Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

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:
Friendofdennis · 21/04/2021 23:16

Sorry to keep adding to my posts. Skills which would be considered valuable are those that would enable her to hit the ground running ... read up on specific roles in media (prospectsuk) and work out which degrees would offer the training needed. For example if she is interested in radio look at courses which will give her a lot of practical training in actual interviewing/ presenting/editing etc she could also start learning to audio edit with free applications such as audacity. Watch tv and listen to radio and try to analyse how the programmes are put together

YourWinter · 21/04/2021 23:16

How many media graduates eventually get their dream jobs in media? A degree isn't the be all and end all of most careers outside law and medicine, and I remember reading something that made perfect sense: why waste three years of earning potential to come out with a second class degree from a third rate university?

I'd suggest immediately deferring for a year and accepting the job.

Embracingthechaos · 21/04/2021 23:23

Take the job.

She doesn't sound very passionate about her degree, and she had no plan for what career it would lead into.

She can always go to uni later on after she's been working for a year or two and has more of an idea of what she wants.

feelingfree17 · 21/04/2021 23:23

Defo defer. Life might have a bit of normality back by then too, so she can fully enjoy Uni experience

Ericaequites · 21/04/2021 23:24

Defer for a year and save towards eventual university. Media is not a challenging or useful degree.

Nat6999 · 21/04/2021 23:25

Could she ask if she could do the accountancy exams while she is training? She could come out as a fully trained accountant while still earning at the same time then the sky would be the limit on what she could earn & also having a few years work experience to put on her CV when she is ready to move on.

hellywelly3 · 21/04/2021 23:28

Defer then she can do the job full time and really see if it’s she wants to do

EverythingRuined · 21/04/2021 23:29

I wouldn’t encourage her one way or another. Both options have their pros and cons. She needs to make up her own mind.

Zeldaaa · 21/04/2021 23:29

I wouldn’t let the salary sway her decision. I agree with others that 25k isn’t a great end salary goal for someone who was planning to go to uni.

My starting salary was much higher than 25k plus I had a sign on bonus. This was in Scotland too, where salaries can be a bit lower.

My suggestion is uni plus part time work. If she does decide to take the job then find a part time distance learning program so she can still get a degree.

PyongyangKipperbang · 21/04/2021 23:30

Can I just say re "Uni Experience"....

it aint all that!

Just because some people had a rocking 3 years doesnt mean everyone did, and does having three years of "freedom" starting at 18 really justify having a mega shit ton of debt, a (as a pp said) second class degree from a third rate uni and no real improvement in career prospects?

I dont have a degree and was out earning my school friends until we were in our late 20's and then was only out earned by a couple who went into financial jobs. My whole career in sales I outearned people I was at school with who went to uni, it was only when I went into hospitality that I dropped down the league table.

sweetclems · 21/04/2021 23:33

Don't let her chase a pay check ffs, let her follow what she's good at, maybe media isn't the best course, maybe she could do creative writing instead, find out what her big dreams are and help her take the first step towards them now before getting a huge student debt and before getting stuck in a shit Job

firedog · 21/04/2021 23:36

Defer for a year. Save money for next year

LadyBugg · 21/04/2021 23:36

Uni. Even if she's going to fall into an admin job after uni, at least she will have the life experience and the fun and drama and growth that you get from uni, instead of falling into admin now. She's got her whole life to work 9 - 5, my advice would be not to start doing it too soon!

Ellie56 · 21/04/2021 23:38

Take the job. My son went to uni, did a psychology degree, realised it wasn't quite what he thought it was, and is now temping (when he can get the work) and has a student debt round his neck. Hmm

She could always defer for a year to keep her options open.

VaVaGloom · 21/04/2021 23:38

Defer for a year as Uni may not offer her the 'live' experience 2021-2022 either. Get some work experience and money behind her and then when she's sick of getting up in the morning she can go to Uni and appreciate it all the moreGrin. Good for her CV / future jobs too. Well done to your daughter, she's obviously performed really well in the job.

Waferbiscuit · 21/04/2021 23:42

Uni Uni Uni. Once in a lifetime opportunity to dedicate time to learning and experiences.

If she takes the job she could easily become attracted to the income, lose momentum to go to University and wake up at 25 realizing she's stuck in a job in her hometown that is just okay, but now she's got a flat and is used to the money, has a live-in partner etc, so harder to go back to being a student but also trickier for her to get another job because she doesn't have a degree. More importantly she'll be angry that she missed out on proactively developing the career she wants!

Sure she could back to Uni whenever but people get stuck in what's familiar and often don't. I've seen the narrative described above happen many many times and nothing causes more resentment than lost dreams!

Cantrecall · 21/04/2021 23:42

Usually would have said uni for sure; however with covid and the current choice/uncertainty of degree I would defer.... BUT make sure that ‘sense of duty’ disappears and to focus on the original goal of uni. Just with a change of course perhaps. Digital marketing or something might suit her?

NameChange2PostThis · 21/04/2021 23:44

@doodlejump1980

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.
Agree with this. Plus media is not a great degree for job opportunities. So an extra year will give her a chance to look at other options or confirm her wish to risk it anyway because she’s so keen.
omgwhy · 21/04/2021 23:45

She'd be better off doing a degree in marketing or English for the jobs she's after.

Media is a great degree is you know what you want to do, it leads to a fantastic career in film, tv production, motion graphics all of the platforms we all spend our lives on, so not as fluffy as most people think but like my industry (creative) of a whole year group at uni only 4 of us still have careers in our fields.

Content writing, social is all recruiting and well paid but she would be better doing English and journalism for those roles.

I think defer, and maybe explore end careers during the year.

INeedNewShoes · 21/04/2021 23:47

Pre Covid I'd have said go to uni. Now I say take the job.

Especially as your DD isn't madly passionate about the uni course or a particular career path, just now I'd see it as a hugely positive thing to have a decent job lined up with progression as part of the plan.

She can always go to uni later.

timeisnotaline · 21/04/2021 23:48

Defer uni for a year. Take the job. Encourage her to think about what she does want and if there is something, go do a course in it. Encourage her to save money and be ready for life as a student. Make sure she doesn’t just stay in a low level job because they are nice, she’s too young to be acting like she’s 60 something and can’t find something else.

cyclingmad · 21/04/2021 23:53

Personally I would defer for the year. The uni experience right now isn't the same as pre covod and unlikely to be for another year.

She doesn't have a passion as you said, feels like she is just doing this because she might like it. Not really worth accusing all that debt

Taking another year to really discover what she really is passionate about is wise.

Maybe looking into apprenticeships with larger companies where she can rotate round and try different roles to help find out what she enjoys.

luvvaduck · 21/04/2021 23:54

@LadyBugg

Uni. Even if she's going to fall into an admin job after uni, at least she will have the life experience and the fun and drama and growth that you get from uni, instead of falling into admin now. She's got her whole life to work 9 - 5, my advice would be not to start doing it too soon!
No one is suggesting she stays with this company, let alone in this role, for the rest of her life! It's a stepping stone. She's clearly got something to her that the company have made this offer.

I recruit people and I'm always interested in those who've done things out of synch and in their own way: worked for a year or two, then made an informed choice about their degree. It takes guts not to do what all your friends are doing. My most recent recruit had success in one career but decided she wanted to do something more fulfilling and had a change of plan.

Working in a boring old office for a year will teach your daughter what she really values and what she hates, OP, and she'll be in a better position next year to decide what to do. I agree with others that a general media degree might be fun but is likely to be a waste of time. If she doesn't want to end up back in boring old admin she'll need to think carefully. But hold off till 2022 at the earliest.

ForwardRanger · 21/04/2021 23:54

This is exactly what happened to my daughter except they have started her on £30k and offered to pay her uni as well. It's a huge company with a lot of opportunity for promotion so in a sense she is set for a long time. But even if she leaves in a year or two, she is still so much better placed as she is saving so much which widens her choices.

I don't understand why posters are suggesting she will miss out on media studies, she won't at all, she can do it later - and likely much better.

therearenogoodusernamesleft · 21/04/2021 23:56

I also think it depends on the university as to the value it could give her - where is she planning to go?