Kirstie's job log: 22
Kirstie Nicols has just started a new sales job, but is trying to decide whether to go back to uni for a Masters in journalism. The mist clears There is absolutely no one as important as my mum. While I was at university, the one thing I missed most about home was my mum’s Sunday Roast; and when I moved out, I found I missed coming home after a day at work to find my mum had cleaned and ironed all my washing.
Cooking for me and cleaning up after me isn’t the only thing that’s great about my mum; she has a really level head. When you confront her with an issue, she doesn’t start flustering and panicking like me, she sits down and works out what to do about it. When I explained my dilemma to her, she made me sit down and write out a list of pros and cons for either choice, and she’s also organised for us both to go and look round the university on an Open Day. After asking for advice from a broad range of people (starting at my mum and ending with Prospects!), I’ve pretty much decided that yes, I am going to accept the place on the course. I’m going to the Open Day my mum helped organise, just in case it turns out I can’t stand the place and end up making a very big mistake, and then I’m going to have to start thinking seriously about what I need to do before going back to university! The planning beginsUnfortunately, I seem to remember having a celebratory bonfire on the last night before graduating, involving burning anything that would be of any use this time round. This means I will have to buy an entirely new set of everything (matching of course), and as I’m pretty certain I’ve got rid of all my ‘uni student uniform’ (i.e. hoodie and baggy jeans) I’ll probably have to look at buying a whole new wardrobe too. Oh well; I suppose there will have to be some sacrifices! Aside from buying an entirely new wardrobe, there are more sensible things to think about. I’ve told my flatmates it’s pretty certain I’ll be leaving, which means that unless they all want to pay more on the rent, they’ll have to find someone to take on my room. I feel very guilty about leaving; after all we only moved in a few months ago, and I don’t know how they will ever find someone good enough to replace me! But they are all being very friendly and supportive, and have all offered to come with me on the shopping trip… The billI’ve also started looking into ways to fund the course. I’ve started cutting down on the pizzas and nights out in order to save some money myself, but I have a feeling its not going to be enough! I could apply for a scholarship which would pay the course fees, but again it’s not exactly guaranteed that I’d get it. The only other option at the moment is a Career Development Loan, which basically means borrowing from the bank but having a year long repayment holiday (apologies if I’m explaining something obvious, but this is all new to me!). I can’t wait – another student loan to spend and think about later! The last thing that I’ve been thinking about is work; yet again I’ve only been there a short time and I’d quite like to leave them with a vaguely decent impression of me. At the moment, I’m struggling to decide whether to let them know I’ll be leaving now, and give them plenty of warning as a courtesy (but then they may think there’s no point keeping me on over the next few months), or just leave it until there are only a few weeks to go before the start of the course and let them know then. I’ve really been enjoying working there; the environment is great, everyone is friendly and you don’t get the feeling that anyone would rather not be there (apart from this past week when the sun’s been blazing outside!). So far, all my colleagues have been willing to help me out if and when I need it, even if they’re busy too. I’d rather not mess them around and have them waste their time training me – but at the same time I need the job to save money for the course! Talk about catch 22… Read Kirstie's previous blogs
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