--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I taught myself the first year course…" description: "\"I taught myself the first year course while I was on the dole, then moved to London to do an MA at SOAS, which led straight into a PhD.\" — Deborah Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/deborah-smith-13837_courses_i-taught-myself-the-first-year-course-wh_3034266.png" --- # I taught myself the first year course while I was on the… ![“I taught myself the first year course while I was on the dole, then moved to London to do an MA at SOAS, which led straight into a PhD.” quote by Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/deborah-smith-13837_courses_i-taught-myself-the-first-year-course-wh_3034266.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/deborah-smith-13837_courses_i-taught-myself-the-first-year-course-wh_3034266.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/deborah-smith-13837_courses_i-taught-myself-the-first-year-course-wh_3034266.png) > “I taught myself the first year course while I was on the dole, then moved to London to do an MA at SOAS, which led straight into a PhD.” [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes self‑directed learning while unemployed, leading to advanced degrees. **In simple terms:** Self‑study led to MA and PhD. Key Takeaway Invest in self‑education. Themes education self‑learning career determination Mood motivational pragmatic Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - job seeking - research - teaching - career change Key Concepts autodidactism academic progression Questions to Reflect On - What resources helped you? - How can others replicate this? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Course Dole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/course-dole-4971553/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Dole Moved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dole-moved-4971554/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [Moved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moved/) [Moved London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moved-london/) [Phds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phds/) [Straight Phd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-phd-4971555/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Taught Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-year-2343452/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I am a teacher, and I am proud of it. 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We would stay here and just leave it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/when-i-moved-to-london-you-could-park-your-motorcycle-in-the-pavement/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [One of my favourite places is Hampstead Heath. When I first moved to London, I lived in Highgate, and I would walk on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gugu-mbatha-raw/one-of-my-favourite-places-is-hampstead-heath-when-i-first-moved-to/) [Gugu Mbatha-Raw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gugu-mbatha-raw/) > [I had a whole Scottish existence until we moved to London when I was four.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-cranham/i-had-a-whole-scottish-existence-until-we-moved-to-london-when-i-was/) [Kenneth Cranham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-cranham/) > [“He was from Yorkshire, or somewhere like that, and like many Northerners with issues, he'd moved to London as a cheap alternative to psychotherapy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-aaronovitch/he-was-from-yorkshire-or-somewhere-like-that-and-like-many/) [Ben Aaronovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-aaronovitch/) ## More by Deborah Smith > [Happy people look young. You’re really afraid of getting older, aren’t you? You should only be afraid of getting less happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/happy-people-look-young-you-re-really-afraid-of-getting-older-aren-t/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [“I buried my grief for my son, not my memories, but my grief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/i-buried-my-grief-for-my-son-not-my-memories-but-my-grief/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [I read The Vegetarian and fell in love with it. A year later, I was invited to go and speak at the London Book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/i-read-the-vegetarian-and-fell-in-love-with-it-a-year-later-i-was/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [A chorus of tough southern belles whispered, You need a loyal husband around here. 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A sensualidade de respirar, de sentir, de querer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/a-vida-fugaz-a-vida-preciosa-temos-de-gozar-cada-momento-a/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [“The best sex takes us somewhere. Somewhere warm and expansive, a paradise of lust and happiness. Sex is and can be and should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/the-best-sex-takes-us-somewhere-somewhere-warm-and-expansive-a/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [Possibly the best thing about the whole experience is that Kang and I are now really good friends. 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Frightening, sad, but exhilarating in a poignant way, as well. You’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/there-s-something-very-freeing-about-losing-the-anchors-that-have/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [Plus, publishing's inherent conservatism, means that what little did get through was weighted towards the commercial end of the scale, which is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/plus-publishing-s-inherent-conservatism-means-that-what-little-did/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [ Whenever I visit Korea she \[Kang\] buys me lunch and takes me to a gallery. As if all this wasn't enough, she has incredible… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/whenever-i-visit-korea-she-kang-buys-me-lunch-and-takes-me-to-a/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) [Explore all 47 Deborah Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) ## More Courses quotes > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our critical day is not the very day of our death; but the whole course of our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/our-critical-day-is-not-the-very-day-of-our-death-but-the-whole/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [ Bernie \[Ecclestone\] is the commercial rights holder so the more outgoing the champion is, the better. 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I also do think about our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/bernie-ecclestone-is-the-commercial-rights-holder-so-the-more/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We are always saying: Let the Law take its Course but what we really mean is: Let the Law take OUR Course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-are-always-saying-let-the-law-take-its-course-but-what-we-really/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I earn my living by teaching film, mostly filmmaking but also teaching courses on current cinema. 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