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is uni really worth it???

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
Its time for me to be really choosing a uni and choosing a future...............but the question is is uni really worth it? i mean not only do you get yourself into stupid amounts of dept but there is the case when you leave you change career or can't get a job in what you want to do anyway! What is the point of paying to learn something for 3-4years and end up working in your local corner shop selling fags to underage kids?

Can someone kinda let me know if it is worth the time money and effort when you could do a training scheme or apprentiship and end up just as qualified????

:confused::confused::confused:
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Re: is uni really worth it???
    Originally posted by curlysaurus
    What is the point of paying to learn something for 3-4years and end up working in your local corner shop selling fags to underage kids?

    Err, you'll only end up doing that if you choose to!

    I have a vague idea of what I want to do when I've finished uni, and that's enough for me. What I'm going to do at uni does kind of relate to this; so while I'm doing my degree it might even give me new ideas as to what I want to do when I'm done.

    Uni is an experience; one that I'm looking forward to experiencing. I couldn't see myself getting a full time job now; so in a way, I'm putting it off.

    Go see your careers advisor or something. :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Carrers advisors at our college suck............they just give you your options and let you get on with it! it suks!

    i know what i want to do but i dont know if its what i want to do in 5years time,,,....

    Oh the confusion
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    University

    Hey!
    Well, as a university student, I recommend that you give this some thought. It is a really hard time for a student, but you will see it's all worth it at the end. I have been here for 2 years, and I am going to be honest, it is so intense. You need to be ready when you start this phase in your life because it hits you hard. But, you are right saying that some of us might not even find a job that you majored in. But, just the fact of having a bachelor is good for your future. If you study something that you enjoy, then you will make sure that you will find something, and you r gonna make tons of money. To end. It is worth the effort you put in, and the money u spend. You will actually feel that you gained something and trust me you will find something good in the future! :crazyeyes
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Carrers advisors at our college suck............they just give you your options and let you get on with it! it suks!

    What more did you expect? them to fill out the UCAS form for you? Go find you a nice job? :crazyeyes

    Uni is more than the degree, its a way of life. In a lot of ways the expierance is worth more than the degree. As for the debt, it just comes out of your pay slip you will never notice.


    end up working in your local corner shop selling fags to underage kids?

    If somebody with a degree ends up doing this job what chance to the people without degrees have? :eek2: A lot of jobs are only accessible with a degree and your degree is a degree and does not need to be specific to your job unless you wanna be a chemist or something etc

    Bopz
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by curlysaurus
    Carrers advisors at our college suck............they just give you your options and let you get on with it! it suks!

    The idea is that you're a grown up; you make your own decisions. They're there to offer advice and help you on your way. You could always go to your local connexions office.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    No. Uni's not worth it. Don't go. Get a qualification and get yourself some money and enjoy life.

    Last thing we need's more people going to uni. Especially one's who can't work out the reason going to uni is such a popular thing to do is because it is completely worth it, educationally, financially, socially and as the next stage in life.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Turtle
    Last thing we need's more people going to uni.

    Yeh, that's a bit worrying. What good is a degree if everyone's got one. Hmm. Well it is some good, but you know what I mean.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Turtle
    Especially one's who can't work out the reason going to uni is such a popular thing to do is because it is completely worth it, educationally, financially, socially and as the next stage in life.
    exactly.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If your good enough, do it, nothing to lose. Take a step back what do you want? Uni can be a great time to work these things out. I'm drunk sorry

    Bopz
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Over the past year I have changed my mind about this. I now think, unless you are doing a career specific degree such as medicine/law/optometry etc, there isn't much point in it. Life experience? Experience of what exactly, drinking, getting up late? You get just as much, actually probably MORE "life" experience by going out to work.

    If I went back and did things again I wouldn't have gone to uni, I would have got a job straight after A Levels. As it is, I will be 23 before I graduate and get a full time job. I will be about 12K in debt and have no full time work experience apart from holiday and part time jobs. I could have had 5 years straight experience of working, no debt, savings etc if I had not gone to uni.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by PussyKatty
    I now think, unless you are doing a career specific degree such as medicine/law/optometry etc, there isn't much point in it.

    Congratulations, you've just written off the university careers of most of the Student Forum. There most definitely IS a point in it. A degree is an important qualification which will get you into many jobs which simply aren't open to those who don't have one.

    But I do agree that too many people go to university just for the hell of it. I have a huge interest in Classics so I'm really enjoying my degree and finding it interesting, but I think some people just go to university for the sake of going, and don't have an interest in what they're studying. In those cases I think university probably isn't really worth it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think those jobs should be open to anyone. If a person gets good A Level results why should they have to go to university and get into debt, just to get access to some of the better jobs.

    It is my opinion that many degrees are pointless and you could learn the same skills "on the job".
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Don't bother. People nowadays think you need to go uni to get anywhere in life and it's bollocks. I'm 21 and never went to uni, and i am so glad. I have worked with so many people that have been and regret it, they are now doing the same work as me, they are in debt and have no idea how life at work actually works. If you are really talented and love something then do it , this is the sort of thing we need doctors etc. Not people just thinking it is a natural progression to do school, college then uni .... then wondering what to study?!! That's just bullshit costing us money. Both me and my missus (19) got shocking GCSE'S ( 3 C+ between us) no 6th form, A-levels and no higher education. We are now in a better position than ANYONE i still know from school, all from working our arses off 9 to 5. We have a nice house (bought not rented), in a nice area, nice new car, and i have got 7K coming in April for being loyal to the company for the last 4+ years. Do yourself a favour and find a job you like doing and do it, work hard and you will reap the rewards and 3 years later when all your mates come out and can't find jobs they studied for you'll probably be managing them!! ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have worked with so many people that have been and regret it, they are now doing the same work as me, they are in debt and have no idea how life at work actually works.

    Thats what you get for doing pointless degrees. Do a worthwhile degree and it will pay off later in life. Get a 2.1 in a decent degree and you can have almost any city job you want.
    Can someone kinda let me know if it is worth the time money and effort when you could do a training scheme or apprentiship and end up just as qualified????

    :lol::lol::lol: Theres a reason why graduates with a degree in a whorthwhile subject command salaries up to 10x higher than people with an apprentiship ;)

    Everyone i know that has left school early is in a dead end job that will take them nowhere and will earn them the same £800-1000 a month for the rest of thier lives. In 20 years time 4/5 jobs will require a degree, so i definatly know what i am doing for my future.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It is my opinion that many degrees are pointless and you could learn the same skills "on the job". [/B]

    Depending on what type of job you go into a degree may be essential. Obviously for law or medicine there is no way you could enter these jobs without doing a degree then getting the needed qualificatons.

    However many office based jobs are so specific it would be impossible to offer a degree to cater for all of the jobs. Many degrees just show you have an aptitude for your choosen subject, eg I'm doing a maths degree but that dosn't mean I will end up as a mathematician.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by minimi38
    you can have almost any city job you want.

    umm...why a city job?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by loftx2
    Depending on what type of job you go into a degree may be essential. Obviously for law or medicine there is no way you could enter these jobs without doing a degree then getting the needed qualificatons.

    However many office based jobs are so specific it would be impossible to offer a degree to cater for all of the jobs. Many degrees just show you have an aptitude for your choosen subject, eg I'm doing a maths degree but that dosn't mean I will end up as a mathematician.

    Yeh, I mean I'm intending to do Criminology and Sociology. I did Sociology A-level at college and really enjoyed the Criminology Module. So, it makes sense to do it at uni I guess. Plus, I want to join the police. Fair do, I could go straight into the police now..do my training etc. But I want to be able to further my knowledge and stuff; and be good at what I do. Plus, it'll look good on me when I want to move up the police ranks or whatever. I spoke to a police lady, and they do actually recomend going to uni first.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Munchie Face
    Don't bother. People nowadays think you need to go uni to get anywhere in life and it's bollocks. I'm 21 and never went to uni, and i am so glad. I have worked with so many people that have been and regret it, they are now doing the same work as me, they are in debt and have no idea how life at work actually works. If you are really talented and love something then do it , this is the sort of thing we need doctors etc. Not people just thinking it is a natural progression to do school, college then uni .... then wondering what to study?!! That's just bullshit costing us money. Both me and my missus (19) got shocking GCSE'S ( 3 C+ between us) no 6th form, A-levels and no higher education. We are now in a better position than ANYONE i still know from school, all from working our arses off 9 to 5. We have a nice house (bought not rented), in a nice area, nice new car, and i have got 7K coming in April for being loyal to the company for the last 4+ years. Do yourself a favour and find a job you like doing and do it, work hard and you will reap the rewards and 3 years later when all your mates come out and can't find jobs they studied for you'll probably be managing them!! ;)

    When you're 30, you'll be only a little bit higher up the ladder, earning only a little bit more, whereas your graduate friends will probably be your boss, earning substantially more. But it's okay, you'll get plenty of loyalty bonuses coming through, I'm sure. :)

    I'm not belittling you in any way - in fact, am seriously envious of you at the moment, cos you are doing extremely well for yourself. But that's only really relative to your age group. You took a short term view, and it's paid off. But long term, graduates will be rising up past you left right and centre.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    umm...why a city job?

    When you look where "most" jobs locate, most are in the cities.
    I'm doing a maths degree but that dosn't mean I will end up as a mathematician.

    Amen to that one dude. Once I graduate I never want to see a number or any of the F*ukin greek alphabet ever again.
    Life experience? Experience of what exactly, drinking, getting up late?

    I have to be up at a reasonble time, living with 3000 random people and having to make new friends is the challenge. Uni puts you in an unusual situation, some people crack and drop out others pass it. Also a degree is a degree, but like all qualifications some are worth more than others. You have to balence your work with social time, I can no sort of cook. I can also sort o budget. It worked out good for me!

    Even though uni has all the highs and lows it is still worth it, so you start work a few years later. Say you do the same job as Munchie Face, in a few years you an be as good as him. Or maybe with a degree you will just be his boss straight off........
    We are now in a better position than ANYONE i still know from school

    Well its all relative. I doubt more than 10 people went to uni from my secondary school. When I left 25% of people go 5 A* - C. Most of them will have jobs, but working 7AM-6PM everyday as a roofer in Brixton just doesn't count as "better".

    Bopz
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Turtle
    When you're 30, you'll be only a little bit higher up the ladder, earning only a little bit more, whereas your graduate friends will probably be your boss, earning substantially more. But it's okay, you'll get plenty of loyalty bonuses coming through, I'm sure. :)

    I'm not belittling you in any way - in fact, am seriously envious of you at the moment, cos you are doing extremely well for yourself. But that's only really relative to your age group. You took a short term view, and it's paid off. But long term, graduates will be rising up past you left right and centre.

    This would probably be true if i was to sit in the same seat doing the same job for the next ten years while you climb the latter, but i haven't, i've been promoted 3 times in 4 years. And it's loyalty for being in the company not the same job! As for the age group the majority of my colleagues are between 25 - 30, and have been to university. When it comes to a dead end where you need more qualifications to progress i will have it paid for my the company, not a huge debt around my neck preventing me having credit etc, While you have been studying i have already proved to be a good asset, not someone who has a piece of paper telling them they are - i think most people will agree actions speak louder than words.
  • KimonoKimono Posts: 201 Trailblazer
    Some people find it all too easy to write off uni, on the assumption that all students are layabouts and that the university degree is losing its value.

    Unfortunately, some cases justifiably support this belief...

    However, let's be honest here: anyone who can dismiss the entire institution of university as a whole is perhaps too narrow-minded to enter a world of free intellectual thought anyway (whether in or out of uni).

    You're reaching a significant turning point in your life- the end of school- although it doesn't necessarily mean an ultimatum between whether you do or don't go to uni. Chill, take your time and think about how the pros and cons weigh up for you. If it's too hard to be decisive, remember that getting a degree is a great personal achievement, but not necessarily the greatest and most important; life will bring many more along. Don't stress too much about whether you do a degree now, in ten years' time or not at all.

    As for the salary aspect... well, how well you work and how far you push yourself during and after your degree will go some way in determining how much you earn. And how much is a big salary important to you anyway?

    Many doors can be opened with the university experience, and I'm not just talking financial ones. Hey, you might even learn something for a start. I for one have met some amazingly diverse people, have discovered new interests and learnt two new languages; that, methinks, is priceless.

    Go see:
    http://www.thesite.org/youthnet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=245&a=3501


    :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm sure this topic will be around for a long time with all the debate over fees and the like.

    I'm a graduate from Lancaster University (Master of Physics btw) and the four years I spent there were the most rewarding of my life. I went from a shy, naive 18 (and 2 months!) year old to a confident 22 year old with all the experiences that uni can offer. Some might say that going to work instead of university is the 'real world' where you earn money but in my mind, unless you find a job you really enjoy then there's no advantage.

    Going to university is much more than simply getting a degree so you can get more money in a job - there's more to life than a big house and a fast car. It's about challenging yourself and opening your mind to new ideas and new ways of thinking. Of course, along the way you'll meet lots of people from all over the world with similar ideas. How many jobs grant you the opportunity to meet people from say 10 different countries everyday? Not many, unless you have a really good job.


    I enjoyed my stay at uni so much that I intend to further my education and challenge myself again, this time by doing a PhD. I'm not doing it because I think I'll earn more, I'm doing it because it interests me.


    Think carefully before going to uni - are you doing it because it challenges you or simply because everyone expects it of you?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by The Philosopher
    Going to university is much more than simply getting a degree so you can get more money in a job - there's more to life than a big house and a fast car. It's about challenging yourself and opening your mind to new ideas and new ways of thinking. Of course, along the way you'll meet lots of people from all over the world with similar ideas. How many jobs grant you the opportunity to meet people from say 10 different countries everyday? Not many, unless you have a really good job.

    have to agree with this.

    at the end of the day, i don't care whether my degree will earn me more money. i just now that the things i have learned and experience while i've been studying for it will last me a lifetime. and they'll make me more employable. it's all very well getting up every morning and doing the same job for 4 years, and yeah, you'll have a lot more experience. but having a degree shows that i have initiative and independent thought and self-motivation. and i've had experiences that i just wouldn't have had otherwise, and contacts that i wouldn't have had access to.

    and yes, obviously some people have fantastic jobs and no degree - my brother has the best out of anyone i know, and left school after his a levels, but generally in life, people with degrees will have more opportunities.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Step away, reach for the bargepole...

    I went to Uni and got a third in an Engineering degree (a subject I thought would guarantee me a job). After I graduated none of the graduate recruiters would touch me because they wanted 2:2s or better. I am now applying for an apprenticeship after working with my Dad for over a year as a stopgap. If I had gone for the apprenticeship straight from school I would be rolling in money by now. Instead I have a £12000 student loan to repay.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Re: Step away, reach for the bargepole...
    Originally posted by Captain Slog
    I went to Uni and got a third in an Engineering degree (a subject I thought would guarantee me a job). After I graduated none of the graduate recruiters would touch me because they wanted 2:2s or better. I am now applying for an apprenticeship after working with my Dad for over a year as a stopgap. If I had gone for the apprenticeship straight from school I would be rolling in money by now. Instead I have a £12000 student loan to repay.

    Yes, but I'm sure your degree taught you a lot that an apprenticeship wouldn't of.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I am about to finish 5 years at uni, studing law. It was long, expensive and gave me the shits, but it was the only way. In my case and like many others uni is the only option to get into specific careers. What annoys and sadens me, is seeing people going to uni for the hell of it, studing 'arts' and 'communication' degrees simply because they are either afraid or too lazy to join the real world. Many a friends, didnt study futher, and are now in equal level and higher too, degree level jobs, with job and 'real world experience' out accelerating any degree. Also, in these positions, they have the choice of taking on, specific, 'field related' study/degrees.

    I feel, if you know what you want to do, do it. If it requires specific learning, learn it. Dont waste your, our time/money at uni just for the sake of it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Re: Re: Step away, reach for the bargepole...
    Originally posted by lucifer devil
    Yes, but I'm sure your degree taught you a lot that an apprenticeship wouldn't of.
    That would be the stuff I'm never going to use in a job.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    so so so so so dead.

    Bopz
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Richie
    [B. What annoys and sadens me, is seeing people going to uni for the hell of it, studing 'arts' and 'communication' degrees simply because they are either afraid or too lazy to join the real world....I feel, if you know what you want to do, do it. If it requires specific learning, learn it. Dont waste your, our time/money at uni just for the sake of it. [/B]

    I really hope that isn't aimed at all arts students. I'm in my final year of a History with German degree and I see it as a hell of a lot more than just avoiding the real world. I've learnt to look at things critically and analytically, I've learnt how to start a research project from scratch (coming up with a question and the reading list I'll need etc.), I've broadened my knowledge in all sorts of areas, learnt team work and can hold my own in a debate, spent a year in Germany improving on language skills...the list is endless. And I've loved what I've been studying.

    And most importantly, while at 18 I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do as a career, my time at uni has made me learn so much more about myself and my interests, and now I have a firm ambition - to become a policy officer/researcher, something I wouldn't have thought of four years ago. Just because my degree isn't strictly vocational doesn't make it a waste of time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well when I left school I felt I wasn't ready for college and wasn't sure what I wanted to do,2 weeks after I finished my exams I started in a good Goverment office job which pays pretty well,
    In my 3rd year now- and while ive done a lot of growing up and have finally realised what I want to do is go back to college and get a sports degree! Just look at what your interested in- the online UCAS test thing is a good indicator,
    Most of the subjects branch out in 2nd and 3rd year in different disciplines so its not as if your stuck with such a particular thing as such! At least try it for a year or you may regret it afterwards
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