To wonder if it's worth going to university?

[SirJamesTalbotAndHisSpeculum]

I think a lot of people think that going to university is the be-all and end-all of life.

In fact, having a degree doesn't always mean that you're more likely to find employment. It also means that you start off life with a huge debt.

What do others think? AIBU to say that there are many other routes into employment?

Of course there are often other routes to employment. But equally some careers require a degree.

I couldn't have got my qualification without a degree. I could have ended up in the same job, but would have taken much longer and I'd be paid less, so for me it's been worth it financially. It also gave me those precious years sort of between childhood and adulthood and taught me a lot about living in the real world without full responsibilities. Plus it was a lot of fun.

I don't think there should be pressure on teenagers to go to uni though, especially if it's for the sake of it rather than having at least a rough plan of how to use your degree.

I think it's one of those things where some people think -
university=way to get a good job
and others
university=more educated population + safe place to learn how to be an adult

I lean towards the 2nd one myself and would encourage DC to go if they were interested.

I think if your kid hasn't much of a clue what to do after leaving school, but enjoyed a certain subject, a degree is a few years for them to grow up and figure things out a bit more.

Well, what kind of job are you thinking of? I could have been a shelfstacker without going to university, but I needed the four degrees I have for the job I have.

There are many other routes, but it's drilled into the heads of young people in school and college that uni is the next step. It was when I went, anyway. I chose not to, have worked for 8 years in certain field and have just been offered a job over those that have a degree due to my experience. It's definitely not the ONLY option

And yy to @Camomila's point.

It depends. My siblings and I all read for professional degrees - medicine, law etc and that has paid off. 30 years on we have successfull professional careers in jobs you cannot do without a degree. I use every day the law I learned in those years. Similarly my London lawyer daughters on £100k or whatever have found their degrees of use.

If you read advanced knitting at an ex poly having got CDD in your A levels it is probably is pretty pointless other than it gives you three years at tax payer expense to lounge around.

Also you are wrong that everyone has a student debt 1. some don't - I fund my children without student debt or any kind because I chose a career well which enables me to do so and 2. it's not really a debt anyway was you don't pay a single penny back unless you earn over £25k a year.

Most proper jobs require a degree of some kind. Unless you enter the workforce at 18 in a training scheme that will lead to a good career you’re screwed without a degree.

Oh, and obviously a lot of people don’t have any debt or have a student loan which they don’t pay off until it affordable/never pay off.

I'm with ssd. My ds has no specific direction at the moment but I really think it time that he grew up a bit more. If he didn't go to uni (he has just got a place) he would drift and do low skilled jobs to which he would feel no commitment. An apprenticeship is fantastic for someone who has an interest or aptitude in certain areas, but this is not my ds. Of course things may not work out for him but I think it important for him to broaden his horizons and try.

I didn't need a degree for my career but I'm really glad I went. It was an invaluable experience.

Of course it's not the only way to employment. My dcs school has an outstanding 6th form. Every year they send pupils to top universities. However they also have pupils who find valuable placements/apprenticeship schemes with places such as Airbus, Dyson, BBC (to name some recent ones). They also have pupils who enter the police force and the Navy etc.

I think you'll find good schools definitely don't think it's University or nothing.

I think it's a huge mistake to look at university as just a route to employment. That isn't really what it's for.

I'm glad I went to university because I absolutely loved my course, it was incredibly enriching mentally and it taught to me think in new ways, to understand the world more clearly, and to construct and analyse arguments and points of view in a way that's been incredibly valuable to me personally all my life. It left me with a passion for my subject that's never gone away.

University also taught me independence and a lot about living with other people and finding my own way in the world.

My course wasn't remotely vocational and I could do my current job without a degree; my partner is in the same field at a level above me and he doesn't have one. But I would still go to university if I had my time over again, debts and all.

I think it depends on what career you have in mind, obviously for some a degree (or more than one!) is necessary. But university is not for everyone and I don't think young people should be taught that is the only option. Not everyone copes with an academic environment. I was depressed and isolated at uni and felt that it was set up for young people with well-off families and as an older, single person I was isolated and always broke because I had no partner to help financially while I studied. I couldn't wait to leave, to be honest.
I think vocational and technical routes should be emphasised alongside university, it does very much depend on what an individual wants to do in life.

My degree probably hasn't helped me much, my job doesn't require one and I earn peanuts. I loved university though and the experience probably helped me in all sorts of ways. I'm a big fan of education if you can afford it (I'm nearly 40 and my student loan is bigger than it was when I left because I don't earn enough to start paying it off yet!), so I'd always advise people to go for it if that's what they want.

Yes and no. It's entirely dependent on what you want to do. I have a degree and I'm currently in a graduate internship so I needed a degree. I don't know where I'll go next. It's true that some jobs will require a degree.

But for me, university was a great experience where I learned so much, gained confidence, and became a better person. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Is it the be all and end all though? No, and it's a shame the schools push that rhetoric on teenagers who do not know what to do with their lives yet.

I pleaded with my dc, neither of whom are particularly interested in academic work, not to go to university but they ignored me as it was what most of their friends were doing.
What a waste of time and money.
(They did have fun, though, and made lots of friends.)

Generally graduates earn more in their life time, have longer periods of employment and shorter periods of unemployment- so a degree is worth something

For many careers it’s required

Debt is a bit of a Rex herring- it’s more of a tax

Graduates are more likely to earn more over their lifetime ( particularly women), they are less likely to be unemployed and if they do find themselves unemployed they are likely to find employment quicker than a non-graduate.

Depends what they want to do. If the only goal is employment then university is not the best option. If their interest are in fields that require a university degree the I'd encourage them to go.
I really enjoyed university and it was a good experience. Kinda half way between growing up. My field also required an university degree but now I'm in a plave where it is not required but I'm still glad I went. Also graduated debt free.

I didn’t go (left school in 2008). Didn’t know what I wanted to do so didn’t see any point in doing a degree for the sake of it. I remember thinking at the time that everyone going to uni for the sake of it was surely diluting the prestige of a degree.

My older sister went to Cambridge then did a PhD. I’m very grateful to my parents for not pushing me to do similar. In fact, they didn’t push my sister either. They recognised our different strengths.

I’m hoping my children will feel free to do whatever, be it uni, apprenticeships, diving on a reef if they want to be in conservation, working all the roles in a kitchen if they want to be a chef. Snowboarding in winter and surfing in the summer. Whatever they want!

I’ll definitely also encourage them to think of what sort of life they want - outdoorsy; 9-5 leave work at work; flexible self employed etc. And then work backwards to see how to achieve that lifestyle.

I think since the tuition fees went up it’s more important to have an idea of what you want to do when you finish uni before actually starting. I have a few friends with degrees that haven’t made any difference to them, they’re doing jobs that they could have just done straight after leaving school. I think many just go for the university experience - I would advise my DC to think carefully about what and why they want to study, probably do a gap year to have a bit longer to decide and definitely consider apprenticeships and vocational courses.

It's not a debt like a credit card debt. It's more like a higher rate of tax.

And yes of course there are many other ways to get a job.

But almost all high paying professional jobs require a degree.

If you want to be a doctor, physio, lawyer, teacher, rocket scientist, investment banker, nurse, senior civil servant, management consultant, civil engineer, computer scientist etc, then you almost certainly need to go university.

If you want to found your own business on a market stall or whatever Alan Sugar says is his story, then sure, you don't need a degree and you may still become very rich.

But a degree definitely increases the chances of becoming financially comfortable and having steady employment.

Education is important in creating a civilised society, so university is very important. And the courses that people are snobby about (such as media studies etc) can be just as good at developing students' critical thinking as more traditional subjects.
Unlike marketing or some such business shit, which should be the real focus of disdain, if you need one.

It depends entirely on what uni, what subject, and what you want to do. It could be the best investment you ever made or a total waste.

I have absolutely benefited from it and what I do now is a highly paid professional path only accessible via multiple specific degrees. But if my children weren't sure or were looking at career paths that didn't absolutely require a degree I would definitely encourage them to think about alternate paths like degree apprenticeships, or remote study while working, instead of full-time uni. I used to supervise what is now a degree apprenticeship programme in which the learners got a job in a big company which paid a reasonable if not lush salary, got their fees paid in full, and graduated at the end of 3 years with a BA and if they'd been decent workers, almost always a job they could keep. It was hard work and definitely less luxurious than being a FT student but they didn't half come out ahead if they didn't particularly yearn for an academic path.