How did Dave Jones get into college at the age of 15? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Ankur Naidu
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 04, 2022, 03:06:29 pm
content: Dave has mentioned it multiple times and even in the video titled"When I was boy",He said that he was going to make a separate video about it (so he is open to the fact ofdisclosing information regarding it).But ever since then, in all the lengthy interviews, he has never mentioned it at all.As an electronics student myself, this made me very curious to see how dave got this start.If Dave or anybody else could answer it, that would be fantastic.Cheers!

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2022, 11:19:02 pm
content: He said "15 is when I started formal engineering education":https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpayYlJdbJkA lot of high schools would let you take university level courses, maybe something related to that?

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2022, 11:34:20 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on October 04, 2022, 11:19:02 pmIt depends a bit on the country's school system. Over here you can start an engineering education at the age around 15 / 16.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2022, 11:37:06 pm
content: In the British system when I was growing up, the school leaving age was the year of your 16th birthday, which for many would be age 15 for anyone with a birthday in the summer. After that, there were three broad paths available: (1) leave school and join the workforce, (2) leave school and join a vocational training program, or (3) stay on into the sixth form and study for A levels. Therefore it would be very easy and common to take option 2 and start studying engineering (this would often have been a combination of college attendance and on-the-job training with a sponsoring company.I imagine the system may have been similar in Australia at the time.

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2022, 11:44:56 pm
content: Closer to home, ie here in Australia back in the day, one option available back then was instead of doing senior years, 11 and 12 followed by uni, was to stop at year 10 and spend the next 2 years doing and engineering course at TAFE that would also cover physics and math.At the end of that you could use thar to get in to you're degree at uni

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2022, 11:58:19 pm
content: Quote from: AlfBaz on October 04, 2022, 11:44:56 pmThat's how it worked in England. Your senior years 11 and 12 would correspond to the sixth form, and studying for A levels in the sixth form would gain entrance to university. However, choosing the option 2 that I mentioned could also get you into university by a different path.

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 05, 2022, 12:04:12 am
content: It appears both countries have/had a similar system, in actuall fact it was called 5th and 6th form here as well and changed to year 11 and 12 whilst I was in school

author: Shred
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2022, 02:29:19 am
content: Some states in Australia have an education system that leads to mis-use of the term "college". This might be a peculiarly Tasmanian thing, since each Australian state tends to do its own thing, so I'm not sure if it is where the misunderstanding is happening (Dave is in NSW, so possibly a very different system).High school goes to about 15 or 16 years of age, then you leave high school and go to a different school for years 11 and 12. This used to be called "matriculation" and later, the "higher school certificate".In the 1970s and to a lesser extent in the 1980s, most of the students who went on to years 11 and 12 were doing so in preparation for university. Now it's pretty much expected that everyone does it. I think the big change happened in the early 90s when the government stopped allowing 16 year olds to go straight onto unemployment social security (welfare / "the dole"), but they could get a small welfare payment called "Austudy" if they stayed at school until they were 18 - a sly way of making the unemployment figures look better without actually creating any jobs, but hopefully it has improved some people's education.Many of the schools that exclusively offer years 11 and 12 have the word "college" in their names, which leads local people to say "I went to college" if they did years 11 and 12 (or if they started year 11 and dropped out after the first couple of weeks). On dating sites, people often tick the "some college" box, when this has a very different meaning to "college" as defined under the American education system.

author: armandine2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2022, 04:22:29 pm
content: Not sure Dave was a child prodigy?https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/14/europe/university-graduate-child-genius-scli-intl/index.htmlAnd, when I see them in the media it is a surprise when they're EE students.less so physics

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2022, 01:33:50 am
content: Quote from: thm_w on October 04, 2022, 11:19:02 pmYeah. He has not confirmed anyway and I tend to think that was just some misunderstanding.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 31, 2022, 04:06:13 am
content: Quote from: AlfBaz on October 04, 2022, 11:44:56 pmCorrect.Yes, I was 15 when I started because I started school a year earlier than most due to when my birthday was. These days it's "trendy" to hold your kids back a year, so there can actually be a two year difference in ages for people in the same year at school.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 31, 2022, 04:06:47 am
content: Quote from: armandine2 on October 09, 2022, 04:22:29 pmNo. Just a hobbyist who started young.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 31, 2022, 04:15:57 am
content: Quote from: Shred on October 09, 2022, 02:29:19 amMany (most?) schools here actually have it all in the one school, so you don't leave for another school.QuoteYes, changed in 2009https://education.nsw.gov.au/parents-and-carers/pathways-after-school/school-leaving-ageQuoteAlthough I'm not sure how you could actually stop any 16yo or 17yo from simply walking away after year 10 and doing nothing? What are they going to do, fine the parents? Fine the kid?QuoteI went to literally the worst high school in the country (as in front page national newpapers notoriously bad), and it's since been renamed a "college".There is also Hillsong "college" in my business park here. Hundreds of American parents pay big dollar to send there kids here and they think they are getting a "college" education

author: oliveryoungtqw
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 01, 2022, 07:55:01 am
content: I wish I could start my engineering education at 15, but in my country it is possible only at 19 years old. But even if I could go to college at 15, I don't think that I would handle all the pressure. You always have tons of homework, assignments etc. The only way to succeed would probably be usinghttps://edubirdie.com/assignment-helpor something similar in order to get some assignment help. But anyway, Dave Jones is a great guy!