What is your highest education level? Do you want to go back to school

[W_L]

We never talk about our education levels on GA much; nor do we really discuss things like going back to school or career progression.

 

For some people on the site, it is an afterthought; education does not denote success, nor skill alone. However, it does impact how you perceive the world and how you view others around you.

 

In real life, I was checking up on work done by a finance clerk and found several errors. She was apologetic and I went about teaching her how to run numbers for reports better with different tools from Excel. She commented that she had not been in college for almost 15 years and had not been adept at using Excel, except for basic spreadsheets. She asked me to take care of the reports, because I was more technical. My CFO heard that as he was passing by and she was terminated a few days later. A sad story about human limitations that reveals a technical gap between generations and people.

 

She held a Bachelors degree, but her technical sophistication was lacking. I am a Masters' level guy, I still like to keep on learning and I am mandated to keep up Continuing education every yea by my professional board (long story about professional certification processes). A generation ago, a college education with a bachelors was enough for most jobs, but is it enough for modern times?

 

I think education is extremely important and people should seek to update themselves from time to time, just so they don't become obsolete. However, I wonder how many people are willing to do that and keep it going?

 

My value on education is a personal view, you may have a different view than me on this.

Edited March 15, 2014 by W_L

[Kitt]

A lot of my generation has become obsolete in spite of trying to keep up.  Sometimes going back to school is just not possible between the demands of work and family, and then suddenly you find yourself so far out of the loop you can't even find a door back in.

 

Your acquaintance that lost her job was a prime example - things have changed and she had not kept up. In my case computers didn't become every day tools until I was well out of school. I learned on the fly to keep up with the requirements of the jobs I held but beyond that I am woefully inadequate and look to people like AJ to help me when things go wrong.

 

Would I go back to school? Perhaps that should be broken down to two questions. Would I like to learn more? Yes certainly. Would school fit into my daily life? Up until recently no. Going forward? I don't know but am hoping it might.

 

Oh and as to my current level - I have attended university but never finished. Life sort of demanded all my attention and I left intending to go back but it just never happened.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Kitt

[layla]

I've attended college twice, once for a bachelors degree double major in Criminal Justice and English lit with a minor in Psychology and more recently, for a bachelors in Media Arts and Animation. I would, potentially like to study photography some day, and enhance what i've taught myself, or at the very least, spend about a year working with a professional in the field and picking their brain on different things. I don't know if i have it in my to go back to school again, i prefer to learn in the field. I just don't see what good a killer GPA is without the practical uses to go along with it. This last time through school i maintained a 3.9 GPA over the course of four and a half years, yet in the end, i don't even have any desire to work in the primary field that i majored in.I have a hodge podge of skills, but the ones i use most often are the things i picked up either on the job, or in working with others who had that skilset and were willing to teach. 

[Adam Phillips]

I have a PhD in math, and I use it part-time, I guess, as an adjunct math prof at a college. I was in that game full-time for a while, but I got annoyed with departmental politics, and my best friend invited me in as a partner in a business he was starting. When that took off, I left full-time teaching.

 

PhD stands mainly for "piled higher and deeper." It's no guarantee of anything, but I'm a believer in education. And I believe in it as a means to an end--as in, go to school to get training to qualify you for a particular job--but mainly I believe in education as a vehicle by which you enhance your ability to think. And I'm a huge supporter of liberal-arts education. The more we require of our brains in multiple areas, the more flexible and capable our brains are. More and more we see people who have education in one area who don't know how to think. They've learned their data, but their ability to reason is virtually non-existent, and they know nothing beyond what they got from their major course of study. It's what happens when you niche yourself in education, and I think liberal-arts schools provide the opportunity to make something more expansive and significant of your education, without abandoning commitment to expertise and specialization in your major area.

 

I have no desire to go back to school to get another degree, but I'm all about everybody continuing in education, regardless of your level and area of "formal" education. And there are so many ways you can do that.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Adam Phillips

[Daddydavek]

I got my bachelors degree in psychology more than forty years ago.   I've been enrolled in the school of hard knocks for over sixty years and it's an ongoing education.   I worked in government for more than thirty years and taught my specific job to others on and off for more than fifteen years and did lot's of traveling.  I've found that learning is an ongoing process and anyone who thinks they are finished is dead, or might as well be.  

[Aditus]

I'm a chemical-technical assistant and have a PhD in Biology. I worked in a lab at university before I became a teacher, tutor and editor for scientific publications/texts. I write plays with a friend, play piano at a bar (sometimes). I guess I get easily bored.

I really don't want to go to school anymore, but I read lots of scientific publications to know what's going on in my field. I don't want to teach the same boring things teachers did twenty years ago after all.

[Andy78]

On the academic side, I have an undergrad degree called an MEnglish (we don't have these any more, but basically they were four year degrees as opposed to the standard UK three year degrees).  They allowed for more in depth study than our usual degrees as the course required three separate subjects to be studied and three 12000 word dissertations in the final year instead of just one (one dissertation per subject area).  I think the MMath and MEng degrees still exist (these are maths and engineering undergrad degrees that follow a similar principle).

 

My undergrad degree is in English Literature and Classical Studies with Modern History.

 

I also have a PGC in Healthcare Management (this is equivalent to the first year of a masters).

 

I would love to get my full masters degree, but I'm at a point where I'd only be studying for it the sake of having a masters.  I don't need a masters to do my job, or my manager's job or even my manager's manager's job.

[Trebs]

While my degree is in Computer Science, I don't use much of it.  Senior year I realized that I loved working in politics and got a dream job as computer support in a political organization.  As that wasn't a full-time need in 93, I learned a lot of other skills, primarily meeting planning.  I do want to go back to school (or use online learning) but not for another degree - the main thing I keep telling myself I want to do is learn Spanish.  Have bought a number of learning CD/DVD's over the years, just not been focused enough to actually do it.  Being in a classroom is what I think I need, just a matter of doing it.  It's easy enough around here to take a class at the local community college, but it's all a matter of time.  Right now, I have the time but with chemo treatments, I don't have the concentration on an ongoing basis to do it.  But soon  :-)

[Sasha Distan]

I spent a total of five years at university.

 

one year foundation degree in Fine Art and Creative Writing.

Three year full BAHons in 3D Materials Practice (Wood, Metal, Ceramics and Plastics) - that is the official title. i promise.

One year PGCE secondary Design and Technology teaching qualification.

 

and yet, when I ask people on GA what they attend/will attend uni for i feel dumb, because i went to art school and i teach design and food technology and they do all sorts of higher level complex things. Me, i can make a soup bowl and then make soup to go in it.

i love education (though i think the system is rather broken), and i think that regardless of your formal education, no one should ever stop learning, regardless of the context of that learning. even if all you learnt today was a new way to get from point a to point b, you have kept an open mind. everyone can learn something everyday. I get my kids (in my tutor group/homeroom) to do this sometimes. "Today i learnt..." and despite the fact they've been at school all day, some of the answers are pretty interesting.

My favourite: Today i learnt: that i cannot drink a whole 2 litres of coke before third period and expect my teacher to be happy about my sudden need to go to the bathroom....

[Aaron Penrose]

Academia has always been a breeze for me. I have an insanely photographic short-term memory that allows me to pretty much memorize walls of text within minutes. I have a 4.0 two years into college, and I have never once studied for a test, or even begun a paper any more than one single day before it was due. My retention is atrocious, obviously, but damn my superpowers come in handy. I put myself through a lot of sleepless nights with my procrastination habits, but so far it hasn't come back to bite me, so whatever.

 

Anyway, yes, I think education is extremely important. I absolutely love college. Although Political Science was unabashedly a cop-out of my hard classes I was taking as a Bio major (still had to take Calculus--ugh), I'm actually glad I chose it, now. I think I'll make a fine lawyer. I may go back for a PhD after I get my JD just because I enjoy school so much.

 

Another thing I want to mention is the alarming number of people who go to college not for an education, but just for the social experience. I read a fascinating book recently called The Closing of the American Mind that blames the decline of intellectualism in America on the failure of universities. They're not grooming students to be intellectuals anymore. They're not asking those important, formative questions that breed intelligent and critical thinking. They're just teaching us to pass the test and get the paper and assimilate mindlessly into the workforce.

 

Highly recommend the book.

[methodwriter85]

    I have a master's degree in history that I'm not really doing anything paid with, though I do volunteer at a museum so I can keep my skills current.

 

   I might go back to school someday- either to get another master's degree in urban planning, so that I can create a niche for myself as a urban renewal history guy, or get a PhD in public history. I haven't really decided yet- in any event, I want to live real life for at least 5 years out of grad school- if by 31 I'm still not going anywhere in my field, I'm probably going to go back to school.

 

   Grad school's a bitch, though. I don't know if I can do it again.

Edited March 16, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Sasha Distan]

Another thing I want to mention is the alarming number of people who go to college not for an education, but just for the social experience. 

 

The local university came round to talk to our year 10 kids the other week (you would call these Freshmen). and they told them that "university wasn't just about getting a degree. It was about having fun".  Most people i know who went to uni this sept spent most the of the first term drunk out of their skulls and then quit. it's a fabulous waste of resources, time and money.

[Never Surrender]

At the moment, I suppose my highest level of education would be my A-Levels (and those are best left unmentioned, really!)

 

I'm currently doing a BSc in Criminology at a fairly 'average-joe' university. I enjoy the course, but I'm well aware that the majority of the career doors it opens for me are ones I'm uninterested in. This is the downside of picking your major subject when you're 17 - I had no idea what I wanted to do, and what I had the grades to do. I could have switched at the end of my first year, but at this point I just want to finish my degree and move out into the real world. I would really like to get a masters in something, but unfortunately I don't think my personal situation is going to allow me to stay in education for another year. In an ideal world, id love to go into a job based around distribution/logistics/supply chain management. However, I fear that I've just taken the wrong degree to make than an easy process, but I hope that if I work hard I can get there eventually.

 

In terms of jobs, every job I have been offered has been completely non-dependant on my academic results. Instead, I have been offered decent and well-enough paid jobs based around my other skills and interests, like horses and music. Although I did both jobs to earn money until I went to university, it was not something I would have chosen to do long term, mainly because of the danger factor. As you get older, there is only so many times you can be thrown from a horse before you stop 'bouncing' and start 'breaking'! But because of my previous experience, I would find it remarkably easy to get another long term job working with horses now if I wished to. I just don't, because its not a wage that I would be able to support myself (and any future family I have) on to the standard I would hope to.

 

The local university came round to talk to our year 10 kids the other week (you would call these Freshmen). and they told them that "university wasn't just about getting a degree. It was about having fun".  Most people i know who went to uni this sept spent most the of the first term drunk out of their skulls and then quit. it's a fabulous waste of resources, time and money.

 

On this note, I actually agree with the university. I (personally) think that the fun is essential, as long as you can balance and contain yourself. Through this kind of fun, I have learnt a lot about people, and about my relationships with them. I have dropped myself into some horribly awkward situations, said and done some really stupid things, but at the same time I have learnt a lot about who I am, and who I want to become. (and various life skills, like how to open a bottle on a cabinet edge, how to build a bonfire, how to avoid fights/arguments, and how to make the walk of shame look like a stride of pride ). My father told me that even if I had gone to the university based in the same town we used to live in as a family, he would have made me move into halls instead of staying at home because he said that he thought the experience of halls was important, mentally, emotionally, and as a way to develop maturity levels and force yourself to be accountable for yourself.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Never Surrender

[Andy78]

My father told me that even if I had gone to the university based in the same town we used to live in as a family, he would have made me move into halls instead of staying at home because he said that he thought the experience of halls was important, mentally, emotionally, and as a way to develop maturity levels and force yourself to be accountable for yourself.

 

Even though I went to a uni close to home, I moved into halls (actually over my parent's objection, as they felt it was an unnecessary expense given how close my uni was).  If I hadn't, then I never would have met my hubby, and we wouldn't have had sixteen happy years together.

[Sasha Distan]

On this note, I actually agree with the university. I (personally) think that the fun is essential, as long as you can balance and contain yourself. Through this kind of fun, I have learnt a lot about people, and about my relationships with them. I have dropped myself into some horribly awkward situations, said and done some really stupid things, but at the same time I have learnt a lot about who I am, and who I want to become. (and various life skills, like how to open a bottle on a cabinet edge, how to build a bonfire, how to avoid fights/arguments, and how to make the walk of shame look like a stride of pride ). My father told me that even if I had gone to the university based in the same town we used to live in as a family, he would have made me move into halls instead of staying at home because he said that he thought the experience of halls was important, mentally, emotionally, and as a way to develop maturity levels and force yourself to be accountable for yourself.

 

 

Even though I went to a uni close to home, I moved into halls (actually over my parent's objection, as they felt it was an unnecessary expense given how close my uni was).  If I hadn't, then I never would have met my hubby, and we wouldn't have had sixteen happy years together.

 

See, I never did move into halls. but then, my university wasn't a campus university, so we really didn't have that same experience generally (think 7 sites spread over the city and none of the halls are on the same sites as the campus buildings). and while i think that fun is important and the social side of university is a great thing, surely the main point of paying all that money (borrowed or otherwise) is to further one's education. As a teacher the idea of a university encouraging students to get into 17K plus of debt "for fun" is immoral.

[Never Surrender]

and while i think that fun is important and the social side of university is a great thing, surely the main point of paying all that money (borrowed or otherwise) is to further one's education. As a teacher the idea of a university encouraging students to get into 17K plus of debt "for fun" is immoral.

 

I think the key part of what the university said was 'its not just about the education' in first year, i lived in a flat/corridor set-up of 24 people. Of those people, 1 of them failed so badly he had to retake first year. Within those 24 people, there were at least 6 different incidents of being too drunk to hand in coursework, 1 of someone ending up sleeping with somebody they didn't want to, at least 4 minor fires, and a good 20+ of doing idiotic crap that makes me cringe as I look back. I think the difference is that it split people into maybe three different divisions (in my opinion)?

 

those who wanted to succeed at all costs, and neglected the social life as a result. That's a totally fine track to take, and I respect people who are that driven, but many of those are now struggling in other aspects such as finding room mates for their private housing.

 

then we have the people who flew completely off the rails, ended up in serious trouble, getting arrested, being piss drunk every night, no coursework handed in, sleeping with a different person each (and every single) night, sleeping with three people on three occasions in one night, etc.... these are the people that have now either dropped out, or are resitting their first year. Again, fine, not going to judge people, if that's what you wanted to do with your life, I'm happy for you.

 

then we have the people who have managed an approximation of a balance between those two groups. being driven, while having fun. Learning about the real world doesn't have to be boring, but it doesn't have to be unsafe either. Since coming to university, I've learnt how to change light bulbs, how to put out minor fires, and what a fuse box is. All three of these things technically shouldn't have happened if i was being safe and sensible and academic, but they did because I was having fun, and now I've learnt something as a result. Work should always be a priority, but why shouldn't you go a little crazy in your down time, once you have your priorities sorted? Uni has helped turn me from an anti-education immature kid with very few prospects, to what i hope is some semblance of a moderately responsible adult, and as odd as it sounds, to me the widening of my prospects, mixed with the way it has changed me as a person, it worth the debt that i will end up in. 

Edited March 16, 2014 by Never Surrender

[Myr]

I have a Bachelors of Science in an engineering discipline and two Masters of Science in related fields.  I just completed the second Masters in January.  I have taught as adjunct faculty at my school in the past, but I am not doing so now.

 

I might go for the PhD later in life, but it's not on my agenda now.  Working full time and doing a Masters really took a lot out of me.

 

I do have to do continuing education for both my professional certifications and for work requirements. So even without a degree, I'll be adding more knowledge to my skull.

[Mann Ramblings]

After high school I went to college. I came out during that time and the stress during that period left me after four years of classes with me dropping out and no degree. I felt so guilty for not being able to follow through, it took about another 13 years to muster the courage to go back an earn a degree in Graphic Design.

 

Since then, I've taken 5 years of ceramics classes before joining the local guild absorbing every ounce of information I can on the subject and improving my skills. Then I started writing finished M/M fiction and keep trying to learn everything I can in this format as well. I doubt I'll go back to school for anything else, but my education is ongoing every day even if it's not in a formal setting. I'm good with that.

[Mark Arbour]

I think the key part of what the university said was 'its not just about the education' in first year, i lived in a flat/corridor set-up of 24 people. Of those people, 1 of them failed so badly he had to retake first year. Within those 24 people, there were at least 6 different incidents of being too drunk to hand in coursework, 1 of someone ending up sleeping with somebody they didn't want to, at least 4 minor fires, and a good 20+ of doing idiotic crap that makes me cringe as I look back. I think the difference is that it split people into maybe three different divisions (in my opinion)?

 

those who wanted to succeed at all costs, and neglected the social life as a result. That's a totally fine track to take, and I respect people who are that driven, but many of those are now struggling in other aspects such as finding room mates for their private housing.

 

then we have the people who flew completely off the rails, ended up in serious trouble, getting arrested, being piss drunk every night, no coursework handed in, sleeping with a different person each (and every single) night, sleeping with three people on three occasions in one night, etc.... these are the people that have now either dropped out, or are resitting their first year. Again, fine, not going to judge people, if that's what you wanted to do with your life, I'm happy for you.

 

then we have the people who have managed an approximation of a balance between those two groups. being driven, while having fun. Learning about the real world doesn't have to be boring, but it doesn't have to be unsafe either. Since coming to university, I've learnt how to change light bulbs, how to put out minor fires, and what a fuse box is. All three of these things technically shouldn't have happened if i was being safe and sensible and academic, but they did because I was having fun, and now I've learnt something as a result. Work should always be a priority, but why shouldn't you go a little crazy in your down time, once you have your priorities sorted? Uni has helped turn me from an anti-education immature kid with very few prospects, to what i hope is some semblance of a moderately responsible adult, and as odd as it sounds, to me the widening of my prospects, mixed with the way it has changed me as a person, it worth the debt that i will end up in. 

 

Thank you for that post.  I love hearing pseudo-intellectuals bemoan the focus on the college social life, and smirk knowingly because they're almost always from the liberal arts.  College is about so much more than what you learn in the classroom, especially at the undergraduate level.

 

I am a professor, and I get to watch a lot of students evolve as they flow through the system.  Speaking generally, my experience with them is that the first two years are largely a time of exploration.  They are learning to balance their lives between social activities, work, and their academic obligations.  They are discovering who they are.  Those who drop/flunk out aren't stupid, usually, they just haven't found that balance.  It's a clear sign that they simply aren't mature enough to tackle college.  The last two years or so, they tend to find a field that interests them and focus their efforts in that direction.  By then, they have mostly come to discover how to juggle the various challenges in their lives, and that often includes a boy/girlfriend. 

 

During the undergraduate years, I think that the personal growth, and learning how to prioritize and balance responsibilities, is at least as important as academic growth.  Graduate school is an entirely different experience, where the academics take center stage, and things like a social life become largely irrelevant as part of the maturation process. 

Edited March 16, 2014 by Mark Arbour

[TetRefine]

Another thing I want to mention is the alarming number of people who go to college not for an education, but just for the social experience. I read a fascinating book recently called The Closing of the American Mind that blames the decline of intellectualism in America on the failure of universities. They're not grooming students to be intellectuals anymore. They're not asking those important, formative questions that breed intelligent and critical thinking. They're just teaching us to pass the test and get the paper and assimilate mindlessly into the workforce.

 

I'm sorry, but college should be about the social experience and the growth that comes with that, as much as it should be about going to class and learning. The amount of social growth that happens during 4 years of college is astounding, and in my opinion is extremely important to learning how to become a well-functioning adult. You make friends that will last a lifetime, make horrible mistakes that you will pay dearly for but also learn valuable lessons from, and learn how to function without mommy and daddy leaning over you're shoulder 24/7. I think it is important for people to go live on campus during college and be far enough away from home to where you are forced to function independently. Nothing bothers me more then people who go to college 10 minutes from where they grew up and go home every weekend. Seriously, what good is that doing for you? You might as well just stay in high school. I went 6 hours from home, and to a radically different area. My parents can't just come and pick me up when I've had a rough week. I can't just drive home when something bad happens. It has forced me to become independent and learn to deal with my own problems by myself. I am so thankful for that. 

 

Besides, some of my best life memories have been made with friends on drunken, rowdy nights where we did stupid shit. That is why the social experience is important. 

 

Back to the original point. I am graduating with my Bachelors in Criminal Justice in a couple months. I've absolutely loved my 4 years here, but I have come to the conclusion I am ready to move on. I am not a natural academic, and while many classes have taught me how to think outside the box, they have been pretty useless in a practical, real-world sense. I am not a person to take an interest in learning something just for the sake of knowing it. It has to have a real-world application to it. The only reason I will ever go back to school after I finish now would be for advancement in the workplace. 

[Graeme]

To some extent the poll and the response are very much North American focused. As an example, there are several posts above that talk about the college social life. In Australia, most students live at home when studying for a tertiary degree. That's because most of the population lives in the capital cities, and that's also where the universities are largely located. I had a forty minute train trip each way to Melbourne University each day when I went there, and that's not uncommon. Some students will rent apartments/houses nearer the university, but most still live at home.

 

As for the qualification, I did a combined maths/computer science bachelor degree, and then did an extra year to get a B.Sc(Hons) in computer science. That extra year is also a lead-in to a masters, but it taught me that I wasn't suited to doing research -- my mind didn't work that way. I'm a great problem solver, but when I didn't even know if there was a solution, I got a little lost It was only recently that I learnt that how the USA issues qualifications is different to Australia, and that's because one university was moving to a USA model. Most universities assume that what is called in the poll above the 'under-graduate studies' is actually specialised studies in a particular area. That is, you come out as a chemist, physicist, lawyer, mechanical engineer, civil engineer, musician, etc. You've already specialised into a particular area. The idea of a general undergraduate degree followed by post-graduate studies to specialise is something new, and only one university (to the best of my knowledge) has gone with that approach. Word of mouth has them losing students in the process, too, since why go to one university to do a four year degree and then have to pay more for additional studies to become a lawyer, when you can go elsewhere and get a law degree in four years?

 

In the initial post, I would say that the finance clerk who lost there job lost it for generational reasons, not education level. I'm a computer consultant -- I've been working in the industry for over quarter of a century -- but a lot of my knowledge is still self-taught because the technology has moved on so much since I left university. There are huge holes in what I know, because it's been a waste of time to learn something until I'm going to use it. If I don't use it

 

In my experience, what allows someone to keep a good-paying job is not education level but domain knowledge. What do they know about the area they're working in? To be honest, after a takeover my product knowledge in the new company is woeful. However, my general domain knowledge of the area in which I work is great. That means I now do a lot of high level analysis work. I can't do the low-level technical implementation or detailed design, as they require product knowledge, but I can do analysis and high level design work and that's what I'm now doing. All I have is a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree, and there are people below me with Masters... but they lack the experience in the industry or the specific domain knowledge that I have, and that's why I'm ranked above them. The extra degree looks good when changing jobs, but after almost 30 years in the computer industry, I'm still only on my third job. I've been in this one for more than fifteen years (and two company takeovers), and I was in the previous one for more than ten.

 

Education is important, but after a certain point industry experience counts for much more than educational qualifications. That's why I still have a job.

[Mann Ramblings]

I admit, I didn't answer the poll because it lacked the Associate degree level I had, because a technical certificate, in my area at least, requires half as much effort. And "Something Else" made it sound less relevant. Dammit, I earned that degree. LOL

Edited March 16, 2014 by Mann Ramblings

[Celethiel]

and what is the difference between primary and secondary school?

And if it's elementary, and highschools... Why make a marked difference?

[TetRefine]

and what is the difference between primary and secondary school?

And if it's elementary, and highschools... Why make a marked difference?

 

Primary=Elementary and Middle schools.

Secondary=High school.

 

There is a big difference between only having completed 8th grade as opposed to 12th. You are pretty much useless for anything other then manual labor jobs if you haven't even graduated high school. Even just being a high school graduate doesn't get you very far any more in the job market. Gone are the days when you could go to work at 18, make a decent living as a low-skilled worker, and retire after 30 years in the factory. 

Edited March 16, 2014 by TetRefine

[Graeme]

and what is the difference between primary and secondary school?

And if it's elementary, and highschools... Why make a marked difference?

This is moving off topic, but here in Australia:

 

Primary school: The first seven years of schooling, starting from the age of four or five. Characterised by having a single primary teacher for most subjects. The first year is called Prep or Kinder, depending on which state you live in, followed by years/grades 1-6.

 

Secondary school: The next six years of schooling. Characterised by having a different teacher per subject. In later years (starting around year 9, though that depends on the school), there are also optional/elective subjects, allowing the student to tailor their studies in the direction they want to go.

 

Please note that this is different to what TetRefine said above, where he put middle school as part of primary. Australia generally doesn't have a middle school -- it's primary and secondary, with our secondary covering both of what the USA call middle and high schools.

 

On an education basis, we also have a parallel technical education system of apprenticeships combined with tertiary studies. These do not require that a student completes secondary school, as a person can start an apprenticeship from the age of 16 (I think). This is geared for those students that want to become carpenters, electricians, plumbers, motor mechanics, etc. The tertiary studies involved give them documented qualifications in the area in which they have an apprenticeship. I believe they also give general business skills (not sure about that) as many people who take this education stream will end up starting their own businesses.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Graeme