Thinking university not worth it?

[Meekonsandwich]

AIBU to think going to university might not be worth it?

Okay, so I've always wanted to go to university. Because I was the first person to get a levels in my family, first woman to drive and I'd be the first person to go to uni too.

I applied when I was in college and got rejected from 5 universities all over the country.
I left it a few years and worked and applied again this year. Getting my place at a local university (yay!) For a completely different subject but something I'm passionate about.
At first I was thrilled. It's what I've always wanted.
But now I'm having doubts.

1. It's over £40,000. I know you don't have to pay It back If you don't earn enough but Jesus.
2. the course I applied to I can only find one career path for and that would be a teacher. Maybe possibly a social worker but I defo wouldn't want to do that.
3. I watched my friend graduate from her useless degree and now shes a waitress.
4. Everybody these days has a degree.
5. I could continue in retail and work my way up.

But. Will I always be stuck in rubbishly paid retail jobs if I don't get a degree? There's a wholemarket of jobs out there who want graduates of ANY subject.

If teaching sucks (just like any job does after a while) at least I'll be on more than minimum wage and I'll be making a difference? And have a career and not just a job?
Is uni really a life changing thing that broadens your horizons or is it a waste of money?

Ahh!! I'm stuck! And I need to apply for finance so I need to get a wiggle on. I've emailed the uni to see if there's any career path I haven't thought of.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Sorry OP, but nobody can make the choice for you.

You sounded (in your OP,) like you had already talked yourself out of it, with saying how people you know were doing shit jobs and in debt etc etc........

As I said, I know some people who are doing brilliantly after leaving uni and some who are not. It really depends on your luck, your contacts, and your hard work and ambition.

No-one can tell you what to do.

Hi Meek, There are loads of great degrees you can do distance learning while working. It will take longer but if you're working anyway the time will still pass! You can still feel part of something, meet/be in touch with fellow students/get a great degree. Maybe worth a look

@ User I'm stating facts. Just as you were when you called me daft. Funny how it's only 'rude' when I make my point

There is absolutely no shame in getting rejected from top unis OP no matter what others say. And a degree in BSL interpreting like any language degree is going to be really useful. It will give you a whole host of options - for example My hires BSL interpreters for all of my learning and development courses due to our disability guidelines. It will def be valued.

Oops sorry Deaf Studies. I'm half asleep!

We also hire consultants to work on accessibility software. Deaf studies combined with some kind of design or computer based learning is useful

If you want to do it after taking all the pros and cons into consideration then GO FOR IT!!
I haven't found my degree particularly useful but i absolutely loved my years at uni. Meet friends who have become lifelong friends and it also actually feels good to say 'I'm a graduate' esp as i have recently been a sahm for 10 years. I feel it helps define me as myself rather than just 'a mum' (although it is the bloody hardest job i have ever taken on!!)
As for the bun fighting on this thread mwahahahahahaha really make me giggle.
Some folk

If you want to do art, why not apply again next year with a broader portfolio instead of doing your last choice course?

Hi Meekon. I went to university 20 years ago and did Art History in Birmingham, which is why I know the Fine Art you were interested in isn't offered by them. Do you mean Birmingham City University? However at I always deeply regretted not doing fine art, so 7 years ago I went back and I did it. It was without a doubt the best thing I ever did and I got a first. And it lead to new more interesting job opportunities.

MASSIVE BUT ALERT

Whole doing the degree, then MA and shortly PhD has bern incredibly fulfilling, I was the last intake when the fees were £3k per year and got scholarships for the rest. There is no way in cold hell fine art is worth £40k of debt. The jobs I have access to now are lower paying than my existing self employment. More fulfilling, but less paid. If it wasn't for DH i'd be royally fucked.

So while doing a degree in something you love is an incredible personal experience, it's not in a million years worth the horrendous debt if your resulting salary can't pay it off. You can have those exciting life experiences moving to a new city and career path without the degree. If you are hugely committed to the sign language course, think you could hit 99% attendence, can do lots of valuable work experience and paid experience alongside it, and get top marks guaranteeing a place in further specialist study or better, a great job, go for it for fricking bells on.

But if your circumstances or doubts mean you can't, wait, think, consider what alternative paths without the debt may exist. Because if you start the course but stop out you still incur the debt. And once you've had one set of loans you can no longer have another and do a second degree later to change career. You have to be 1000% sure it's what you want to do and there's a well paying career in it.

I deferred my uni place and never got around to getting there!

20 years later and I manage a team of graduates.

Think it's very dependant on what you plan to study. Good luck!

Jesus my spelling, I'm so sorry. I won't be writing my thesis after a bottle of wine though. Actually.....

No you were not stating facts @lingo, you were basically saying that if someone got 5 offers out of 5, it would only be if they were mickeymouse degrees, or shit universities. Which is not only a load of bollocks, but also makes you sound like a spiteful jealous git.

And yes you are being rude, by assuming anyone who gets 5 out of 5 offers has only got them because they're poor universities and poor degrees. Just because you got rejected many times - and your brother - don't project your insecurities onto me.

And there is no bun fighting, as someone said above; I just gave my thoughts on what the OP said, and lingo saw fit to start bashing me and slagging off my niece's abilities and intelligence. Basically, when I said she got all 5 offers from all 5 universities she applied for, lingo suggesting must all be crap universities and crap degrees. In actual fact, all 5 were in the top 20 in the UK.

And no there IS no shame in being turned down, but I just said to the OP, with the uncertainty she has, and the worries about debt, coupled with being turned down by all 5 universities, maybe now is not the time to start uni.

As far as I am concerned LINGO can do one. Her spiteful comments say a lot more about her than me. Laying into me and slating my niece, for no reason other than she and her family were turned down by many universities. Like I said, she sounds bitter and jealous.

No you were not stating facts @lingo, you were basically saying that if someone got 5 offers out of 5, it would only be if they were mickeymouse degrees, or shit universities. Which is not only a load of bollocks, but also makes you sound like a spiteful jealous git.

And yes you are being rude, by assuming anyone who gets 5 out of 5 offers has only got them because they're poor universities and poor degrees. Just because you got rejected many times - and your brother - don't project your insecurities onto me.

And there is no bun fighting, as someone said above; I just gave my thoughts on what the OP said, and lingo saw fit to start bashing me and slagging off my niece's abilities and intelligence. Basically, when I said she got all 5 offers from all 5 universities she applied for, lingo suggested they must all be crap universities and crap degrees. In actual fact, all 5 were in the top 20 in the UK.

And no there IS no shame in being turned down, but I just said to the OP, with the uncertainty she has, and the worries about debt, coupled with being turned down by all 5 universities, maybe now is not the time to start uni.

As far as I am concerned LINGO can do one. Her spiteful comments say a lot more about her than me. Laying into me and slating my niece, for no reason other than she and her family were turned down by many universities. Like I said, she sounds bitter and jealous.

As pp's have said, it will depend on the subject. Having a degree certainly can be beneficial, but as you know there are a lot of graduates doing run of the mill jobs but still saddled with a massive debt. Economically, we are in very uncertain times. As a pp stated a degree is sometimes used to cut down applicants in jobs which could be fulfilled by many others. So I suppose it is becoming a prerequisite to any job which is not "dead end". On the whole, the workforce is required to be less and less technical, but the degree is the default division. It is possible to work your way up without one based on skill alone, but not common. I've worked many jobs where people fresh out of college are put in technical positions and haven't a clue what they are doing. A degree doesn't necessarily mean anything these days. You've got to consider what you are looking for and weigh it up.

I'm done on this thread anyway. I have given my advice to the OP, and refuse to defend myself and my family anymore against someone who is clearly very bitter, and spiteful, and jealous ...

I think it really depends on what you want to do in your life. My dd is at uni doing a paramedic science course because you need a degree to be a paramedic. When we were there we were talking to other students, some 3rd years and they were saying they were doing History and had no idea what they were going to do when they left uni.

If you have a clear course of where you want to go in life and a degree with help that then do it. If you aren't sure then hold off for a while and see how you feel in a year or so. But the course you are interested in sounds brilliant, something I would enjoy learning. And that's the crux of it, if you would really enjoy learning that then go for it.

I don't think there's an age limit on learning!

I think if you have a career path mapped out it's worth it. Even if you don't it could still be worth ti.

I did a mickey mouse creative degree, had no career advice, no help from parents, no great ambitions or plan so I've ended up in a dead end job for the last 20 years on terrible pay. I've usually found myself in work environments with people who are very anti-graduate and desperate to show their superiority.

On the plus side, I did really enjoy doing my degree and I left with no debts because it was long before tuition fees and I also had a full-time job alongside my studies to support myself.

Even though my career hasn't exactly worked out I still don't regret going to university.

@lingo you came on this thread to stealth boast about your neice when the OP said she had received only 1 acceptance. I then gave an example of my brother who was in a similar position to OP and then you called me daft and pedantic presumably and so I lost my temper. I shouldn't have used shit to describe non-Russell Group universities, but I'm trying to give this girl a boost. My brother felt close to worthless with rejection after rejection and so did I because I abandoned my academic hopes to raise him. I don't want OP to go through the same if I can help it.

I think you sound in a fantastic position to go to uni.

I went to uni, got ill and stressed and had a year out. After much deliberation I'm going back to finish my degree starting again in a few weeks the time out helped immensely, and most importantly taught me that the 'normal' thing of going to uni straight out of school isn't always the way forward.

I think there is such a difference of opinion on the usefulness of degrees because a) evidence is often anecdotal and b) success for graduates/non-graduates depends greatly on the type of person they are and, to a certain extent, luck of the draw, as evidenced by some of the posts on this thread.

You have work experience, maturity, a course that you're passionate about, no other commitments. I say go for it!

Oh, and strangely no one has ever asked me how many UCAS offers I got. Funny that. good luck with whatever you choose OP.

Yes I meant Birmingham city sorry :)
I decided not to do a degree in fine art because I went on to volunteer with a gallery, and I have since had exhibitions and I paint part time now. Which I'm glad I did because I had a Friend do fine art at uni and I was shocked with the tuition she received, she got some awful advice and they didn't focus on how to market yourself or any of the practicalities of being a self employed artist which I would have expected, it was more about developing their style and technique, but i wouldn't have paid £40,000 for that knowledge when she hasn't had a single exhibition.

So for me, art is out of the question for a uni choice :)

My heart says go! Make friends, learn new things, what have I got to lose?

Brain says woah there nelly. My dh is avidly against uni because he worked hard to get to the top of his career without it.

I think anyone wanting to work as an artist should do a business degree instead of an art degree.

I am a Supervisor of six people all of us are within five years age of each other

I am the only one who doesn't have a degree

Whilst they were all in further education, I got a head start and practical skills.

I didn't PLAN for things to work out like this, it was necessary for me to leave school and earn money - in my younger years, I didn't have the choices or opportunities that my peers did.

The point I am making is that a degree is not the be all and end all - for some careers it is obviously a prerequisite but not for all

I think it depends what you want to get out of it.
Most things are a gamble - no it might not pay off. IT might.

I didn't enjoy my first degree or uni, possibly I didn't really choose properly for me. The course didn't lead into the sorts of jobs I wanted at all. It certainly wasn't a time when I developed particularly, just stuck it out to the finish.

So I think you need to choose wisely and have some idea of what you want at the end of it!

Gonna get shot down here but hey ho. I came out with a pile of o levels and a determination to do well. Spent 4 years doing something to bring the money in and give me basic confidence and experience. Spent another three doing something more risky and challenging before finding my thing. Spent years working my way up to the top, (getting a study while you work diploma helped) and learning from hands on experience. Had those skills recognised and am doing something different from my chosen career and loving the variety. At no point has my lack of a degree stopped me getting a role because experience has always won out. My toolbox contains not only the knowledge of my trade but valuable insight as to how people work (psychology of business). I was forced to employ a graduate only once and they were next to useless. Highly educated but no common sense and an attitude that a degree should give automatic status. I inherited a graduate once who expected to get my job because they were qualified. However, after 6 months with an opportunity to impress and demonstrate their skills, they recruited me because he failed to deliver even the basics and refused to get his hands dirty.
I do see many job adverts for graduates but can't see what an unrelated degree brings to the table. If the degree is related and will bring you opportunities to develop your chosen career, yes. You will meet people who will be useful and get a piece of paper that says you can absorb and regurgitate information at will. Expanding your mind is always good and showing you can still learn in the years after leaving full time education is good at interview. The downside is you will owe serious money....for a long time. If a degree is supposed to bring in the high paying jobs on the one hand, why settle for a wage under the payback limit for x number of years?
I am old school and would prefer to recruit someone with a good work ethic, a great stock of common sense, good with all levels of people (client, cleaner and CEO) and excellent grammar. I can teach them the rest.

Apparently graduates over 40 years of working earn £415,000 more, so that kind of minimises £40,000 in cost doesnt it?

Not saying it'll happen for me, but why say no to the chance?