What did you want to be when you were growing up?
What did you want to be when you were growing up? And did you ever think about how you would get where you are today?
I’ve teamed up with SEEK Learning who approached me to talk about how I got to where I am today, and some of the barriers women face when they think about going back to study. They provide a free service to help you find the training you need to get to where you want to be in your career.
So how did I get to where I am?
Blogging didn’t exist when I finished school, but journalism did and it was that and only one other course that I applied for. I got into the latter and it set me on a different and round about path to where I am today.
I never gave up on the dream of studying journalism though and I was inspired by the pages of Vogue, travelling the world and eventually starting the blog to go back and reapply as an adult for a Post Graduate Degree in Journalism at RMIT.
All sorts of questions had to be answered first: could I afford this? What will going back to study be like after all this time? Can I juggle working and study?
I had a well paying job but I was miserable. The blog and writing about fashion was what made me truly happy, but it wasn’t exactly paying the rent and I knew that if I was eventually to make it work I needed to go back to study.
Taking the step and enrolling took me ages to do, and looking back having a service that could have helped me with navigating FEE HELP, flexible study hours and preferred study method would have been invaluable.
One of the biggest barriers women face in going back to study is having the confidence to do so. I know there were times when I asked myself, ‘Will this be worth the investment?’ And I can only imagine what that must be like if you’ve been at home with kids for a couple of years, or are facing a major career change.
I can safely say having done it that it was worth the investment wholeheartedly. I have never looked back since studying what I loved, I made new friends, met new mentors but most importantly it’s enabled me to do what I love every single day.
SEEK Learning don’t tell people what they think they should be doing, they simply help place them in a course that will help them in their chosen career. Their Learning Consultants help users overcome the barriers to study that I’ve mentioned above and because of this service, they really do change people’s lives. And it’s completely free.
To help you on your way to trying new things and hopefully going back to study in conjunction with SEEK Learning I’m giving you the chance to win a 1 x $200 Red Balloon voucher to spend on an experience of your choice.
To be in the running leave a comment on this blog post telling me how going back to study could change your life.
Competition ends Friday Feb ….. 5pm AEST. Winner will be announced on www.ladymelbourne.com.au
Category: Fashion
Ahhh Lady M – it’s a question I’ve asked myself many times. In fact, a few weeks back just blogged about how life has turned up so different to the one I imagined as a fresh-faced 17 year old (http://siggysparkle.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/when-i-grow-up/)
Actually, late last year I looked at applying to the same post-grad of Journalism that you did, but something held me back. Kinda felt I wasn’t qualified enough to even *think* about a career I had wanted for so long, since my university degree took me on a path completely different to writing. I’m still thinking about it and now it’s more of a question whether I can afford to do it (considering as you said it’s a considerable investment).
Would love to take that step. It’s bloody scary.
l think going back to study would mean me rediscovering myself. Having left school and the workforce for approx 10 years to be a full time mum means you put everyone else before yourself. More often then not that means losing yourself in the process. Im at that crossroad……my babies are at school so I have time on my hands. Considering going back to school so I can learn about myself once again to hopefully create a fulfilling life by pursuing a career that I have always dreamt of!
I hope to never grow up, in my mind anyway. Life seems to change and evolve on a weekly basis, so i’m always doing new things. I do remember when I was really young I wanted to join the police force. lol. God bless them, but i’m sure glad I didn’t.
I would love to study something along the lines of a Bachelor of Arts (Jewellery). It would mean working in a field where my focus woudl be on being creative. That saying ‘do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’ comes to mind.
As I’ve just gone back to study in what is already proving to be a hectic year, I can see how good my future will be. I will have a steady career as a high school teacher, helping to shape young people’s minds as they prepare for adulthood. Cannot wait
I would love to study a Bachelor of Commerce. My life is filled with hopes and dreams. By fulfilling this dream it would be like spreading my wings and fly. I hope that everyone is able to achieve their dreams and hopes and be successful in life. x
If i was any good at the study thing law/politics would be what i would do:)
have a great day,
After 8 years of uni I definitely am not hurrying back just right now, but in the next 5 years I’ll definitely be back to do an LLM
It seems really apt that you have posted this because I applied to go to RMIT and study journalism this year however was not accepted but I’m going to keep honing my work and keep on trying. I know that it would change my life because I’ve always wanted to go to uni but have always lacked confidence in myself.
I had a chat to seek learning a while back and I have to say they were very helpful.
But this post really resonates with me – I have just quit a very successful fast-moving well-paying career in Supply Chain, something I never intended on being involved in, to take a big risk on 2 part time jobs and going back to uni on campus to study Nutrition – something I have only recently discovered is my passion.
As I kid, I wanted to be an architect more than anything, but that dream faded.
So in a week’s time I start life as a studying nutritionist, executive assistant and online researcher instead. Big 360 but I couldn’t be more excited! I have only recently become a big fan of risk and change.
I would hope anyone who has realised their passion in life like me with nutrition and yourself with journalism would chase it no matter what. There is always a way to make money, (hell, I’d be a cleaner while I study if I had to just to enable my dream), but sadly there is always a story you can invent in your mind as to why you can’t pursue your dream.
Do not laugh but a Cosmonaut-not an astronaut but for some reason a Russian space traveler. The fact that I was 6 and not a Russian speaker did not seem a barrier to my dream then…
Happy
An actress with an air and grace that would be admired by her flock of fans. Alas, I have to take the runners up prize and settle for being a Princess among Princes!
I always wanted to do something creative, but wasn’t sure in which way, i studied architecture and am currently working in a construction related job that i didn’t even know existed until i applied for it! I feel my creative direction has gone by the wayside and would love to go back to study something like textile design, I would also love to master a foreign language, there are so many places to visit that don’t have English as their native tongue. I think going back to study would reignite my passion for design and help steer me into something that I would love to call ‘my job’.
When I was 5 years old I either wanted to be a unicorn or Whitney Houston.
MY mother used to say ‘if you eat fruit you will turn into a unicorn’ then put stickers (fake earring ones) on our forehead,
I also thought if I took a lot of crack I could become Whitney Houston.
Instead I found out what I wanted to do at the age of 19 – anything to do with the human body. I enrolled in a class at CIT in Bruce and now I work at Capital Pathology as a Path Aide.
I would one day love to go to uni and finish a med-science degree or even further so I may specialise in skin – particularly cysts.
I never knew what I wanted to be, but now as I am 15, I have decided that I want to become a fashion designer and blogger. I don’t know how I didn’t think of it sooner! My fashion has always been pretty good, as soon as I started dressing myself. I collect inspirations from the Internet and magazines, I hope to study fashion at RMIT. There is a beautiful lady, who owns a store called Lady Petrova, who went to RMIT and now is very successful! She is one of my many inspirations.
Going back to study has changed my life. I knew that I always wanted to teach. I am lucky to be 25 and have found a job I love. Last year someone asked me in 30 years will you still want to be doing exactly what you’re doing now? No. I started my Masters of Education last year and have only got this year to go. To be furthering my study is eye opening, refreshing and inspiring and helps my teaching more and more.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a veterinarian because I loved animals. I ended up being a teacher after I finished university, but I felt sort of pushed into that and it didn’t up where I thought it would. So, I made the difficult choice to leave teaching and now I have returned to study and I am trying to become a professional writer and/or editor. I really enjoy my writing course and I hope it will lead to great things to come.
I wanted to be a fighter pilot…. Lol
Except when I was young my parents told me they didn’t let women do it – probably to keep me safe :p – now I have a marketing business and drive a fast car instead! I often think about how good it would have been though!
I studied to be a medical doctor, but I would have loved to study classical civilisations or anthropology and gone to work in a museum.
I wanted to be secretary, lawyer and an actress, how funny, and of course I was none of the above.Right now I’m creating a clothing label for my children so they can have their own family business.I know this is what my heart keep’s telling me to do and I feel it in my soul, and to think I nearly gave up on the idea, I could slap myself in the face.Follow your dream’s and don’t let anyone tell you can’t have the career of dream’s, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but this is what I keep telling myself, it is as easy as just getting up and doing it and taking the those baby step’s that you will one day look back at and think those were the step’s I took to get to where I am today.I will register my business name next week and I can’t wait !
Lady M you are one of my inspiration’s.
It is a very hard going back to study considering their is so much pressure on students to pick their life career at the age of eighteen these days. I’m a mature age female going back to study and it was hard, not only financially but time management too. It’s also hard when you come from a family who think that any career in the creative industry is a dead end that will not go anywhere. I’m doing a writing and editing course because I adore books and would love the chance to write a novel one day, amongst other things. But at this point unless I get a publishing contract from Text or Scribe in the next 12 months; I beleive my family think this another fly-by night idea that won’t go anywhere. But like most other people I have dreams and have decided to persue them now where at least I’m at the age where I know this is definately what I want, we are only given one life so I might as well use it. .
I didn’t know what I wanted to do like most of us. I’ve had several different careers and am about the start studying again (part-time this time round) in a couple of weeks. I’m really scared – where am I going to find the time/money/energy? – but I’m determined. I plan to change the course of my career and my life this year. I still don’t know if this is what I’m *meant* to be doing, but that’s what keeps life interesting and exciting!
I love food and nutrition and going back to study would mean i could spend my time on something I think about all the time anyway!!
I’ve wanted to be a fashion designer since I can remember, but I’ve never studied it formally. I have been toying with the idea of going back to study as I think there are a lot of contacts to be made and the “running a business” and “channelling creativity effectively” subjects (which I’m guessing exist!?) would be invaluable. But the cost always stops me in my tracks!
I followed the path of the artist and although it has been a challenging and exciting path, the lean times are indeed lean and the only way to pay the bills sometimes is to work for the man (read : temping in an office).
I am now the mother of an 8mth old baby and the thought of having to spend my time away from him doing something soul crushing like temping in an office breaks my heart – going back to formally study something like teaching would mean I could still follow my artistic dreams, but earn money at the same time. If I could teach my son that you can love what you do and earn a living out of it, well, that would be all my dreams come true!
I have a Bachelors Degree in Fashion and Textile Design which since moving from Perth to Melbourne I have been told is ‘from the stone age’. With little prospects in Perth during the prelude to and then subsequent recession imposed by the GFC I fell into admin work in financial services. I love supporting people and take pride in the fact that I have the smarts to understand this industry, its systems and processes – but every fibre of my being screams that I am wasting my potential in staying here when I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and have nothing to show for being incredibly talented besides a certificate and blog lacking followers. Returning to study would change my life because it would allow me to broaden my skillset to obtain work in the industry, or become a role model for young creatives as a teacher and mentor. What’s stopping me? I might detest the job but I have grown accustomed to the security and lifestyle it provides. Also after pouring blood, sweat and tears into a redundant qualification in the past, I am afraid of being in the same position again – or worse, not being satisfied by the work that brings, and having to go through it all over again.