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Passion VS Reality

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Marbig

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Hey guys,
For those who have seen my posts, you will know that I'm only 18 right now. I am also finalising my university/college choices at the moment.

Being my age and having little experience in the 'real world' (the most I've done is part time work so far), I would like some advice from my more senior peers (AKA YOU) about my subject choices and whatnot.

Okay, so here we go.

I have two routes I could follow: business (commerce) or arts.

Business​

Pros:
-I have investment bankers, stock brokers, CEOs in my family. They already said I would get a job no matter what should I finish my degree.

- Expected starting salary is between 35k- 55k (depending on what grades I graduate with). If I managed to become chartered, I could be earning 70k+ before I turn 25.

- Office environment should be comfortable to work in.

Cons:
- My course is very maths heavy. While I did okay in mathematics back in high school, I never had any interest in the actual material whatsoever.

- The uni I'm going to is 3rd in the state for commerce/business subjects- in particular accounting (which I'll maybe do). That all sounds great...except none of my friends are going there and its like one or two hours from the CBD/city centre. Its also like two hours from my current home and I don't have enough $$$ to move out.

Arts​

Pros:
- I love arts- especially philosphy, performance studies etc. Strangely, I do better at mathematics (probably because I'm asian :icon_chee) than arts-related subjects in high school but there's no denying that I like the latter more.

- The uni I'm going to for arts is the best in the state. It also has some of the best sporting facilities and extra curricular activities (debating club, boxing club, even chocolate society etc)

- My gf/all my friends are going to the very same uni. The uni is also right next to where I work as a pt waiter now and near my home.

- If I don't like it, and if I do well enough, I could do an internal transition into something like pyschology or commerce after a year.

Cons:
- Arts is called the 'toilet paper' of degrees here in Australia for a reason. Starting salary is barely 30k. No job garuntee.

Help guys?
 
Last edited:
Is chocolate society what I think it is?
 
I took an arts degree and I would recommend against it unless you enjoy massive debt and little employment opportunities.

Unless your dream is to be a professor then don't bother getting an arts degree.

I would recommend taking business or something practical and study philosophy on your own time. There is enough resources on the internet that you will likely get a better education studying on your own than what your Profs can give youanyway.

Summary:
Take the practical route and study philosophy or whatever arts related discipline on your own time.

I have typed this today but I think its a good quote: "Do what you must so you can do what you want"
 
Business. You can do a ton more with the degree and make more money. If you don't like your job with a business degree, there are plenty more. If you don't like your job with arts degree, you're pretty much stuck.
 
Atheist said:
I took an arts degree and I would recommend against it unless you enjoy massive debt and little employment opportunities.

Unless your dream is to be a professor then don't bother getting an arts degree.

I would recommend taking business or something practical and study philosophy on your own time. There is enough resources on the internet that you will likely get a better education studying on your own than what you Prof can give you.

Summary:
Take the practical route and study philosophy or whatever arts related discipline on your own time.

I have typed this today but I think its a good quote: "Do what you must so you can do what you want"
Click to expand...

Solid advice. I do as much networking as possible. However, as a Finance major, I'd kill to have those type of connections.
 
I have an Bachelor of Arts in Music , I am currently a Warehouse Manager / Fork Lift driver and have been for about the last 5 years

That should explain a few things about art degrees

I am from Sydney as well
 
If you don't know, take some time before deciding. There's so much to do in the world, the fact that you're not sure would be a huge warning against diving into either.
 
I think you should try to make it on your own for a couple years. Get a shitty job (pick a really shitty one--shittiest one you can find), and just soak up that experience for a while.

You see...right now you aren't hungry. Giving you the task of deciding what to do with your life is like giving the task of defeating Anderson Silva to some guy who saw UFC once and thought it was "pretty kewl". You need to eat a mountain of shit, on your own, without mom and pops helping, to understand what a college opportunity means--and if following your passion, even if it means staying in the "shit world" I just described, is really going to be worth it.

Live in the shit world, brother. That's my advice.
 
DoctorGonzo said:
I have an Bachelor of Arts in Music , I am currently a Warehouse Manager / Fork Lift driver and have been for about the last 5 years

That should explain a few things about art degrees

I am from Sydney as well
Click to expand...

Oh ouch!

What did you major in and where?

My options are (since you're also from Sydney so you'll understand): arts at usyd or commerce/applied finance (professional accounting) at macquarie.
 
I should also add that I have found out that there is nothing more hilarious to many people than a 30 year old man with a philosophy degree.

It seems like the older I get the more tragically hilarious my degree becomes.
 
Marbig said:
Oh ouch!

What did you major in and where?

My options are (since you're also from Sydney so you'll understand): arts at usyd or commerce/applied finance (professional accounting) at macquarie.
Click to expand...

Ha ha! Not as bad as it sounds, I get paid well at my current job and it's not too far from home

I did it at a private college - JMC Academy. It was a 3 year course that was done at a campus in Surry Hills. Technically I was doing a UNE (University of New England) course just via "Correspondence" at the JMC campus, they work together with the Uni. I think the major was something like "Popular Music and Performance". Once you finish that course you mainly do a Diploma in Education course that goes for a year and then you are a fully qualified Music Teacher.

That was my original plan but I got sick of studying and couldn't bring myself to do another year of Uni so I bailed and ended up working as a kitchen hand for awhile and then got the job where I currently am

I have thought about going back and finishing my course but I don't fancy taking a massive pay cut and dealing with little shits everyday at this point in time. I have grown used to my life style

6 weeks of holidays a year would be awesome though

I actually work just around the corner from Mac Uni

Even though it cost me a lot of money ( I screwed up some HECS forms and had to pay the Uni straight up for a few semesters in the final year), I dont regret doing my music course at all, I learned so much, met so many awesome people from around the world and generally had a blast :icon_chee

If you are looking for stability, I would look into your Accounting degree though
 
So an arts degree is more for learning?

Do you know how hard it will be to transfer internally?

Btw thanks for the replies guys.
 
Sounds like a choice between spending 4 years making a sound investment in your future or spending 4 years having a good time. I'd go with the former obviously.
 
Atheist said:
I should also add that I have found out that there is nothing more hilarious to many people than a 30 year old man with a philosophy degree.

It seems like the older I get the more tragically hilarious my degree becomes.
Click to expand...

I'm thirty, I have a philosophy degree, but my diploma says Finance because they only let you put one major on it. I rarely tell anyone that I spent half my intellectual time in college on Foucault and Schopenhauer.

...And TS, you are in a rare spot where you can probably dick around for four years and still get a cushy job due to nepotism.
 
This sounds incredibly cliche but think about yur future. The two choices you outlined have very different long term possibilities. The business degree gives you a good chance at a stable future. The arts degree is merely convenient and is about as useful as a wad of toilet paper once everything is said and done.

Seems like a rather clear choice unless you're a complete fool.
 
Started off in a similar position. Had some good family connections in business so started off with accounting. After 3 semesters I dropped it, couldn't stand it anymore. Was boring as all fuck and the work experience over summer made me want to jump out of the 17th story floor I was in. The stereotype about accountants is true.

Changed to exercise physiology and haven't looked back. You've just gotta find what you like doing and go after it, the rest will fall into place.

The only time an Arts degree might prove useful is if you move into a field that requires you to have a degree under your belt - military and government are two that come to mind, though Coles is now offering a program to graduates to fast track them into store managers.

Internal transfers within the faculty are easy, cross faculty transfer requires you to submit an application. In QLD I had to go through QTAC, not sure what the NSW equivalent is.
 
I'm 25, Australian and majored in philosophy. Really enjoyed it, and still read all sorts of books on the subject in my spare time. It's a lifelong pursuit and something I find pretty fulfilling, even though I wasn't the greatest student.

Work wise, I've been employed since I was 18 - all government jobs. The place I'm working at the moment pays between 35 - 50 an hour, depending on what time of day I work. With that said, I'm surrounded by all sorts of people - from those that barely finished high school, to those with their masters so in this instance there's not much of a correlation between education and getting the job. But I've always found it easy finding work with the government.

I've never looked for employment in the private sector, so if I were to try and find a job there perhaps I'd find out how useless my degree was. And maybe I'll find myself hitting the wall without a clear career path. But I think if you're personable and can write well at the moment being Australian we're in a very luxurious position when it comes to finding work - you aren't going to to hungry.

My advice would just try to be honest with your strengths and weaknesses, and try to do something that you're good at. This may not apply everywhere, but just being Australian is such a huge advantage - and from my experience so far, you have the huge luxury of being able to pursue something you enjoy & are good at without majorly risking unemployment. That's something not many people have. Take that with a grain of salt, but it's been my experience so far.
 
Business opens you up to a lot more career paths. I would encourage accounting most of all but that isn't for everyone.
 
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