Big dilemma for DD - what would you do?

[Blackenedsoul]

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?

A degree in media is no guarantee of any sort of job, though it might be a fun course.

In the present climate the job is probably the better option,especially if she can negotiate some proper training. She'll learn all kinds of skills and not be saddled with student debt.

Of my unrepresentative sample of two,one has a good degree from a Russell Group university and the other landed a job(in the Media!) at 19 whilst he was still dithering about university. Hasn't lived here since. DS1 struggled to get a permanent job and doesn't own his own place. DS2 has worked his way up,bags of experience and a homeowner-and no student debt,of course.

Ultimately,she needs to decide for herself but if she was planning to live at home,that's a different experience to living away.

Can she defer? Lots do so she won't feel left out for being a bit older, and as PP have said, theres more of a chance she'll get a good first year.

Defer for a year
Work for a,year

Degree and continue to work at the company part time.

she thinks the world of her employers and as they are a small family company she’ll end up staying out of duty.

Definitely university then. Otherwise she’ll potentially stay in this job earning no more than £25k forever out of duty. She might end up doing something like that anyway but when you’re young, you should at least have a bit of hope that there’s something more. 😬

Defer for a year. Having a year’s solid working experience when she finishes uni will set her ahead of her peers when it’s time to find a job afterwards.

I wouldn’t do either. Unless you can find her through her degree, pointless getting into all that debt.
Choose a different degree or keel
The job whilst she decides.

Work for a year, ditch media, look at courses which lead to specific jobs.

If she had no burning desire to study a particular subject, then I wouldn’t be encouraging her to run up student debts, particularity when it’s uncertain whether she’ll actually get much of a student experience.

I’m at the other end of a different career but.,,, by far and away the people I have worked with who are best at their job are those who qualified via evening classes, day release etc whilst working in the field. I know your dd doesn’t want a caterer in office management/admin, but it doesn’t sound like she’s really committed to Media enough to justify the debt.

Take the job to stall for time if nothing else.

Job 100000%

@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.

This.

Take the job. Defer for a year and look at open university.

I would advise the job. If nothing else, it may focus her mind on what she really wants to do. Going to uni for the sake of the experience and finding a course which is OK but not your passion isn't ideal.

I agree with pp who have said she should take the job and defer for a year. I think she would miss out on the uni experience living at home. it's also likely Covid restrictions will still be around in September, and the experience won't be what it was pre pandemic.

A media degree isn't likely to lead to a high salary, so she's correct to say she could spend three years at university to end up doing a similar role at the end of it. I would suggest to her she finds out what opportunities there are for development in this role and what the career path could look like. Is there a possibility she could study while working?

Defer uni for a year and take the job. That's what I'd advise my DD to do. Then make her decision next year.

I would suggest defer uni and go for the job. Ideally, she should ask them to support a degree apprenticeship (level 6). Even though they are a small company 95% of the costs of the apprenticeship will be funded by the government so win-win for everyone.

www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-apprenticeship-funds#how-funding-works-if-you-do-not-pay-the-apprenticeship-levy

Take the job if they fund AAT and then ACCA/CIMA or similar. A media degree will not get her nowhere.

Take the job.

I’d never encourage anyone to do uni unless it was something like medicine or specifically relates to a job.

@Quartz2208

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

Of course she could go back to a degree. People go back into education at all times of their lives.

As someone who went an alternative route through education I would suggest. Take the job but get a proper contract that outlines specific accredited training. If they want her to do the accounting she wants them to pay for her to take her AAT up to whatever level she decides she wants after her own research.

Media is not a successful vocation for many who persue it after their degree. As a PP said, many end up in admin roles.

Job over a degree in media. Let her work in the real world and go back to uni in a year or 2 with a view to a career

@MollysMummy2010

Take the job if they fund AAT and then ACCA/CIMA or similar. A media degree will not get her nowhere.

What are you basing this on?

I'm wondering if loads of people trashing the idea of a media degree have any idea what is involved or the significant number of jobs which now use social and new media?

You all sound wildly out of touch. Like you are basing this on media studies A level circa 2003.

@Blackenedsoul regardless of the decision your dd makes I'd advise both you and her get informed career advice. Rather than listen to some out of touch strangers on mumsnet.

I'd suggest taking the job for the time being too. It sounds like she wants uni for the uni experience, rather than doing her degree for a future career.

I think children are forced to make decisions too young in life. I loved university, but in hindsight, a bit of life experience would likely have given me an idea of what career i wanted and i could have chosen a degree accordingly rather than just going because everyone else did.

Defer for a year and accept the job offer. Push for employer to offer training for a qualification or part-time/day release degree.

This is difficult. If it was 20 years ago, I would say take the job. But the workforce has changed - most employers now ask for a degree, even for entry level admin roles.

I would ask her to think about what she will get the most out of long-term. There's nothing to say she can't go to Uni later, if she still wants to - and her employer may even pay for it! - but if she has to do a degree part-time while working, or attend as a mature age student, she won't be getting the same experiece as going aged 18/19. If that bothers her, I would suggest she go to Uni and ask if she can continue working part time in her current role. They may offer her a full time role again once her degree is finished, then she will be in a much better position for the future.

On the other hand, does she want a career in accounting? If so, it makes more sense to take the job, as they will likely pay for training for her.

Definitely go for the job. University to study media? Nah. Not for the debt she’ll end up with.