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Original poster

Big dilemma for DD - what would you do?

686 replies

Blackenedsoul · 21/04/2021 20:49

DD has accepted an offer for her Uni of choice to study Media in September. She’s been looking forward to going, had planned to live at home and travel the 20 minutes in every day.

She had a part time job for a few months in a local office attached to a very small but very busy manufacturing company. She’s very well thought of and works in the office on a Saturday, doing admin, answering enquiries, emails, booking appointments etc.

Today they’ve offered her a full time, permanent post in the office and have offered to start training her up in the use of their accounts systems etc, give her more responsibility. The salary is 18k to start rising to around a max of 25k once fully trained.

This has come as a bolt from the blue, DD really enjoys the job and thinks she’d be happy doing it full time but at the same time was also happy to go off and have the Uni experience, make new friends and study and have fun.

She’s aware that lots of students leave Uni and end up falling into admin roles vey much like this and is now wondering whether bothering with Uni is worth it.

We’ve told her the decision is entirely hers but she’s really finding it hard to decide.

So, the great of mumsnet - what would you do?

OP posts:
FelicityPike · 21/04/2021 20:50

I’d stay at the job.

DelurkingAJ · 21/04/2021 20:50

I’d want a formal training position (apprenticeship possibly?) that would give her qualifications at the end and then take the job.

TheFlis12345 · 21/04/2021 20:51

Can she defer her uni place for a year and give the job a try? If she doesn’t like it she can go to uni the following year.

CherryChapsticks · 21/04/2021 20:51

Encourage her to go to uni all day long

Quartz2208 · 21/04/2021 20:52

Can she see spending the rest of her life in this job or does she have dreams of doing media?

If she is that good she can do the degree and go back - she cant go back to the degree. Personally I would take the risk on the degree knowing that she has something to fall back on if it doesnt work.

Nothing ventured nothing gained

Howmercurialislife · 21/04/2021 20:52

DD is off to Uni in September, if she was in the same boat I'd want her to go to Uni.

Eileen101 · 21/04/2021 20:53

I'd take the job unless she has a very specific career path in mind that needs a media degree. She might change her mind in what she wants to do. I know so many people who have changed career path after their degree, or after they've at least started it.

MrsTerryPratchett · 21/04/2021 20:54

@TheFlis12345

Can she defer her uni place for a year and give the job a try? If she doesn’t like it she can go to uni the following year.
This. I deferred for a year and worked. It was great. I still went (twice!) and completed degrees but working set me up well.
bravotango · 21/04/2021 20:54

Defer uni for a year, work full time, then drop to part time while at uni

ChiefBabySniffer · 21/04/2021 20:54

She can do the job AND study. She can do part time uni or even part time open university. She would have a degree in 6 years and could do something related to her job (business management?) and then with her real life experience and qualifications could get a much better job should she want it.

AgentProvocateur · 21/04/2021 20:55

Encourage her to take the job with a view to changing to a more practical degree.

Ikeameatballs · 21/04/2021 20:55

What was your dd’s vision of her career post-uni?
What will be her burden of debt from going to uni?
Are there any other options that would be half-way between the two?

Is she’s not really sure what she wants from uni and the job offers her formal training an qualifications I’d take the job I think.

AdriannaP · 21/04/2021 20:55

Max 25k is not a great salary - hardly a great career ahead. She is too young to already commit to a role like that. I would say she should go to uni and explore further options.

doodlejump1980 · 21/04/2021 20:55

I would defer uni for a year.

  1. It’ll give her some money to cushion some of the costs of uni.
  2. Hopefully covid restrictions will be lifted by sept, but she might find her course is online and she’ll be missing out on the uni “experience” of norm. Freshers week etc.
TheTurn0fTheScrew · 21/04/2021 20:56

Job, job, job. She's absolutely right that this is this kind of thing that lots of people accept after a degree.

If she finds a lack of degree impedes her progress she can do one at a later date. Her company might even pay - this happened to my DSis even though she wasn't on any official scheme or apprenticeship.

4PawsGood · 21/04/2021 20:56

Given that she was going to live at home and study media, I don’t think it’s a big risk to take the job. Maybe consider deferring.

Maybe she should do a more vocational course at university that will directly lead into a job.

pitterpatterrain · 21/04/2021 20:56

The question for me would be “and what next” - is there a path for her to grow further within that company / take a different degree / do account fancy etc

I suppose I am a little sceptical of media as a degree per se yet I freely admit I don’t know the type of role it would help you get directly into

Once you have a job it becomes easier to get another and even going to do a degree after having worked for a few years she will probably choose something that at the moment she would not have considered before

Christmasfairy2020 · 21/04/2021 20:56

Tbh media can be a bit of a micky mouse degree. I'd either take the job she has been offered or do social work or nursing etc that will lead into a job

pitterpatterrain · 21/04/2021 20:56

I meant accountancy - autocorrect

SillyYak · 21/04/2021 20:56

Yes, I’d also defer for a year and take the job.

Whyisitalwayssocold · 21/04/2021 20:56

In the current climate I'd take the job as there's no guarantee she would get one at the end of her degree just now. Even if she only stayed in the job for a year or two and went to uni after that she could have a nice financial cushion to see her through the course which would potentially make it a better experience for her.

ivfbeenbusy · 21/04/2021 20:56

DD has accepted an offer for her Uni of choice to study Media in September.

Media???......I'd take the job

LouiseTrees · 21/04/2021 20:57

Unless they are going to pay for her do an AAT accounting course or get her a qualification then she should go to uni.

rainbowthoughts · 21/04/2021 20:57

Definitely defer for a year to give her some breathing space.

Windinmyhair · 21/04/2021 20:57

Where does she go once fully trained?
Is she going to be happy doing the 'end game' trained up role with a salary of 25K forever, or is there a progression route that will be available to her later on?
What is her degree? Could she do it part time and work part time as a compromise (the compromise being she will lose the uni experience)

Broadly I think uni is the best choice, but if she is into that sort of work (accounts) maybe she needs to rethink her choice of degree subject?