Arts Advanced (2 Viewers)

[gloria*]

Money does, however, buy you the twenty years of over-priced therapy that can give you a pseudo-happiness like no other.

And generally this will be just as good, due to the state of denial and delusion your therapist will have talked you into.

And by then you will have only lost half your medical fortune. : )

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

Originally posted by melbournian
money doesn't buy happiness.

sure, but no money does not buy you happiness either

 

[...]

money can't buy everything

but without money...
u can't buy anything let alone happiness

 

[White Rabbit]

Originally posted by saladsurgery
..and don't worry about getting a job, do it if you want to. choosing a course becuase it's going to make you rich is like, the worst possible move ever. i have a friend who's doing medicine for that reason, and hating it.

How can you not worry about getting a job? The idea of Uni is is gain qualifications in order to move into the workforce.Sure, you pick something that interests you, and not a career that will land you the big money, but ultimatley your at Uni to get a job.

You need to worry about where your choosen degree will take you - unless your parents plan on supporting you for the next 20 years... How will you pay your way through post-grad study?

You reckon the doing a course just so you can make alot of money at the end is stupid, well, I reckon choosing a course because it simply interests you is a bit short-sighted. Your going to be in debt over it, of cause you want some kind of returns. You should choose a course that interests you and that provides some kind of stable employment following it. If your plan is to do post-grad work and become a lecturer/teacher then arts advanced probably is a good choice.

I just can't see how people are picking courses without thinking of where they'll be afterwards - you pick your career then your course, not the other way around..

 

[braindrainedAsh]

White rabbit, I would have to disagree. Myself for example... I want to work in the media industry. Doing what exactly? Maybe journalism, online media, media production.... I'm not entirely sure yet. Another career that I would like to work in would be publishing.... so I'm not sure about my career yet, so I'm choosing a degree related to those broad areas that I am interested in.

I think it is good to pick a course you will enjoy, because you will be successful at it, and hence have a good chance of finding a job related to this interest which you have a degree for.

Career prospects are important, but I think your likes and dislikes should be the main factors in picking a degree....

 

[spin spin sugar]

i totally agree, braindrainedash... NO ONE i know my age, with the except of maybe two, knows what they want to do. like, career-wise. choosing something that is interesting, for now, would be the wisest decision, because it's not like you couldn't transfer to some other course later on.

 

[White Rabbit]

I guess it comes down to personal opinion. I just reckon it's more important to have some idea of what you want to do once you finish the degree.

You see Ash, you know that you want to work in the media industry because it interests you and hence, choose a course that will get you there. Spin said she wanted to do post-grad work and possibly be a Uni Lecturer, and is picking a course that would set her in that direction.

I'm not saying that you need to know exaclty what you plan on doing when you graduate, but you need to have some direction, at least what industry you want to work in. I just don't see much point in doing a course just because it interests you if it isn't gonna get you into an industry that you want to work in. For example, I have an interest in Economics and was considering doing a degree in economics, preferably agricultural economics, but while I like it at school and have an interest that goes beyond the HSC in the subject, I couldn't see myself making economics a career. History was the same story.

But like I said, it comes down to personal choice. For me, I like the security of knowing that I will have a career as soon as I finish my degree, and knowing what it will be. (Nurses, especially in rural areas, have no problem finding jobs ). Of cause you need to enjoy tou chosen course to do well at it, I'd never dispute that, but it's also important (at least to me) to have some direction of where your chosen course will take you. Both of you have said you have a direction of where you plan for your course to take you.

But, each to their own.

And Spin, I know what I wanna do, and I know alot of people that are in the same position as me.. But then, I do know alot of people who don't, I guess...

 

[sif not 99]

i was considering and still am considering transfering into arts advanced next year and doing a Masters in Commerce, Finance or an MBA, it'd be a mad grounding and really interesting to....combine a love of learning in the arts with something else which I also find quite fascinating,

I dont think there is anything wrong with taking the american route, i.e. doing a broad generalist degree before going onto something more specialised as a post grad, in fact I think their system has many advantages.

 

[White Rabbit]

Oh yeah, for it has advantages, not denying that

I just worry about how much it would cost and how long i'd be at Uni for

 

[gloria*]

Originally posted by White Rabbit
I just worry about how much it would cost and how long i'd be at Uni for

-- I worry about this with all courses. I am going to be in so. much. debt., if I go to and complete uni. Ugh. I HATE Sydney Uni for the 30% increase in fee's -- in fact, I can't believe I haven't seen a thread on it, about how very bad they are. $$

 

[saladsurgery]

Originally posted by melbournian
...I am glad we have minor parties in the Senate (on this issue and only this issue).

oooh that's dodgy
but i don't have the effort for a political argument just now

 

[kini mini]

Originally posted by sif not 99

I dont think there is anything wrong with taking the american route, i.e. doing a broad generalist degree before going onto something more specialised as a post grad, in fact I think their system has many advantages.

Given more time and money (well, mostly a hell of a lot more money), I'd take the American route .

 

[sif not 99]

of course mate of course =)

 

[braindrainedAsh]

What's this about fees? Don't you just pay the HECS band for whatever course you are in?

 

[gloria*]

Yeah, while slowly going into debt the entire time.

Generally, the Gov has allowed educational institutions (ALL uni's) to increase fee's by up to 30% because of the fact that over the last decade 'public education' (yeah right) has become impossible to fund adequately-- resources, teachers, etc.

By ALLOWING sydney uni to increase all fee's to such an extent, the Gov is placing far greater strain on other areas of individual student funding (away from home allowance & etc) and making no move to address them; and to add to that, they're initiating a means for all other public education institutions to increase fee's to the same extent -- the entire ideal of public education has become skewed.

The Gov SHOULD be funding all university systems with at least 10% more than the minimal amount it is already at. (Sorry, I don't know the exact figure.)

This also effects university entry you know. It has always been (well, increasingly so over the last 20 years) that the wealthier class can buy their way into uni. Well consider it now in effect with the continually higher uai's that are required-- we're headed straight for an entirely private system (though of course we're still going to call it 'public' because you know, private systems still receive more than 5 times more funding) and further, a greater social schism in education.

So yeah-- joy, hecs, where I spend the next forty years paying the public educational fee's that are almost twice as great as they would have been a couple of years ago.

We may as well start burning books.

 

[gloria*]

Originally posted by melbournian
The other week, the board/coucil of Usyd, met and passed a resolution that if the reforms passed the Senate and became law, then they would automatically raise all courses at USyd by the maximum 30%.

And I still can't believe they've already begun reform plans within Sydney uni.

Realistically, the 30% rise is going to go through within the next year, because factually there is no other way for Sydney Uni to continue running courses (I'll give them that) with such a low budget -- that applies to UNSW aswell. The fact is, our exciting Educational end of the Gov should be doing more to fund public tertiary education-- it's not as if they can't afford to.

Letting this 30% rise through will just be another easy way for them to put off having to redress assigned budgets rather than pouring obscene amounts (in comparison) into other areas of governmental interest.

Ugh. ughughugh.

 

[gloria*]

Originally posted by melbournian
Oh please. Uni was never free until Whitlam. Before him, everyone had to pay the ....

haha yeah I know but I didn't want to push it and start a war or anything.

However,-- about the paying entire fee's thing- you do have to consider the differing contexts.

Edit: on re-reading:

"Obviously both need to fund it, and the individual only contributes 30% (i think, correct the figures if wrong) of the cost of tertiary education through HECS."

WTF. please don't tell me that you're comparing government body income to relative family income and then passing them off as equal with the implication of "only" in that statement.

The fact is that education for MANY is unaffordable-- which means that any kind of progression in the opposite way (ie, 30% more to find) is going to make paying the costs even more difficult and will put greater strain upon this society (whatever the statistic the ABS decides to come up with), while the government, in the meantime, cuts back on everything else and boosts the profitable big businesses for their own economic purpose. The rationing of costs in education is APPAULING and no Whitlam argument as a point of comaprison is going to fix it nor lend a more rational or perhaps broader view on my part.

 

[White Rabbit]

LOL.. I know this isn't the best forum to be saying it in, but Sydney University isn't the be all and end all.

Western Sydney, Charles Sturt, Wollongong, possibly Australian National - all have said that they won't have rises in fees. I do reckon what Sydney Uni is doing is right, but the fact is they're money hungry bastards with little concern for their students. Go to another Uni where thoes who run actually give a shit aboput YOU as a person; not how much cash you'll be able to pay.

I realise that Sydney offers 'Arts Advanced', but I know Wollongong offers 'Arts - Dean Scholars' course which is ultimatley the same thing, sans the prestige and cockiness. Even, just for the sake of it, you should check out the DS degree at Wollongong.. I've got a copy of booklet that UOW sets out if you want it scanned, I can send it to you.


(PS.. No offence to anyone at USYD - I'm not attacking you )

 

[gloria*]

Haha no, you're totally right.

But I guess we aspire to it because it feels like the best thing for us? I have actually considered other options, based on what they offer and the necessary uai to get in--

but I think it's more (me only) that the uai is 97.something. And, while I know I am not going to get that, I still want to aim high, so that in the end I have more options. The course motivates me, somewhat.

Plus it's like totally the greatest thing around and like, I totally can't believe yr like, still being a bitch to Adv Arts at Sydney, like.

 

[White Rabbit]

LOL... I think I maybe got that last sentence..

I'm not paying out arts thou... LOL... I use to wanna do it. When I use to enjoy history heaps

LOL - I just don't lke Sydney Uni.