To get a loan/go to university?

[creepywoman]

Bit of a weird one. I was always quite academic in school and got good graces. I went to university and studied psychology in 2015 but dropped out after my 1st year due to problems at home. I don’t have any credits for that period.

Fast forward to now, I’m 28 and on £40k.

It’s complicated but I now need to leave my job (due my manager being inappropriate with me, asking me out etc).

So I’m just reflecting on everything. I’m not sure if I can get a job on the same income or not as my confidence is shot. However equivalent jobs do actually pay more than what I’m on, so I could potentially secure something better without a degree.

However I’m kind of regretful I don’t have a degree and wonder if this could open up my prospects. I look at the open university and I could do a 6 year part time course, but then I’m thinking that’s a long time and I’m not sure if it would get me a better job. Aibu

Personally I would only do a degree if it was a specific degree linked to a job. Well that's literally what I have done twice. I don't think a generic degree is particularly useful unless you're interested in graduate schemes or are confident what you want to do with it.

By the time you're 34, employers are probably going to value experience over a degree, unless it's something extremely specific. By all means do it for your own satisfaction, but I think it's unlikely to improve your job prospects, depending entirely on what degree/jobs you're looking at obviously.

Have you spoken to Acas about the chances of being compensated for constructive dismissal?

I have a completely opposite advice from the PP. As a mature student, I highly recommend doing a degree for pleasure, something which is going to stimulate you intellectually without thinking too much about career prospects.
I have done both. I did an arts and philosophy degree which, honestly, was an amazing thing and transformed my life in a way I never imagined possible. I then did vocational masters which was means to an end and not something to write home about.

Do the Open University, you'll be supported and maintain your income.

I did a career related degree, part time alongside my job which I funded via a student loan. It hasn't helped me in the way I had hoped yet (promotion/higher earnings) but I needed to try something as my experience was fairly limited.

I used a student loan which I am now paying back via salary deduction and dont even notice the payments. I'll keep plugging away at jobs to try and advance myself in the hope of proving to myself the degree was worthwhile (I detested every essay and nearly binned off the dissertation that gave me the Hons).

Best of luck whatever you decide!

Yeah, it’s a horrible situation and I am considering a tribunal. But it’s overall got me in a reflective state as I’m essentially having to start over.

I've done an OU degree, the six years is going to pass anyway so if you want a degree then go for it. As for the loan I wouldn't worry about it, you'll likely never pay it back fully and will only start paying it back when you hit £X salary although repayments are taken into account for mortgages.

In terms of career progression though, you are better off doing a professional qualifications and getting experience or getting work to pay for a qualification. If you are interested in psychology Change Management might be for you, look at govt jobs in that type of work.

The OU is not the only uni that offers distance learning courses. Look wider than just there.
But have you considered going straight to a masters degree? For some courses your life/work experience might be enough to get you on the course (depending what you want to study).
I know because I did exactly this.

Oh interesting, thanks everyone.

I’m not sure what vocational degrees would work.
I’d love to be a dermatologist for example but I think the time spent in education would be unrealistic for my life.

I currently work in data but would love to get into data science. I’m not technically qualified to be an analyst although I’ve self taught some things! But a degree like psychology or data science would be enough

I also like the idea of studying law but I’m worried because I haven’t started sooner, I’d be set back in a career.

https://onlinecareeraccelerators.ice.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-data-science-career-accelerator

What about something like this? I know people who work in data without a technical background and I reckon a short course like this would help you stand out.

Have a look at the qualifications available from the Royal Statistical Society. There's a Data Analyst, Data Science Professional, Advanced Data Science Professional, Chartered Statistician. The RSS is a founder member of the Alliance of Data Science Professionals, which includes all the mathematical professional bodies, so the qualifications are widely recognised. They run all the courses needed to get you there. If you had a sympathetic employer who would let you take time off you could get qualified in data science.

Bad financial advice above. Very dangerous to "not worry about" the loan. Government can change the interest rate and terms whenever they want, and have. I've taken out a creditcard 0% loan for my wife to do a degree via open uni, paying in stages. It will be gone in a few years.
By comparison my brother in law has 60k student debt and counting, and whilst you only pay back after earning c. 25k , you're already above that, and with a 6%+ interest rate the debt will just go up.
If the govt change terms so you have to pay it back - say for instance on death from your estate, which is quite an easy change, a bit like how they're going to add death taxes to pensions soon - that becomes a big sum. Always better to keep control. No wealthy person borrows money at 6%+ and lets it rack up...
a loophole would be if you're self employed via a limited company and got that company to pay for it as an expense.... I couldn't do that as earn more via PAYE but there are options - don't buy into the rather naive "don't worry about it" bollucks.

Oh wow. The terms ARENT changed retrospectively - they changed last year and it only applies to new loans. Not existing ones. That credit card will ALWAYS have to be paid back. A student loan doesn't have to have repayments made if salary is below £25k and no one will come chasing if she doesn't work.

as a mature student, acceptance criteria change - I did a part time MSc over two years with no first degree - combination of experience and a professional qualification.
For no other real reason than to prove I could have a degree if I wanted.
It involved one weekend and a Friday for about nine months of the year - I managed mine by working additional hours on other days, but at nine days a year could easily be managed by using annual leave - or negotiating study leave.

The terms have been changed, large numbers of accounts were sold by the government and they are likely to do this again. It's a risk.

I personally wouldn't go with the OU unless you aren't able to attend a traditional university. Although it's cheaper it really isn't the same type of experience at all and you will have very little contact with lecturers or other students.

@deepstarfish I lived in halls in my 1st year and with my friends during 2nd year (at which point I officially dropped out and worked full time). I’ve already experienced traditional university a bit so don’t crave that experience as much. However I did see that the University of London offers a distance learning course via Kings College London. I’m wondering whether that’s too good to be true as that’s a really good university if so!

Thanks everyone for replying! I just realised how illiterate I sound in my OP, oh dear!

To those of you who did a masters without an undergraduate degree, what subject did you take? Really curious

No, you are giving a bad financial advice. Unless your wife is studying to be a lawyer, she likely would not have paid her loan by the time it is wiped out, had she borrowed from the student loan company.
The loan terms don't change retrospectively and the remainder of the loan is wiped 30 years after you begin paying it back. Student loan also does not impact on your credit rating.
I pay back 1600 a year which is equivalent to 54k over 30 year term. I am going to repay about half the money I borrowed for my education (over 90k) before the rest is wiped out. The interest rates are irrelevant for me because it is, essentially, a Mickey mouse debt.
If you are wealthy enough to pay for your wife's uni, that's great. But the vast majority of the students don't have the benefit of someone supporting them with living costs or taking on a 60k+ credit card debt, though.

Mine was related to my work in higher education administration. You’re right KCL offer online/distance learning courses. As do most universities these days. They are very popular and meet the same academic standard as an in person course.

You can get a post graduate loan as well, although check the Ts&Cs because they are different to an undergraduate loan.

My point is the govt can change things like - the remainder of the student loan could be due out of your estate on death. Or remove the 30yr term date. Governments can and do change things all the time.

If op is happy with a huge debt racking up and risk of it being clawed back at some point not to mention reducing her take home pay for 30yrs+ - fine - I certainly am not. We pay them off at 0% and remove the risk.

The governments website literally says:

"The regulations may change from time to time, which means the terms of your loan may also change."

It's incredibly naive to think government will never change the terms of your loan over the 30-35yr period.

The terms have been changed, large numbers of accounts were sold by the government and they are likely to do this again. It's a risk

No. The terms of existing loans have not been changed. Changes are not applied retrospectively. Loans will also not be sold again as the way they are now counted by the Gov has changed so selling would mean a net loss - both Con and Lab Govs agree they can no longer be sold due to accounting rules.

"The regulations may change from time to time, which means the terms of your loan may also change."

Yes the interest rate will change because it's pegged to RPI. Not the repayment threshold or length. Heck the Gov have just this year introduced new loans with different terms and conditions to the previous ones - we can see exactly who they apply to - clue - it wasn't existing loan holders!

What family support do you have and are you in a relationship and planning kids soon?

If you have good support and no plans for kids, you can give up work, move home and throw yourself into uni. There will never be a better time.

But if you don't know what you really want to do, it sounds like you are running away from your job rather than running toward something. In which case I'd apply for some other jobs to improve your Now situation and use that time to decide what you want to do e.g. change of career.

But no, I wouldn't drag out studying to 6 years and add it to your current workload when you are unhappy. Adding to your mental load while in a state of stress is not wise. X

Yeah they can be changed retrospectively, although very rarely done.

The SL interest of RPI +3% was changed recently to be capped at RPI due to the COL crisis . That was a “nice” change the Gov did, but they dont all have to be nice changes.

Also, credit card debt can be discharged through filing bankruptcy….student loans can never be discharged through filing bankruptcy.

I wouldn’t use a credit card for student loans myself, the 0% deals are evaporating and most people can’t pay enough as they go to keep the debt down.