What kind of jobs do you guys have to support airsoft? :)

[Lozart]

Apprentices now on average earn more than graduates in their first jobs.

 

If there's a subject you're passionate about go and study it, but I wouldn't recommend to anyone that they should go to university just for the sake of it. £9,000 a year just on tuition is a lot of cash.

 

Depends on your end game as you say. While there's plenty of jobs that the practical experience offered by an apprenticeship will benefit, there's also plenty that have a much shorter progression curve if you have a degree.

 

Speaking as an ex apprentice I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as an option but as someone who is now in Account Management a degree would have got me higher, quicker.

[Sitting Duck]

 

Speaking as an ex apprentice I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as an option but as someone who is now in Account Management a degree would have got me higher, quicker.

 

Yeah but would you really have wanted the fast track route and be one of those many people

who can talk it but haven't a f*cking clue how to walk it so to speak.....

 

I'm sure with all your years & wisdom you are helping out or showing these graduates how it really rolls in real world

Got loads of them upstairs and yup they got degree in graphical design & layout say and yet

they seemed to have failed the 11+ in common sense ffs

 

It is a tough call - one I really don't know what I would if I had to choose today

I look back and know I have been fortunate with breaks & oppotunities - many have not

 

University Of Life - now that is a great Uni and I am still learing - ain't we all

[Lozart]

Having a degree or not doesn't make a lick of difference to someones level of common sense. You've either got it or you haven't. The thing I do find though is that ex apprentices seem to be more well rounded people than graduates, at least in the engineering side of things. Sales is a different beast.

[Snowdrop]

I think now there is so much pressure to do uni because "everyone" does it. You do gcse's and they get you to A levels, then no one cares what you got at gcse. You do A levels, get to uni and no one cares what you got at 18, just what you got at 21/22.

 

I think trades are definate important, yes the money starts crap but you will always need plumbers, chippies, sparkies and so on. When I was a surveyor out on building sites, I met quite a few builders who started at 16, worked their way up and now earn a good few quid.

I remember doing work experience in a solicitors office when I was 16, bloke came into the office driving a brand new Ferrari. Spoke to the solicitor after the meeting, turns out the guy had started hodding bricks at 16, worked his way up, turned out he had a flair for design and so got into architecture. He now/then designs the most sought after houses on Sandbanks in Poole.

But I digress. I ended up doing law for a year at uni but it was tediously dull, nothing like a John Grisham novel so I left. Ended up doing International Relations - basically history, politics, strategic studies, all that kind of stuff which I am really into. Of course it was all based on the post cold war world the 9/11 happened and all the ideas changed!

Before you choose, these days you have to be sure, a) It's costly, but can you study it exclusively for 3 years?

Also, gap years, hit and miss. I did Australia for a year. Great fun, lots of laughs and beer. Did I grow as a person, develop and challenge myself? In a job interview, yes of course I did, in reality, did I bollocks, I spent too much cash, shaved off my hair grew a goatee and apparently developed a bit of an Australian accent. Be very sure you know what you will do with it? Are you just working to save cash or are you challenging yourself, building mud huts in Africa or some such thing

[kerby91]

I left school at 15, fucked off to Cyprus to live with my uncle and work in his bars for 6 months n then came back to the UK. I then moved to Sweden with my parents and served by 2 years conscription within the Swedish armed forces...i then worked in my family business restoring classic cars before realising I wanted something different and returned to the UK. I'm now 23, with a fiancee and 10 month old daughter, working as an assembler for a biomedical company on fairly good money. But its not enough, I know I'm better than this, and to that end have decided to jump ship, so to speak, and pursue a career down at the docks, starting on 24k a year driving container tugs about, before hopefully moving onto either crane operating or a supervisory role (type 1 diabetic so possibly no cranes). Its somewhere I know I will prosper, with hard work. I left school with 1 B, 6 Cs and a D...and now I'm earning 23k a year, plus bonus and shift allowances, and will finally be happy in a job.

 

Moral is this, take your time, figure out what you want from life for now and the future, and work hard

[Guest RektnNekt]

Well guys I really appreciate all of your responses.

Nice to see a lot of you took quite some time to respond.

 

It has been quite interesting reading the different views, especially as some say uni is a must, whereas others say that apprenticeships and just generally working your way up can get you into a decent position. From this, I didn't mean I would just go and do a job for the sake of airsoft. What I meant was generally what fields are you guys in, how did you get there, etc... Just wanted to see how you've all gone about career paths and whatnot, to get you into the position of being able to actually afford hobbies like this

 

You've all been great so far, thanks for the contributions once again.

[TheFull9]

The important thing, imo, is to work towards doing what you actually would enjoy spending your life doing. If you get good enough at it (whatever it is), you will certainly making a living and hopefully end up earning enough for luxuries like spending a fair bit of money on hobbies, rather than just scraping by.

 

Depending on what it is you really enjoy there are many paths to get there, you've got to figure out which is the best and which one you'll stick to in the long run. My trade within the air force covers a very wide range of different aspects and actually getting to work on the one you want can take many, many years in the job and that's on top of all the entrance tests and the time in training etc at the start. Toughing it out through some rather crappy times means I have a decent income now so that's all fine and dandy, but I don't earn that money through the exact sort of work I really want to be doing, not quite anyway, though it's not too far off so I'm pretty happy overall. The end goal is to get to the stage where I'm getting paid to do something I wouldn't even necessarily call 'work'.

 

It was very bandwagon-cool for many airsofters (with no knowledge or experience to backup their hating) to slam on Travis Haley and Chris Costa at every opportunity, back when Magpul was really popular in the hobby. They both went through the military (in different ways), went from that to the firearms industry, then teaching firearms handling in a big company, then did well enough to be hugely popular all over the world such that they could break off and form their own companies. Now they literally get given more ammo than they could ever shoot for completely free and just have to mention certain companies every now and again. The same way big singers and actors get gifted hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of clothes and jewelry and whatever else literally just to potentially be seen wearing them in public; these guys get given guns and gear and bloody night vision goggles and whatever super tacticool widget their hearts could possibly desire.. gratis. Stuff that many airsofters would splurge their pants over the thought of maybe owning; these guys aren't even that fussed about any more.

[Cheeky vimto]

I moved to the uk from Canada with no GCSE's. After doing a year in college and failing AS levels I landed an apprentiship in crane engineering. Really I should of had a few GCSEs to get it but it goes to show grades aren't everything.

 

I'm now 25 and work on the docks making £45k+

[Hef Legend]

In regards to uni, I had a lot of friends who went to uni for years got all the grades and have since remained jobless.

 

I personally didn't go to university and started working my ass off in retail for an emerging company, got promoted through the ranks and eventually ended up working for American Express, dealing with their suppliers and contracts.......I'm 25.

 

University is good if you are studying a worthwhile subject and have work experience.

 

Getting a trade is definitely worth doing though. It's work that's always required.

[kerby91]

I too have many friends that went to uni and are now unemployed/working in fast food joints purely to pay bills off

[Josh95]

im at uni, and i can afford to airsoft....

If you dont waste all your money on drink and clubbing its not actually that bad...

 

also if u go to UNI study a trade not some waste of time subject like english or something...

Computer Science, Law, Engineering something like that...

that actually leads to a job..

[JamesAirsofterAgent]

im at uni, and i can afford to airsoft....

If you dont waste all your money on drink and clubbing its not actually that bad...

 

also if u go to UNI study a trade not some waste of time subject like english or something...

Computer Science, Law, Engineering something like that...

that actually leads to a job..

 

Unless you want to be an English teacher

 

 

For the record, I really wouldn't want to be an English teacher. Having to tell a kid 24/7 that your/you're isn't spelt ur would do my head in lol.

[Josh95]

Unless you want to be an English teacher

 

 

For the record, I really wouldn't want to be an English teacher. Having to tell a kid 24/7 that your/you're isn't spelt ur would do my head in lol.

fair enough if thats what u want, but teachers get sh*t pay considering their ammount of education. I know my mum is a teacher

[Jambo88]

if your unsure take your time get a shit job in a factory on minimum wage and that will make you come to a decision and improve your attitude at work. I have 2 jobs just now 1 of them I work with a lot of 18-20 year olds and the majority are lazy have a terrible attitude and go in wee huffs when they are told to do something properly I was like this myself. The most important thing you can learn is to work hard, do what your told and dont waste time greetin about it and don't cut corners. Learn to do that and you will get enough money to play Airsoft

[DX115FALCON]

This is a duplicate thread. Original is found here

[NickM]

Are you sure DX115FALCON? The one you linked to is 4 years old, by a different OP and asking a different set of questions.

 

Much of the info on that post may well be out of date seeing as in the last 4 years I have gone from training to be a teacher, to being a teacher, leaving teaching for a rubbish temp job at an insurance company after relocating, being a supply teacher and now back being a full time teacher again.

 

The answer to the OP's question, I am a teacher (as if the paragraph above didn't give that away) I teach secondary science, it pays the bills and I use the degree I got at Uni on a day to day basis. However, I would never expect someone to be forced to go to uni if they didn't want to.

 

As most have already said: think very carefully about what you want to do, and look closely at how you get there. There are often multiple routes to get to any position, some academic like uni and graduate schemes, others apprenticeships followed by training later on, some just starting at the bottom and working hard.

 

Eg hairdressers are unlikely to need a degree, farmer is unlikely to need a degree both have vocational courses or on the job training routes.

 

My fiancée is an oceanographer, she got her job after 2 years of a foundation degree then 2 years at uni topping it up to a full degree, followed by a further year doing a masters. She now works for a large ish company after 3 years of working at smaller companies getting experience. For her the degree and masters is very useful. However she works along side some people who just did 3 years of uni and are in their first post. She has also worked in the past with a guy who started as a deck hand on the survey vessel with no real experience of oceanography only his sailing experience and love of the sea. He would do his crew duties then help out the oceanographers, after a while he started being asked to do overtime as an assistant when they were short staffed, after about a year he got employed as an engineer doing much the same stuff as those with degrees and was sent out on jobs on his own.

 

Me on the other hand, while free schools are now allowed to employ anyone with the subject knowledge and no teaching qualifications to teach kids. Realistically I couldn't do what I do without 3 years at uni and a year of teacher training. I went to uni because I really wanted to be a paramedic at the time, but the ambulance service in my area didn't take you till you were 21, so I had 3 years to kill and didn't want to sit around doing temp jobs or working in factories etc so I applied to uni and got in, I took the course because I really enjoyed the subject. By the time I finished I really couldn't think of doing the training and becoming a paramedic so I applied for teacher training.

 

Only go to uni if it interests you and you can see how you would use the qualification at the end. That doesn't mean it has to be in your subject area, plenty of people on my course took up jobs that are seemingly unrelated but the Uni quals show your ability to learn new things and complete work to your own timetables. Only 3 of 40 are actually working directly in the field we were studying.

 

If the cost is putting you off remember that you apply for the loans and stuff, they are the best rates you will ever get, they come out of your pay packet much like taxes, national insurance or pension contributions. I think I get about £50 a month taken. Each year I get sent a statement saying how much I have paid and the amount of interest, it's actually not going down very fast but it's not like they send bailiffs round to take stuff. Also banks couldn't really care less in terms of credit ratings etc.

[DX115FALCON]

Are you sure DX115FALCON? The one you linked to is 4 years old, by a different OP and asking a different set of questions.

 

4 Year old, last update at the end of last month.

[NickM]

Yep, the last post was a month ago but again I will point out that the OP's questions in this thread were not simply what you do (although that's kind of the wording of the title) but how did you get there and is uni worth it.

[Jambo88]

Are you sure DX115FALCON? The one you linked to is 4 years old, by a different OP and asking a different set of questions.

 

Much of the info on that post may well be out of date seeing as in the last 4 years I have gone from training to be a teacher, to being a teacher, leaving teaching for a rubbish temp job at an insurance company after relocating, being a supply teacher and now back being a full time teacher again.

 

The answer to the OP's question, I am a teacher (as if the paragraph above didn't give that away) I teach secondary science, it pays the bills and I use the degree I got at Uni on a day to day basis. However, I would never expect someone to be forced to go to uni if they didn't want to.

 

As most have already said: think very carefully about what you want to do, and look closely at how you get there. There are often multiple routes to get to any position, some academic like uni and graduate schemes, others apprenticeships followed by training later on, some just starting at the bottom and working hard.

 

Eg hairdressers are unlikely to need a degree, farmer is unlikely to need a degree both have vocational courses or on the job training routes.

 

My fiancée is an oceanographer, she got her job after 2 years of a foundation degree then 2 years at uni topping it up to a full degree, followed by a further year doing a masters. She now works for a large ish company after 3 years of working at smaller companies getting experience. For her the degree and masters is very useful. However she works along side some people who just did 3 years of uni and are in their first post. She has also worked in the past with a guy who started as a deck hand on the survey vessel with no real experience of oceanography only his sailing experience and love of the sea. He would do his crew duties then help out the oceanographers, after a while he started being asked to do overtime as an assistant when they were short staffed, after about a year he got employed as an engineer doing much the same stuff as those with degrees and was sent out on jobs on his own.

 

Me on the other hand, while free schools are now allowed to employ anyone with the subject knowledge and no teaching qualifications to teach kids. Realistically I couldn't do what I do without 3 years at uni and a year of teacher training. I went to uni because I really wanted to be a paramedic at the time, but the ambulance service in my area didn't take you till you were 21, so I had 3 years to kill and didn't want to sit around doing temp jobs or working in factories etc so I applied to uni and got in, I took the course because I really enjoyed the subject. By the time I finished I really couldn't think of doing the training and becoming a paramedic so I applied for teacher training.

 

Only go to uni if it interests you and you can see how you would use the qualification at the end. That doesn't mean it has to be in your subject area, plenty of people on my course took up jobs that are seemingly unrelated but the Uni quals show your ability to learn new things and complete work to your own timetables. Only 3 of 40 are actually working directly in the field we were studying.

 

If the cost is putting you off remember that you apply for the loans and stuff, they are the best rates you will ever get, they come out of your pay packet much like taxes, national insurance or pension contributions. I think I get about £50 a month taken. Each year I get sent a statement saying how much I have paid and the amount of interest, it's actually not going down very fast but it's not like they send bailiffs round to take stuff. Also banks couldn't really care less in terms of credit ratings etc.

 

Why the hell would you be a teacher?

 

you have to try and teach little shits about something they don't really give a shit about and in the long term probably won't do anything for them.

 

you must have a fetish for school uniforms.

[Potential Threat]

I work full time in demolition which pays all the bills and also work part time teaching muaythai 3 nights a week which is then pocket money. I also marshal at my local site when I can which makes airsoft a little easier on the wallet. I don't think 1 income is enough for anybody to live on. Not today! Never turn down the chance of a few £. After the rents paid, insurance, bills and my kids needs (demands!) I doesn't hurt to have a back up

[Lt Earholes]

I don't think you HAVE to go to uni to get a good job. Most people go just for the sake of going and come out 3 years later 30 grand poorer and still can't get a job.

I started work at 16 and worked my way up. Now I'm a sales manager at 28 earning a decent enough wage. Only go to uni if you know what you want to do requires a degree like law etc

Getting a trade through an aprenticeship may be a good idea if your into the practical side of things.

+1 on that, I went collage did Motorsport mechanics couldn't get a job after I finished, thought about going to uni and progressing through that field but while phoning around for temp mechanic jobs for something on the side they said they wanted experience.

How can I get experience if no1 will employ someone with minimum experience?

So knocked that on the head, started working at an engineering company, worked my way up, now at 23 I program and setting CNC machines and tell people twice my age how to use them.

Always try get involved in a job you don't know even if your just watching as you will pick up a lot of things. The people twice my age have never seemed interested in doing that and that's why they now come to me to sort there problems.

People have joined from uni with there fancy degrees, but in the real world they don't know nothing, they are good at the job on paper but have no real experience on the machines.

Many have come and all have left.

[SatNav]

Why the hell would you be a teacher?

 

you have to try and teach little shits about something they don't really give a sh*t about and in the long term probably won't do anything for them.

 

you must have a fetish for school uniforms.

 

I'm a teacher, and i think you lack the understanding of the dedication teachers put in.

 

Every teacher has their own reason to become teachers and comes from different walks of life and adding to that it's harder and harder to become a teacher now. it's not easy to get trained and required more study and attention to detail than you think.

 

I think you stereotyping young people based on a small group whom you are right "whom don't give a toss about their lives and education" but I'm teaching and have taught many more if not majority whom likes to learn and at the end of the day do appreciate teachers. I don't want to burst your bubble but where would you be without education now?

 

+++

 

Back to the point of this thread - what sort of job do people take to fund this hobby? well i think it's quite open, I do agree money is a big part to help fund it but if you live for the hobby it doesn't matter what job you are in; coz you'll find a way to safe up or fund it however you can as you'll know it's worth it.

 

+++

 

BTW Jambo, I wonder if you can do this in a class room of ~30 kids of what is expected of all teachers currently in the country. Below is the current 8 teaching standards and you are expected to do all that every lesson for all the kids. Good luck.

 

 

1 Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils

- establish a safe and stimulating environment for pupils, rooted in mutual respect

- set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all backgrounds, abilities and dispositions

- demonstrate consistently the positive attitudes, values and behaviour which are expected of pupils.

2 Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils

- be accountable for attainment, progress and outcomes of the pupils

- plan teaching to build on pupils’ capabilities and prior knowledge

- guide pupils to reflect on the progress they have made and their emerging needs

- demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how this impacts on teaching

- encourage pupils to take a responsible and conscientious attitude to their own work and study.

3 Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge

-have a secure knowledge of the relevant subject(s) and curriculum areas, foster and maintain pupils’ interest in the subject, and address misunderstandings

- demonstrate a critical understanding of developments in the subject and curriculum areas, and promote the value of scholarship

-demonstrate an understanding of and take responsibility for promoting high standards of literacy, articulacy and the correct use of standard English,

whatever the teacher’s specialist subject

-if teaching early reading, demonstrate a clear understanding of systematic synthetic phonics

-if teaching early mathematics, demonstrate a clear understanding of appropriate teaching strategies.

4 Plan and teach well structured lessons

- impart knowledge and develop understanding through effective use of lesson time

-promote a love of learning and children’s intellectual curiosity

-set homework and plan other out-of-class activities to consolidate and extend the knowledge and understanding pupils have acquired

-reflect systematically on the effectiveness of lessons and approaches to teaching

-contribute to the design and provision of an engaging curriculum within the relevant subject area(s).

5 Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils

- know when and how to differentiate appropriately, using approaches which enable pupils to be taught effectively

-have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit pupils’ ability to learn, and how best to overcome these

-demonstrate an awareness of the physical, social and intellectual development of children, and know how to adapt teaching to support pupils’ education at different stages of development

-have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs; those of high ability; those with English as an additional language; those with disabilities; and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.

6 Make accurate and productive use of assessment

-know and understand how to assess the relevant subject and curriculum areas, including statutory assessment requirements

-make use of formative and summative assessment to secure pupils’ progress

-use relevant data to monitor progress, set targets, and plan subsequent lessons

-give pupils regular feedback, both orally and through accurate marking, and encourage pupils to respond to the feedback.

7 Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment

-have clear rules and routines for behaviour in classrooms, and take responsibility for promoting good and courteous behaviour both in classrooms and around the school, in accordance with the school’s behaviour policy

-have high expectations of behaviour, and establish a framework for discipline with a range of strategies, using praise, sanctions and rewards consistently and fairly

-manage classes effectively, using approaches which are appropriate to pupils’ needs in order to involve and motivate them

-maintain good relationships with pupils, exercise appropriate authority, and act decisively when necessary.

8 Fulfil wider professional responsibilities

-make a positive contribution to the wider life and ethos of the school

-develop effective professional relationships with colleagues, knowing how and when to draw on advice and specialist support

-deploy support staff effectively

-take responsibility for improving teaching through appropriate professional development, responding to advice and feedback from colleagues

-communicate effectively with parents with regard to pupils’ achievements and well-being.

[beastmode]

Rather you than me Satnav and I thought I had a high pressure job working in sales.

[NickM]

Much as Satnav says teaching brings all sorts for all different reasons. I started because I really didn't know what I wanted to do but have experience of education and thought it would be a challenge. It's been 5 years (including the PGCE, so 4 years of teaching on my own) of massive challenges, the rewards are massive, the stresses and pressures are equally high. Last year I left teaching (forced partly because I felt unhappy in the school I was in and relocation) so I was looking for a year or two away to decide if teaching really was what I wanted to do, but I missed it, after 3 months of not teaching I was offered the opportunity to interview for a position and now I'm back in a very different school.

 

There have been times when I worried I was seeing less of the good and more of the bad. Much happier now though.

[Guest SquashyTundra6]

Sorry for posting a few months late!

 

But I'm currently in your position, I'm 18 and have no idea what I want in life but being told to go to Uni anyway because my mum thinks it will help. Personally I like yourself would rather wait until I really know what I want from life before making a decision that big, however it sometimes just doesn't play out that way

Currently I'm working for a security company, gives me enough money to pay my mother rent, fund my driving lessons and also fund my addiction to airsoft, adding on the fact that I absolutely love my job, the other week I had a 22 hour shift over the weekend and it went by in no time because I enjoy it so much. However, I've been told I need to find a proper job, which is what I apparently need to go to Uni for, so I'll just see how it pans out, I've got my offers anyway, I'll decide whether I want them in August, otherwise I might even try setting up my own security company down the line, won't be easy but it's something I'd be willing to work on, of course I'm young, so even my love for the current job may change within the next few years... We just can't know for certain I guess

 

Regardless of my own stories, good luck with your choice, if you decide to go to Uni then I hope you do well and get what you want from it, but honestly, don't do it just because you think you need to, you're better off doing it because you want to and know exactly what you're doing

 

Also, thanks to everyone who commented on this thread, you've all actually helped me too in the process!