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Original poster

Not interested in uni - what now

37 replies

SauteBaconHollow · 12/01/2023 13:05

Leaving upper 6th this year, definitely not interested in uni, not even in applying as a belts and braces option in case she changes her mind in a few months.

Argh

OP posts:
SouthCountryGirl · 12/01/2023 13:09

Apprenticeship?

Dillydollydingdong · 12/01/2023 13:11

Either apprenticeship or just get a job and start at the bottom like anyone else

Beautifulsunflowers · 12/01/2023 13:12

So much pressure for our kids to go to uni - if she’s not interested then it’s either a college/apprenticeship or a job.
What is she interested in? Does she want to travel?
Does she have a part time/weekend job that she can go full time in while she thinks about the future.

Kinsters · 12/01/2023 13:19

Accountancy? You can join as a school leaver and still have all the same training opportunities that a graduate will have (takes longer but ends up in the same place).

AKG22 · 13/01/2023 08:58

My daughter was the same. Amazing A level results, just not interested in further education. She’s been Cabin Crew since she left college and is LOVING it! She’s using all her time off and massively discounted staff flights to travel and is earning great money. She is on track to save a £30k deposit for first home in a little over 2 years. xx

crazycrofter · 13/01/2023 09:02

My ds will be in this position next year. He’s willing to consider a degree/higher apprenticeship but not straight away as he wants to travel. He’s got a Saturday job at the moment where he works full time in the holidays, so my thinking is a gap year, where he works for a few months and travels. That should give him some time to reflect on what he wants. There’s no rush..

Fluffycloudland77 · 13/01/2023 09:02

Web development, software programming, cyber security.

High starting salaries and good career progression. It’s hard to learn but learnable iyswim.

BuffaloCauliflower · 13/01/2023 09:03

Honestly there’s too much pressure to go to uni and everyone be on one same path, much better to not go to uni than to go for the sake of it when you’re not that bothered. I did go to uni but not till my mid 20s and I LOVED my subject. Uni is hard work but it’s much harder when you’re only there because you think you’re expected to be.

She could get a job right away and see what interests are sparked while earning, she could do an apprenticeship. Maybe she’ll work her way through a few options while she figures out what she wants to do, 18 is so young. As long as she’s not expecting to sit around at home while you keep paying for everything I think it’ll be ok 🙂

VanCleefArpels · 13/01/2023 09:04

There’s a website called “notgoingtouni” can’t remember if it’s .com or .Co.Uk

Also look at Multiverse - Euan Blair’s company set up specifically to guide those taking a different path

Your daughter might well change her mind once all her friends disappear and start living the student life, so don’t despair!

Sartre · 13/01/2023 09:08

Lots of other options, not everyone is designed to go to uni. Apprenticeships are a good option. Does she have any major interests at all? I know a few who didn’t go to uni- one is cabin crew, one a police officer and the other owns a beauty salon and is very successful. You don’t always need a degree.

senua · 13/01/2023 09:12

Leave them to it. Let them start adulting and making their own decisions. As long as they don't do anything that they can't row back from, then a few years finding their feet shouldn't do any harm.
Talk about generalities to help guide them e.g. do they like solo or team work; indoors or outdoors; brain or brawn; etc.

Fifipop185 · 13/01/2023 09:12

My DD was the same, no interest in Uni and she wasn't getting the grades she would have needed anyway to go.

She got an Apprenticeship which she was a bit meh about at first, but it was the best thing for her. She's completed one and is now on another 2 year scheme to increase her qualification in the same trade. She's saving up for a house deposit at the age of 19.

Her school didn't show apprenticeships in a positive light, it's was offered as something for those who aren't good enough for uni to take up, learn a trade. They're so much more and so much better than that.

QueSyrahSyrah · 13/01/2023 09:15

I didn't go, wasn't for me and I knew it from an early stage. I had two jobs before I finished 6th form and just kept on working.

If I could do it again the only difference would be that I'd have applied myself more at an early stage and moved up the career ladder faster; what I did instead was travel a lot, party a lot, save not very much at all and it took until my mid-30s to get myself somewhat sorted and stable financially.

TimeToFlyNow · 13/01/2023 09:16

My eldest refused to do A levels never mind uni. He went to college to train as an electrician then at 18 started an apprenticeship.

OfCourseChangs · 13/01/2023 09:17

DS finished his A levels during 2020. He got a night shift job and was earning up to £17 PH. During this time he applied for a degree apprenticeship and he had had the time to really think about what he truly wanted to do. He started age 21 just this September. In those two years he managed to save up a few thousand towards a house deposit. He got 3 A grades at A level.

ArseInTheDogBowl · 13/01/2023 09:19

Apprenticeships would be a good route, where I work we are currently advertising for project management apprentices.

I actually wouldn't be worried by this at all- as long as she was actively looking to do something. It's a horrible amount of debt to shoulder and in a lot of cases, I don't think it's worth it.

Nosleepforthismum · 13/01/2023 09:39

Sounds incredibly sensible. No point doing a degree for the sake of it.

Alwaysworryingoversomething · 13/01/2023 10:17

Nosleepforthismum · 13/01/2023 09:39

Sounds incredibly sensible. No point doing a degree for the sake of it.

Agree. I meet a large number of students who are at university or studying a particular subject because of parental pressure.
They don't tend to be enjoying themselves or applying themselves much. It's such a shame and a waste of time / money.

To commit to a 3 year (or more) course you need to be enthusiastic and believe that it's the right one for you.

redskydelight · 13/01/2023 10:21

I think it's really positive that young people are not just slavishly going to university because it's the done thing in their circles, but actually to consider options.

If your DC has no idea, then simply getting a job - any job - for a few months/year while she thinks about options is no bad thing.

Fluffycloudland77 · 13/01/2023 10:26

@Alwaysworryingoversomething Totally agree, I was pressured into going. Didnt enjoy it, and it's taken me 23 years to find something I did want to do because I was so conditioned into thinking only graduate jobs will ever pay the bills.

My job has made me so depressed over the years and taken a physical toll on my body. It's not worth it.

illiterato · 13/01/2023 11:01

The GD of someone I know is doing a degree apprenticeship with one of the major investment banks. She works for them 3 days a week, rotating departments to get experience of all the different functions, and does 2 days study through (I think) University of Exeter for a BS degree. It seems like best of both worlds. She wont have any debt and is earning a good salary- lives at home so saves it all. She can apply work knowledge to Uni work and vice versa. I know Uni is more than just a degree but I think with a lot of online now, it's worth questioning if the social side is still as good as it was, or at least worth getting into loads of debt for.

BarbaraofSeville · 13/01/2023 11:02

University isn't the best route for everyone and even if it is, there are other routes to a degree, eg as part of an apprenticeship where the young person learns on the job and studies part time on day release, I know a few people doing this in engineering.

It takes a year or two longer but the advantage is that they gain experience, start earning sooner so are likely to be earning above typical graduate starting salaries by the time their peers who took the traditional route enter the workplace and, as their fees were paid by their employer, they have no student debt. There should be more opportunities to do it this way IMHO.

illiterato · 13/01/2023 11:06

I know a few people doing this in engineering.

For practical subjects like engineering it actually makes way more sense as you're involved in practical decision making from Day 1, plus making industry contacts etc. DH did chemical engineering and I'm not sure he set foot in a chemical plant until his third year placement.

OnMyWayToSenility · 13/01/2023 11:16

My son is the same, about to finish college and has no interest in uni.

He has a part time job, intends to travel and work and find his feet his way.

I think quite a few his age are thinking twice about uni, all the debt and money it would cost. So they are opting out! They all got good grades and went to good schools. They just don't understand the obsession with it.

Hanschenklein · 13/01/2023 12:41

DS 1 was reluctant to go to uni and desperately tried to get an apprenticeship in tech. His A'levels weren't stellar but not that bad - BCD in fairly difficult but relevant subjects. He's also dyslexic. Great CV and covering letter. Sadly he didn't get a single interview. It was so demoralising as all of his friends were off to uni and he was anxious that they were moving onwards and upwards but he wasn't. Many apprenticeships are only available through 'agencies' so you theoretically send in your details and they select the most suitable one. After several months they admitted it was 'a slow period'and ds ended up at uni through clearing.
Since heard on the grapevine that decent non trade type apprenticeships like in banking/tech are incredibly competitive. Many A grade students are being awarded them to avoid student loans. So for bright but not amazingly academic kids they aren't the opportunity you'd hope. We aren't in the south east either which doesn't help.