People older than 25, if you could choose would you...

[SomewhatMental]

Do a degree or just go for any job you can find to stay afloat

Definitely degree, in something with very good job prospects. I don’t see the problem with a graduate job in your 30’s? A graduate job is surely better than “any job”?

Obviously you need to stay afloat first. Can’t do a degree from the streets.

It depends on your finances, not everyone can afford the loss of income while studying.

My husband started an apprenticeship at 24 to become an actuary, rather than a degree and then starting his professional exams. He qualified last year when he was 28. His level 4 apprenticeship started at £30k and increased to £38k, he then moved onto level 7 training (graduate level) which paid £46k until he qualified. It takes anywhere between 3-6 years to qualify.

A friend who is almost forty started an architecture degree last year, he is in the position where he can go without income throughout the process, which is very fortunate.

A degree every time. I worked part time through uni and so glad I did. There’s a marked difference between my earning potential and that of my non grad friends.

It really depends on what you want to do. Doctors, engineers, teachers, accountants etc will require a degree. A lot of other jobs do not.

I think if you're going to do a degree then it's really important that you've thought about what you're doing with it. Doing a degree without a clear career goal in mind isn't usually advisable these days.

Not just 'a' degree. Do some serious research into what career you really want, and be realistic about what degree would likely connect you with the kind of options for a career that you want to be in. Also (bitter experience here), it's well worth trying to ensure you have enough to live on without working throughout your degree. I think now more than ever, if you're going to study for a degree you wan5 to make sure you get a good one.

So is the idea that you can stay afloat by either doing a degree, or by doing "any job you can find"?

Easy decision - If all else is equal, I'd do a degree! Why wouldn't you?

"Any job you can find" probably means retail, warehouse etc presumably. Low paid, not a great working environment, hours or progression.

With the right brain and the right financial situation I would choose a degree over those any day.

@AwkwardPaws27

I would not pick a degree I was just interested in - it would have to increase my probability of progressing in my chosen career path.

This is good advice if you know what you want to do.

If you really don't know, a degree can still open doors to a wide range of graduate training schemes. Better to choose something you are interested in, as you are more likely to put the work in and get a decent grade.

I agree.

There are too many people shouting about how pointless degrees are, but they're really, really not.

Not all degrees have a clear career path at the end of them (in fact few do), but they all teach self discipline, study skills, communication, independence and a plethora of other things that employers value.

You are still more likely to get a high paying and rewarding job with a degree than without, and there's a reason for that.

What about a professional qualification?

You could start as a marketing admin/assistant and then do CIM qualifications whilst working? Employer might even contribute. Just an example, lots of other career options with similar professional qualifications around.

Both my husband and I don't have degrees but we both have the highest level qualifications from our professional bodies and we're doing alright!

I’d do both.
Look at part time study with the Open University - it takes longer, yes, but you get there in the end, and can work alongside study.
Or if you are in London then Birkbeck does in person evening Uni courses.

A job. DH and I worked from 18 after A-Levels and are by far the most successful from our friendship group.
The ones in the worst financial position are the ones who went to uni.

I put this down to

1. house prices rising by the time they were earning a good wage so they couldn’t afford a decent deposit and are therefore stuck in rental property or tiny flats and unable to start a family as they don’t have the space / money / are still trying to build their careers as they’re effectively 3/4 years behind others
2. Debt

I worked in an industry I hated for 8 years (call centre/ sales work), left age 27 and went to uni full time- I can honestly say it was one of the best things I ever did! It does depend on individual circumstances of course but myself and DP (now DH) did not have any DC at the time but we did have a mortgage, two cars on finance and some other depts so basically our outgoings were very much dependent on two full time wages- on paper, financially we could not afford it. I am quite academic and have a very good work ethic so myself and DP knew we could make it work so I went for it. Apart from the few opportunities to do some over time here and there, DP basically carried on as he was before in his full time job. I, gave up luxuries (clothes shopping, nails, hair colouring etc.) and worked various jobs and we were absolutely fine. I did graft though- I had 4 PT jobs at one point (all different roles for different departments within the university so no tax complications), I worked 5-9pm as a cleaner for the first 2 years and managed to find fairly well paid, FT, temp roles during the summer (previous call centre experience helped!). Most of my paid work with the university started off as volunteering for free which pretty much turned into a job offer right away once I was able to prove I was beneficial to them. I also applied (successfully) for some grants here and there which helped- you need to do a little digging and research with regards to grants- universities have little pots of money available for students but nobody really knows about them! I will add that I managed to do this whilst still doing well with my degree (I got a first class Biology degree - yes I'm very proud of this ha!), and went on to get a job which ended up paying 20k per year more than the job I did before (this was a starting salary which has since increased more)- so the money it cost me really did pay off! This isn't by any means an opportunity for me to brag but I think highlights an example of when this can really work IF done right. I was lucky- I found a degree subject that I loved and was very passionate about so the hard work didn't feel like hard work at all and although I worked 10 times harder than I did when I worked in my previous job- I was so much happier as I was doing something I loved! This is so important I think- so chose your course wisely. Although I didn't know at the time exactly what role I would end up doing, I did know that my degree (science) would likely end up securing me a role in which was enjoyable and better paid and thankfully I was right with this. You need to know beforehand that there's a possibility that you'll be able to get work afterwards too so do everything in your power to make sure this happened. As mentioned before, I volunteered at the university but I also attended conferences, extra lectures, was the course department student rep and did free work placements at a hospital to help me get my foot in the door. This resulted in having a lot of people to go to for shining references and eventually the work placement I did plus a bit of networking (previous sales experience helped here!) is what secured me my role afterwards. This was 10 years ago and I'm still in touch with both fellow students and staff- I developed some life long friendships with more like minding people along the way. I would tell anyone to go for it as it's the best thing I did! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.x

I forgot to add- if I'd have gone straight to uni age 18 I guarantee the outcome would have been different there's something about having worked in a job you hate that is such a motivator to do well- and also having lots of outgoings too! A bit of work/ life experience and a mature attitude really done me well- I had no choice but to make it work.x

100% a degree.

So a degree that gets you a job.
So teaching, medicine, accountancy that kind of thing.

Vocational degree such as occupational therapy.

A degree is awesome, but don't rule out a trade / apprenticeship. Money and independence can be better.

Degree. It’s a long working life.

That's a very black and white choice that you've offered!
I did a degree and it got me into a successful career. BUT I graduated in 2006 when there was so much work available, I could literally quit a job on the Friday and pick up a temp job on the Monday. And my uni fees were 'only' £1250 a year!
If I was advising a young person now, I'd say go to uni if you want to study something vocational (Engineering, Medicine, Social Work) or, alternatively, for the sheer love of a subject, but only if your parents are wealthy enough for money to be no object.
Other than that, I would suggest getting an apprenticeship or training scheme instead. They are available in all kinds of prestigious organisations now and can lead to great things.

Depends on what you want to do, I went straight into an office job from high school. Didn’t know what to do and how much you want to earn.

Had a few promotions, did some personal certifications and now earn £65k working in the financial services doing a change / IT type role.

Oh and I am in my early 30s

@Animood

Either:

• Go to a Russel group uni or better and do a degree that directly leads to a high paying career (accountancy, law, architecture, medicine etc), or STEM (but not media studies or anything wishy washy) and get a min of a 2:1.

• OR go to college and do an apprenticeship in something where there is a skills drought and the job pays £££ (plumbing, engineering, coding etc)

The people who lose out are people who get no formal training for a specific job and mostly end up in low paid insecure work.

The other group of people who lose out are those who pay through the nose to get a third class degree from an ex poly uni no one has heard of, in a subject that doesn't lead to a proper job. (I know this sounds harsh but I get pissed off young people get conned into a life of debt for nothing)

This is bullshit. If you don’t get a job in your chosen field it’s because you didn’t prepare properly to go after it. Uni (both RG and modern) is about far more than just lectures and assessment. There are tonnes of opportunities to make yourself more employable in your chosen field - placements, live briefs, study abroad, relevant clubs and societies, careers coaching, traineeships, employability training (CV development, test centre practice, etc.), student charitable societies - but you need to grab those with both hands, search them out, and immerse yourself in them, building your profile, CV, and connections. All unis have these opportunities, and the students who do best learn to take advantage of them at the outset, so by the time they leave the degree is just a part of who they are and what they’ve achieved.

Totally agree with this....

'Uni (both RG and modern) is about far more than just lectures and assessment. There are tonnes of opportunities to make yourself more employable in your chosen field - placements, live briefs, study abroad, relevant clubs and societies, careers coaching, traineeships, employability training (CV development, test centre practice, etc.), student charitable societies - but you need to grab those with both hands, search them out, and immerse yourself in them, building your profile, CV, and connections. All unis have these opportunities, and the students who do best learn to take advantage of them at the outset, so by the time they leave the degree is just a part of who they are and what they’ve achieved.'

@RussianSpy101

A job. DH and I worked from 18 after A-Levels and are by far the most successful from our friendship group. The ones in the worst financial position are the ones who went to uni.

I put this down to

1. house prices rising by the time they were earning a good wage so they couldn’t afford a decent deposit and are therefore stuck in rental property or tiny flats and unable to start a family as they don’t have the space / money / are still trying to build their careers as they’re effectively 3/4 years behind others
2. Debt

These days you can do both at the same time

@cookiemonster2468

"but they all teach self discipline, study skills, communication, independence and a plethora of other things that employers value."

This is relevant to a teenager probably, but the OP is not, they have been working for years. I'm pretty sure they've mastered those basic life skills by now... and I don't think they need to get into £27k to learn how to communicate.