I tutor maths.
I was working part-time when I started but I quit because the workload was too much.
Now I just study, tutor, and secretly work on my dream of becoming a professional writer. Life is alright for now.
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I tutor maths.
I was working part-time when I started but I quit because the workload was too much.
Now I just study, tutor, and secretly work on my dream of becoming a professional writer. Life is alright for now.
I'm also 23 and haven't got the life experience, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but...
No way is it too late to start studying. * what society says about when you have to start a career, there's no rush whatsoever. Sure, financial security etc is important for the future, but it's more important to not forget to live your life to the fullest, because you'll never get your 20s again. If you really want to study journalism, just do it. Even if you were 27 I'd give the same advice. Pretty sure the process wouldn't be too difficult to get in somewhere, your ATAR doesn't really affect things a few years down the track (not 100% sure on this though).
With regards to the living out of home whilst at uni full time thing, I do that now (and my rent isn't cheap by any stretch) and survive fine. Not saving much but I don't care, I'm willing to pay for a sense of independence. Like you I was desperate to move out of home and did it. Haven't looked back since, I'm a much happier person now.
Hope that doesn't sound too much like a cliche 'follow your passion' speech, but yeah, follow your passion. It seems like you have a vision about what you want for yourself, which is great. It might not happen all at once or even very quickly at all, but chip away and you will get there.
TheFreshBanana
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Why not start off studying part time, work part time and see how you go?
As for doing it all with depression, everyone is different but I've been struggling with it all for 4 years now trying to maintain uni etc and I'm just doing part time now (and still struggle).
Thing is, anxiety is very much linked to depression and it just takes one slip up for it all to unravel and everything from uni, work, depression, anxiety, life to start piling on and on.
Have you done uni before? It's not easy being diligent to study hard, as that's the hardest part of uni: having the diligence to actually do the work as most of it will be done at home.
You already described yourself as lazy and a bit of a night owl, which I can unfortunately relate to.
This isn't me discouraging you, but I feel like I need to add some reality to the situation.
I think you should definitely strive for your dream in journalism. What's the point of living if you don't do what you want to do?
But I think you should realise that there'll be a s**t tonne of sacrifices ahead of you, particularly if you are coming from living by yourself and in the means of a lavish lifestyle.
Don't worry about being a mature age student, not that 24 is mature age. There are so many at uni it's not out of place.
And even if it was, who gives a *?
TheFreshBanana
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What sort of thing are you writing?
I don't know how you can earn so much and be so blase with money.
I earn about half as much as you and I am putting away 2k a month.
Save your money as much as you can, use your parents as a support, they will help you when things are tough (work, personal life etc). If you're not happy at your job there is no point staying there.
You need to identify between wants and needs and not throw money away on garbage.
Papa Juggs
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I'm interested to know what sort of lifestyle you actually live that requires such a high upkeep cost Rough_Edges.
Are you snorting coke? Are you living out that Katy Perry song and spending the rent money on bottle service?
There's no point in telling you to quit your job if you're really dependent on the income.
Are you snorting coke? Are you living out that Katy Perry song and spending the rent money on bottle service?
There's no point in telling you to quit your job if you're really dependent on the income.
This is important. As someone who's had his own ups and downs with anxiety/depression I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping up to date with your coursework. If it starts to pile up then it makes things 100x worse. And it's not like school where you've got teachers kicking your arse and chasing you up for late work, you're all on your own.
I try and use it to my advantage. By throwing myself into my work I distract myself from all the other bullshit going on in my head. It takes some practice but it can be done. Be disciplined but don't be too hard on yourself.
gaskin
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Plenty of people do it. You can get a living away from home allowance from Centerlink and then combine that with whatever you make from your job. Just try to be a bit smarter about your money. I still live at home so I'm not the best person to give advice on the subject though.
I'll preface this by saying I have no idea what people with depression go through. However, I reckon it'll come down to how you manage your time. As a procrastinator who leaves everything to the last minute I can tell you it's pretty stressful trying to get everything finished. You do get plenty of time to work on assignments and also generally lecturers are pretty helpful when you are having problems so if it does start to get a bit much just talk to them about an extension. Exam time can be really stressful but as long as you prepare well you should be fine.
tl;dr: Manage your time well and you should be fine.
The thing I always tell people thinking of going to Uni is to make sure it (both Uni and the course) is something you really want to do. Otherwise you are wasting your time and gaining a HECS debt at the same time. Having said that, the 1st year isn't overly difficult or time consuming compared to later years so you can always give it a go for a year or even just a semester to see if you can do it.
Go for it mate. I'm 23 as well (in 3 weeks anyway) and I'm in the 2nd year of my degree. It's a great lifestyle for a young person (most of the time anyway). You'll be surprised how many people in their late 20s, 30s and 40s are studying full time while juggling work and family so 23 is by no means too late to start.
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Conversely I have no idea how people live on such little money.
Living within ones means is something I've never grasped and every pay cycle (get paid wed, fortnightly) for that mon/tues im using golds/silvers to buy lunch
something i need to get better at
Are you eating out a lot?
Upping your cooking at home skills will save you a fair bit of coin in the long run.
If you can good write well then you'll do better than most people I've encountered in my one and a half semesters doing journalism. One thing though, you say that you're unengaged with work and you think that's a problem - well writing news and thinking of opinion pieces really requires you to be active. On one hand that's good, you know when you're writing it'll be because its on your own accord, but on the other hand, you could lose motivation easily or have no ideas about what to write about. Do you do any writing right now?
Don't be scared off by any ATAR requirements, the only one that required a 90 was RMIT IIRC from my applications last year. But I'm not entirely sure how it works if you're a few years out from high school.
TheFreshBanana
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This guy knows what he's talking about
THATS THE JO-This guy knows what he's talking about
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I buy my lunch everyday and this costs me a lot. Tried a few times to make own lunch but end up getting over it.
I smoke as well.
Other than that I dint do anything to extravagant, go out usually once on the weekend and spend $200-$400
Something I really need to work on though, sick of always being broke when my mates who are apprentices always got cash
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I see a lot of music as well
Often mid-week
That's adds up
Often mid-week
That's adds up
I don't think I live on little money. About $600-$700 to last me a fortnight.
There's your problem, stop buying lunch. Bring it from home and you'll see how much you can save.
I go out for food a lot, but not at work. I bring lunch from home 99% of the time. Buying lunch every day is simply too expensive and it adds up.
This reminds me, sorry to hijack but do employers consider a degree/diploma from these online universities to be on par with a degree from an actual uni?
I used to write in my spare time too. Great release.
TheFreshBanana
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What would you write?
erotic fan fiction
TheFreshBanana
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If it's about bigfooty members members then i demand 5%
Papa Juggs
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Ok Rough_Edges you're not ready to quit your job.
I did the same thing in my early 20s. I had a decent job, not full time but got enough hours to make a decent wage and while living at home most of it was disposable. Eating out $15 a day, going out on the weekends whenever I liked. Gambling like a pro (not that I was a loser most of the time), spending lots on smoking weed (expensive in Darwin) and just generally blowing whatever was left on clothes, computer parts, books and DVDs.
Now I'm living on rice and potatoes, my computer barely if ever gets upgraded, I don't smoke or drink and I never risk my money on the punt. I don't read many books but those I do have I found in 2nd hand places for cheap. I never buy DVDs I just download stuff. Trying to learn some stuff and get some qualifications right now.
Things you need to do.
Learn how to eat cheaply.
Quit smoking.
Stop going out on the town.
Sounds boring? Then you're not ready so keep doing what you're doing until you are.
I did the same thing in my early 20s. I had a decent job, not full time but got enough hours to make a decent wage and while living at home most of it was disposable. Eating out $15 a day, going out on the weekends whenever I liked. Gambling like a pro (not that I was a loser most of the time), spending lots on smoking weed (expensive in Darwin) and just generally blowing whatever was left on clothes, computer parts, books and DVDs.
Now I'm living on rice and potatoes, my computer barely if ever gets upgraded, I don't smoke or drink and I never risk my money on the punt. I don't read many books but those I do have I found in 2nd hand places for cheap. I never buy DVDs I just download stuff. Trying to learn some stuff and get some qualifications right now.
Things you need to do.
Learn how to eat cheaply.
Quit smoking.
Stop going out on the town.
Sounds boring? Then you're not ready so keep doing what you're doing until you are.
But then he'd have no life, only existing to make money from a job he's apathetic towards
I would write about issues going on in my friends lives.
I think telling him to stop going out is wrong, nothing wrong with going out, just need to be sensible about it.
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