AIBU to think DD is a bit silly to go to uni "for the experience"?

[Jinxis]

DD is going to uni in October. She has picked a degree that offers a lot of trips, etc.

She has no clue what career she wants.

She admits it's for the experience... Going on these trips, learning a new language, meeting new people, living away, etc.

She could have done all this without getting into 60k worth of dept though, couldn't she?

Madness IMO.

AIBU?

Great degree, wish I had those sort of abilities. It is not debt really, it is a tax, that many of her peers will also pay. That degree will open her eyes to what she really wants to do, and be worth its weight in gold, not least because she is choosing for herself. Let her be and start being supportive. Of course there might be worries for you - such as parental contribution to her living expenses, especially if you are not totally convinced about the plan?

I hated the course and the university experience.

I've not encouraged my children to go unless they really need to. It's expensive for parents.

Our eldest starts his masters degree very soon. He's doing a science-related course, in London, and has relatively little idea what he wants to do after. But I am so glad he went there, and did the degree he has.

He's learned so much. Not just his subject, which he loves, but he's really grown up in London. His interests have widened, he's made friends, he's travelled all over Europe in his holidays. It's been wonderful for him. He's still the same person, but so much more, somehow.

Yes, he has debt and yes, we've had to help him fund the degree, which hasn't always been easy. But seeing him before he started, and seeing him now, it's been worth every penny. He always was good socially and a curious, interested person, and confident too: but he's even more.

I am so glad he did what he did.

If she doesn't know what she wants to do yet, what do you suggest she does instead of going to uni?

Doing a vocational degree doesn't mean you have to do that career - I've met a doctor who became a primary school teacher!
You get stuck because it's well paid and to leave would be a drop in salary. That's the same with anything really.

This is a great example of what the ridiculous tuition fees are taking away from students. OP, your DD's way of thinking about uni as an experience was totally normal for my peer group who paid £1k of tuition fees per year. It is a unique experience that gives you masses of life skills while in a supportive environment.

surely you're supposed to have an idea before the degree

Even with the higher fees I don't really agree with this. A good degree from a reasonable uni in a numerate subject is well looked upon by employers. Zoology is actually a good choice as there will be both calculations and essay writing.

Regarding the debt, yes it's scary money on paper but it will be paid back through salary deductions, right? Mine was done like that, (though much smaller overall) it's good as they have no mechanism to take any money off you if you aren't working. The debt is also not secured against your house or anything, and gets written off after 30 years. If its any reassurance, I managed to get a mortgage while still making student loan payments, and that was under the new style mortgage affordability checks.

I'd also add a degree isn't easy and this isn't an easy one. It's a lot harder than a levels and escalates in complexity and workload each year. You have to pass each year to make it to the next year. This isn't a case of she will just be running around doing loads of trips and having a ball, she will also have an awful lot of hard work to do. Doing a degree isn't an easy option.

I hated the course and the university experience.

I've not encouraged my children to go unless they really need to. It's expensive for parents.

How awful that you've allowed your own bad experience to prevent your children from having the same opportunity as you did.

Zoology seems a good choice to me, does it include a placement year? Depending on the course content she could learn science skills which are transferable to other fields. I am a scientist (Molecular biology) and we have people with a variety of backgrounds.
I did a degree with field work (archaeology) and loved it. I eventually decided that it wasn't for me as a career but got some amazing experiences travelling and volunteering using my degree,i was still volunteering on digs years after graduation.

Lots of 18 year olds have no idea what they want to do for work. Perfectly normal.

And degrees, even the vocational ones, aren't bound to result in a student pursuing said job.

The undergraduate degree itself is a specialised education which is more self lead than education up to that point. An introduction to analysis and research if you will.
This is what tuition fees pay for.

The years spent at university are a different thing entirely. This is the experience that most students are seeking. And it is quite life changing. This is what living expense loans pay for ( plus bank of mum and dad and student work if possible).

It will be potentially problematic if she discovers in a couole of years that she loves medieval histody or wants to be a town planner.

To be used as "a degree" zoology works as well as anything else. It can also lead to a lot of careers in its own right, particularly if it is a modular degree that allows her to switch to genetics, physiology, ecology, microbiology etc

Am fascinated by the "learning a new language " bit. Does she mean Latin?

Not read ful thread. Is your DD academic and likely to get into a decent university? If so it would be a crying shame to discourage her from getting the life experience university gives you, regardless of whether she knows what she wants to do as a future career - I would agree with others that very few 18year olds know this.
Am quite shocked at some of the attitudes here. The pp who said she resents funding her DC's education as she doesn't want to support the life choices of another adult - yet she has a RG degree herself! It's your child! That's got to be one of the weirdest things I've ever read on here. How many people you don't know funded your decision to go to university through paying taxes in those days? And yet you're resentful of having to fund your DC to get the qualification and life experience you presumably got for free...

Doing a vocational degree doesn't mean you have to do that career - I've met a doctor who became a primary school teacher! You get stuck because it's well paid and to leave would be a drop in salary.

Not really. You get stuck as a doctor/dentist/vet because you have twice as much debt as anyone else (having done a 5-6 year degree) and also because you have invested so much of your life in the training. And there is often a huge weight of familial expectation. But I'm glad you're such an expert on my profession, having once met a doctor who retrained

I think a gap year might be a better idea. PPs are right that you only get one degree funded really (except in cases of graduate entry courses). Tell her that she could work for 6 months, then travel for a few with the money she's used and really figure out what she might enjoy.

Did you post about this the other day? If not, it's a bit spooky that two mums are worrying about their DDs doing zoology. Maybe it's just that kind of subject! But if it is the same poster, please try to put your fears aside, it's not constructive at this point and your DD sounds very normal, not like this is going to be a big mistake.

Many moons ago I did a degree in biochemistry:genetics.

Zoology / biological sciences - in terms of employability there's little difference.

What makes graduates employable is:

1. The degree - but of course that depends on the institution, the classification and the course. And how relevant it is to your career IF you're going into some careers that need a specific degree

1. Networking - she will meet a lot of people on trips.
2. Skills - she needs to come out of a degree literate and numerate with critical thinking skills - all science degrees allow this to happen.
3. Proactive and resilient nature.

A degree in zoology is fine. With that she can go into most of the general fegree needing grad schemes, or pharma as a project manager... loads of stuff.

What concerns do you have?

Also, OP, your DD is about it to leave.

Don't spend these last weeks taking the shine off it. Enjoy your time with her! Order a mattress topper and 24 assorted plastic shot glasses.

It's perfectly normal to have no idea what you want to do when choosing a degree. As long as she works hard and gets a decent result them the world will be her oyster. A lot for graduate jobs don't state a subject, they just want a 2:1 as they recognise the transferable skills a degree gives someone.

I don't think a lot of students go to Uni with a career path in mind, I did and at the end of the 3 years it had completely changed! She'll be fine as long as she comes out with a good level of degree she can do grad schemes etc.

Also yes it looks like a lot of debt but in reality she wont be paying any of it back until she earns over the 21k threshold. The only thing I would advise her paying off when she graduates is the student overdraft (but you usually have a year to clear that before the interest kicks in)

The degree is actually Zoology.

I've asked her about jobs and she's just said "no idea, maybe I'll find something I'd love to do during the degree"... That made me laugh as surely you're supposed to have an idea before the degree

I think people are looking at degrees in the wrong way if they think the sole purpose of a degree is to prepare you for a specific career. Firstly, lots of jobs simply require 'a degree' or 'a degree in a science subject' or whatever. I had absolutely no clear idea of what I wanted to do as a career when I started university but soon found when I graduated that there were plenty of options for me. Zoology offers her loads of options. Secondly, education has a value in itself. She's chosen an academic subject, not a vocational choice that will steer her immediately down a very narrow career path at a very young age.

It's also worth remembering that the experiences she will gain while she is studying will be valuable and will give her plenty to talk about when she's writing her CV and going for interviews. Someone with a bit of life experience behind them generally makes a better candidate than someone who has just left school and is still wet behind the ears.

If she doesn't know what career she wants, a degree is a much better choice than vocational training or an apprenticeship - nobody wants a trainee who actually doesn't want a career in the field they're being trained for.

Yes, she'll end up with loads of debt. But she won't be a different position from millions of others of her generation. She won't be disadvantaged in comparison to most of her peers.

Also at most universities the general biological type degrees are really modular. LOADS of folk switched from biology to biochemistry or from biochemistry to biophysics or from genetics to zoology - it's easy to do.

Really dont worry - if she comes out with a 2:1 or first in a science degree and a bit of grit and determination she'll be fine.

The zoologist I studied with (some overlapping courses) are now doing all sorts of stuff. One is a firefighter, others are working for the BTO, one in project management, one went into a KPMG (back in the day) grad scheme.

None have fallen into drug dealing or ill repute, as far as my causal perusal of old Facebook contacts shows ;) they all have interesting and professional jobs.

It's hard to have the foggiest idea of what you want to do at 17, and degrees are bloody expensive these days, so I would recommend a gap year to mull it over, whilst getting some practical work experience doing anything (will help with long term employability).

My generation rushed into uni because there was an expectation, but it was cheaper in those days. You need a plan now. That plan can (and probably will) change, but I wouldn't recommend university just "for the experience".

A good honours degree required

Although I got my degrees through the OU, that qualification enabled me to apply (and get) a good senior management job.

It's worth remembering that no-one knows for certain what jobs will even exist in ten years time, the world is changing that much. A good qualification and good experience will count for a lot.

A UK citizen with a second language – priceless.

Her debt, her problem.

I wish her well.