To think you don’t go to University just for the University experience

[CovidSmart]

Many many discussions in our house on university atm.

Two dcs who are convinced (I imagine from what school is telling them) that what is important is to find the Uni where you will get the best experience. Somehow the rest doesn’t seem to matter as

• companies will train you
• you can do whatever you want after that as long as you have a degree/master.

I see university as a way to learn about a subject so you can work after so the subject is important (eg important to learn economic if you want to work in business related fields, engineering to be an engineer etc..).

Both dcs are so adamant I’m wrong that I’m starting to question myself. Not having the experience of the British system doesn’t help (went to uni and started to work in a different country).

Any experience?

It depends as a lot of employers are now going down the route of removing information about which university people attended due to unconscious bias around them!

For me and DH we picked universities where we had the best experience and lifestyle so we both went to a very outdoor sports orientated University. It was still good for our courses.
I did a STEM subject, DH did humanities but we also had a brilliant balance of lots of opportunities for outdoor activities, weekends away, exploring the countryside etc.

For me University is more than just a degree. Many of our friends are still those from uni.
In comparison to our postgrad degree universities were picked on the basis of the course and neither of us is in contact with anyone!

@CovidSmart

When companies are looking at recruiting graduates and look at the Uni they went to, which league table do they use?

I've been looking at the different leagues tables I could find to try and get a feel. I am very confused.....
Some universities ranked very high in general but low for history for example (Edinburgh seems to be ome of them). Does it matter? Will employers know that or will they use the general 'Oh Edinburgh is a great Uni so that's fine' type of attitude?

From an outsider pov, it feels like a minefield

It really does depend! Which I know isn't helpful!

Recruiters will know which universities are good for certain subjects - like my example earlier of logistics and Huddersfield. They might not feature high on any league table but they're known internationally for that subject.

Some will just go for the general reputation of a university

And some will have just always recruited from a particular institution!

I think it’s very likely that recruitment into different fields and companies will be different - with different emphasis on uni vs subject and undergrad vs postgrad. Which is why it would be important for OPs children to do a bit of research into the types of jobs that they may be interested in (at least looking at job ads, requirements etc, discussing at careers fairs, talking to people in those jobs) - before choosing subject and uni.

I did a career change in early 30s to something completely different, without doing further formal study. I spent a few years on job websites - before I saw a good opportunity - as most other ones had requirements of: either degree in X or 1-2 years commercial experience (how to obtain this commercial experience instead of a degree was not exactly clear).

My company is promoting diversity - in lots of forms - because it makes the company stronger. I think this will also involve looking at different unis and taking on apprentices - which is a good thing.

@CovidSmart subje specific league tables aren’t always that useful. For example LSE isn’t top in all subjects but most degrees from there are prestigious enough for the sort of jobs that require it.

The Times Higher Education rankings IMO are ok. For a subject like history any of the top 20 unis in there should be good. Unless your DC are interested in specifics such as Southeast Asian history (SOAS is known for this).

For specific subjects as PP have mentioned it spends on uni. Uni of Sunderland isn’t top tier but their BSc Cosmetic Science is very well regarded with lots of students on placement with big beauty brands like L’Oreal ...

@Namenic wonder if you’re in the same field as me .. is it a STEM field? 😂

A bit of both I think...

I grew up, slightly on the side of "in it for the experience", as my parents had a grand old time at uni (met and fell in love there), had loads of mates they're still in touch with, etc.
Plus my mum never ended up working in her degree field, and my dad only did for about 8 years.

Growing up, I heard all their stories, and had high hopes of life-long friends etc etc. But it didn't work out like that for me.
I struggled to make friends/fit in, and was pretty lonely, a lot of the time. As a result, I threw myself into my studies, and worked hard, and got a good result, which I might not have done otherwise.

I don't have bad memories of uni. I became very self-sufficient and comfortable with my own company. But I wish it had lived up to my parents "hype" a bit more!

Moved to IT/software - it helped that DH helped me up-skill. It has a good work-life balance. I know others who have moved into non-tech aspects of the field by joining a big bank grad scheme, picking up some financial expertise then moving into fin-tech start up.

I suppose these bank or company grad schemes can a spring board for other jobs. But I expect they will be heavily over subscribed and lots of competition - so may do CV sifting etc. For certain types of finance jobs - eg investment banking, familiarity with finance terms and concepts may come more easily to people who have done economics as a subject - so they might have a bit of an edge at interview. But it is something that can be picked up - and I’m sure there are plenty of people with humanities degrees in the industry.

@Namenic are you me?!?!?

Also agree that finance terms etc can be picked up. It’s just that you’re expected to know them at the interview and show technical skills for compétiez finance jobs.
While audit interviews have no technical questions and don’t require hours of prep

I predict that more people will go to university in the future

Some people may live to 100+
So they could complete a first time, second or third degree later in life if they have the funds

With the invention of more labour saving devices like robot cars people will have more free time.

Sime people that are healthy & living longer are also having second & third careers

I went to uni purely for the experience and don’t regret it one bit.
Who cares whether you start your career at 18 or 21? Have some fun for a few years, work hard, gain some independence, meet some great people.
The world is so difficult for young people now and we have the rest out our lives to work.
I’d much rather my kids had fun at uni and then buckled down at 21/22, even if it didn’t help their career and they end up in the same job as they would have at 18.