I don't think I should pay for this...AIBU?

[Wenjie]

DD is at a university in the United States getting a four year degree in Art & Design: Games and Playable Media. She just found out she almost has enough credits to get a two year degree in Business Administration. It would be around 800 USD, which converts to about 590 GBP. She doesn't think that's much, but I don't even know that employers would care about a two year degree. I know this might not be the right place to post something about schools in the states, but it's caused friction. Am I being too unaccommodating?

I’d pay it.

If Icould afford it I'd definitely do it!

Wow, that’s really different to the UK. So you can use your credits twice in the USA?

Is her paying an option?

It'll certainly be cheaper than doing the course over here, so I would let her do it. I would encourage any student to have an element of business in their education. It won't necessarily help her find a job in her chosen field, but business is an important life skill. You have spend quite a lot of money already, is she in a position to contribute towards her living costs?

£590 to just get the degree or a further 2 years?

[quote Wenjie]@BakedTattie Her four year degree is already costing us £55,500 by the time it's done, so it feels like a lot to add £590 for something that might not be valued when she's searching for work.[/quote]
Its only an extra 1% on the cost of the degree. If you are willing to pay £55,500 I don't see why you aren't willing to pay £56,000. Its a tiny bit extra and could be really useful. Or its a tiny bit extra and might be a waste of time.

Of course if £590 is unachievable then she can't do it. But if you're already paying all that money, I assume you can afford it.

I wouldn't hesitate to pay for the course. It sounds like a really good add on - and much more broadly applicable than games design.

She might find this is a good fallback to have on her CV. A business qualification is relevant to a wide variety of industries.

That's quite affordable for 2 year degree. It might not be useful in the job market, but it might be. Even if the certificate is not worth much she might learn something. So I think it's a good idea to take it. Especially since you've drowned $$$$$ to her degree already. However, I don't see why you need to fund it.

[quote Wenjie]@BakedTattie Her four year degree is already costing us £55,500 by the time it's done, so it feels like a lot to add £590 for something that might not be valued when she's searching for work.[/quote]
I see it differently.

If you're already paying that then an extra £590 is nothing on top!

I thinks it's all relative to what you can afford. I couldn't afford the £590 let alone the £55k! If I could afford opportunities for my ds I wouldn't say no.

[quote Wenjie]@VelvetChairGirl She hopes to become a game producer, which is more of a communication role. She does have a certificate in C++, so hopefully she can talk to programmers competently. But she doesn't have the maths needed to get a computer science game design degree.[/quote]
No PD have to know how to programme too the more languages the better. not sure if its the same everywhere but most PD move up from testing roles as far as I know.

no one where I worked who was Producer didnt know a few programming languages, most common asked for seem to be selenium, cucumber, python (thats not a short list I mean they want all 3) they also need to know Jira and mantis testing tools just as much as the testers do, they are the go between the testers, devs and management so they need to be familiar with all 3 and the tools all 3 use because they will be seeing it all on a daily basis sometimes they write the test plans too, but it was depending on the project that could be the project leads doing that whom act as a bridge between testers and PD on large IPs . if its a very small project the PD may will be the lead.

Does she fund her own living expenses or would you need to cover those as well for another 2 years?

Well you be expected to pay for her living costs for the further 2 years or will it be done at the same time as the remaining two years? If it's just £590 and i could afford it, i would lend her the money, if not give. It could be incredibly useful for her to have some business management skills alongside what she's currently doing.

It sounds like it's the straw that broke the camel's back, rather than the actual amount.
Unless you're oligarchs £55k is a sizeable amount of money, so I'd not be impressed by your DD waltzing up to ask for more, and I'm guessing not being particularly grateful about the ask.

Can she take on a pt job ? Can you give it as a loan rather than a handover?

[quote Wenjie]@VelvetChairGirl She hopes to become a game producer, which is more of a communication role. She does have a certificate in C++, so hopefully she can talk to programmers competently. But she doesn't have the maths needed to get a computer science game design degree.[/quote]
This sounds like she wants to jump in at the top, is this not an industry where you work your way up?

She should fund it.

@DDivaStar Game production is definitely where experience is valued over education! I would rather she do a game production internship.

@SilentNoMore She could do it at the same time as she's working on her four year degree, so it wouldn't take two years. It's just four classes at community college, and they'd be online classes. She's already taken the rest of the classes for the degree when she was exclusively at community college before transferring to university.

[quote Wenjie]@DDivaStar Game production is definitely where experience is valued over education! I would rather she do a game production internship.[/quote]
It doesn't sound like alot of money but it doesn't seem the most natural fit.

I really thought I was missing a “k” on the end of your figures, but you’re talking about a little over five hundred quid? If you can afford it, which presumably you can if you’ve funded a £55k degree, I’d pay it. Even if it’s on a “this comes out of your first salary until it’s paid back” basis.

I would fund it without hesitation even if a t some point in the future you want her to pay it back.

it looks good on hr CV
It shows another string to her bow
It's internationally recognised
It stands her in good stead for a business career as well as gaming
It will help her get promoted in the future
It can open more doors.

Unless you're skint it's a no brainer.

It’s an extra 1% for the second qualification

Is she doing this for a couple more years of the student lifestyle? Will that end up costing you more money ?

Hi Op. I hope you don’t mind me asking but is your dd at a public or private uni and what state is she in? 55k whilst a lot of money seems very cheap for a degree in the US. Is she on a scholarship of some sort? My nephew is currently doing his GCSE’s and always talks about studying in the states.

If you can afford to pay I say do it.