to consider selling my house to fund a degree?

[7654321j]

More of an 'am I being completely ridiculous?'

I went through school with undiagnosed dyslexia. My grades were all over the place, totally inconsistent and very little correlation to how much effort I'd put in, and ultimately, I dropped out of university in my final year.

There's always been a question over whether I'm autistic too. I have no friends and I haven't since I was a young child. I don't really fit in anywhere.

I've always worked in unskilled jobs but I find everything apart from the actual work difficult. I'm bored and I get frustrated when things are unfair/illogical/half arsed/pointless. I hate having no autonomy. I was managed out of my first workplace for poor social/communication skills.

I feel like even if a degree didn't lead to a more interesting job, I'd possibly benefit from the student support and social side of things but it's a huge amount of money to spend when I might not get anything out of it.

Is it an option worth thinking about or is it just a massive waste of money? When I dropped out, fees were £3k so it was reasonable to think 'I can always go back later' but now they've pretty much trebled, is it worth it?

Sorry can I ask whether you've actually rang SFE to confirm whether you'd be eligible for second lot of funding if doing a STEM degree?
That's what I did and they confirmed I was.

I didn't complete my first degree due to having a baby and so all I got was a certificate of HE.

It would be worth ringing them and getting them to check over, they can tell you if you'll receive funding.

OP, I know you say you are keen on lab work, but you mention IT. Would you consider self-study in coding and become a programmer? You can usually do that from home. Autonomy and no annoying colleagues. It's well paid. With more income you relocate eventually to an area you like more and try new hobbies or travelling to increase your social life. Some companies are actively trying to increase their number of female programmers. Look at Women in Tech organisations.

OP, have you looked into an apprenticeship partly paid for by your employer? I am currently doing a level 6 apprenticeship and they are giving me day release to attend university. It's funded through the apprenticeship levy, and I still get paid my 'proper' wage and I will be moving to a more senior position in my company when it's completed. It's hard work juggling both but it's worth it in the end.

@LilacTree1, this is because of the way the UK system works. After graduation there is only one way to get a job, that's through something called the Foundation Programme . They recruit just once a year and of you don't manage to " jump through all the hoops " you need to wait until next year year for recruitment. Then if you don't get in that year and it's more than 2 years since you graduated they add more hoops and as you see it gets harder and harder and there are many people here in the UK with a medical degree who end up working in a Tesco because of the way the UK system is. All other EU countries are recruiting anyone they can.... yet here I can name 4 people with medical degrees who are waiting tables/ unemployed or working as carers.
This mostly applied to non-UK grads, but can affect UK grads too ( they just have less hoops ).

Laks I see, thank you.

No don't do it. You are seriously embellishing in your mind the benefit of a degree.

First off, it will be hard and stressful. You may not succeed.

Secondly, you will not find university to be the wonderful social environment you are imagining it to be. If you have a lot of trouble socializing and making friends now, you will have similar problems in university.

Lastly, you will find that having a degree will not make it significantly easier to find work after. Real world experience, practical skills and personal contacts all count for at least as much as a degree. There are plenty of newly minted graduates, graduates who don't have your problems, who still struggle to find work.

Instead explore the idea of courses and accreditation which you can do part time while still working.

Stay secure keep your house and try getting a hospital lab job and do OU you can pay monthly or if lucky many NHS jobs will help you fund further qualification and pay for it. Paying any rent will soon see your money deplete and there are insecurities to been older and trying to land decent paying jobs and science has always been not well paid.

I went off to do a master’s for similar reasons. It was not the panacea. It has occasionally helped in my current field but none of my colleagues have a similar master’s (ie it wasn’t necessary).

Other options:

• do your degree in a cheaper country
• borrow against your house
• work offshore or in the Middle East or similar for a year or 2 to save

@7654321j It’s not a stupid idea. It would be an unusual choice though.

I’m sorry you had a shitty time when studying in the past, that shouldn’t happen but I know that it does and that some of those barriers are still in place for people coming up through the system. I agree with others that having a degree-level qualification is not antidote to corporate bullshittery; also systems and processes in universities themselves do not always make a whole heap of sense (understatement).

Have you costed it all out, including the sum of money you would get for your house, then the costs of tuition fees plus living expenses, plus what would you do after taking into account you might not walk into a job paying better once you graduate (especially given that the economy is taking a significant hit)? Could you work part-time through your degree, could you rent a room out (or your whole house out) to fund your living costs whilst you study, could you study in Europe which can be cheaper, could you throw your all into improving your job prospects without the overhead of going back to uni?

Whatever route you choose you’re not going to be able to pull this off wisely in time for an Autumn 2020 start I don’t think, you have time to come up with a few options. Distance leaning part time might be one option, or doing a degree locally to you and funding via a loan or extending a mortgage. Or a degree apprenticeship, there are some good ones.

For the social side of things it’s possible to meet that need without being within the structure of a university, in lots of ways.

Good luck — I’m an eternal student in some ways and I can see the allure but since fees have hiked to 9k per year I’m not sure I’d do it all again, the cost/benefit calculation is heaps different.

If you tell MN a bit more about your strengths, qualifications, what you did study, what you liked and didn’t there might be lots of suggestions you hadn’t thought of already to be found regarding future career paths.

I'm not saying the OU is ideal for science, but you'd be applying for a part-time tuition loan, and it's worth ringing up to ask if you would still be eligible to take out a part-time tuition loan, even if you've used up your fulltime tuition loan funding.

I've come across people in situations not dissimilar to yours who have still been able to take out tuition loans to cover the OU.

There are a few examples of MOOCs offering credit towards bona fide qualifications at www.classcentral.com/report/free-for-credit-moocs/

You've also said that you don't think having a degree will make any difference to your being able to get a job moving boxes around. In my experience, some employers (not all, but some) actively dislike taking on graduates as they have got it into their heads that you're "overqualified" with a degree and will leave for a better job as soon as you can. That's from personal experience. They might also see you as a threat.

I think you mentioned lab work as an area of interest? The NHS is the biggest employer in the UK (2nd biggest in the world) and even under our current weird circumstances masses of jobs are advertised on the NHS Jobs website every day. Also have a look at mrc.ukri.org/skills-careers/interactive-career-framework/#?funderview&fundercat=catCBE06C6B-CC8D-4AD7-B71A7DBAA7525714 maybe for some ideas (I hope that link works, it's a direct copy and paste...) - there are other useful links at www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/scientific-laboratory-technician

On a separate note, when you've said that you "can't see why you wouldn't be able to afford a house again" or words to that effect, I'm guessing you haven't lived through negative equity yet or found yourself in a part of the country where house prices pretty much double every 5 years or so and once you're off the ladder, you will never, ever, ever get back on unless you win the lottery.

If you do decide to do this you do have to be realistic. There is a very real possibility that you will not be able to get a better job once you’ve got your qualifications. If the economy free falls that may he a likelihood. Graduate jobs aren’t that easy to get into and many of them aren’t exactly interesting anyway. If you’ve struggled with professionally social skills in the past and have years of relative inactivity on your CV that will only make it harder. I’m not saying don’t do the degree, just don’t do it in the expectation of a job.

It's certainly a really high risk strategy. If you were going to consider it I think you'd need a fairly clear idea of how you were going to maximise your earnings on the other side of it.

It's also not a good idea to pin too much onto it in terms of improving your social life. You don't say how old you are, but a lot of students will be 18 in their first year of university. I think it's harder for mature students to establish a university-based social life. People who have worked will have a different outlook from school leavers, a lot of them may also have families to get back to at the end of each day.

If I were in your shoes, I'd only consider this after properly calculating the risks- likihood of getting a better job, likely salary etc. Also worth bearing in mind that if you've struggled in work before, a graduate level job might also prove challenging as employers expect graduates to have good communication and organisational skills. That said, a degree may well help you with these areas.

Graduate jobs are also full of illogical and meaningless tasks that you just have to shut up and get on with, so don't focus too much on that as a benefit.

It could turn out to be the making of you, but you need to consider all avenues really carefully ad if it doesn't go right it would be an expensive mistake to make.

Have you looked at apprenticeships as an alternative option? It could be a less financially risky way to get yourself a more skilled job.

If you're doing for an appreticehsip then you will need to demonstrate a few key skills. Please don't think an apprenticeship is easy to get on to. Degree appreticeships are especially tough and most employers are looking for school leavers with high grades at GCSE and A level. Not putting you off, just giving you the reality.

OP, how much equity do you have in your house? You'd need enough to pay three years of fees, so at least £27k, plus living expenses, maybe another £12k per year. That totals £63k over the length of time at Uni.
There's no guarantee you'll finish your degree, or even be in. Abetter position job wise if you do. So you could end up in your 30s with no savings, no home and a crap job.

I think the dyslexia is possibly a red herring. You say you didn't get support but you managed to get A levels and almost complete a degree without the support. If you had dyslexia this would have been incredibly hard to achieve without any support.

Most people go and get a degree for financial security (to gain entry to a career) and ultimately to buy the house they want

You already have the house. Sure, do a degree if that is financially beneficial. DONT SELL YOUR HOUSE TO PAY FOR IT. That would be total madness.

@Soontobe60 not true at all, im diagnosed with mild dyslexia and have phd with no support at all. I work 100x harder to achieve what an average person can achieve in 10th the time, but i still have a successful career.

Dyslexia comes in many different forms, some have it harder than others. The NHS estimates 1 in 10 ppl have some form of it, which is a huge number, to say all these ppl need help is not true.

I’m 100% sure my DH has dyslexia. He’s never been tested but there’s no doubt in my mind. He finished his degree but I helped him a lot with his essays. He’d start off well and then the words would just be a jumble on the page. I pretty much wrote his dissertation for him with him telling me the content because he can say his ideas but not write them. If he’d had a diagnosis, I’m sure the uni would have given him a support tutor to do what I did for him.

Getting a degree with dyslexia can be really hard but it is possible with the right support.

@Hannah021

Yes, you're correct, to a certain extent. The difference between what you term 'mild' dyslexia, and dyslexia where a person is unable to read despite lots of support and intervention is massive. My point is that if the OP managed to get as far as she did with no support, then it isn't likely to be dyslexia that prevented her from completing her degree.

OP I have found this site at a university that may give you a bit of an idea of what to do if you suspect you have dyslexia with regards to getting support at Uni.

Primarily though, you need to obtain a formal assessment yourself. The university will not do that for you.

www.nottingham.ac.uk/studentservices/servicedetails/disability-support-services/support-for-your-studies/screenings-and-formal-assessments.aspx

I have been assessed. I am dyslexic.

The suggestion that I go and work in the Middle East and save mega money made me smile but most of the advice just makes me realise how completely different my life is to most people.

Thanks for all of the suggestions though

O.P. as the mum of two ASD teens can I put my three penith in.
I think you need an ASD assessment. If you do happen to be Autistic this could open so many doors funding wise and could make all the difference to you. You may well be entitled to PIP too. I haven't read the whole thread so don't know how old you are but my 18 year old has applied for a grant which he is using for driving lessons. We are in Scotland and if you are between the age of 18 and 25 I think you can get up to £7,500 for a year of training or anything to further your job prospects.
Get some advice from the likes of the Autism Society. There is also another really great site for helping solve all sorts of financial and other problems for the disabled and or people with learning disabilities. Sorry can't remember the name of it. But has loads of helpful things on it. If I can find it I will come back.

University degree doesn't guarantee you an interesting job.
There are so many graduates now that getting a graduate job is so competitive.
If you don't like your job try to find another job. It may have better opportunities for development.

I'm the same as you OP with the part completed degree.

People are telling you to get a job and work up the ladder, but how easy is that nowadays?