To ask if you regret not having a degree?

[Thickasmince]

I’m almost three months into a degree that I have started for the second time in 7 years. I am regretting it again.

I started it because i got a new job in my existing department and it seemed like the right thing to do and I felt the timing was better. But I was wrong. I don’t know that I’ll ever be cut out for uni, and not right now when I’m trying to do a new job, fill the gap in my old role and look after my DC12. Next years funding is also looking very problematic. Apart from that, I just don’t “get it” like most of the others so. Some bits. Bu now all. However, leaving now. I’ll need to pay quite a chunk of fees anyway.

Is it wrong to not have the ambition to get me through it? I’m happy on my modest salary, learning at my own pace, and doing what I want with my time and money. Is that wrong?

My biggest worry is telling my boss. I asked about the course at my interview and although it wasn’t essential for the role, I feel it makes me look i don’t care about my job or development, and I do. I just don’t think this is the way for me.

Anyone been in a similar position?

Thanks

Good luck Sweaty. See! My course is part time, one kid, and I still I don’t have your enthusiasm.

I'm not the least bit ambitious, I'm just happy plodding along. The wealthiest person I know can hardly write legibly, has never read a book, yet lives in a huge house, tons of land and a quarter of a million pound car

I regret the stupid, pointless degree and masters I do have. **. Thankfully I'm hoping to go back and do a masters in October 2018.

If you can't drop out w/o having to repay the fees, is there any possibility you could weather it until the end of the academic year and leave with a CertHE or some such?

Sort of. I regret not getting my degree because it was interesting and I’d spent my whole life just assuming I’d get a degree and go on from there. I don’t believe my lack of qualifications has held me back professionally though, I’m doing fairly well. I did start work at a time when it was easier to get an entry level job and work your way up, though.

I actually regret getting my degree. Well, I'm not sure regret is the right word but I went to uni and got a degree because I believed it was the done thing, however I now work in a relatively well paid job which has absolutely nothing to do with my degree (and I didn't get it as a result of my degree - I have worked for the company since I was 16 and have worked my way up) and to be honest, I'm happy. I wouldn't want a job related to my degree as I hated the subject after 3 years and I genuinely enjoy my job most of the time

The student loan repayments every month are just a reminder that I should never have gone to uni.

I don't have a degree. Most people in my industry do. It's never held me back or been any kind of an issue. I do have vocational qualifications though that I did after A levels. They're usually done post grad.

Butchy, I have a feeling it’s all other nothing. I think even asking to drop one module is likely a no go, because it’s a recurrent module every trimester. So really I’d have to do it on its own as a third year.

I look at all the young ones at uni (not my class, ranges from about 24 - 60+) and think “get a grip, if they can, you can”. But I can’t, or don’t want to, a bit of both, I guess

I regret not having one already but I'm glad that I didn't complete the one I started 12 years ago.

I'm just over halfway through a part-time degree which should allow me to progress further in my field; roles with more responsibility than I currently have ask for a MSc or experience - a combination of BSc, experience and other qualifications should suffice.

Unfortunately an honours degree is increasingly used as a filter by many employers. My current employer admitted that I probably wouldn't have got an interview if the selectors had realised that I haven't yet completed my degree!

I know someone who's very high up in his company (finance), high earner, very competent and did this with BTEC-type qualification (completed in the 80s). He wanted to change job and was headhunted, had interviews that went swimmingly - but fell at the final hurdle when they asked after his degree. The interviewers had admitted that he would be perfect for the role, that they had been ready to make him an offer, but they couldn't take anyone on without ticking the 'got a degree' box.
He's since been headhunted for or sought out other positions himself, but keeps coming up against the fact that he is not qualified in the way they want, despite clearly demonstrating he can be very successful in a near identical role. So he has to either stay in the company he dislikes, evidently unique in having taken a chance on him, or retrain to get a bit of paper which states he can do everything he's been doing for the last 15 years. Ridiculous but it's apparently how things work.

I think for people who are not extremely entrepreunerial, who aren't interested in learning a trade or finding some way of getting people to believe in you, going to uni is the way forward really.
I know that I would be lost without my degree as I simply don't have the kind of initiative or self-promotional skills to make it without having a testimonial, in the form of a degree certificate, to prove that I have certain desirable qualities. Few do, as we're raised in this (increasingly highly globalised, so you can't spend much time assessing candidates individually) system. It's like having a passport instead of having to find some inventive way of outwitting the border police so you can enter the country. A 'passport' says that someone's already vouched for you, so that the person interviewing you doesn't have to do as much legwork.

mince (sorry I can't bear to call you "thick", you really aren't you know!), you mustn't burden yourself with further baggage by saying you're letting other people down, you have enough on your plate.

I get where your coming from re having to lock yourself away for 2 years to compete your studies. I did my post grad part time but I had a lot of support and day release from my employer, plus exam revision time. It would have been almost impossible for me to achieve what I did without that slack in the system. Can you get any further tangible support from your company, Time is really the most important thing they can give you.

As regards the benefits of my qualifications, they have opened doors for me no shadow of doubt. And I only fully appreciated what my degree and masters taught me, some years after I graduated.

Thing about qualifications, they are geared towards increased levels of critical thinking and evaluation the more advanced you get. To an extent, the actual subject matter is somewhat irrelevant, it only scratches the surface of the knowledge in the subject. It gives you the foundations then you have to do the rest.

Eeek- you're

I don't think you will be half as mobile to another employer if you did not have a degree. These days, everybody has a degree.

I have to agree that H&S sounds pretty dull. I would struggle too with the subject matter. But stick with it. As daisychain says, it is the critical thinking and analytical skills that comes with a degree which makes it as desirable in a candidate as the actual subject.

Many people do not work in the area they qualified in. However, they have transferable skills because of the perceived higher problem solving skills of a graduate.

I am all for education and if the person decides to go for a degree, good for them.

I do not have one but two HNDs in two unrelated disciplines, joys of being made redundant and going back to college to do day release.

My employer can’t get the right people for love nor money, skill set, experience is not there and youngsters don’t see it as a career.

Been with my bunch 16 years and moved around within the company, been in this job two years now and enjoying it.

Got bored with last job so applied and got this job. Must have degree it stated, so I applied anyway, needed the practice to brush up my CV.

Got the job and asked why I was chosen when I did not have a degree

Answer was I was an oldie, shock horror, had a lot more experience than other candidates and he knew about my background in previous lives. Safety critical engineering

That is what he wanted in the team and someone who was used to sorting out projects which were a shambles

How old was my new boss? 28

How old was I ? 60

Still gob smacked that I got the job but enjoying it as the Oldie in the team

Just goes to prove a degree is not everything 😀

I regret having my degree. Would give anything to have either not gone to uni and learned a trade, or done anything else

Not for a moment.

When I go back to ft work in April/May I will potentially be earning double what my sister makes after 10yrs on/off at university and a hard studied for degree & her high standard job.

I'll have less stress, more money and a much more flexible lifestyle with my chosen career.

No one 'needs' a degree, and these days they are relatively pointless beyond box ticking in most fields.

I was bitter about not having a degree for years, but in the same time I have managed to work my way up and sideways into where I want to be.
I now find people I work with who have degrees are a more on the bitter side.
I was accepted this year to do a Masters in my field of work, without any A-Levels or a degree, due to work experience.

Oh and OP... when it comes to H&S a degree is also pretty pointless unless you want to be an international manager or some very high up level.

NEBOSH GC & Diploma are much more highly regarded. Or at least they were when I did them.

I stepped out of H&S a few years back because of the stress levels and you're essentially a glorified Facilities Manager.

Trinity its the GC that I have. And I think I’d have been better doing the cert in fire safety or construction instead of the degree, for now at least.

Bizarrely, we had a lecture last week from a guy who has worked extensively overseas, and more than once he said that he’s worried that H&S management could be “obsolete” in 5 years. (Or be huge, but the doubt was definitely there)

I regret not having a degree. I'm 45 and about to start. I started another degree a million years ago when I finished school, but I didn't finish, and it pisses me off because I could simply do the post-grad degree that I'm interested in if I had. It's going to be a looooooong road for me as I'm going to have to start at the very beginning, because it was so long ago that I can't get credit, and then do it in stages and part-time. (Plus, I will have to do post-grad to practice) I guess the positive side is that I know what I want to do this time.

I’ve been in health and safety for 20 years and we really need some new young people but you have to have a real interest in it I think.

I did the diploma route at a university centre when I had two young children and have had a great career from it but it was hard going at the time.

If you have a supportive manager that can mentor you ask for help I know I loved helping people get their qualifications.

One word of warning it is a very stressful job when you get to a high level and I’m currently off work after a serious medical condition hospitalised me.

So if you are looking for a career you really need the motivation to work independently and be able to cope with stress and long hours plus a commitment to continuous learning. If you are struggling to motivate yourself to study now then it might not be the career for you.

Can you ask about changing course? Something that does interest you. It's a degree that ticks a box.
My doing well non degree relatives are all 40+ and have found their satisfying, well paid niche. In fact if things go well, the one who failed all their A Levels might turn out to be richer than us all combined!

I'm very glad I finished my course. The first part is ofren the hardest. Can you talk to your tutors if you are struggling?
It could be the step you need to get an even better paid job in future.
In terms of finding a partner, I met my longest term relationships either at work or at university. I think most people do. It's helpful to have a shared interest.
Good luck OP!

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

I have emailed my lecturer asking about the possibility of dropping a module and picking it up on its own as a third year. Only to help me weigh up my options, as that alone won’t help me with the funding issues I’ll still face next year, or the motivation I’m lacking.

Even if I complete this year, I’ll need to pay next years fees on my own at a cost of £340 a month for 8 months. That is a massive of chunk of what I want to save towards us moving from our current home. My fault for not realising sooner that I won’t be eligible for the same funding as year.

Deferring would be ideal. I feel like I need this time to learn my job and re-learn the basics of the subject, but again, the issue of funding will still be there if I defer.