JoeSilver

I'm enrolled in a Graduate Certificate at Charles Sturt University and it's quite a terrible experience. I was excited to start this course as it felt like a concrete path towards a career change, but now I'm feeling a little lost.

The course content is poor, and class engagement is non-existent. Is this just what I should expect from tertiary education in 2025?

How do I think about this 'sunk cost'? (Has anyone ever received a refund from a university?)

Should I just continue to jump through the hoops to graduate?

Would love to hear your thoughts in comments or PM 🎓

#TertiaryInstitutions #University #CareerChange #CommunityDevelopment #CSU

Mar 22, 2025 at 4:49amWeb
Show threadJoeSilverMay 12, 2025

Having spoken to a student adviser at the university I was told:

"If you are not happy here then shop around. You (read: your money) is in high demand these days."

So shopping around I am doing, but one alternative to formal study I keep coming back to is simply self-directed learning.

Benefits - I can study exactly what I want, when and how. I pay only for the resources I need (ie. books, journals, events).

Drawbacks - No formal recognition, no structure to follow, no support from an institution or peers.

I'm be really interested to hear from anyone with thoughts on this or experience with self-directed learning.
- Have you successfully switched careers with a new degree?
- How did you go about building relationships with practitioners in your new field?

#CommunityResilience #CommunityBuilding #FoodSovereignty #LocalFoodSystems #DecentraliseEverything #FediCareer #SelfDirectedLearning #CareerAdvice #CareerChange

Show threadBirdhouse in Your [Redacted]May 12, 2025

@chatwithjoe I was considering becoming a welder. I looked up courses for welding certification (a welding ticket). The prerequisites: 3 years welding experience. The units: it literally says "there are no training units in this course".

Turns out the training pathway is:
1. Buy the equipment.
2. Use it for three years.
3. Give a tafe $1000 in exchange for a certification that you did steps 1 and 2.

Anyway, all I'm saying is there are industries where self directed learning is the expectation, I just discovered one by accident.

Show threadJoeSilverMay 12, 2025
@coolandnormal That's tragic! And it's not like a) there isn't shortage of welders (from memory the rail industry alone needs an additional 700 welders to meet demands for new infrastructure) or b) welding isn't a fairly fundamental trade for things we need like bridges that don't all down.
Show threadBirdhouse in Your [Redacted]May 12, 2025
@chatwithjoe introductory welding courses do exist, but so many institutions only offer the certificate that the system above is how it effectively works over large areas
Show threadRoknrolMar 22, 2025

@chatwithjoe I suppose it depends on how much you think you know.

If you're only paying for the paper because you're already an expert, I'd say get the paper and move on. If you were expecting to *learn* things, I would engage your professor(s) for a dialogue...if they're unreceptive I would move on.

Show threadJoeSilverMar 22, 2025
@roknrol cheers! I definitely expect to learn things.
Show threadStephen CollinsMar 24, 2025

@chatwithjoe speaking from postgrad experience, I think you *always* learn something, even if it's just nuance. I certainly went into my post with a lot of hands-on experience, but ended up meeting good people, and by taking an approach of trying to think like a beginner, picked up heaps, even when the teaching wasn't as enthusiastic as I wanted.

My partner has just resumed her Masters studies at CSU. It's all online, and last week, it was just her and the lecturer/tutor. She was a bit disheartened, but I suggested she try to see it as an opportunity to pick up any tidbits (again, she's a very experienced practitioner in her sector) and to validate her thinking against someone not a colleague and not me (who is often her sounding board).

Yes, you pay a *lot* of money for postgrad, but if you come out the far side with something that's even a little useful, it’s probably worth the short-term frustration.

Show threadJoeSilverMar 25, 2025

@trib thanks for sharing you and your partners experiences. You have reminded me that I am learning quite a bit and I guess what I am paying for is to be guided through the learning process, but I was expecting more from the university experience.

I hope your partners experience improves. Some of my classes have had a few students, but very few students seem to want to participate in anything that isn't graded.

Show threadBrad FranzenMar 30, 2025

@chatwithjoe

Hi Joe, Whilst not a university as such, I had a very similar experience with Open Colleges. (Business Administration) Every module was a different bent on the same theme.

If you can't walk away, then maybe go forth with the philosophy "P's get Degrees!"

But yes, incredibly frustrating that this level of mediocre is allowed to pass as tertiary education in this country.

Best,
Brad