Education

[jackie87]

I have noticed that relatively very few of my gay friends have a tertiary education, makes me feel alone even though at my art school there is about 7 other gay guys (half I can't stand) but we have in excess of 20 lesbians, and I'm wondering that many gay guys have a higher dropout rate than most girls?

So, how well did you go in school?

and did you choose to go to university or not ?

[drmoreau]

I'm at university now...
This place seem to be crawling with gay guys attempting tertiary education. They're not always the stereotypical 'flamboyant' types though.

[Cheetah77]

Just HSC for me Jackie... I was going to do the Uni thing but I didn't get into my top 2 and I didn't want to settle for what I was given so I decided not to go at all...

So glad for it too! Hated Highschool and would have hated and resented paying for more of the same! As it's turned out, I've worked my way up the food chain in the corporate world and it goes to show that the piece of paper really doesn't mean too much at all!

[Mr J]

Well I completed highschool last year ... yay. Got a crap op score ... still good enough for the local uni ... go USC! so I went there to study counselling and have got Distinctions for two of my three courses (got a credit for history). And I will be changing to a psych degree next year (when they get it in) and will spend the next 4 years of my life becoming a psychologist. Yay me! But its something I want to do (I always wanted to work with people). Uni's a lot better then highschool!

As for other homosexuals at my uni ... well the QC's last meeting had 8 people. So its not that active ... but it is growing ... slowly.

[avoninski]

Maybe I'm bucking the trend here....

I've attended 4 universities and have a Masters in Law. I flirt with the idea of a PhD, but can't be bothered to spend that much time on one project. My hair is a big enough project as it is...

My gay friends are spread across the entire spectrum of education, from HS dropouts, to Cambridge Univ grads, so I think it depends on alot of factors....

[jackie87]

I hated high school, and didn't do spectacularly but now that I am in university I am paying for my own future and actually want to learn unlike when all that happened in high school was being outcasted because I was musical.

[avoninski]

Do you mean musical as in hand under the arm-pit musical? Or instrument playing musical?

[pinkyboisyd]

Hey Jackie - i finished my HSC and qualified for heaps of universities - but i preferred to work...

I started out with a couple of jobs that i really hated i.e. waiter, retail manager, call centre, telemarketer (nothing against people who do these jobs....i just dont like them)...but now i have ajob that i love that pays really well...

I think it just depends what your employer is looking for.... when i look at my job details...it says i'm ment to have heaps of different qualifications but i don't have any of them.

[jackie87]

Musical meaning doing 3-Unit music and playing 7th grade AMEB flute for the HSC. I did the dreaded trifecta of Music, Drama and Visual Arts which of course scaled my marks down.

Pinky, thats quite true, because when you choose to become a student you always mostly have to get a part time or casual crappy job (like I do) job and all the HECS and drinks and everything piles up, so you're always broke all the time, plus I'm not entirely sure where my degree will take me so its always stressful if you choose wheter or not to get into university

[Tim D]

I went to uni, and really enjoyed it - but I must say I've learnt way more by doing things and just getting out there than you ever can in a classroom.

[Zakalwe]

I went to uni to study Computer Science because thats what the careers adviser told me to do when I said I wanted to work with computers. I absolutely hated it. I think I was probably too immature to understand the teaching concept of lectures and tutorials etc. Also lump on top of that the usual coming to terms with your sexuality issues, self esteem etc. And besides that it was terribly boring! ;)

I dropped out, got a job and went to TAFE part time. Where they had teachers who taught you, and they had actually worked in the IT industry and it was very practical. I did so much better in that environment.

After that its just been the usual IT vendor certification one week course then exam type thing.

[MelbLouie]

HSC but did 3 years or so with a tafe but had to drop out because at the time there were no support for the deaf students. In fact i had to started a legal action because of that and forced them to provide support for deaf students. The experience was so bad i didnt go back to TAFE for a while.

I plan to go back to study next year.

[DanM82]

I started to do uni. I combined degree of Bach Arts/Education (secondary). I made it through first year and in second added a Bach Perfoming Arts to my work load. Halfway through the year my partner demanded moving to Brisbane or it was over. Never again will I move for a man.

There are just as many gays who have finished studies as those who haven't. I do, though, plan to go back and study more in the future. I just want to set myself up financially to do so. I don't want to depend on anyone or need to have to struggle on centrelink. I, personally, tend to think this is the case for many.