To ask for your success stories of DC who didn't go to Russell Group?

[CheesyWotsitz]

God I know I sound like a right twat but the heat is getting to me ...

DS has his heart set on Manchester Uni but despite working his socks off, I don't think he's capable of getting the ABB they're asking for.

I'd never heard of Russell Group before MN but it appears to be the be and and end all.

Is it?

I went to a Russell group uni and I don’t think it’s that influential but things may have changed, I graduated 17 years ago! I did put it in all my job applications though when first working my way up but I’ve never felt it had the same swagger as Ivy colleges in the US or anything like that!

This is a weird Mumsnet thing

Again, no it isn't.

I did my PhD and now work at a RG uni. To be honest I didn’t even know what RG was for a number of years after I started. . It’s only something mentioned in Vice Chancellor aspirational emails. He just needs to find the course and place that’s right for him.

Once you get a job no one cares what Uni you went too. In fact most reasonable employers don't care either, those that do well I have never worked for one and met any one who has and I consider myself successful. Ubber jobs may care like astro physicists ect but any other it's mainly concerns the students ego.

Worth noting also that increasingly employers are using blind recruitment in which the university name is not shown on the application. I know that’s the case for the Civil Service and now quite a few private sector grad schemes.

I'm 30.
Went to university of Manchester. I earn pittance, part time. And I am completely uncommitted to a career.

H, also 30 went to Manc Met and enjoyed his course. It set him on the path to a career he is really enjoying. We both loved the city of Manchester. He then studied post grad in London (Kings) and is not yet a 'high earner' but is well on his way. And enjoys the job.

My best friend went to Durham, a RG uni and I was scared for her health the whole time she was there because the pressure was intense for her. She's a primary school teacher now. Was it worth the high price of her mental health for 3 years at an institution like that?! She'd probably say no. Somewhere more more relaxed might have suited her better.

Is he really keen on a particular course? I think that matters more than where the course is.

Another vote for chiling out a bit. Not everyone who doesn't got to an RG uni is destined to be a failure.

He needs to find a course and uni that's right for him.

Well I went to a RG university, dh went to two, and I have no particular wish for my 3dc to even go to university unless they have a clear path from doing so.

Honestly, he will find his way. Plenty of jobs just want a 2:1, it doesn't state from which groups of universities.

OMG no! I'm in my 30's!!!

Ds spent a year at an RG and really didn't like it. He swapped course completely and has just graduated from a non rg much happier and with a string of interviews already. Isn't their happiness more important?

Me: Cambridge
husband: former polytechnic.

Who’s more professionally successful and earns the six figure salary? (Hint: it’s not me)

My husband has amazing self belief and confidence and is clever. I’m clever too, started career in a great place, then left after training and fannied about for ages, flirting from one industry to another, directionless. He worked his way up in the same industry and had an incredibly “can-do” attitude.

Once you get “the break” in the workplace, the world’s your oyster.

Also many excellent unis (like Bath and Lancaster) aren’t RG!
One thing I noticed about the difference between ‘good’(RG or otherwise) and the rest unis is motivation and career prep.!
Most grads of ‘less good’ unisdon’t start of with great grad jobs. All the career office does is give a generic CV workshop, one interview prep. Most people manage to get ‘a’ job. But it may not be what they could have achieved.

Compared to RG unis where you’ll be drilled (if you wish it!) on everything aspect of the process, down to sector specific interviews. Investment banking for example has several rounds. You also have a huge peer group who has applied and can give you inside information.

Of course the internet has a lot of help, and nothings stoping a single motivated person from googling everything but I do think peers make a big difference. Had I not been pushed I wouldn’t be where I am today.

You don’t sound like a Twat, you are about to shell out a load of cash.

I think if you are doing a non vocational degree and/or want to go into an industry that’s hard to get into, then going to a well known university with a good rep is helpful, in that it helps get your CV to the top of pile.

If your son doesn’t make his grades, then just take the time to sit down with him and help him think about what he wants and what will help him get it.

Sorry - husband also quite lucky in some ways.

Had he studied at Cambridge, he would have failed his degree as he did very little work, failed several exams the first time he sat them and then had to resit.

But you don’t get to resit at somewhere like Cam just because you pissed around.

Also to add DP didn’t go to RG, now makes oodles in software engineering. Uni c. 15 years ago
However most of his peers are still with small local companies. They don’t seem to be that bothered about aiming higher

Upshot: the specific uni and course us more important than the degree!!

Russell Group doesn’t seem to have the high profile here Ivy League does in the US so I honestly don’t think it will make any difference to his future opportunities. My son goes to a very ordinary uni (except for one area it is very renowned for but it’s not by any stretch of the imagination ‘posh’) and he loves it and is absolutely thriving. He’s gone from an anxious kid to a confident, self assured young adult. It was his last choice option with no real intention of going there but got turned down by the ‘red bricks’ he applied to.

D Son went to Bath (not in the Russell Group along with St Andrews, and other top Unis, so RG not necessarily a mark of quality) on 3As - fast forward - works for a bank in City of London and lives there - all well and good.
DD went to a 'lower ranked' Uni (on grades BBC)- just landed a job with a higher salary than her brother - and she lives outside London.
Both got a 2:1.
Seems like, as long as you have the right basic qualification for the job by then no one really gives a shit where it came from once you've qualified (unless you are a Tory MP, obviously).

I'd also never heard of the Russell Group pre-MN, despite it turning out that H and I are both RG alumni. Is it even a thing outside academia?

My best mate went to a less prestigious university and now out-earns both H and my incomes combined, in an interesting and fulfilling role. My elder child is academically very strong, but is considering an apprenticeship after A-levels if she's lucky enough to secure one.

My husband went to an ex-Poly uni. Very successful in his field, high up
manager at age of 39. All depends on the individual, not the university.

I went to a Russell Group uni and while I'm very happy with my life, I'm earning just about the national average in a job which doesn't require a degree at all. No one outside the graduate recruitment circles has even heard of it because it doesn't have a place name in its name and I now live at the other end of the country.

It was a pretty good student experience and I really enjoyed my 3 years of reading books and arguing about them but I wouldn't get yourself worked up about missing out. In any case my old course has now ditched the things that made it good - the tutorial system and access to University of London courses and libraries - so at this point kids are just doing it for the name, which is not a good reason to spend 3 years of your life doing something.

Meanwhile Priti Patel went to Keele and seems to have done quite well for herself, if you like that sort of thing.

Some schools do push RG but that is changing. ... slowly in some cases but I've noticed a change in the last 10 years.

Noone actually cares where you want. They look at the class of degree

A degre itself isn't the be all and end all

One of my kids gir a great degree from a Russel groups. Started a great career then decided he hated , jacked it all to be a DJ. Now is loving life.

He will find his way whatever

I think success in work often comes down to your attitude at work, confidence, people liking you and your ability to express and explain ideas well.

Now of course you need the entry requirements to get your foot in (degree, masters etc)

But I know people who are technically fabulous in my line of work but they never get far and it's down to their attitude and likability usually.

So if I were you, I wouldn't worry about a RG uni. Talk to your son when he has his first job and offer guidance.

The highest earner in our family didn’t go to university. Amongst my peers, lots talk of their degree and regard the time spent and outcome as a bit of a joke. The cost, what you get and the outcome just don’t compute.

Unless you are going for something very specific I think it’s a con. A very expensive con industry. And yet I’m still encouraging my kids to go….

Id focus on the outcome rather than the uni type. It’s hard not to get swept up in it at the time, it’s quite overwhelming. But imagine, a 30 year old talking about their first at a RG uni at a bbq. What would you think? You’d think Wally wouldn’t you. Person taking about their great and interesting career, and that’s different. Don’t ever ever forget and let the marketing distract you that the career is the outcome not the (usually lots of fun but utterly pointless) uni. And 90% of the time, the degree wasn’t actually needed.