They are here!

We're getting into week 6 of uni, and I've been handed my first 2 assignments, both in PCDS (which this blog is for) and Web.

This is the time I'll have to keep on top of my work, and again learn how to prioritise effectively my workloads, so I can avoid late nights!

In PCDS, I'm currently creating a brand new CV for myself, improving on the few templates I've had over the past 7 years, which is proving to be a big benefit, because it already looks better that the ones I've had. I'll also be creating a covering letter for a mock job advertisement, as well as preparing for a mock interview, all for my first assignment. Life experience should stand me in good stead for when that comes around! I've had a fair few interviews, both formal and informal.

Research and practice will have to be done before I start with my first essay within the next few weeks. It's been a while since I've written an article on my website, and it's been a lot longer since I did an actual essay. I'd like to think my journalism has helped with standards and structure.

Ted Talks

Last week, leading on from our discussions regarding employability and key skills, we took part in a group activity which aimed to engage us all in collaboration, prototyping and facilitation.

The activity is called the marshmallow challenge, and the objective was to plan and sketch a prototype structure, made from spaghetti sticks, which would be able to hold a marshmallow at the very top. The tallest, free-standing structure was the winner. The planning and erection of the structure was all to be done against the clock.

This was a good exercise to gain experience of teamwork in a pressurised scenario for the people who perhaps haven't experienced pressure in a workplace. Depending on the job, a person will for the majority of time be working to either meet or exceed targets on or before a deadline. However, even for the people with experience of pressure in a workplace, such as myself, it was still very challenging, and was certainly a help to brush up on my collaborative skills. 

The video below is taken from Ted Talks, where the challenge aims are explained in more detail.

Emerging, Emerged & Strengths

In our third week of PCDS, we focused on our skill-sets, and how they can be applied in a job application and/or interview to give us our USP's (Unique Selling Points), in order to stand out amongst others.

We also had a group discussion about transferable skills, which are relevant skills which can both help you get the job you're applying for, and to perform well in that role. 

Using a 3-column table (Emerging, Emerged, Strengths), we listed our key transferable skills and categorised them into an appropriate column.

- Emerging - skills and/or experiences at a basic level of understanding

- Emerged - capable skills and/or experiences which can be taken to the next level

- Strengths - accomplished skills and/or experiences  

Here is the table I created:

Employability

Our group this week conducted a presentation to the room on employability, which included everything from methods of job searching to the interview. 

It was a good task for us all to do because of the various experiences each one of us have had, especially the mature students.

Being 24, I've experienced working life for almost 7 years, so I'm used to maintaining CV's, creating covering letters and being interviewed in different environments by numerous types of employers.

I thought it was important for me to share with the lads my own personal scenarios that I've found myself in, just to let them know how things are. 

Each group had key, valid points to share with everybody, which made for a good brain storm, seen below.

Aspirations

Almost 7 years ago, in my final year of college, I had everything UCAS and university related rammed down my throat, giving me the impression that I had to have a plan to take the next step in my life. I ended up finishing college still not knowing what I wanted to do, and went straight into work with the civil service, followed by Tesco, biding my time until I knew 100 percent what I wanted to do for a career.

That thinking process took a lot longer than I was expecting, but in that time I was able to earn money, travel, as well as gain all-important life and work experience, before heading back into education.

I had to convince myself that I wasn't too old to do a university course, with my 25th birthday only a few weeks away.
"I'll be getting on for 28 by the time I've finished my degree...", I thought, feeling the pressure of having to have a career sorted as quickly as possible.
"That means I'll be nearly 30, then that's only 10 years until I'm 40. I've left this way too late", I continued to snowball.

I eventually calmed myself, sought out other people's opinions about what I was planning on doing, and was assured that it would indeed be a great move, and that it wasn't anywhere near too late. I actually had my reference written by an old colleague of mine who didn't graduate until he was approaching 30. That was the first time I felt properly confident about the next big step I wanted to take.

Right now, I don't regret taking so long to decide. Being a mature student puts me in good stead to achieve my target of a first, because I find myself infinitely more interested in learning new things, performing better in an academic environment than perhaps I was when I was a kid. It also helps that I have experienced the real world outside of education, having knowledge of what to expect beyond this programme.

I'll be doing the best I can in St. Helens, and wherever I do my top-up year. I'm still yet to decide on what I want to do in my third year; whether I want to carry on with Applied Computing, covering as many areas as possible, or to specialise in a particular field, such as networking or web design. These next 2 years will shape that, and once I've achieved my degree, the plan is to head down to London to be successful in whatever I end up doing.

Let's see how that goes.