My experience with 3rd level education was, well not what I expected to say the least. On my journey to working my way to get accepted into college I recall nearly a whole society saying how much of a benefit it was going to be to my life. I saw images of students sitting around having coffee with smiles on their faces happy with where they where and what they were doing. There was hope in their eyes knowing that once they had got their peace of paper they were on to bigger and better things. I saw all over the media how great college life was, weather it be T.V shows, movies or even magazines it advertised the epic parties and a the great sense of comradery between the students that College had to offer. It was a space where open minds could express themselves and discuss topics in an intellectual setting. But this world is fictional and in fact I'm not sure it ever existed from what I have seen.
So I guess my journey began when I was 15 year old. It was at this tender age when my school decided I was too much of a hassle to bother trying anymore so I got thrown out like a bag of rubbish on bin day. I can't say I blame they to be honest. I was a rebellious youth constantly challenging the authority of my teachers and other superiors and always in fights, a lot of fights. During my 3 or so years at my second level education facility I must have been suspended 30 - 40 times before they finally had enough and expelled me. I spent more time on the streets smoking or at home than I did in class in them days.
From here I went to work. In my house you either went to school or you worked, there were no free rides in my family. I managed to secure a job in a factory as an order picker were I drove around on a modge with three cages on the back in which I packed with what ever order of items I had to fulfill before loading it onto the trucks for it to be taken off to its final destination.
It wasn't so bad in all fairness and I stayed there for about 3 years and during this time I managed to build up some funds in the bank and had savings in the 1000s of euros that I could always fall back on. But something was missing. In reality I was in a dead end job, I looked at the lads who been working there for years, some 30 years my elder. They complained a lot and didn't seem all that happy. Also I was young and was missing out on my teen years as all my time was spent working. I had a longing for something else so decided to quit the job to peruse something further.
I spent about a year doing courses and dabbling in various areas seeing if I found something that suited, I even spent some time living in Belfast which was pretty cool. I made good friends and got to hang out with some cool people, have great parties, jam with others on the guitar, ride some birds. It was good times. It was also the time in which I decided I was going to go to College. But I had a long way to go. I had left school with only my Junior Cert which was honestly useless. What I needed to do was go back an obtain a Leaving Cert, this exam would probably be the equivalent to the A levels in the UK or the S.A.T's in the U.S. It is the general route in getting into College in Ireland. So long story short I returned to Dublin and signed up to a 2 year Leaving Cert course in a community college and got enough points to get into College. My plan appeared to be materializing, or so I thought.
I learnt pretty quickly that this image of sitting around drinking coffee and joining a college society (I joined the Boxing society) was not as straight forward as it seemed. The amount of classes I had to attend left me with barely enough time to grab a coffee on the go and the amount of work was so intense assignment after assignment that I found it nearly impossible to find the time to commit to the Boxing society. All my time seemed to be spent in class or over the computer at home trying to meet the deadline for the next assignment.
How and ever I powered through, worked hard and got my Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. So I done it I achieved my goal. Time to reap the benefits I guess? All my life I had heard how a College Degree guarantees you a good job and "there's loads of jobs in computing" and that "getting a degree will open so many doors for you".
Well, the only door it opened for me was the door to my local Social Welfare office were I signed on for Jobseekers Allowance were I got €188 euro a week and seeing how the average price to rent a single room in shared accommodation was about €500 this wasn't so great. But it's better than nothing and supports me as I job seek and job seek I did, pretty damn relentlessly to be honest. However my efforts were futile. All I.T related jobs wanted you to have 3-5 years experience before they would take you on. How the hell am I suppose to get 3-5 years experience if no one was willing to take on graduates? No on was even taking on interns. To add insult to injury I was broke! As for all those saving I had in the bank? Well they were all spent on the annual college fees which went up by €1000 a year. In the end the Degree wasn't worth the paper it was printed on and I had just spent my life savings on it.
Open doors, greater opportunities, guaranteed job, great life experience? These were all the things society had promised me if I got a degree. My entire life everything revolved around how education is the best thing to get you ahead in life. Yet here I am penniless, jobless and in the worst position I have ever been in my life. I was lied to!
It got so bad that I couldn't afford clothes. I had to teach myself to sew, it was either that or walk around in rags like a homeless person. I spent about 2 years or more unemployed, scarping by week to week but did eventually get a job in a Call Center as tech support which was hell! 9 hour days, 45 hour weeks for crap pay living from paycheck to paycheck. I went in with high hopes like I was going to save the world one modem at a time. But instead I ended up being a verbal punching bag for the most vile, irate human beings you can imagine.
I recall sitting there one day panning over the office as some woman wailed at me about her internet service with such venom as if I had caused the issue, as if I owned the company, I listened to the madness of all the phones banging away ringing non stop and about a hundred people shouting over one another yapping down the phone at some other dissatisfied customer and seriously contemplated weather I had died and gone to hell. I'm not religious but I really believe if there is a hell, its a giant call center. So this is what College has achieved for me. An empty, penniless life in a job I wouldn't wish on my worse enemy.
I had framed my Degree and proudly hung it on the wall above my desk. I have since took it down and thrown it in the bin because every time I look at it reminds me of all the time I wasted on nothing and that hard work doesn't pay off! It literally made me feel sick to my stomach.
So to not to leave on a depressing note. I have left that nightmare of a job and have been temping other positions here and there which is grand for now however I do have a new plan for what to do with myself and am pretty sure this one will pan out, no thanks to College though.......
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