To want to pay someone to do my uni work

[Paid30307]

I know deep down it’s a bad idea but it feels like the best option.

No you’ll kick yourself for it.

Why are you struggling so much?
Could you defer?

I know how you feel I ended up asking ChatGPT to do it for me because I was working FT, a single parent and had an illness and a bereavement.

Chatgpt created an amazing assignment for me complete with references and within the word count.
I thought this is amazing!! - until I looked into it further and it was literally all BS!
It sounded great but it was all made up including the references!!

By the time I went through it all and had to restart it all again it took me at least twice as long as if I’d just done it myself.

Don’t make the same mistakes I did.

What are you doing right now - you’re on MN, so could you use this time to make a plan at least?

So you end up with a degree you didn't work for, and don't deserve, and don't know about, and you are presenting yourself as someone who has degree level knowledge of your subject. Can't see how that benefits anyone, including yourself. Cheating stinks.

If you're not up to the academic level of the subject, change subjects or quit and do some vocational training instead. In many cases, you'd probably earn more as a tradesperson than a graduate these days, without the millstone of student debt.

Do you not mark blind?

I work at a university but as a therapist not a lecturer, am friends with lecturers/professors and they say it’s likely to be that more assessments will be exam based and timed essays in exam conditions to get around AI as they’re struggling to keep on top of it…

OP - I have a degree, a masters and a post grad diploma - I’ve felt like this about all of it but muddled through and got there in the end, it’s part of the process! Keep going!

So you want to cheat because you misguidedly think a lot of others are cheating. Or is this a wind up?

How do you want to feel about yourself OP?
How much would you like others to respect you for your integrity.
Imagine being congratulated on your degree by your loved ones when it’s not fully your degree at all. Imagine them finding out you are a cheating lying scumbag.

What sort of values in society do you rate highly in those around you-or can’t you be bothered to think for yourself, even about that.
What if medical staff or lawyers or economists or construction managers had paid others to do their degree and made risky decisions that badly let you down.
What if you were suspected as guilty, of a crime you hadn’t committed and the investigating police found out you had cheated in yiur exams and therefore on your cv.

Seriously now, if you have money to pay somebody to cheat for you, then you must have money to drop out of uni and find other more worthwhile pursuits more suited to you, while you are still young enough to change tack. Do that instead.
This is your time to obtain skills and knowledge to set you up for your life.
You are worthy of joining society as an educated person who wants to achieve on his own merit.

Have a serious re-think.
It isn’t the best option at all. It’s a totally shameful and dead-end option which won’t end well.
Put the effort in to finish your studies yourself, if you possibly can. But find help and support if you are really struggling with the work load or are depressed. Remember, it’s not meant to be that easy.
The world of work might also difficult, tedious, boring, intellectually challenging, so choose something that you are interested in and would enjoy.

Never follow others’ stupidity so blindly.

Not all unis mark blind. I'm doing a degree with the Ou and on my degree the guidance is that you put your name in the file name of the tma - on some other ou degrees they don't ask for that information

You need to reach out to the Uni support staff, personal tutor, pastoral care, etc to get help and support. You have options. You can change course, you can start again, you can change university. Or the worst case scenario, you can give it up and find a college course or apprenticeship instead. PLEASE don't cheat - you'll almost certainly get caught and then with that against your record, your options WILL be affected.

That’s a ridiculous risk to take. You’re better off hiring someone to teach you the subject matter.

That's not allowed at some unis either

I remember when this happened, although all the original pages no longer exist.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/03/31/busted-bogus-paper

Really OP, don't do it. You are likely to be caught - unis really do have ways of finding this - and even if you're not, it's worse than pointless gaining a qualification based on stuff you can't do, for reasons that should be obvious.

Not every student uses AI!!!

Obviously 🙄

Quite aside from the ethical issues involved in using essay mills/contract cheating etc, it's a really stupid thing to do. Generally, the quality is pretty poor and you end up having to do it yourself anyway at the last minute and then they blackmail you.

I deal with academic misconduct. One of the last cases we dealt with was because if a report from the contract cheater because the student couldn't afford to pay the additional blackmail charge. The student didn't use the essay that was written as it was rubbish so paid the original cost, did the assignment herself at the last minute, dealt with the stress of the blackmail and then failed the module as simply contacting contract cheaters is serious academic misconduct even if you don't follow through with the commission or if you don't use it if you did purchase.

So no, I wouldn't recommend it.

Lecturers aren't idiots. It's pretty easy to check for AI in essays

Unfortunately most of them do. Which would be fine if they used it as an aid to learning but they don't, they use it to replace learning.

Most of the academic misconduct cases I deal with these days involve unauthorised use of AI.

I know how you feel. I had no choice over my degree course as it was funded by my employer. I loathed every minute of it. But now it’s done, I’m proud of myself and I can say I did it myself.

If you can type 'Write a 2000 word essay on the economic causes of WW1' into ChatGPT, so can your lecturers. Anx they will have...

Tutors know their students, their capabilities and aptitude, how much they engage in lectures, how well they do in coursework.

if they suddenly hand in a piece of work that in no way aligned to what the tutors know about them, then they will start putting the pieces of the jigsaw together.

theyre not daft, you know.

and why bother cheating, you're only cheating on yourself at the end of the day. But ok your life your choice 🤷‍♀️

unis ran anti plagiarism software when I did my degree and post- grad (eg Turnitin) so it's going to be 1000 times more sophisticated now.

How do you know they are doing the work, rather than AI? It must be tough, good luck with your decision and the consequences, including being accountable to your own conscience.

You haven't answered any of the questions around why you would want to do this in the first place, or what you are struggling with / overwhelmed by / can't be arsed to do. Are you depressed? What else do you need to be sorting out in your life so you don't feel this?

What does having a degree give you?

Clearly cheating or paying someone else to do the work for you is a terrible idea -- it's like those people who pay others to run with their smart watches and then upload their runs on strava. WTAF is that about? Having a degree is a qualification that shows persistence, determination and engagement all of which are v valuable in the workplace. Workshy can't be arsed not so much.

If you were “pretty sure” you weren’t going to do it you wouldn’t even have started this thread! You still haven’t answered the perfectly reasonable questions of what it is that you are struggling with – are you also working whilst trying to do a degree, not understanding the material, have health issues, something else? If you have legitimate extenuating circumstances you may be able to get an extension but otherwise you have to ask yourself seriously if you don’t understand the material and are not going to put the work in yourself how are you planning on working in this field when you graduate?

If you were “pretty sure” you weren’t going to do it you wouldn’t even have started this thread! You still haven’t answered the perfectly reasonable questions of what it is that you are struggling with – are you also working whilst trying to do a degree, not understanding the material, have health issues, something else? If you have legitimate extenuating circumstances you may be able to get an extension but otherwise you have to ask yourself seriously if you don’t understand the material and are not going to put the work in yourself how are you planning on working in this field when you graduate?

If you were “pretty sure” you weren’t going to do it you wouldn’t even have started this thread! You still haven’t answered the perfectly reasonable questions of what it is that you are struggling with – are you also working whilst trying to do a degree, not understanding the material, have health issues, something else? If you have legitimate extenuating circumstances you may be able to get an extension but otherwise you have to ask yourself seriously if you don’t understand the material and are not going to put the work in yourself how are you planning on working in this field when you graduate?

Don't do it, it isn't worth it and your degree will be a fraud. Can you explain what the issues you're having are? Maybe people can give you some constructive help.
University can be difficult for so many reasons and feels like the end of the world if something goes wrong but there is so much support out there, you just need to know where to look.

First year usually doesn’t count anyway.
Unis are really hot on AI now (maybe not so much two years ago but it’s come on a lot)/ my DS has to sign a form with every piece of coursework he submits to say he hasn’t used AI - although they are allowed it for research purposes but not to write anything - so to look up relevant papers etc.
If you cheat you may get caught, plus you’ll feel shit about it and won’t ‘deserve’ your degree. Speak to your personal tutor if you’re struggling.