The Imposter Podcast AU
Join former first responder and army veteran Burso as he plunges into the human psyche with insightful discussions on imposter syndrome and how it affects every aspect of our lives. Using personal stories and expert advice, he uncovers the secrets to overcoming feelings of inadequacy and stepping into your authentic self.
From boardrooms to crime scenes, the Imposters explore guests real-life stories of triumph and struggle, shedding light on how imposter syndrome impacts career advancement and personal fulfilment.
Whether you're a first responder, veteran, CEO, mother or student, this podcast will empower you to silence your inner critic and thrive in every endeavour.
Don't Die Wondering!
The Imposter Podcast AU
Old Dog, New Tricks: How to Survive Being the Campus Grandpa
In this hilarious and heartfelt episode, Burso sits down with his mate Fitzy — a former Blackhawk mechanic turned first-year Marine Science student at Deakin University. At nearly 45 years old, Fitzy is navigating a new world of lectures, labs, and lingering imposter syndrome while surrounded by classmates half his age.
Fitzy shares the unorthodox path that led him to university. Unlike most fresh-faced students who arrive straight from Year 12 with an ATAR, Fitzy had to apply via a written submission, leveraging his Defence experience and mechanical training. “I didn’t finish high school,” he says. “I had to show them I could still learn — promise I’d study and not just talk about octopuses the whole time.”
The episode answers questions many older listeners might be quietly wondering:
- Am I too old to go to uni?
- What’s it really like studying alongside 18-year-olds?
- How does a veteran even get accepted without an ATAR?
- Can life experience give you an edge in academic or fieldwork?
- How do you even use a microscope if you’ve never touched one before?
Between the laughs, there are moments of real vulnerability. Fitzy admits he’s overwhelmed at times — especially in content-heavy subjects like biology and chemistry — but he’s determined. He talks about using YouTube channels like The Amoeba Sisters to simplify concepts, and relying on note-taking strategies like pausing recorded lectures to catch up. “Every word they say feels like a new language,” he says, “but it’s fascinating stuff.”
There are plenty of anecdotes to enjoy, from Fitzy waiting awkwardly to be assigned a group because he felt too old to add himself, to him realizing half his classmates didn’t know how to use email. He even jokes about being the creepy old guy sitting alone in class — to which Burso quips, “That makes you more of a creep, Fitzy, if you sit there saying nothing!”
One highlight? Fitzy’s snorkelling field trip in Queenscliff, where he observed sponges and seals for the first time. “Some of the students had never even snorkelled before,” he says. “I was like, finally, something I can do!”
Burso, ever the instigator, suggests that Fitzy’s moment to shine won’t come until post-uni — when his life experience, independence, and ability to “survive without partying” make him the ideal candidate for high-stakes fieldwork or research expeditions, possibly even in Antarctica.
Whether you’re a veteran thinking about a career pivot, a mature-age student, or just someone curious about what it takes to reinvent yourself, this episode delivers laughs, lessons, and loads of inspiration.
Matty Morris of https://www.zerolimitspodcast.com/ helps us out with a banger of a tune. If you want to hear about some real intense moments from Veterans and First Responders. Check out Zero Limits Podcast.
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Don't even start me with running through mate. Look at this killing it. We're already in it, fitzy.
Fitzy:Have you got your SIM card in? Yes, memory card yes.
Burso:Had to double check. That didn't I? First time we've heard this tune today.
Fitzy:It is or is it? No, it's not.
Burso:No, it's not. You know why? Because Fitzy is now a uni student. Everybody so welcome, congratulations. What are you? 57?. Nearly 45 How's O-Week going for you killing it. I didn't do much of O-Week.
Fitzy:I did go.
Burso:Did you? Yeah, it's just orientation week, isn't it? Yeah, that's not like some new thing.
Fitzy:I did the orientation parts where I went and had a look at where my classrooms were and where the library was.
Burso:Yep, this is probably our fast intro to where we're at.
Fitzy:Yeah.
Burso:For that About 45, probably because we've done 17 of these already today. We're like yeah, here's Fitzy, he's 46?.
Fitzy:Five. I'm not 45 yet either, are you no?
Burso:Why did you say 45? Then I'm close to it. Okay, fair enough, and Fitzy is now a mature age student. Well done, very mature.
Fitzy:Very mature For some students. I could be mature age twice.
Burso:Yeah, I was going to say, and how old's your lecturer?
Fitzy:I've got a few lecturers.
Burso:I think there's probably one that's close to my age, but the rest are a fair bit younger. It's classic so run me through O-Week. Because I always thought it was sick when people were like, oh, I'm going to O-Week, we're going to be like, was there streaking through the quadrangle, was there?
Fitzy:it's all online now, isn't it? No, no, no, there was activities and stuff. I can't really tell you much about O-Week because I was kind of I was I did O-Week as a 45-year-old. I went up and-.
Burso:You were in bed by nine, obviously, yeah definitely.
Fitzy:Oh, what have we got there?
Burso:Oh, tropical Savvy Entering into Coding Foster 17% off 17% now. Yeah, Beautiful yeah we've agreed on a yeah, anyway, put it in. Drink some Savvy, they're good for you. Mark Curry, we'll get him on this year. Yep, I can't promise that. Can't promise that At all. But yeah, he definitely listens to every one of these and he sends me messages every time I call him out.
Fitzy:Yeah, very good.
Burso:Yeah, hopefully you'll be on soon. Get on it, mark. So, anyway, you're now a uni student. Run me through the process, actually, and what are you doing? You're marine.
Fitzy:Marine science.
Burso:Marine science. Gotcha Not many places do that obviously.
Fitzy:No, not a lot do marine science.
Burso:Should have done it at James School. They're mad for it, aren't they up?
Fitzy:north, Only one in Victoria. Yeah, there's some in Queensland, but Victoria it's at Deakin.
Burso:Right, so run me through the process, like as an old bloke. What do you? I'm sure it's the same for anybody that's over like what 20, to be a mid-year-old student. Like, what's the classification of a mid-year-old student?
Fitzy:I think as soon as you've left school for a little bit. I'm not exactly sure I know that I didn't have. For me the process was a little bit different to all the kids coming out of school. They have an ATAR score that they've got to get, which I still don't really know what that means. I know they've got to get a 60, I believe it is to get into the course that I'm at, which is not a high score or anything. But for me I did year 10 and then went and joined the army. So I've done some other things since then, but you know, I didn't have any of those sorts of things that I could fall back on. So I had to do a written submission and see whether they'd take me. So I did that and, yeah, they took me.
Burso:No, look, we've actually got a couple of spare spots. Yeah, they must have. We'll take anybody's money at this point.
Fitzy:I actually got in before any of the ones from year 12. So they didn't have their oh because they wouldn't have finished yet. No, they wouldn't have finished yet and I'd secured my spot already.
Burso:You'd like a diversity hire? So they can say You're a diversity hire. Yeah, you go, mature age, veteran. Any other boxes we can tick yeah.
Fitzy:I think so.
Burso:Yeah, love it, Fair enough. So is it like what do you have to write in a letter Just say you love the course you promise?
Fitzy:Yes, I mean you promise that, just even though you didn't finish high school, that you promise you'll actually do some study now, or? Well, I mean, yeah, I put some of the things that I'd studied in the defence course in there. Obviously, I was a well, it's not so much obviously, but I was a blackhawk mechanic, and so there was a bit of study in there so I could show that I had oh, obviously it carries over to marine science. It doesn't really carry over, but it shows that I can you know.
Burso:You can learn.
Fitzy:I can learn. Yeah right, I think they looked at that.
Burso:So there is hope for infantry. Yeah, but they read books, don't they? At some time, I reckon, if they said that they read a PAM, oh, come on.
Fitzy:Saying they read books is a bit much. I don't know. Do they read books?
Burso:I'm sure Is a mud model, like a mud model, will be something.
Fitzy:I don't know.
Burso:And then you've got, like the IMAP I'm sure there's the Vuey Tuay that's got stuff in it Range card. They can read a range card, can't they? They can do a nine line on the Cassavac when their blokes get in trouble and stuff. I'm digging a hole.
Fitzy:I know that you probably know some infantry guys. Yeah, they can't read, so they can't buy my street. They can turn into comedians, can't they as well?
Burso:They can turn into comedians. Yeah, you've got to be short and picked on, but you know you've got to get used to having a defence being making jokes about the situation. So he doesn't listen to these anyway, don't worry about it.
Fitzy:I'm not worried about it.
Burso:He is, however, doing the Comedy Festival 26th of March, if anyone listens to this.
Fitzy:Who's that?
Burso:Before that, jared Goundry, jared Goundry, get around him. Yeah, get up, he does both. He gets both of them. He does get both. Right, yeah, right. So you do a letter, you say that you can read, you promise to study and stuff, and then how does that work? Is there a back and forth?
Fitzy:Then they send you an email saying that they're either offering your position or not. That's it.
Burso:They don't make you do like a test or an exam or a.
Fitzy:Not for me Take your word for it. Yeah.
Burso:He's jumped on ChatGVT and said hey, can you? Write something that says I want to do like learning stuff.
Fitzy:This whole ChatGVT thing. I've got to get on board with this. I've shown you before you did. You did show me a little bit before I was quite impressed with ChatGBD, no. So no, they obviously weigh up the evidence that you've got, which I did have to put some evidence in there and things that I've done, yeah.
Burso:Do you put in like your user browser or like your return of service line or whatever it is? Do you use any of your PMK stuff? I don't even know if it's PMKs anymore.
Fitzy:No, no, I use some certificates. I've collected some other stuff.
Burso:Oh, right, okay.
Fitzy:So I use some of that stuff, and then you've actually put a resume together.
Burso:So if you've got like a certificate or a diploma and something else, they're happy to take that board.
Fitzy:Yeah, a diploma will certainly help if you've got something like that there. So yeah, those things will help.
Burso:The secret might be to get RPL for something you've done in the army or whatever else it is that you're in, and then if you get RPL it says you have a certificate that might help you.
Fitzy:Then Well going through when you're applying. There's you know, I went up and had a chat to them before I applied and they virtually said that if you apply you could get knocked back. But it might be knocked back and then they might give you some steps that they require you to take. So they might not have been happy for you and this might be a course that they were happy for me to do. But there could have been something else that I applied for. I mean, if I applied to be a doctor, I'm pretty confident they would have gone oh, I don't think so, champ, and said you need to go off and do these courses before you can think about it.
Burso:Yeah, like Band-Aids and stuff like that, no good. Well, the other thing that's weird, like the thing you've chosen is pretty like there's not, really, I dare say, anybody who's doing it doesn't have like a bridging course to get into it. Anyway, it'd be starting from scratch. I would have thought.
Fitzy:Yeah, pretty much. I mean it is a science course, but for the guys that are coming straight from high school, the only requirement they had was to do English.
Burso:But in your 11 and 12, which you didn't do, I didn't do.
Fitzy:So I mean, they're already a head start on me, let's be honest. But they didn't have to do biology, they didn't have to do chemistry and they're huge parts I'm finding out of this course.
Burso:I'm telling you, chat to your PT, tell me about biology, like you're talking to a 12-year-old. Or just say, like a bloke that left school in year 10, I should do that. Left in year 10, joined the army, doesn't know much.
Fitzy:And just say yeah, mate, hey, listen in champ.
Burso:This is what you're going to do, Mate. If I did that, I'd lose it. Give me a soldier's five on biology. I wonder if ChatGPT knows Soldiers 5. We'll have to try it later. Yeah, we'll do it later. We might do a podcast with ChatGPT involved.
Fitzy:We can start it now, if you want Can you just listen and fact check. Yeah.
Burso:I don't want that because it will just pop up. That's incorrect. The amount of corrections, anyway. So you got a letter. Do you need a bridging course? Were you expecting to get accepted?
Fitzy:No, I thought, for sure, they probably won't accept me and they'll probably ask me to go and do something else yeah. So, yeah, I was pretty excited when I got that email. It was almost like I'd not so much won the lottery, but I was like, wow, they're going to let me in and do this. It's something that I've wanted to do for a while.
Burso:And how long after that did you go shit?
Fitzy:I know Pretty much straight away, I think I think it was like, oh shit, now they've let me in and oh, I don't know how to study, so this is going to be hard.
Burso:Yeah, but it's not studying anymore. Here's a book write, learn that.
Fitzy:When you say we used to study, I don't know, because I didn't do much In year 10, you would, oh, you would like to smoke and jays and stuff. I didn't do any of that either. I was off on my push bike cycling around the Bendigo.
Burso:Yeah, fair enough.
Fitzy:But yeah, so I didn't do a lot of study anyway, so it's very different. Though it is different to school, because now everything is online, so I mean lectures. You don't even have to go to school. Most of the time you can do a lecture. You have to be you did one today, didn't you?
Burso:It was like yeah, I did one at 5 o'clock, went for an hour.
Fitzy:Yeah, 5 o'clock this afternoon there was one online. You know we had a guest speaker which was on as well. Is it live? Yeah, yep, but that's the thing about them they're live, but then they're also recorded. So if you can't make them, you've got to work, you've got to do whatever. You can go back and check those lectures out afterwards, which is a huge advantage that you couldn't have done that sort of stuff before, and I mean the quality is fantastic.
Burso:This is the thing I was thinking because, like you used to have to do night school if you wanted to study, that was. That was about the extent of it, whereas now, if, if, a lot of the stuff's on um online and you can watch it at any point, you obviously don't need to have attendance anymore. Like you mark differently if you're not in the lecture no, no, no, it doesn't change anything.
Fitzy:There are certain classes that you have to be there for because, like I said, it's a science subject that I'm doing. There are laboratories that you have to go to, so you have to go because they're part of your assignments, I suppose, or part of your grades, so you have to rock up for those and the marine part that I've got. There is also laboratories and field trips that you've got to go on, so collecting samples and things like that, you've got to go on those as well.
Burso:And is that going to be like diving and stuff.
Fitzy:There's snorkelling.
Burso:You could later on Like I mean obviously you suck at everything compared to these kids coming out of high school. Is there going to be a time when you're like, yeah.
Fitzy:I could probably there'll be a spot where, yeah, I think One day scuba diving when I might be able to go and do my own research and yeah, that's where I might be able to go and do some stuff and kind of look good. For once I feel like.
Burso:And it sucks for you. How many years is it? Three, four.
Fitzy:Three.
Burso:So, like, in three years you'll be the old bloke that's doing whatever, and in that fourth year, when you go for jobs, it'll be like here's a bloke, he's not here to get on the piss, he's already mad for scuba diving, he's a qualified diver, et cetera, and he's here to work. I think that is when your time to shine will be is post-uni.
Fitzy:Oh, maybe they might also sort of. I mean, these kids, some of them are very smart, um, and I'm finding that, um, very quickly, that there'll be questions that'll be asked in lectures or in you know other scenarios, and they just, they're quick, they think quickly, they think differently, um, I'm kind of, I'm, I'm, you know, a lot of the time I'm pretty impressed by what they're, what they're saying, and sometimes it takes me a little bit to go. Where did they get that from? How did they figure that out so quickly? So I don't know, I'm a slow learner, slow burner. I suppose I've been working hard. I haven't stopped, actually, my head's hurting since I started, but I think that'll be the thing. Either the young ones will burn themselves out I don't know whether they'll, I think that'll be the thing Either the young ones will burn themselves out.
Burso:I don't know whether they'll They've got to party too.
Fitzy:Yeah, they've got to party too. I've got that advantage. I've got no partying to do.
Burso:I just mean like, if you so, for example, if they're like, hey, we're going out on a research boat for four weeks, If they look at it, they're like here's a kid who's never been away from home, this and that rah, rah, rah, we don't know him. He's never been on a boat longer than you know, like an afternoon, whereas you've been on Navy boats, you've been away for a while, et cetera, et cetera. Like that's what I mean when I think it's your time to actually go. Hey, look, my life experience shows that I can actually be on my own and do this sort of stuff.
Fitzy:Yeah, hopefully that will be a thing that will help me when you know, those good jobs come up that I'm sort of after, which I don't even know what that is at this stage.
Burso:I was going to say look, what sort of jobs are they going to have you for.
Fitzy:There's lots of stuff still to be done in the marine space. So you know I'm pretty adventurous. You know I saw on the news on the weekend that there was a piece of Antarctica that broke away and there was a whole ecosystem that had been previously hidden. That was there and they were. You know I want to jump in a submarine and go and check it out. You know I'm there but I don't know what jobs are available for me yet. That's something that I'll have to explore and Deakin's pretty good with that so far that I'm finding part of the course. In the third year there is a chance to go and spend time out in an industry and you've got to organise that yourself. So you know that's something that I'll start looking at soon, to work out where would be a really cool place to go and start networking, and we'll see how we go.
Burso:It's one of those things you know like we joined the army or like I was a first responder and stuff as well, and you're just like that's my dream, that's what I want to do. And then you've got hobbies that you're interested in and you never think of them being a job or a full-time thing, like I started doing this. And then, you know, just due to the algorithms, I started getting jobs on LinkedIn for radio broadcaster or whatever else it was, and obviously I put it in, but I needed to speak to someone from HR because I don't know how to write something, because people write on there. They're like how much do you want for your job? I'm like four mil thanks.
Burso:I was like either tell me what the wage is or I'm throwing out there. I want four mil. Like why ask me how much? I want Obviously money as I can get anyway. Hence why I'm not already over on my idea with my uh. What to be fair, we are at fourteen and a half thousand listens now, Wow, which is a little bit weird anyway, good work us.
Burso:Thanks everyone it's. It is my mom and dad. They'd listen a lot. I like it a lot, but yes, you know it. Have you got any idea of? Are there any jobs that you've now been told about that you know you could get into?
Fitzy:Look, the space is sort of crazy. Every day I go and learn about something new. Today the lecture was on sponges in the Great Southern Reef, which I knew nothing about, and so to hear that there's people out there mapping areas down at Apollo Bay that have previously been ripped up. They're working at ways that they can try and grow sponges and things down there, and you know they're really important, the things that I haven't thought about, and so you know it changes daily. So I would have thought when I first started, like I want to go and look after octopus, I want to go and learn about octopus, and I want to go and do this and that and the other with octopus. I have no idea really. I just know that I love octopus. But now I'm sort of going.
Burso:Can't say that a few more times Octopus, octopus.
Fitzy:What's the actor that couldn't say penguin? No idea, you haven't heard that one. No, oh, it's hilarious. You've got to watch him do it Something, or the Cumberbatch. You can't say penguin.
Burso:Oh, bernard, it's, penguin.
Fitzy:Yeah, so you know, or something large it might have been. You know I want to do something with whales or whale sharks, or you know, but is there?
Burso:anything. It's all government grants, I'm assuming for research. Like, is there any corporate stuff that you can get into? Like, are you going to be a corporate diver that then is able to go, hey, look like, are you going to be a person where they get as an environment officer at BP or something where they're just like, hey, we need to not be doing as much damage as we do?
Fitzy:Well, yeah, obviously you'd hope that they'd want to be trying to do things ethically, and you know how can we?
Burso:But is that something you're interested in, or would you rather just do like research and stuff?
Fitzy:No, I'm not 100% yet, like I'm still Because we've talked about Antarctica before. Antarctica is something that I'd really love to, but I don't want to jinx it by sort of going you know there's jobs down there. I mean there is research jobs on I can't think of the name of the cruise line that goes down there. They send researchers down there with them. So I mean there's some pretty amazing jobs out there.
Burso:Mate, just doing 12 months in Antarctica as a bartender would be amazing. I mean I know you've all got to have like six different jobs when you go down there, but just the experience of that, I mean it's like it's good cash but you're literally gone for 12 months of your life. But nobody else that I've known. I know one bloke that's been to antarctica and he worked down there wasn't just to stop over, but yeah, look amazing yeah, 100, and I mean, yeah, I think I've talked to you about this before.
Fitzy:That it's been something that I've, um, obviously looked at a little bit, and I know that you've looked at it um we both looked at the same one you applied.
Burso:You're like hey, man, did you get your thing? I?
Fitzy:I was like ah, nope, yeah, that's right, that's right. So, yeah, I mean, there is those opportunities and, yeah, I don't really know where it will take me at this stage and you change as you go. So the course I'm finding now is you're not just locked into one set course path, so I can keep changing that as I go and find out about new things that will interest me more. So it could be, uh, at the moment I've got I've sort of got my marine core subjects that are in there.
Burso:Um, so each year they talk to you about the subjects you're doing next year, and then each trimester.
Fitzy:So you lock subjects in for trimesters for virtually a three-month block, three to four-month block.
Burso:So is there. Are you only studying nine months of the year and each?
Fitzy:one's three months If that. So I mean, yeah, it's probably.
Burso:I thought it was just two semesters a year.
Fitzy:No, there's trimesters, so you can't. The first year that I've got is two trimesters and it started in March. Okay. So, two trimesters and then if I do a third trimester, that's virtually over the summer period, is that?
Burso:for catch-up, or is that to get ahead?
Fitzy:Could be to get ahead, could be catch-up.
Burso:It just depends on how you're doing.
Fitzy:Yeah, it depends on or not so much it depends on how you're doing and how your course is set out. So for the moment I don't have anything in trimester three. But I'm looking at a subject that I've got that's an elective and I'm thinking maybe there's a lot for me. I'll get into it in a minute. Two of the subjects that I've got this year are a lot. They're a lot for me and I'm thinking this other subject that I've got it's an elective that I've got, but I don't really have a huge. It's not something that I really care that much about. I have to do it. I have to do an extra subject. So I'm thinking maybe I might drop that now so that I don't have to take away any of my focus on the other subjects that I'm trying to do really well and they're core subjects of the course that I'm doing.
Fitzy:I might see if I can do those in trimester three. I don't think they're huge subjects, but it's just. I'd rather just focus on those, getting those done in, you know, over those summer months. I don't think it'll take a lot of time. That might be a better option than sort of trying to do all in one hit. So yeah, so there is a bit of flexibility in the course, which I don't think was previously a thing for people. I don't think was previously a thing for people I don't know.
Burso:I knew nothing about uni before I started this, so do you reckon you'd be able to like, say, obviously not you, but like a smart person, could they? Get ahead. Bazinga, yeah, do you reckon there'd be like, would you be able to do it in like two and a half years if you just smashed out three of the trimesters each year?
Fitzy:I don't think so, mainly because and a half years if you just smashed out three of the trimesters each year. I don't think so mainly because there is also you've got sort of level one, level two and level three and they only offer some subjects in certain trimesters. So you couldn't do one, two and three or, sorry, level one and then start level two in trimester three, because you'd have to wait until the next year.
Burso:Yeah.
Fitzy:So the core subjects would always make it that you had to do your three years. It's just that sometimes you'll have that third trimester where there's nothing on and you might be able to put subjects that make up your full course within that trimester. You're right. Yeah, it's sort of weird. I'm still trying to come to terms with it. I sort of thought that I'd get there and they'd go right, this is when your classes are. This is when you've got to be there. It ain't like that at all. When I went in for my first lecture, this was still during O-Week. I was talking to the lecturer there and she said by now you should have your timetable. And I went timetable, I don't have mine yet. And she went well, we've got to get that sorted. And they all sort of looked at me like an eye roll old guy Doesn't know what's going on.
Burso:Nice, one boomer.
Fitzy:Nice one, boomer, I know I felt it.
Burso:Did you get that? I felt it.
Fitzy:Do people call you boomer? Yet no. And I'd been up to the student services and said you know what do I do with my timetable? And oh, you won't have that yet. So they set me up for a fail, a massive fail. And then the thing about it was that I didn't know is you had to set your times for going for certain classes. So I kind of found out later that I had all the classes that were in kind of shite times because I had all the classes that were in kind of short times because I hadn't got in and allocated my time slots quick enough for all the others that knew what they were doing. Like, well, I'm not going to that 8 o'clock, one Bugger that, I'm going to the, you know, the 1 o'clock or whatever.
Burso:So, like for people that are working full time, do you reckon you could pull off your course? Because having the lab part means you have to go in, doesn't it?
Fitzy:Yeah, you'd have to have some flexibility around the labs. So I mean, it's not too bad. At the moment I've got sort of one or two labs a week, so they're pretty much writing off a day or half a day, I should say for those, for all your lectures. Now you don't have to go to those live, in fact, some of the lectures I'm finding it's easier to take notes when you're watching it on. They call it Panopto, which is just the program they use, but it's virtually, but you can pause it. Then you can pause it. That's what I'm finding that if I pause it I can take some notes about what they've got written and then unpause, explain the rest of it, and I'm like, yeah, okay, I get it. So I'm finding that that's not a bad thing at all.
Burso:Because sometimes I hear people talking about stuff like on YouTube and podcasts and stuff where you're like sorry, what? And then you go back and you play it again and you're like you just pulled a face that I have been doing.
Fitzy:Yeah, what do you mean? Um?
Burso:yeah, and then you. So then you can just scroll back and you can do it again, which would be frustrating at the time, but also watching a lecture, because when you, if you were in person and you missed it, you'd be like, well, that's it done yep whereas now you can watch it in person and not freak out about the fact that you missed it and just take a note, just go. I need to work out what that was and then go back to it later.
Fitzy:Yeah, I've got quite a few of those in my book where I've started taking notes and he's just gone good, moving on, and then just kept going and I was like no, no, I wasn't, but okay, and then by the time you've written at this time stamp, it's done this.
Burso:And and then you know what? Just listen to the next 20 minutes, because as I'm writing this, I've lost all that as well.
Fitzy:No, they're the live ones, and so then sometimes I'll go back after the live one. I'll just go log into the recorded session that I was at and I'll just skip through to that spot and go what was he talking about there? I didn't understand that. And then I might play it a couple of times until I get that aha gotcha moment and away we go. So I'm finding that.
Burso:You know what you could do. I don't want to make this a chat to your PT lesson here, but you could literally have chat to your PT and go. Can you listen to this and summarize and explain to me as a? 12-year-old or eight, depending on where you're at Really, will it do that? Yeah, yeah, I'll show you later.
Fitzy:Oh my God no-transcript. It is one of the things that they say like you know, they've got all these rules and things and using-.
Burso:ChatGPT or similar. Yeah, yeah or other ones To write your reports, ai stuff, that's cheating.
Fitzy:There are certain scenarios when you can use it, and obviously you kind of need to understand how it works, to work out how you can use it. And I mean I did some stuff today where I was getting Google to check in a thing that I'd written down because I was struggling with one of my chemistry. Some of the examples, I was sort of going, why am I getting this wrong? And then Google explained it to me and so I mean that's about as far as I've gone with it. And that was kind of cool because I was like, oh, now I've got it, but yeah, I mean we'll talk about this another time, but there's heaps of different AIs for different stuff.
Burso:But yeah, so if you were, say you were doing nine to five, could you just not do your course? Or would they be able to operate something to go around it? Because there's obviously heaps of people in jobs that they don't really want to be in but they can't leave because they don't have any quals.
Fitzy:I'll be honest, I think in a lot of cases they would do a lot of work to be able to get you through. So they would want you to go to a lot of the things that you're sort of saying, that you I mean the labs and things you kind of have to go to- Do they have any on the weekends?
Fitzy:No, I don't think they've got them on the weekends, but they do do some make-up stuff. So I don't know 100% on that, but I know that they would do everything they could to get you through that. So if you had some flexibility they would work with you.
Burso:It would be interesting to get one of your. I don't know what. Do they call it student counsellors or whatever it is that helps you out with that.
Fitzy:There is a course head which is like that can be a lecturer, but each subject has its own course head.
Burso:It would be interesting to have someone on and talk to them and talk to the gang about how you could go about that, like with your third trimester. That is so helpful.
Fitzy:It is their job. It is their job, but I mean still the fact that I've come from a military background.
Burso:you kind of Just because it's your job doesn't mean they want to do it, that's right.
Fitzy:And so you go up to people and think, oh, they're going to like get away. They don't. They're always really happy track, or they. They're pretty good.
Burso:So yeah, I haven't had any problems with that I just wonder if this, if like how you're saying, with the, the third trimester being um, like a makeup part, I wonder if, over summer, if you had holidays not so much a makeup part.
Fitzy:I wonder if over summer, if you had holidays, it's not so much a makeup part but it is. I mean some of the-.
Burso:I wonder if they could do that for you. If you're like, hey look, I've missed this many labs, but I'm up to date with everything else, I don't think it would work that way, because it's each trimester, is that scored and done?
Fitzy:So I don't know that you'd be able to do it that way. I don't know that you'd be able to do it that way, but I really think they would try and work with you. So you'd probably need some flexibility, like an.
Burso:ACU or bend over backwards to try and help veterans and stuff out as well. Yep, I don't know if all unis have that sort of interaction.
Fitzy:Spoke to.
Burso:I can't think of it, elaine. I think of it, elaine. Amazing.
Fitzy:Yeah, amazing, she was keen to get paramedics from the Army. She was really keen to get me as a paramedic.
Burso:She was going to give me an 80.
Fitzy:Yeah, 88.95 because you have to Something crazy she was like I'll just get you one, Don't worry about that.
Burso:It's funny. So for veterans at the Australian Catholic University they give you an enter score to get into the paramedics, but in Victoria it's higher than the other states, so it's like the only course where they'll give you a 88.95, whatever it is, you need to get into it.
Fitzy:And they have, after speaking with Lyne, like it was pretty good because she was great. She was great because she was sort of explaining why they're getting away with giving. Getting away with it. It's getting away. They're giving you a fake ATAR. They're saying that you've got an ATAR score of whatever it is.
Burso:Yeah, but you've also done.
Fitzy:They're using your experience in the Army and what you've done, and so it is a fake score. But she's saying that the results that they're getting from veterans and things that have been going through the course are far exceeding the expectations that they have anyway, because you're coming through from year 12 with zero quals.
Burso:That they have anyway. Because you're coming through from year 12 with zero quals, maybe a St John's first aid because you wanted to do something and then you go through someone who's done ballistic trauma and has 12 years experience, probably been deployed, done whatever they can probably handball you some. They're happy to just give you a blank check on the old. If you're going into paramedicine, yeah.
Fitzy:I mean, yeah, she was great.
Burso:Yeah, I mean, yeah, she was great. Yeah, I mean it's been really interesting since being in like the ex-service organisation space where you just learn how much stuff's out there to help you out. But just in general though, like people with a normal job, I'm just wondering how hard it is, because I remember just working in a bar and trying to do study around that and that was hard enough as it was and doing an actual nine-to-five like as an accountant or whatever else it is you're doing. You know, like detectives that are there, I mean they're not working, so they can probably do it at work, but outside of that they, you know, like if they're working an eight to a four Monday to Friday, to actually then try and get a degree somewhere else, it would be. I know a lot of workplaces also do have study if it relates to your workplace, so that's other ways you could do it potentially.
Fitzy:It's definitely doable and there is some people that I've already met on course that are doing that. They're juggling work and uni. Yeah, I mean it'd be tough, it'd be tough to do it, but it's certainly something that the university will try and work with you to do. So and, yeah, I mean there is that option where you can change your classes and things as well, so you can go. I can't make it on this day, so it won't just be one lab, there'll be three labs. So you've got that option that you might not be able to make the Thursday but you might be able to make the Monday, and they'll really try and work with you to do that.
Burso:You're right. I want to get into more about being an old bloke at uni now. Do you just walk around and people just go get out of here, creep like all that sort of stuff.
Fitzy:No, you feel like that as the old guy.
Burso:Because you were saying Very conscious about. Like how old is your lecturer? Maybe, 30, 35. But there's not going to be any dramas with like she's not grooming you or whatever. You think you're going to be able to hold your own in there. You're not going to be in national news anytime soon. No, it's just funny in general having somebody that's like 10 years younger than you. It's just, it's a weird vibe.
Fitzy:Maybe I mean, I don't know.
Burso:I mean, I'm getting it. I was just being dickhead, obviously, but like, in general, being 10 years older than everybody else on campus would probably be a bit, but like, is there like a dean or something? How does that work?
Fitzy:I have no idea. No idea there might be.
Burso:Are you literally the oldest bloke on campus?
Fitzy:I'd be close.
Burso:I'd be close to the oldest student there yeah, it's funny because there's things that I mean. When you were telling them to me as well, I was like, oh, I never would have thought about that. That would just be weird, and I bet you nobody else there thinks it yeah, when you're saying about about a group thing, you're talking about the group yeah, yeah, like when you. Yeah because you, you were saying, you were saying before I didn't want to add myself to the group.
Fitzy:Yeah because I'm like, if I add myself to the group, I'm an old guy who's adding myself to a group of young guys, even though you're supposed to add your name to a group yeah it's like I'm not adding my name to a group. That'd just be weird, so I'll just wait until I get put in a group, and then it's kind of like you're all sort of being lumped with me.
Burso:Yeah, you guys got stuck with the special kid, you got stuck with the old guy. Yeah, but like what other is there any other issues with? I mean, obviously kids would be all over technology and stuff like that.
Fitzy:They are, but they're not. So I think I was talking to you earlier. For the first time, a lot of them are using email now.
Burso:Yeah.
Fitzy:So the universities very much. I mean it's just like professional life. They use an email. You sign up, you get a Deakin email. That's your email. So for anyone that's had you know, anyone that's worked anywhere, knows that that's your email and that's the email you use for business. You know you're talking to your colleagues. You use your email.
Burso:I feel bad for these kids because they don't have like Mad Dog 45 at Hotmail.
Fitzy:That's the sort of stuff they have, yeah.
Burso:Yeah.
Fitzy:They'll probably have that.
Burso:But Deakin won't let them have an email like that.
Fitzy:No well, why would you use that for your Deakin email when you've got one, that's? You know it's ready it's a Microsoft name.
Burso:It's like I love Benny Ballbags 55.
Fitzy:Well, that's probably why, but they don't use it so a lot of the students don't realize that there's vital information coming through the email because they're just not checking it. So the first assignment that I had was a group assignment and for the first week and a half no one from my group wrote back to me. So I wrote them all an email trying to introduce myself and say let's get this thing started me.
Fitzy:So I wrote them all an email trying to introduce myself and say let's get this thing started, and then I was like checking it every day, going I'm doing this wrong and then you know the week and a half had gone past and I'm like we really should have started this thing by now and you know I still haven't had you done a class with anyone, then at that stage no. So then I was like I had a, I had a field trip, and so at the field trip I was, I was trying to check.
Burso:Did you get a letter from your mum? Checking all the?
Fitzy:names you know, like okay, is it in it? No, none of them are there.
Burso:You didn't tell me about your field trip. What did you do for your field trip?
Fitzy:I went snorkelling. Well played, I went snorkelling and took photos of, you know, sponges and seals. So was this something they organised? And seals.
Burso:So is this something they organised? Yeah, and where did you go?
Fitzy:Just down Queenscliff.
Burso:Oh yeah, yeah Nice.
Fitzy:Yeah, I enjoyed it.
Burso:Yeah. So, yeah, is this the first time the other people have been like?
Fitzy:Some of them, yeah, some of them it was sort of the first time they'd gone snorkelling. There were a few that had you know there's a divers in there. Yeah, there's some divers in there, so you don't even have a chance to shine. Oh, okay, maybe it's a podcast, so you can't do those looks. It doesn't translate. Yeah, maybe I didn't want it to translate.
Burso:Yeah, because I'm sure they'll all hear this yeah.
Fitzy:Yeah, so yeah, I mean it's a mixed group, that's really all I can say, and there is a mature age student on the course.
Burso:Yeah, I know you were saying that.
Fitzy:She's maybe getting close to 30. She's probably.
Burso:Yeah, she's almost over the hill, yeah, almost.
Fitzy:She wants to get into diving. So she was sort of asking about that the other day, which was cool yeah, when you get your diving certificate, let's go Someone else to go diving with.
Burso:Yeah, when you get your diving certificate, let's go. You know someone else to go diving with. So I'm happy, I mean that'd be interesting if you got the class together to go and do diving stuff. That'd be, I mean that'd be worthwhile at least.
Fitzy:Yeah, I think so you could help them out then I don't I don't know that they will, though they're sort of they're new students, they're like bro, I don't A little bit. There is no night in the morning Not doing that.
Burso:Yeah, there is a couple there that I've met so far that would probably be right into it.
Fitzy:So yeah, but yeah, it's interesting, it's an interesting mix. That's sort of how it is, and you've got to remember, some of these guys are 18, really, really young, yeah, and the last person that they want to talk to is me, and I get it. I'm like yeah cool, my daughter's older than you.
Burso:It's like when you go to the RSL and all the old boys are there. They're like hey, mate, and you're like, oh, shut up, mate. But then you speak to them and you're like oh, you've done some stuff, you know, like they're sitting there, you know, whereas these kids would be like just shut up. And then you'd be like hey, I've actually done this and done this and done this.
Fitzy:No, I don't say much. I kind of don't want to be that guy that's in there.
Burso:That makes you more of a creep Fitzy If you sit there just saying nothing in the corner that makes you the weird guy.
Fitzy:Yeah, maybe, I'm probably the guy that knows the least in the classes. So I mean, I went in the other day and they had the microscopes out. I've never used a microscope, so here's me looking at the thing Like a telescope, just looks down.
Burso:Yeah, that's small stuff.
Fitzy:Hey, that was cool. We got some stuff under there and it was awesome.
Burso:I was like oh wow, no, no, he's gone, you're too scared, he's gone, he's never coming back.
Fitzy:Take me back to frank the tank, fitzy, no.
Burso:Yeah Well, so is the. I just wondered too, because I've had a mate of mine who was doing construction and he was a mature age student and the lecturer was way more interested in trying to talk to him because he knew that he was like I'm doing this once and I'm passing, and then I'm out because I want to get into jobs, whereas a lot of the other people that were like first year they're going to fail most of the subjects because they're too busy getting on the piss and whatever else it is. So I'm just wondering is it patronising where they're like hey, just for the mature age students, this means such and such.
Fitzy:No, there's nothing patronising, but I think like if they do single anyone out, they will single me out because I'm not Because they can see your face on the teams. Not so much the teams.
Burso:Are you buffering again for tea? Sometimes there is a bit of that.
Fitzy:Yeah, there has been a bit of that, uh-uh. Yeah, there has been a couple of seminars that you're in and they're sort of asking questions and they're getting people to answer them. And here's me. You know, I'm sitting right up the front in the middle with no one, and so the lecturer will just talk to me about so this is, this, isn't it? And every time he asks me a question I get it wrong.
Burso:He probably loves the fact that you answer it.
Fitzy:Yeah, I answer it and get it wrong, and then, as soon as I say it, I'm like actually, You're like inside the computer Not quite right, am I? And then he'll write it up on the board. So I think he uses me as a like. Everybody else is thinking I think that's all it is. They just sort of go that he'll interact or whatever it is, and I'm not too worried about it, I'll have a crack.
Burso:Because the rest of them are still listening to my Chemical Romance and stuff.
Fitzy:I don't know if they'd do that.
Burso:They don't.
Fitzy:I don't think they'd know who my Chemical Romance is. Is that old now, is it?
Burso:Yeah, I thought it was always for young emos.
Fitzy:I guess they're all old now, aren't they?
Burso:I don't think what that is. That'll be a thing we do this year, fitzy. We'll go to a rave about some wow. Somewhere we'll get some glow sticks. We see, we've we've had glow sticks in our life, but okay, never at raves. Traded them for other stuff overseas, but never at raves the um, what advice would you have for people who are thinking about doing it and going I'm too old Like what do they need to be prepared for?
Fitzy:It's a lot. I mean, if you're thinking about doing it, then you know all you can do is have a go. I mean, there's a lot to think about as far as financially, whether it's something that you can do, are you?
Burso:hexing.
Fitzy:Yep, yep, yep, hexing. So I mean hex is a loan from the government that you pay back virtually when your tax comes in If you've got a job. If you don't have a job, it just sits there until you've got a job and you're earning over a certain amount.
Burso:Just be one of those people that keeps getting degrees. Get seven or eight of them.
Fitzy:You're laughing. Well, I don't know if my brain will take it to be honest it might explode.
Fitzy:But yeah, if you're thinking about doing it and the reason that you're not doing it is because you think age is a thing, yeah, don't, it's not, really it's not a thing. So I mean, there's some sort of weird things that sort of happen at uni at the moment where you feel like you're old. But, like you said before, I don't think anybody else thinks like that. Everyone's got their own reason for being up there A lot of the young ones I'm starting to find already because there's something called census date, which comes up on the 31st. So if you pull out of the course or defer the course before that date, you don't incur any of the fees. And so, from what I'm told and what I'm seeing is people have just started not coming to class now. So whether they're going to continue with the course or whether they're going to just go, nah, you know what.
Burso:Like the two kids that are too cool to hang out with you for your assignment Maybe.
Fitzy:Maybe. I don't know whether they're still doing it or not, but yeah, so yeah, you've certainly.
Burso:It is a lot to leave high school and then come straight in and do more study when you're like oh, I thought I was going to have a break and now I'm just jumping in.
Fitzy:I think that's what they're finding. So I think a lot of them are sort of saying that year 12 was harder than this. But I think what they were trying to say was year 12 had a higher workload, so I think they were handing in a lot more assignments. One of the younger ones told me the other day that it's not so much the workload that's the problem here, it's the content there is just it's content heavy. So they're virtually saying that in sort of the first four weeks that we've done so far, we've gone over virtually what they did in a year and it has been a crazy amount of.
Burso:There's your heads up, Like you were like oh, it's hard for everybody.
Fitzy:Yeah, it is. It is difficult and I am finding that the younger ones, like they, probably have some familiarity with the content, whereas I've had none.
Burso:Yeah, because you were saying biology and chemistry and stuff.
Fitzy:Yeah, so one of the courses I've got is cells and genes, biology and chemistry. And you know I've never looked at a chemistry book, I've never studied chemistry, cells and genes. I had no idea.
Burso:Never made bombs.
Fitzy:Never Is that.
Burso:So do bombs don't count Never, is that? So do Bob's own count, is there? Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently, like would you have in the period where you were waiting? Would you have looked at the subjects and gone? I might do a bit of a.
Fitzy:Yeah, I found some YouTube. Her niece actually. She's in year 12 this year and she's a pretty smart cookie. She's been doing really well in her biology and she actually wants to do the same course that I'm doing right now. She's doing it next year but she's going to a different location.
Fitzy:And I sort of said to her are you studying biology? And she's like yeah, and when I spoke to her a little bit further I said I'm really struggling to take in the content. There's just so much that's coming my way and I've never heard any of these terms before. I said it's not that it's hard, but it's. You know, when I'm learning, every word they talk is a new language to me. I'm trying to work out a way to you know, keep track of it all.
Fitzy:She gave me this YouTube channel called the Amoeba Sisters and it's very, very kiddy. So it's these cartoons. So is it at your level? So it's at your level. It's at a low level, but at the same time it explains really complex systems, virtually almost like a kid could understand it, and it gets like a little bit annoying. But I think it's that repetitive nature of saying the words out loud and really simplifying how things work. So I might go do lectures at the moment. I'll come back going oh my God, that was amazing and I do. Every time I go to a lecture I'm like wow.
Fitzy:I can't believe that's a thing, and they're so tiny. There's all this going on and my God, and oh my God, and then this is happening and that's happening, and I can't remember the names of that thing that was happening, but that thing's doing this.
Burso:It's funny seeing you excited about something.
Fitzy:Yeah, I mean, and it is, it's cool, like I love it. But I'm really worried all the time. I think I've never had stress about handing in work before. Because I do care.
Burso:I want to make sure that I know what I'm talking about, and that's I think that's why people love having mature age students is because they're, they treat it as a job and you're like I've got deadlines, I've got to do it by here, I need to get it done. Yeah, Like because you've you've done stuff before where you're.
Fitzy:You just saw me handed an assignment. Yeah well, that's due on Thursday. I've never handed anything early in my life while I was at school.
Burso:I've never done an assignment. I mean that was the most we've done on a podcast. Every other podcast we've just done is like, hey go, I don't care what happens for the next hour or long.
Fitzy:So just prior to this podcast, we did a quick podcast that I used as an assignment.
Burso:The one you used was number nine.
Fitzy:Yeah, we did a few takes on it and still we weren't really happy. But it was like well, this has got to come to a conclusion at some stage.
Burso:Yeah, well, unfortunately, my editing ability, which is why these things are just rock shows the whole time. You know what it's in.
Fitzy:It's in the worst one was it was when I was all the way through it was terrible, but anyway it's in now.
Burso:Yeah, it's entered in. Well, I mean, we can use your other part. You can send that in. Hey, just a heads up Before I actually did really good.
Fitzy:I did really well. Then we stuffed up the last part and we couldn't edit it.
Burso:So we did it again and I went um, um, um, um explain how I could have done that. But but I just upload this and the little thing goes that all these little icons come on the screen. It's like magic mastering, and we're doing this.
Burso:We're doing I'm sure you are man I think we got the point across yeah, but uh, I mean, it'll be interesting to see how it goes, because you you might even then listen to that, like I mean, other people listen to it obviously, and then the grade comes back. If the grade comes back and you're like that was the crappiest thing we've had, then you know we'll reassess, but they might be like you know what this is actually over what most people would have done.
Fitzy:I mean, yeah, I mean it was hard because we only had a certain amount of time to put all that information in and I know that myself and my colleague did a lot of research. So we did a lot of research and then trying to explain it all in a couple of minutes was actually really difficult. Yeah, so we'll see, we'll see and, like I said, it's the first assignment that I've ever handed in.
Burso:And it was a podcast which is hilarious. Yeah, classic, but you said as well, like that other test, obviously your teacher's pet got 100% on. How much later were?
Fitzy:you there than everyone else.
Burso:Hang on sorry remember you were saying that you're the last one, like everyone else had finished the test and you're still going yeah, that was um that's.
Fitzy:I've had two laboratories so far and, uh, both have been the last person to leave, so yeah yeah yeah, um, and I felt like I did really bad on both of those, because I was just trying to listen to what they said and then do what they said, and then everybody else was finished and out of the lab and I'm still going hang on. What am I doing? So I don't know. And they were really good, though. The lab teachers were awesome.
Burso:Again 15 years younger than you.
Fitzy:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I mean, one of them was like okay, there was a math problem at the end of it and I got confused because I haven't done maths for years and I was actually okay at maths when I was in the army and school and stuff, we did a little bit of maths.
Burso:In the army there's three screws, here there's two nuts. That's not good.
Fitzy:No, actually the course. They put you through a pretty intense algebra course. I don't know why, because we didn't do any algebra for, like, fixing aircraft.
Burso:But the actual testing. That was a, so you guys could justify the amount of money you were flogging off us as the Royal Easy money earners.
Fitzy:Yeah, probably Can do algebra, couldn't? You?
Burso:Yeah. I can do surds, I can do cosine tangent all these words that I've never used in my life.
Fitzy:Yeah, well, I was probably lucky to have, because I sat there and she put this problem in front of me and sort of said, so how do we find this? And I looked at her like I've never seen this before. And then she wrote up the algebraic problem in front of me and said, okay, this is you know. So this is what this is going to be, this is how it translates. And she put it in front of me and sort of looked at me like go on, solve that. And I looked at it like, oh, my God, now the pressure's on, I'm going to have to do this in front of her and, thank Christ, I got it. I sort of went through it and, you know, moved a few things around and came out with the right answer at the end. And she's like, yeah, what are you worried about?
Burso:And I was like, oh, You're just sitting there like Goodwill Hunting over there. You're like, have a look at me, go 7 AB, don't mind me.
Fitzy:It was a bit like that, and then afterwards I would not know anything about algebra anymore. Afterwards I went home and tried to do the same thing. I put the thing in front of me. It could not solve it Could not solve it. So I sort of had a bit of a fluke in front of her. But I've since gone back and gone. I need to get my shit together with that. So I've gone and done some tests on algebra and stuff again.
Burso:But yeah, it's been. I still don't understand how algebra helps you.
Fitzy:Chemistry.
Burso:Yeah, but how?
Fitzy:How algebra helps you. Chemistry, yeah, but how so chemistry equations working out volumes of how many atoms?
Fitzy:So when you've got atoms, Wish I had a snoring button on this, yeah yeah, when you've got a certain amount of atoms or a compound, you have to be able to weigh it, and it's weighed out in moles. So sometimes you'll only know a certain amount of how much a substance is, and you have to know how much you've got to mix with another substance. So you need algebra to be able to work out how much of the two of those substances, or three of those substances, you need to have equal equations to put them all together. So yeah, righto.
Burso:So it works. Thank you for it.
Fitzy:I don't even know if that's right. I'm hoping it is now, just in case one of my lecturers hears this. There's zero fact checking on this. What are you talking about? Zero fact checking? We're not interested, but I'm pretty sure that's right.
Burso:Yep Fair enough.
Fitzy:What's your next field trip? The next one is actually to a rocky shore. Okay, we're going to look at microorganisms, what happens in a rocky shore, how that affects the coastlines, things like that. So yeah, we'll take some samples from some of those little spots on the rocky shore and I'll find out some info. I have no idea yet.
Burso:Are you excited, though, like all the time, because you seem to be. Yeah, it's cool, like I mean Mentally. Are you fatigued?
Fitzy:Yeah, I'm tired.
Burso:Taking it all in. Yeah, so it was like my loadmaster course there was zero physical activity, but there's just like maths. Go, go, go. What are you doing here and there?
Fitzy:Go go, just knackered at the end of it yeah, I'm tired. So I found actually last week so I've been training pretty well this year just back on the push bike and I'd been doing quite a bit and I noticed that as uni went up, K's went down yeah and I was probably more tired, so I was getting to the end of the week going. I didn't do much this week but I am stuffed, so mentally, yeah, it's been quite draining.
Burso:Do you reckon doing your fitness stuff is helping you as well, though, when you do it, or are you it's just taking up time?
Fitzy:I think I'm doing I don't know. No, I don't think it's taking up time. I think mentally it's good for me because it's my time. So I'm actually finding sometimes I'm on the bike and I'll be sort of in a bit of pain riding around somewhere and I'll be starting to think about you know 7A times 4B.
Burso:What would that be If I carry the CERN?
Fitzy:Or I'll be thinking about cells and things like that when they work. So I find that it actually is not a bad thing. So yeah, I'm still enjoying getting on the bike and I don't want to sacrifice all the work that I've been doing on the bike. So I think I need to take that time away because otherwise I just crash at home if I don't do anything.
Burso:Yeah, cool. Is there anything else we're keen on in the uni, like what's? When do you pick your next subjects and stuff like that. How does that go?
Fitzy:I've already got them locked in for the next trimester, but I've got time to move that around. So I mean, they're sort of in but they're not locked in or anything yet. And yeah, I don't know. To be honest, I just want to get through this trimester to start with, and then I'll start thinking about the one after, and I think that's probably going to be the way that I do it. I'll just break it up into trimesters and go right trimesters and then weeks at a time. Yeah, and I'm finding that's probably the best way that I can do it.
Burso:So is there any changes that you reckon you'll make going forward, like. Is it because there's certain parts that are overwhelming at the moment? Is there different things that you can do to learn better, like. Are there different things that you can do to learn better, like. Have you changed any different learning processes that you have?
Fitzy:Not so much at the moment. I mean, it's still early days at the moment, so I'm still coming to terms with studying and I'm still trying to work out what is important to know. What is just extra information. So it's all sort of important, but what is the stuff that they're probably going to test me on and what is the stuff that they're giving me extra information? So it's all sort of important, but what is the stuff that they're probably going to test me on and what is the stuff that they're giving me background information?
Burso:Are they doing the army thing where they're like? You might want to write this down, or any time they go to say something.
Fitzy:Sort of. But much, much, I mean, it's way more subtle than the army. So like they put up in conclusion and they'll say this is what we've done, and so you kind of go hmm, pretty sure that that's some important stuff. So I'll go back through the lectures and go what did he say in conclusion? Or um, you know he doesn't sit there and go. I still love that the obvious.
Burso:If I was in there, if I was doing a test on this wink wink, I would write this down yeah, not, not quite that subtle. Yeah, they run the course with G'day. My name is such and such. I will be your lecturer today.
Fitzy:The reason I'm teaching you this is so that you, as marine biologists, may do this.
Burso:By the end of this lesson, you will be taught. I would love that.
Fitzy:If someone came up and did that, I'd be like, oh, I'm in heaven here, I am going to get this course. Yeah, no, they don't do that. They just come out. A lot of the time they just come out with words that you'd know this by now and you're like that is the first time I've ever heard that word before.
Burso:There's so many first times. What was that Z word you were trying? Or it might be an X.
Fitzy:Zozen Thali.
Burso:That's the one, Zozen Thali.
Fitzy:Yeah, it's an algae that lives within a polyp.
Burso:Yeah, yeah, I'm just as bored this time, as I was last time and the nine times we did that beforehand. Cool work, classic Cool. So is there any other like? Is there websites where you can go? You know like how there's like that was it? Compare the Meerkat or the Market or whatever it is.
Fitzy:Like market or whatever it is like. Are there any things there where you can go? I'm looking at doing this. What uni course should I do, or is it? Yeah, I just like google it. So that's pretty much all I did and um found my way around and and then from there, if you find a course that you want to do, there's open days and things at the uni where you can go and ask. Um, you know you can go and ask the lecturers all about it so you can go up there and find out. There'll be, there'll be booths to tell you how you can enter. There'll be um other stuff where you can just go and talk to the lecturers.
Fitzy:When I went up last year, I went up in october and there was um. I was, I was talking to a lecturer and he was from environmental science and he was trying to get me to change and not do marine come over to his course. So he sort of said then that he really likes mature age students and that was kind of nice just to have that support, even though it wasn't for my course. I was like that's kind of nice to hear that he was encouraging then, but it was kind of funny that, yeah, he was trying to get me to go and do his course instead. So, yeah, I mean, yeah, they're worth a look.
Burso:Um, if, if that's what you're into so there's like careers advisors and stuff at the at the uni, like if you were to go I mean obviously google's easiest thing to do but if you've got a uni that you're going past, could you just go in and speak to?
Fitzy:yeah, you could.
Burso:There's definitely somewhere you could go um and sort of find out, because elaine obviously would be great at acu, but I'm assuming there's some somebody there that does at every uni yeah, you could.
Fitzy:You could certainly go into the um, into the central part of the uni, and there'd be someone that could steer you in the right path, because it is quite daunting. It's not like it's a yeah, I'm just going to. I mean, I'm back to school again. It's kind of cool. I do enjoy walking around the uni. I go and walk around with my coffee, I head off to the library like a geek. I love it. I spend all my time in the library or in class. I love it.
Burso:Yeah, you don't flex on them with your electric car. Not really There'll be a time to shine.
Fitzy:Yeah.
Burso:You'll bring that out at one point.
Fitzy:Yeah.
Burso:Look at me, I'm a big deal yeah. My sky blue car, my recycled jeans.
Fitzy:My recycled car. Yeah, I'm doing my bit.
Burso:Yeah, yeah, yeah, good for you, cool man. Oh, thanks for coming along. Thanks for having me. We'll chat to you when you've got a degree. We'll probably talk before then.
Fitzy:I'm pretty sure we will.
Burso:Righto.
