What part of your job do you enjoy least?

[8ball]

Ah yeah. After 30 years doing something you tend to understand bits.

We went a bit wrong with the Blairite nonsense. I think a bit of a correction is happening.

Uni was definitely a vital time and experience for me, and I wouldn’t deny it to anyone with the aptitude and will for it, but it has become a racket.

 

[weltweit]

I was a manager in my thirties, initially of about 5 people.

That might have been fine except that I hadn't really a scooby what management was supposed to mean and had effectively been just thrown in at the deep end. I muddled through, but it wasn't pretty and learning by my own mistakes wasn't ideal for me or for my team.

In one place we had three teams with different product ranges all arranged so each department could effectively compete against each other. That actually worked really well.

Since then I have managed people including outside my own discipline, but through a matrix structure which definitely has advantages.

At the moment I am responsible for my own work and that of subcontractors. The working week is rather less stressful now With responsibility comes stress, I don't miss it.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

We went a bit wrong with the Blairite nonsense. I think a bit of a correction is happening.

Uni was definitely a vital time and experience for me, and I wouldn’t deny it to anyone with the aptitude and will for it, but it has become a racket.

Well you probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that I think higher education should be free for all. Fuck this new class drive that Blair brought about.

 

[8ball]

Well you probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that I think higher education should be free for all. Fuck this new class drive that Blair brought about.

Free to all comers, but in terms of the current University model, not appropriate for all, in my opinion.

And more adult / lifelong education opportunities outside the Uni model too, including provisions to make things gel better with things like childcare / caring commitments.

Seems a bit pie in the sky right now, I know.

 

[weltweit]

A degree isn't always special. I hired someone with an HND who had way more hands on experience than a degree qualified individual, I never regretted that choice, and he went on to become a real star.

 

[8ball]

A degree isn't always special. I hired someone with an HND who had way more hands on experience than a degree qualified individual, I never regretted that choice, and he went on to become a real star.

Often the degree has nothing to do with the job too. This “learning how to learn” stuff is just propaganda to allow streaming of people into categories.

 

[weltweit]

Often the degree has nothing to do with the job too. This “learning how to learn” stuff is just propaganda to allow streaming of people into categories.

I don't really understand the basic arguments about further and higher education.

Some people say that a degree teaches you how to learn and people should be permitted to learn almost anything as it will develop and mentally enrich them. I can sort of see that, but of the many people who were on the fine arts degree someone I know went on, no more than a couple ended up making their way in fine art. The rest of them worked in all sorts of other fields.

I went to a Polytechnic (the only place that would have me) and did a vocational degree with a years work experience in the middle. After that I was able to get a reasonable job in my discipline pretty much immediately and I still work in that sphere to this day.

So what is the purpose of education?

Or should it have a purpose?

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Well nowadays it signifies a class advantage. So, better jobs.

 

[8ball]

I don't really understand the basic arguments about further and higher education.

Some people say that a degree teaches you how to learn and people should be permitted to learn almost anything as it will develop and mentally enrich them. I can sort of see that, but of the many people who were on the fine arts degree someone I know went on, no more than a couple ended up making their way in fine art. The rest of them worked in all sorts of other fields.

I went to a Polytechnic (the only place that would have me) and did a vocational degree with a years work experience in the middle. After that I was able to get a reasonable job in my discipline pretty much immediately and I still work in that sphere to this day.

So what is the purpose of education?

Or should it have a purpose?

I guess with fine arts there will be skills that can apply to a lot of different things (say, design, marketing, things like game design/artwork, some kinds of engineering etc.).

And also, there is some value in just having people around with a wide range of fields of knowledge. It doesn’t necessarily need to ultimately be applied solely to paid work.

Not to say everyone should have a degree, but that it’s not a “failure” if someone does a degree in the fone arts and finds themselves somewhere completely different.

 

[weltweit]

Well nowadays it signifies a class advantage. So, better jobs.

Is it as simple as that? It seems more roles require or expect degrees these days, I suppose that does mean people who don't have degrees are at a disadvantage.

Do you mean that some people are put off by the loan system?

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Is it as simple as that? It seems more roles require or expect degrees these days, I suppose that does mean people who don't have degrees are at a disadvantage.

Do you mean that some people are put off by the loan system?

Do some people even need the loan system?

 

[weltweit]

..
Not to say everyone should have a degree, but that it’s not a “failure” if someone does a degree in the fone arts and finds themselves somewhere completely different.

I once suggested that degree courses be rated by the percentage of attendees that were in work after attending the course.

My argument was that it could focus the minds of people toying with the idea of a student loan.

Some people were dead against such a notion. A couple were university lecturers who have both gone on to become professors.

Is it such a bad idea?

 

[weltweit]

Do some people even need the loan system?

Isn't it £9,000 a year now? while loans are only repayable once you are earning quite well?

I suppose some won't need a loan but I bet most will with the number of students there are now.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Any time someone who gets paid more than me doesn't bother to do their job properly and I end up having to do it for them. Which happens a lot.

 

[8ball]

I once suggested that degree courses be rated by the percentage of attendees that were in work after attending the course.

My argument was that it could focus the minds of people toying with the idea of a student loan.

Some people were dead against such a notion. A couple were university lecturers who have both gone on to become professors.

Is it such a bad idea?

I pondered something kind of similar but quite different once. When they increased the cost of paying back student loans I thought this might lead to an increase in the number of people doing courses, and excelling, at stuff like archaeology, where they will rarely earn enough to pay back the loan.

Leading to Britain becoming a nation of swashbuckling Indiana Joneses.

What seemed to happen was that people interpreted the outlay in a transactional manner and we got a load of Business Studies arseholes.

 

[weltweit]

Incidentally I have sort of noticed that a Physics qualification, the higher the better, seems to propel people in the jobs market.

Sadly I am not very numerate so it wasn't an option for me, but I have come across Physics people doing well in all sorts of walks of life.

 

[8ball]

Incidentally I have sort of noticed that a Physics qualification, the higher the better, seems to propel people in the jobs market.

Sadly I am not very numerate so it wasn't an option for me, but I have come across Physics people doing well in all sorts of walks of life.

Involves skills which are applicable to quite a lot of well-paid fields.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Incidentally I have sort of noticed that a Physics qualification, the higher the better, seems to propel people in the jobs market.

Sadly I am not very numerate so it wasn't an option for me, but I have come across Physics people doing well in all sorts of walks of life.

Physics is the easiest of the sciences. I'm currently teaching physics for a living despite having no qualification in it past GCSE level.

Nobody has actually discovered anything in physics in the last hundred years. Compare it to biology, which has just bailed out the whole human species with magnificent cutting-edge stuff like mRNA vaccines, and a discipline which is still trying to figure out if there are three forces or four starts to look a tiny bit shit.

 

[8ball]

Physics is the easiest of the sciences. I'm currently teaching physics for a living despite having no qualification in it past GCSE level.

Nobody has actually discovered anything in physics in the last hundred years. Compare it to biology, which has just bailed out the whole human species with magnificent cutting-edge stuff like mRNA vaccines, and a discipline which is still trying to figure out if there are three forces or four starts to look a tiny bit shit.

<above post brought to you by a biologist>

 

[weltweit]

I guess the argument of the people that disagreed with my proposal up thread is that education is a good itself and is good in itself.

And there is that quote about management. "What happens if we train our staff to be really good at their jobs and they leave? Alternatively what about if we don't train them and they stay?"

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I'd hate to be management; which I expect most here are in one form or another.

I've been a manager for years - I like it. Mainly because it means I have more authority and can change things in the way I think is needed, and have a lot of autonomy. I still get involved in stuff the more junior team members ordinarily do, but mainly to solve problems and the like. I don't have a degree.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

• dealing with 'irate' customers who ask to speak to a manager (me) in the hope they can get what they want even though they are in the wrong/don't qualify/at fault
• repeatedly being asked the same questions by staff
• managing staff

 

[farmerbarleymow]

dealing with 'irate' customers who ask to speak to a manager (me) in the hope they can get what they want even though they are in the wrong/don't qualify/at fault

I love dealing with stroppy customers and telling them to fuck off (in a suitably polite way of course). One of the best parts of the job.

 

[A380]

Deleted. Too dark.

 

[kabbes]

Had a customer recently tell me that they would like to receive one invoice every 6 months. Fine, just buy one thing every six months and job's good. But no, he wants to buy shit every week but only pay for it every six months. Never mind that I have to pay my suppliers every 14 days, one minute late and we lose our IATA licence. I wonder if he has the same arrangement with Tesco, the six monthly billing bullshit?

Offer to bill them in advance for the anticipated work and discount on a retrospective basis for any unused services. That way they can get the lower billing cadence and you don’t have the credit risk.

 

[Sue]

I'm currently teaching physics for a living despite having no qualification in it past GCSE level.

See this seems like complete madness to me.

I don't know if it's changed, but in Scotland to teach at secondary, you used to have to either 1) have a degree in the subject you wanted to teach or 2) have studied it/something closely related for two years at university.

So if you wanted to reach maths, for example, you needed a maths degree or an engineering/physics degree would work. To teach physics, a physics degree or an engineering degree.

If you were a maths teacher, you wouldn't be allowed to teach English. Which seems completely reasonable.

Eta Looks like this ^ still applies.

If you’ve never had any teacher training, there are two ways to become a qualified teacher in Scotland: a four-year undergraduate programme or a one-year PGDE programme. Both these routes allow students to become qualified primary or secondary teachers. You’ll need a degree, or equivalent, regardless of whether you want to go into primary or secondary teaching. Due to the specialisation of secondary teaching, however, your degree will need to be in a relevant subject. So, if you want to be a History teacher, for example, you’ll need a degree in History or some sort of closely-related field.

Am I Qualified To Teach In Scotland? | myjobscotland

If you have a teaching qualification from somewhere outside Scotland, or you only have informal qualifications or experience, you may not be fully eligible to teach here. But don’t worry – whether you are new to teaching or an experienced professional from out with Scotland, there’s a route into...

www.myjobscotland.gov.uk

 

[Edie]

I sometimes have to break bad news. With older adults it’s not always too bad, with children it’s universally terrible. I almost always follow the 7 steps of breaking bad news I was taught, it helps. You have to be very contained but compassionate.

Death itself, oddly, isn’t a part I dread. Giving someone a good death is very important.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I once had a customer ask if they paid us on 5 or 10 day terms, could they get a 5% discount. Turns out we had enough working capital so we declined.

I’d accept and increase the price by 20%.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Offer to bill them in advance for the anticipated work and discount on a retrospective basis for any unused services. That way they can get the lower billing cadence and you don’t have the credit risk.

Zoopla tells me their house is worth £14m, I have his PA on side and she makes sure I am paid every 8 weeks which is good enough for me. All their services attract a significant levy in line with owning a £14m house, and to their credit they never actually ask the price of stuff from me.

 

[contadino]

Love my job, the company, the customers, etc... It's shit when it's sunny outside and I could be out in the garden.