information if I've heard it rather than if I've read it. I don't get why that is.

So yes, nursing is possibally my new venture. I wont start until September, many have intakes in Jan/Feb/March, but I'd like to work for a while and save up the pennies.

The course sounds interesting and active. Theres a lot of practical stuff, following a nurse around and things. I think I need an involved in depth course that's going to challenge me. Last time I was at uni I lost motivation really quickly. Not only did I not really like the course, I also only had 8 hours a week tuition, and didn't ever to seem to have loads of work to do. Shame really, but I really regret doing things the way I did. I don;t think I did the uni thing properly. Lets face it I spent morer time in Thetford than I did in Leicester, and this did really have a huge impact on my studies. So I'm going to do it again, I'm going to work harder, and depending how things go, I'll either do the diploma or switch to the degree in the last year if I am given the option.

I'd like to work in a fertility clinic. I don't know anyone affected by fertility problems, but i did donate my eggs last year, and the whole process was fascinating to me. I think it mst be such an interesting area to go into. So that's my plan. I may need to do some more general nursing for a couple of years before hand, but it'll get me where I want to go. There is of course also the scope to go overseas. i'd love to be able to make a life for myself elsewhere. I think a change, a broadening of horizons maybe....I don't know.

But yes, a bit of positivity has come from me at last!!

life back at home

Ok, so I've been back at home a week. I'm not enjoying it one bit. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, but I'm just not a particularly family orientatted person. To be fair none of my family are. We are all sort of 4 completely different people all stuck under one roof.

I want to be left alone to do my own thing. Yet all week, every 5 minutes my mum has felt the need to check up on me and ask me what i'm doing, even though I've done nothing. Nothing all week. I've got no money, no friends, I'm bored out of mind, and therefore lack motivation to even do simple things like make-up and think what to wear for the day. If you know me, you'll know i like to mke an effort, but I've hardly bothered this week. My mood has gone from bad to worse. A friend of mine has dumped me, and that just makes me feel used and useless, because for a change I couldn't help her out. In fact, she is my only realy friend, and I'm gutted. It's taken over my week in a huge way, and I just don't know how I'm going to deal with being a complete loner. That makes me sound really tragic I know. I'm not, I've just lost my love for life. I've always generally been rather happy go lucky, so teh fact that it's gone means that, even if I don't like to think it, I'm taking this all pretty badly.

Nevermind, I have an interview on 26th October, and one on 4th Novemeber. I may have mentioed before that I have a casual job, and i'm going to do a shift tomorrow morning. It's only an hour and a half, it wont cover the petrol costs to get there, but I don't think I can sit wallowing in self-pity any longer than i have already. Perhaps if I start doing this again it will make me feel better and give me some motivation.

I know it will be fine once I eventually get a job, and things will be easier just as soon as I do and I'm out of the house for most of the day....

Oh, my brother has a job now too. He's going to work at Curry's, starts Monday evening. My 16 years old brother has got a job before me, his 24 year old sister, with a degree. Mind you, degrees don't really count for anything thses days do they?

lets go to the fair

Ok, so yesterday....well it was interesting in a sense, but I'm still no further forward with careers and things.

I didn't really get to speak to too many recruiters yesterday, to be fair I was knackered and fed up by time i got in the place. I'd already been in London on my own for 4 hours before it opened. In heels that I don't usually wear, just because that way it looks smart. They did say to look smart as if you were going for an interview. I wish I hadn't. If it wasn't for the feet I might be alright. But yes I'd had only a couple of hours sleep, i'd been in London for 4 hours on my own, and I wasn't having fun.

Then to op it all off, there were hundreds of people floating around like monkeys trying to get to their preferred perspective employer. I was pounced on straight away by some acounting fellow. Asking if I was interested in accounts, I was infact looking for something else.

He asked about UCAs points, and then it dawned on me. Most of these companies that recruit graduates for graduate posts have a whole hoast of requirements, going right back to GCSE's I generally meet GCSE requirements anywhere because I did alright. But then they ask about A Levels and UCAS points. Well, I didn't do A Levels, and I don't have any UCAS points. I did an Access to HE course at West Suffolk College, and whilst that is fine for getting into uni, it dosen't seem to fulfil the requirements of these employers. It's ok, a couple of the employers were as clueless as me.

Then there's the degree aspect. I only got a 2:2. I was only a couple of percent off a 2:1 and it was probably all down to one assignment. Had it not been for that assignment i would have been up there in the 2:1 category, and be in a much better stead. There's only a couple of companies that interested me today, and they both have requirements of a minimum of a 2:1. RUBBISH!!

So if I go to another one of these things, I'll not wear heels. FACT! I'll attempt to find out about things I'd like to do. BUT I DON'T KNOW!!

There must be a whole vast array of careers out there, so how can not one appeal to me? I just want to make things look pretty. Floristry perhaps? But that's more of a seasonal job I think. And it's not a career as such. Maybe I am frustrated because I need a hobby? Maybe if I was sat at home making things look pretty, I'd get past that creativity part, and work out something that I myself would like to do other than create.

Problem being, hobbies cost money, and of that I have none. Not really helping much is it.

I actually feel like I am completely stuck now in a huge massive rut that I'm never going to get out of. I'm not liking it one bit.

Back to mum and dads tomorrow though....we'll see what happens once I am home.

graduate recruitment fair

There's not really been anything news worthy in the last couple of weeks. I've not got a job yet, I'm still on jobseekers. I have negotiated a room back at mum and dads house and move back home on Sunday. It's going to be difficult, but at least I'll not have rent and things looming over me, when I can't afford to do anything anyway. Deep joy of joys. I'm looking forward to seeing Lola though. She may be a dog, but she's an amzing little thing, she's just cute, fluffy and has a hilarious personality.

Aside from that, tomorrow i am going to London. I'm off to Olympia 2 for a graduate recruitment fair. I've not had any luck this direction, so London and graduate jobs are my next thing. I've got no idea what happens at these things, I've never been to one. It would probably help if I had an inkling of what I am looking for, but I actually don't have a clue. Not an inkling not in the slightest faintest or anything else. So it could be good or it could be awful.

That's the trouble, through school, through college and through university, there doesn't seem to be anyone readily available to suggest what careers you may like, what's involved in said careers and what you need to do to get into those careers. I'm toying with the idea of recruitment consulting at the moment. Money is pretty good, and you can earn commission too, so even if I went to work in London there wouldn't be a problem on the money front.

Trouble is, I wouldn't call myself ruthless. i think to be doing something salesy you need to have a degree of ruthlessness in you to suceed. I would say I'm a bit of a pushover in that sense. But then I've never really had an opportunity where I've needed to be like that. so perhaps if the opportnity arose and I had to be I could do that. I'm sure you get a flair for it once you've been doing it for quite some time.

Anyway, we'll see what comes up tomorrow, and if there are grand plans for the future.