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!

Also, all those who DID go to uni, if your course cost £9250 a year, would you still have done it???

If you've always wanted to go to uni 'just to go to uni' rather than having a love to learn and want to go real deep into a subject then don't bother. I've had to do an MA because yes everyone does have a BA/Sc.

I think the course sounds very interesting and you could top it off with a postgrad in HR or psychology or business, and pitch yourself into a niche corporate area - diversity, inclusivity, abilities, charitable organisations, etc.

But this depends on what type of job you would like to have. I'm very 'corporate' so that's where I'd be seeking to leverage my way into.

I don't know how old you are but you may well have to work until you are late 60's. It's a LONG time. Going to Uni will give you more choices. Shit jobs when you are young are fine but I suspect they would get seriously shitter the older you get.
Everyone knows people who have done brilliantly without a degree but overall people with degrees far out earn those without. They also have more choice.

If you do chose to go to Uni then you need to go wholeheartedly. Despite popular opinion they really don't give degrees away.

Another thing I'd suggest is that you make sure you understand how student loans work. (You may well already 🙂). It's more of a graduate tax than a loan. Try running some teachers salaries through a student loans repayments calculator - you may not find the figures as scarey as you think.

Yabu
I think best to get as educated as possible. So many have degrees now you would be at a disadvantage without one unless would rather learn a trade.

Madwoman to be honest though if you did o-levels that means you're at least a year older than me (I'm 44) and left school in '87 or earlier. Things have changed a LOT in 30 years.

"Get a piece of paper that says you can absorb information and regurgitate at will" - that may be your experience of education but it's not how a degree/university - which you have no experience of - works. I have a diploma and a degree, plenty of common sense and a good work ethic, have worked very successfully with all levels from cleaners up to and including nobility. A degree doesn't negate these and your experience of a whole 2 graduates means little.

I am doing a degree now but it isn't a three-year University typed agree. I am finding it very stressful as I work full-time and the first year I failed three out of the six modules due to not having the proper accommodations and dealing with idiots when trying to get what I needed. I have a disability and I am considered a non-resident of the UK. The course is entirely online, And only after I started did I realize that I wasn't even able to access the online library and that the VLE kicked me out after 30 minutes of logging in.

When I spoke with the University, the disability officer asked me why I was doing the course if I couldn't do the work and I should have researched better. I said that no matter how much research you do. There will always be surprises or things that you didn't catch. The person also had no experience with a visually impaired student. Very very frustrating.

I have run my own organization for 10 years and have learned so much from life experience alone. I am also extremely curious so I always read and learn, no matter if I am at school or not. There are many other courses out there other than university degrees.

I was recently accepted for five unis, with a spread of things.

Could you do a combined degree? Deaf studies and another subject might open more doors for you.

OP.

Honestly - as you have a disability, you're already facing a disadvantage in the workforce. It would serve you better to work to give yourself as many additional advantages as possible.

Paying back your loan is more like just another outgoing once you're working, you are married already so presumably already manage a household Budget? It's really just another bill and not huge and is graduated based on what you earn.

Your dh is not talking from a position of experience and ultimately its your decision. That said, what does your dh do? Does his job tie you down to an area geographically?

I have done uni twice. First time in 20's nursing. Tough, very hard work but met amazing people and had a great experience. No debt though as early 90's and for vocational courses like that the govt needed us!

2nd time in 30's as a single mum so tough for different reasons, course less intense but busy with dd. Still absolutely worth doing. Met more amazing people, got a lot out of both the course and the experience. Led to a very good job (unfortunately as a result of an accident I am now disabled and have mh issues).

With the course you are looking at doing there are FAR more options than teaching, though teaching is an excellent career to go into. There are corporate, educational, govt and overseas options you could look into.

But initially what matters is doing a degree you enjoy, are passionate about, academically suited to, will get a lot out of.

And as other graduates have said, university is about SO much more than the course, it exposes you to a wider experience of life, broadens your mind, makes you question everything and if you're really lucky you will likely make lifelong friends too (not just other students either).

The truth is these days without a degree you can get a job, even a very good job, but with a degree you can get a career, opportunities, choices.

It's only "not worth it" if the career prospects at the end are grim, or if you're likely to only coast through on a pass average.

I wouldn't have gotten my job if I didn't have a degree.

And I still maintain that those with degrees do, in general, fare better than those without degrees. Most employers will, when faced with two candidates, take the one with the qualification than the one without. Statistically, on average, those with degrees earn more too.

Oh, and my degrees did cost me in excess of 9,000GBP (I'm in Australia). University hasn't been free here for decades.

Accessibility is blowing up right now, and will continue to do so over the next 20 years. The whole internet industry is realising how much revenue is being missed (and how low customer retention of people needing 820.11ac solutions is, and quality of customer service) and billions of dollars are being invested into development of evolving standards.

Accessibility encapsulates everything from blind people, to people bed-bound requiring 24/7 care. I think a degree in Deaf Studies - which your post clearly demonstrates life interest in (and as a deaf person yourself allows unique advantages) - would position you in this massive sector.

Note: it's been 20 years since I was working on web accessibility and my posts based on my experiences and subsequent reading interest of keeping updated. This is simply one portrayal of which you likely have many, but a careers advisor can explore pathways for you.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

Meek, I work in a university and I have also done research about deaf children. I know that to get to the position you are in you must have worked really hard and be very able.

I can see both sides of the argument. What would be your ideal career? Is it being an artist?

I went in the days without tuition fees and when a grant could at least feed you and pay your rent.

I would probably not go were I an 18 year old as I would not wish to leave with loads of debt.

I think you should go for it! Your degree would put you in a brilliant position to work with dead children in schools and you could make a huge difference to their education and lives. You could go on tonne school SENCO as your career progresses if that's what you want!

Student debt really isn't the same as 'normal debt'. You only start to pay it back when you earn over £21,000 and even then it's 9% of you earnings over £21,000.

My partner is an newly qualified teacher earning £22,400 a year and only pays £30 a month of his student loan. Very affordable!

Deaf not dead* 😱

I've looked and there are courses in the uk that do that degree for £9250 not £40,000

I would advise someone to do a degree that leads directly into a job (social work is one example). I did English, gor a first and then decided I didn't want to teach and couldn't figure out where to go with it. I'm a SAHM now and done nothing with my degree and regret my choice.
Uni can be a fun experience though and you could try and keep your retail job part time so as not to close that door.

Oh the irony in writing gor instead of got when talking about my English degree

A degree is not essential. I would only go if you have a specific career path in mind.

Graphista, I think we agree then... what I was trying to get over is that soft skills like work ethic, common sense, a willingness to learn (which you say you have) is attractive to an employer whether you have a degree or not. I was not saying that all graduates are like the whole two I mentioned...I have worked with plenty of highly qualified people and most of my friends are grads. It is the soft skills that they use that sets them above, not their degree. Education at any stage is good and should be encouraged but uni is not the only route.

Depends on institution and degree. As you pointed out already it's much harder to turn sn arts degree into a high paying job. So if it's returns on income you're after that's not a safe bet.
There is the experience and networks thing. But I think you might want to think about exactly what you want out of that.
Deaf studies given your disability sounds like a good fit for you. But it is very niche. From an employer perspective a degree that got more disciplinary substance would be more attractive - unless you really want to work just in a very specialist sector. Altho I imagine you could do that with a decent social science degree or business degree and be more useful in terms of what you can do even tho you'll need to catch up on substance (much of which you'll have good ideas/experience of already as you have lived this). It may be none of that matters tk you as you want to study what interests you snd what you're passionate about. But you were asking whether it's worth it in terms of returns on investment. I think degrees are clearly worth it in terms of upping your earning power but you want to go somewhere as reputable as possible that you think you'll enjoy and that has a decent sen approach.

It depends on whether it leads to where you want to be.
I got a good science degree from a RG uni. Was it worth it? No because it didn't offer me anything afterwards I wanted to do. Nothing. Whether something is financially worthwhile is only part of the question - you really need to enjoy and gain satisfaction from the job you do.

I did English, gor a first and then decided I didn't want to teach and couldn't figure out where to go with it. I'm a SAHM now and done nothing with my degree and regret my choice.
I did English too and my peers have all kinds of interesting jobs. Some of them are well-paid too (I earn £60k myself, though I went on to do a PhD in the subject - some of my friends earn more, with a BA or MA in English). I don't want to dismiss your experience, but I wouldn't want people to be put off studying English either, without offering a counterpoint.