Not interested in uni - what now

[SauteBaconHollow]

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

Neither of mine went to Uni. Both have businesses. Both have ADHD

DD At the moment the jobs she does are everything from modelling to eBay business seller to management in one industry where she manages graduates who had gone to Uni to do the job she does when they had worked their way up the career ladder. (Dd is younger than them) and quite a few other things which she turns her hand to
She does a lot of freelance work. The idea of only doing one job is not for her.

Whilst a degree might be required for certain careers for a lot of 18 year olds it funnels them into office jobs and jobs they aren’t suited to

I suppose those parents and students who find that the very idea of someone not going to university is a scary prospect or a path to a minimum wage job for life

How do you square that with the fact that only a small percentage of university graduates will be in a job that pays enough for long enough to actually pay off the student loan.

Maybe years ago a degree meant something but now so many people have them they have lost the kudos

I didn’t go to uni - I got a part time job and worked my arse off, then a full time job in a bank and i’ve worked in banking ever since in multiple roles. I didn’t go to uni as I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I’m so so glad I didn’t.

Uni isn’t the be all and end all, especially if she doesn’t know what she wants to do. Give her some time to figure it out - she can apply to uni next year if she decides she wants to go, she can get a job, look at apprenticeships - lots of options!

I wonder if someone has ever pointed out what a plumber or electrician or plasterer could earn compared with what the average graduate earns

Also the ones who left school to do these things are the ones buying the houses to rent to the graduates who are thousands in debt and are only just entering the workplace at 21/22 when they have been working for the past 4-5 years and earning more

I was pressured into going to uni when I was 18 because it’s what my parents wanted and what school expected.

it ended up being one of the worst decisions of my life, I got a degree in something I thought I was interested in, I struggled to get anywhere with it and then never used it.

in my mid 20s I wanted to retrain into doing something that ended being a passion but couldn’t get any funding or student loan because I’d already had that funding so that’s it, stuck in dead end job now

why is university seen as the be all and end all for kids. How in earth can you know at the age of 13 and 16 what you want to do with your life and what your passions and interests are. That doesn’t come until later on in life when you’ve gained life experience and seen the world a bit. What’s wrong in getting an apprenticeship or a job at 16 (wales) or 18.

Uni is overpriced, under resourced, and bad value for money at the moment. Unless you want to be a doctor lawyer or vet it isn’t a good use of time. Admittedly it’s a great place to meet a wealthy middle class bright spouse but it is a lot of moneh to oah for a date introduction.

Apprenticeship or even entey level non-degree job then work your way up. For example to work in publishing you don’t need a degree you just join as intern or editorial assistant, do admin and work your way up to book editor.

Or teach English overseas eg Japan for a few years then decide what to do after that.

Well, yeah, this.

Degree Apprenticeships are great but competition is fierce and usually require pretty high grades

Travel and do some volunteering/short-term work experience while travelling. I think it's really sensible to not go straight to uni, because it's so young to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life. I didn't travel until after uni, but it was such an amazing, life changing experience and really had shaped the path I've taken in the years (decades) since. Very worth the money spent.

Attendance at Job Fairs would be a good idea.

There are lots of jobs about. They are even taking people on with no experience to work as a prison officer! Though not sure many 18 year olds wd get in against others with an established cv.

Yes- that's a fair point. Possibly a standard apprenticeship might be better if he's not academic. The company I worked at (financial services) did those as well (school leaver apprenticeships). The jobs you got rotated into were a little more admin focused, but there were still opportunities for progression and to do qualifications- someone who started as our team administrator then got a finance assistant role and the company paid for her to do her management accountancy qualification. Also, I think once you have your foot in the door, some of the graduate only bias falls away because if a manager sees someone who has aptitude and gets stuff done, they will want to keep them.

My dc are a while off yet but I'll definitely want them to consider if Uni is really the best thing for them. I had a great time at Uni but my grad job (chartered accountancy) had nothing to do with my degree and I could have done that job when I was 18.

Snap, my daughter left college after A levels, is cabin crew and loving it! She gets loads of time off and like yours is earning good money. It's changed her so much for the better

You might not think so on MN, but over 1/2 of school leavers don't go to university.

What is she interested in?
What skills does she have?