Many believe the path to success is moving straight from the hallowed halls of high school into university or TAFE.
But for some the courses they decide on at 18 prove to be completely useless when they eventually decide to become bakers instead of lawyers.
FEMAIL spoke to a group of people who graduated with one particular sheet of paper only to find they didn’t really need it at all.
Brisbane-born Brianna Russo (pictured) studied Mass Communication Majoring in Advertising and Public Relations for four years
BRIANA ROSSO – STUDIED MASS COMMUNICATION MAJORING IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
Brisbane-born Brianna Russo studied Mass Communication Majoring in Advertising and Public Relations for four years.
It’s a degree that costs about $65,000 and the 27-year-old believes it was a waste of time.
‘I initially selected this degree because I wanted understand the skills required to convey and communicate messages within media. But when I finished the degree I realised how incredibly broad it was and how overwhelmed I felt,’ she said.
‘I honestly didn’t know which direction to go in.’
During her first year of university when the compulsory core subjects are learnt, Brianna said she felt like her knowledge of the media wasn’t improved at all.
It’s a degree that costs approximately $65,000 and the 27-year-old believes it was a royal waste of time (Brianna pictured)
‘After moving between a few jobs in the media industry – where I felt compliant and unmotivated – I decided to move to Melbourne to chase my dream,’ she continued.
‘I started a job within events and identified a gap in the gifting industry. My director at the time was incredibly supportive and assisted me in setting up my dream business.’
Just over a year ago Brianna founded The Bundle Collective (TBC), a bespoke gifting service aiming to bring the authenticity back into the gifting domain.
The company has worked with Google, QT Hotels, Bauer Media and Melbourne Racing Club.
‘I completely agree that a number of degrees are pointless for certain careers. With any job I have obtained I have never been asked if I have a degree and/or what my final university score was,’ she said.
Jane Lu, the CEO of online fashion retailer Showpo, (pictured) is another woman who ended up following a career path that was completely different from what she studied
JANE LU – STUDIED COMMERCE
Jane Lu, the CEO of online fashion retailer Showpo, is another woman who ended up following a career path that was completely different from what she studied.
‘My main motivation was to not go back to my job,’ Jane said, who used to work for accounting firm Ernst & Young.
Having a business degree is meant to help, but if anything, university gives you life skills,’ she told Smart Company.
‘There’s nothing directly applicable from my commerce degree to what I’m doing.’
After quitting her corporate job at the tender age of 18 and quickly falling into debt, the now 30-year-old from Sydney went on to found the fashion e-store, Showpo, from her parents’ garage in 2010. It is now reportedly worth more than $30 million.
Having a business degree is meant to help, but if anything, university gives you life skills,’ she told Smart Company (Jane Lu pictured)
GABRIELLA BRIGANTI – STUDIED APPLIED DESIGN
Gabriella, 25, studied a Bachelor of Applied Design at a private college, which is a three year course that ended up costing her $74,000.
‘From as far back as I could remember I wanted to design clothing and lead the fashion lifestyle. I loved the styling, creating, designing and making aspect; but wasn’t very big on the business side of things. I enjoyed marketing my own label and I even styled a few fashion shoots and Taylor Henderson’s music video ‘You Can Borrow My Heart”,’ she said.
But she admitted a lot of the work she was doing seemed to be fruitless at best.
‘One of my best friends (who I met whilst studying fashion) and I always laugh about one class we had were we had to create a mood board on what white is, using only white paper. No one in the class could take it seriously,’ she continued.
Gabriella, 25, (pictured) studied a Bachelor of Applied Design at a private college, which is a three year course that ended up costing her $74,000
‘I have recently started working for a property group. I’ll be based in shopping centres assisting with sales, pop up kiosk clientele and fittings and building/ maintaining relationships with our clientele.’
Gabriella has some advice for high school leavers looking to launch straight back into tertiary education.
‘I think the pressure put on 17/18-year old’s in year 12 to make a decision can impact them greatly later on in life. University is amazing if that’s what you want and its right for you. There are so many ways to fulfill your career dreams like internships, apprenticeships, TAFE or shorter courses – at least then you get a feel for what you like and what you really want out of the industry you’ve chosen,’ she said.
‘Although I love fashion, I am still able to utilise my experiences and skills by designing, making and styling my own clothes and running a make up artist business on weekends. Its true what they say, study what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.’
‘One of my best friends (who I met whilst studying fashion – pictured)) and I always laugh about one class we had were we had to create a mood board on what white is, using only white paper. No one in the class could take it seriously,’ she continued
HARRY VINCENT – STUDIED FILM STUDIES
Sydney-based photographer and videographer Harry Vincent now runs a successful production company called Kangiten Productions – but he admits to doing a ‘useless’ degree in film before he branched out.
‘I personally think my degree was a waste of three years. Given the time and money invested in my degree I feel I got very little in return,’ he said.
‘Given how many free online resources there are online teaching film making and photography, the only positive to studying on campus was meeting like-minded filmmakers.
‘If I could go back in time I would choose to invest my money in my production company to move it forward rather than getting a certificate,’ he continued.
Sydney-based photographer and videographer Harry Vincent (pictured) now runs a successful production company called Kangiten Productions – but he admits to doing a ‘useless’ degree in film before he branched out
BRONTE CROSSWELL – STUDIED PUBLIC RELATIONS
Sunshine Coast-based Bronte Crosswell, 23, did a Bachelor of Public Relations for three years – spending about $30,000 on her credentials.
‘Some of the subjects were fluff pieces which is easy points toward your degree but also frustrating as you are paying thousands for something that essentially isn’t very helpful,’ she explained.
‘I now own a social media business, She The Social, which I started after that my degree was more a box ticked instead of anything that was really going to educate me on my career path.
Sunshine Coast-based Bronte Crosswell, 23, did a Bachelor of Public Reltions for three years – spending approximately $30,000 on her credentials
‘I honestly think university is great to show people how to complete high stress tasks in short time frames, how to produce high quality reports and different ways of looking at the world that high school doesn’t offer however I feel the subject matter for some career paths is probably not relevant to the times or could easily, and likely better, learnt on the job – the degree really just works as a foot in the door in most cases.’
And while there are many traditional courses one can take, there are also some which might get you a few eyebrow raises.
CAROLYN FLEMMING – STUDIED BACHELOR OF ARTS
Carolyn Flemming, a Balmain local, studied a Bachelor of Arts for three years, which has cost her $20,000.
‘I chose the degree because I didn’t know what I wanted to do but enjoyed history and thought I might find out by doing it,’ she said.
‘I did modern history, art history and ancient history but they are all super useless and I wish someone had told me to do something that might have been more useful like a business or management degree.’
Now Carolyn is working full-time in real estate, which is completely different from where she started.
‘About half way through my degree I realised that only doing history could only lead me to teaching or academics and I didn’t want to do that,’ she said.
‘I suggest to only do a degree if it will help in a general sense like business or management that can be implemented in the work place if you don’t know what you want to do,’ she said.
Now Carolyn is working full-time in real estate, which is completely different from where she started (stock image)
So what are some of the unusual courses you can study?
Certificate III in Retail Baking (Bread) – $1,225 for the subject
This course is entirely devoted to the art of bread-making and will cover processing and producing the dough over the course of two semesters.
And don’t fret if you make a mistake – there is a section of the curriculum devoted to ‘diagnosing’ and ‘responding’ to faults in the food.
Overall it’s seen as a building block towards being a full qualified baker.
Cannabis Cultivation – $1,295 for a semester
The art of growing the green drug, and the science behind how it gives you a high, is all in a days work for some enthusiastic tertiary educated students.
While it’s still not commercially legal in Australia, cannabis is slowly becoming recognised for its alleged ability to heal certain ailments – particularly people suffering from seizures and epilepsy.
Bowling Industry Management and Technology – $1,200 a semester
A starting salary for someone looking to become a bowling alley manager is $47,645 so it pays well to bring your best form to this course.
The degree will see students work with an ‘on site 18 lane bowling center which will be used as a laboratory setting for a hands-on experience.’
Ethical Hacking – $1,100 a semester
Not everyone is looking to be an evil mastermind – some will want to ‘penetrate the internet’ in a safe manner.
Students perform cyber-attacks to machines and applications with certain security vulnerabilities to make the systems better.
While it is a fairly technical topic, people taking up this course will be assessed on their ability to work as a team and shown how to communicate effectively online.