Your ALMOST study/school/uni/job/career stories

[Joseph41]

I'm interested to hear about pathways you ALMOST took.

Subjects you ALMOST studied.

Jobs you ALMOST accepted.

Anything school/uni/careers-related that you almost pursued but didn't for whatever reason, I'd love to hear about.

I was thinking about it a little this morning, as I've actually recently enrolled in - and then quit in Week 2 - a Graduate Certificate in Educational Research through Charles Sturt University. The course itself looked really good, and it was only one semester long, but in the end, I didn't think I'd be able to juggle full-time work and full-time study without it negatively impacting me in a considerable way. So I've put a pin in that for now.

Through high school, I almost chose Maths Methods and Art in Year 12 (studied both in Year 11), but ended up dropping them for Further Maths and HHD.

Your turn!

EDIT: Also, my first preference when I submitted my preferences was a Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) at RMIT University. Ended up changing my preferences after results etc. (but not due to results), and changed my first preference to Arts at Monash.

[lacitam]

I have no problems seeing blood and/or bodily fluids, but I dropped out of a nursing degree because I couldn't fathom myself giving needles to people. Just thinking about it gives me the heebie-jeebies...

[AngelWings]

Pathways I almost took
- Architecture - I got an interview at Monash for their architecture course. Was too low a preference to find out if I ever would’ve received that offer.
- Business/ Commerce - Something I’d heavily considered in Year 10. Discovered it just wasn’t for me.
- Chemistry - I mean majoring in chemistry but it would’ve affected where I would’ve looked for jobs after. I was going to until I realised (a) too many contact hours that I wouldn’t have been able to work simultaneously (which was a big factor for me) and (b) I probably wouldn’t have been able to handle it near the end of my degree.

Subjects I almost studied
- Economics U3/4 - did Economics U1/2 and my marks fluctuated so much that I knew I couldn’t keep it up. Enjoyed it but it caused me stress that I knew I didn’t have to deal with and was especially worried about this on top of my other subjects. It got replaced by Further (I did General Maths in Year 10) and really relished that as a “break subject”.
- Chinese SL U3/4 - If I’d been pushed by my parents I probably would’ve taken this, but again too much stress and I couldn’t keep up after U1/2.
- Biology - simply ran out of room and knew I wouldn’t be able to handle the workload and content heavy aspects of it in VCE. Sadly this was also a move to maximise my ATAR. Would’ve if I could’ve. Regret it a little bit because it would’ve been helpful but I didn’t know what I wanted back then so I went as general as possible.

Jobs I almost accepted
I can’t recall any jobs I almost accepted, but I can recall many jobs I almost got and narrowly missed in one way or another:
- Genetics research jobs and various sections in hospitals: Had multiple interviews for these. The closest one was when the interview went apparently well and the only reason I didn’t get the job? I still had 6 weeks left of Honours and they needed someone urgently. Otherwise I would’ve been working there today.
- pesticide research: I would’ve been doing this amazing ecological and pesticide research job... if only I had a PhD (mind you, the job advertisement never specified they wanted that, just Honours). I was absolutely gutted about this one as it was right up my alley and moreso because I had received my Honours marks recently and had missed the PhD cutoff by a couple of marks, so it was like mixing salt into the wound. They said I interviewed well too and to come back in a few years with a PhD and more experience.

[keltingmeith]

I feel like I've listed this before, but in the space of choosing my subjects for VCE I went through the following career aspirations:

-Author
-Musician
-Comedian
-Teacher
-Doctor (I'd like to add that I decided this one while not wanting to do any biology lol)
-Mathematician
-Pharmacist
-Chemist
-Geologist (this then changed in uni and again right now lol)

Then in university, my major choices went (the one listed first being the main major, and the other one being my secondary one):

-Geology + Maths
-Geology + Stats
-Stats + Chemistry
-Stats + Maths
-Chemistry + Stats
-Chemistry + Chemistry (double major, hence why listed twice)
-Chemistry + Chemistry + Stats

I'm a very indecisive person lol

[Calebark]

I applied to do a Cert II in Electrotechnology, which is required by most employers before undertaking a Cert III in Electrotechnology — that is, an electrical apprenticeship. I'd always wanted to attend uni, but I had a lot of financial and familial responsibilities in my life, so it wasn't a viable option. At the time I was working installing doors and windows, and while the work itself was boring, I really enjoyed working with my hands and being able to see and feel the things I accomplished at work. Being an electrician would've combined working with my hands with genuinely interesting content.

I ended up putting off starting the Cert II as I didn't have my license (lmao), so it just would've been easier to wait and then get it done.

Eventually I left my job for a bunch of reasons and started working in an office, so without being exposed to the construction industry constantly, the idea just naturally left my head. By then life softened up a little bit and it became viable for me to attend uni while still keeping my other responsibilities. Since electrotechnology was just my back-up option, which I no longer need, it's somewhere behind me now.

I'm currently (well, barely, I'm new) attending Monash, looking to study medicine afterwards, so it's a very different pathway. But who knows, maybe I'll get bored and decide to gun for electrotechnology again — I think I'd still be content doing that.

[Owlbird83]

I feel like I'm still too undecided in my future currently to write about this. However, last year I was pretty set on doing a gap year in the Navy, and I reckon if I did, I would have stayed on in the ADF as my career. I had passed almost all the application process until the medical where my mild asthma let me down. I actually developed a cold like the day before my bronchial provocation test, and they say to cancel if you have a cold because it can lead to you to fail the test, but it was too late to cancel, so I did it anyway and failed, and I feel like I'll never know if I would have actually passed if I didn't have a cold (maybe I still would have failed though). They gave me an option to redo it after taking preventors but it would have dragged the application process into this year and I didn't want to have uncertainty, so I picked uni.

[angewina_naguen]

Love this thread idea  Here are my (almost) life stories!

Subjects I almost took
- Visual Arts (Year 10). I did Visual Arts in Year 9 as one of my elective choices but had a teacher who I constantly was butting heads with which made me not want to pursue it in Year 10. I decided to do Philosophy instead for Year 10 (it was the first year the subject was running too so it was particularly exciting) and I really enjoyed it. I ended up taking Visual Arts for Year 11 and Year 12 though, funnily enough because of my Philosophy teacher. He said that if I wanted to continue developing my critical thinking skills and exploring important social and cultural issues, Visual Arts was the place to do it. It sure was 
- Italian Beginners (Year 11/12). I really wanted to study a language in senior high school and was already learning basic Italian because of my classical singing course. It was offered at my school but we didn't have the numbers for a class to run so I did Modern History in substitute for it which I ended up liking and doing well in 
- Mathematics Advanced (Year 12). I discovered about halfway through high school that I was really not fond of maths. I didn't enjoy it, my grades were declining assessment to assessment and my teachers, although were nice, failed to motivate me or give me an incentive to continue pursuing it. Year 11 was the last time I could bear and I decided to drop the subject in order to pick up Extension 2 English instead. I received a lot of criticism from people around me for it, especially my dad who when he was in school was unable to pursue Mathematics in tertiary education due to financial reasons. Abandoning 2 unit Maths meant that I had so much more to prove to people, and to myself, but eventually, people started to realise that me dropping it was the smarter move all along. If I had kept it, I would have been miserable, resentful and dissatisfied. It was the best decision I made as a young adult 

Pathways I almost took
- Speech Pathology. Since I'm a singer, I have been always fascinated by the voice. I asked my tutor for advice on what I should do after high school and she was in her final year of Speech Path at the time. She highly recommended it and told me to have a look into it. I had a very brief period where I was really interested in pursuing it but I ended up deciding that I wasn't committed to the idea of it long term.
- English/History Education. I was told by a lot of people that I needed a backup plan if I was going to aim for Music Ed at the Con. At the time, I was really insecure and was convinced that I wasn't going to be able to make it into such a competitive university. I figured "well, if I can't teach music, I guess I wouldn't mind teaching English or History." I really enjoyed English in school, I have a lifelong love for literature and I knew that I was going to be more than likely tutoring English after my HSC than Music so that's how this pathway was formed. If it wasn't for my music teachers at school and my private singing teacher, I wouldn't have been confident enough to follow my dreams. I think I would have enjoyed teaching English but I also know that my love for music is much stronger and I probably would have ended up winding to my current path anyway.
- Musical Theatre (Performance). I suppose this counts because I technically have yet to pursue it but I was looking at studying a musical theatre degree at the Brisbane Academy run by Harvest Rain. I was tossing up between this and Music Ed because I had passion for both equally. I decided to apply for the Con instead to do Music Ed first since it's a four-year degree and I am still living with my family. I will, unless something changes, go for this one-year intensive degree once I graduate 

Jobs I almost accepted
- Private tutoring jobs. I have rejected multiple private tutoring offers because of a personal promise to myself to prioritise myself. Juggling full time uni, two jobs and a bunch of other extra-curricular activities has been a challenge and I have slowly become better at kindly declining requests for the long term benefit of my wellbeing. I find working for Tutesmart really flexible and easy to manage amongst the rest of my commitments so I plan to keep it like this for a while 

Keen to hear what other people's stories are 

[ritosno]

Subjects in school I ALMOST studied
I am a very impulsive person who has a new idea of what is "fun" and what to do with my life all the time. This was even more apparent when I was at school.
In Year 7, we had to choose between French or Spanish as a foreign language. I actually wanted to study Spanish at first but my dad was the one filling in the form so he decided that French would be more useful. Fortunately (not to brag) I ended up being pretty decent in French.
In Year 10, we had to choose what GCSEs we were going to do (I went to school in Hong Kong). I wanted to study psychology at first, hilariously only because we were going to be watching Inception in class and I really loved that film. Ended up studying economics (again because of parental pressure), but again fortunately I ended up being decent at it so no harm done. We also had to choose an arts subject to do; I ended up choosing music but I dithered between that and food technology for a few days.

Uni subjects I nearly applied for
I wasn't any less impulsive at 16 or 17 apparently, so here's a list of everything I have ever considered studying:

• Public Health
• Law
• Pharmacy (because I loved studying Medicinal Chemistry in high school chemistry. I mean I wasn't any good at it, but it was interesting!)
• Engineering (found out I didn't take the right maths subjects for that)
• Allied Health Assistance (at TAFE)
• Some kind of trade (Quarantine convinced me that I would hate a job where I just sat at a desk and a computer all day)

Jobs I have considered doing

• Music production (either as an artist or a producer or doing shows. I'm still really into the field but more in a hobbyist/casual way, burned myself out on artistry when I was 16 and I don't want to get sick of something I love again)
• Comedy (I blame a childhood obsession with stand-up comedy and panel shows)
• Script writing for TV shows/movies
• Translation (I like learning languages in my free time)
• Sports coaching (Loved footy since a young age)

TL;DR: I have been interested in many many things in my life.

[Sine]

For me, it really hasn’t been ALMOST studied/accepted but more about considered changes. I never really got super close and then changed things. So this may not be as interesting as the other posts haha.

VCE:
I completed Accounting units ½ in year 11 but dropped it for an extension subject. Definitely a worthwhile subject though and learnt a lot from it.
I applied/accepted for both MUEP Chemistry and UMEP Mathematics but ended up dropping UMEP Mathematics at the start of the year. Wasn’t going to do both though. As an aside, you aren’t technically allowed to do two extension subjects, but I’ve seen people do it.

University courses:
I never really knew what I wanted to do at university for a long time. At around year 10 I was thinking about doing a double degree in Engineering and Law at Monash University for a little bit but went back to being unsure in year 11/12.

University subjects:
I never really had any last moment changes for anything mainly because 16 of my 24 subjects in my undergrad were already allocated to me, but definitely considered doing different subjects such as economics, more math subjects as electives. Maybe I’ll do some at some point.

[eloisegrace]

I am only in year 11 but I say I am very indecisive so I'd like to contribute to this thread

VCE Subjects
Specialist Maths: Probably the biggest surprise of my VCE Journey. I have always been very smart and naturally talented at maths and was sure of taking spesh until the start of year 10. I decided against spesh as it wasn't going to help my VCE selection and was going to narrow my choices. I also wanted an "easier" VCE subject range haha.
Physics: Chose this subject for Year 11. Dropped it after 4 weeks of classes as I found it incredibly dry. I think I only chose this subject because I had a great science teacher in Year 10 who was a big physics advocate.
Psychology: I'm not sure what drew me to this when I was younger, but after taking some psychology topics in science, I realised I liked the thought of it but not actually learning about the brain and its processes.
Accounting: Took Unit 1 of this subject. Wanted to like it but it was very dry and I realised that I did not want to go into business.
Legal Studies: I really enjoyed the legal proportion of my commerce elective in year 10, but it just didn't fit with my subjects. Not that interested in Civil Law either however I loved learning about criminal law.
Chinese: When I entered Year 7, I thought I would continue Chinese until Year 12 like my cousin who is very similarly minded to me. I actually enjoyed French a lot more (we had to do both for 2 years) and I dropped Chinese at the first chance.

Pathways:
I still have absolutely no clue about what I want to do, but here are the very wide range of paths I have considered.
- Education
- Sports Coaching
- Medicine
- Allied Health (still considering this but now I know I would not like to do speech pathology, nursing or dentistry)
- Author

[Joseph41]

Really interesting stories and perspectives so far. 👍  Would love to hear more!

[K888]

Idk about subjects - I was pretty set on the ones I did and didn't really consider any others!

In terms of courses/careers, I definitely almost went down the path of a few different healthcare jobs - medicine, OT, paramedicine, etc. and honestly think I could be happy doing any of those but ultimately decided physio was what I wanted to do most. My ultimate toss up was physio vs medicine I think and part of the reason physio won was I felt there would be more pressure in med and also I wasn't sure that it was a career I'd be ready to jump straight into at the age of 22/23 with all the pressure and stress. In the end I'm super glad I did physio because I don't think I could have dealt with med school haha. I'll still consider going back and doing postgrad med at some stage, though, after I've had a few years in the workforce!

[The Cat In The Hat]

Planned to do Specialist Maths, Chemistry (dropped in the middle of year 12), Physics, at some point in my time at school. Considered doing a music subject but didn't because it was a folio subject and I'm not great at the piano either (my only instrument).
Someone suggested an arts degree. I (in my head) laughed the idea to scorn. My family doesn't do that kind of thing. (Nor, to clarify, do I want to.)

[J_Rho]

I was set on doing 1/2 Physics in year 10 and 3/4 in Year 11. IDK what happened to that idea