is University education really overrated?

[lovethehighlands]

a relative came over just to brag how good her son did and the uni he's got and he's going to become some high flying medical engineer or something.

i simply said "my OH is a master carpenter skills he picked up from his family members and helping mates out and we still live comfortably and he did a NVQ at trade colleague"

my OH is in so much in demand as a carpenter/joiner that some people have to wait 3-4 months before they are seen to. lot of the house he's done himself.

surely people who go to University and college are just getting a crappy deal and fools? FIFTY GRAND debt!

why can't kids just become carpenters, plumbers, locksmiths, electricians etc where the money is!

i know people who went university in medical, teaching and they live the same as us. we have a house, we go on holidays, drive a nice car and have a great social life. (although OH is in depression which i've posted but pre covid he did martial arts)

so whats so special about University?

I’ve gone down a rabbit hole, now.

Key graduate salary statistics 2022

• The average graduate salary in the UK in 2022 is £24,291.
• Medicine & dentistry degrees offer the highest average starting salaries at £35,000.
• London graduates earn the most across all UK regions with an average salary of £28,634, whilst grads in Wales earn the least at £22,420.
• Rothschilds offers the highest paid graduate scheme with a £65,000 starting salary.
• Male graduates earn an average of 6% more than their female counterparts.
• Graduates earn an average of £7,000 per year than non-graduates

Average graduate salary per region
Region Starting salary
London £28,634.00
South East £25,755.00
South West £25,199.00
East of England £25,107.00
West Midlands £24,552.00
North East £24,401.00
Scotland £24,082.00
East Midlands £23,233.00
Yorkshire and The Humber £23,170.00
North West £22,912.00
Northern Ireland £22,709.00
Wales £22,420.00

Highest paying graduate schemes
The highest paying graduate schemes in the UK sit within finance and banking, and pay more than double the average starting salary for grads.
Below are the top 10 highest paying graduate schemes currently available in the UK.

1. Rothschilds – Private Finance – £65,000
2. P. Morgan – Investment Banking – £58,000
3. Goldman Sachs – Investment Banking – £52,000
4. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – Investment Banking – £54,000
5. Barclays Capital – Investment Banking – £50,000
6. White and Chase – Legal Services – £50,000
7. British Petroleum (BP) – Oil and Gas – £49,000
8. Baker McKenzie – Legal Services – £48,000
9. The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) – Software – £45,000

10. Aldi – Retail – £44,000

I've never looked into this particularly deeply before, but it’s interesting (I think, at least).

We'll send down a feret to get you out.

Remove the London weighting and London does no better than anywhere else. What is evident is that if you want money then financial services is the way to go.

Comparing a package holiday to the US with a year spent abroad LIVING in another country shows a spectacular lack of understanding of the differences.

University opened up a wealth of opportunities for me, including the chance to live and work in another country, learn another language and culture etc.

DS has just graduated and is starting a grad scheme on £50k+. I hadn't realised this was considered so good! 😮

I don't have sufficient knowledge to know which particular universities are considered 'good' these days, other than in my own city, where there is one that is considered good, one that is unfortunately the butt of jokes, and some unremarkable ones in between.
Nor does my definition count for anything, given any recruitment I'm involved in gives no weight to degrees regardless of where they're from. Though I suppose we would make a certain judgement about the academic ability of someone with a first from Oxbridge, it wouldn't be a factor in whether they got the job.
I should have put 'good' rather than good, because what I meant is those unis that are valued by target employers, and I'm aware that can vary depending on the subject.

I think, taking into account living and housing costs, people starting out in London on circa £28K are actually much worse off than people in Wales on circa £22K.

I found that Aldi entry really interesting, as it’s the only retail entry. Not Lidl or the ‘big boys’, Tesco and Sainsbury's. I wonder if they make up for it with benefits?

I'd love to see this world where everyone's a tradesperson

No doctors, no medical equipment, no computers, no laws!

I wouldn't worry, in this magical world, all tradesmen (they are all men, of course) earn approaching 100k per annum, if not more

I finished uni last year as a 28 year old who was a former prison officer on a shit wage and now make very good money as a family law solicitor so for me no it wasn't a waste of time and its benefited me and my family massively being a single mum its enabled me to give my child the childhood she deserves and my brother is also an extremely sought after criminal barrister at 25 year old!

@AchatAVendre yes, they are. The kind of jobs many, many graduates go in to across the country. I was replying to a pp who said all graduates start on at least £30K, when I know full well they don't.

Thanks @Cherchezlaspice That is interesting. Agree with you it seems surprising to see Aldi in there (although I knew they paid well and had good Management schemes, I didn't think they would be top 10)

Pls what's your source for these figures? @Cherchezlaspice

You are wrong here. You have featured solely public sector roles and forgotten private sector is significantly higher and proportionally is much more of the market.

Crikey op I’ve read your other thread and no wonder you’re defensive if you’re going through all that with him.

OP sounds bigoted with a huge chip on her shoulder.

I'm a big fan of trades - builders, carpenters and electricians round here earn a fortune. They live better than I do!
I can also say that going to uni is cool too. We need both.
Plus my son just got his A-level results and if you can't be happy for somebody who studied very hard to get good grades and off to uni and there's something wrong with you.
But her suggestion of just starting a business with £50k is ridiculous , most would fail. Most do.

Op sounds sanctimonious and a bit dim. Her new job isn't that great. Is she earning what a graduate does? And her OH has depression. So without those uni kids, he'd never have got help from a GP, consultant or counsellor. So don't throw stones!

You are wrong here. You have featured solely public sector roles and forgotten private sector is significantly higher and proportionally is much more of the market.

How does not including private sector figures (which are not so easy to just find for a MN thread) make me wrong ?
A poster (much) earlier in the thread said all graduates start on £30k.
Clearly they don't.
I mean, I know over a dozen young people in their 20s who have graduated well enough to know their approx salaries, and none of them started on any thing above £26K (including non public sector)
I know probably a dozen more who have not been able to get "graduate jobs" at all so are on considerably less.
I have not said there are people who don't start on £30K or more, but it is FACT that not all graduates start on £30K or more. That is a fact, backed up with evidence which anyone can check. It is not wrong.

When I got a place at University many years ago, all my female cousins came round to tell me it was a waste of time and I could earn more as a typist. They were really angry. I laughed and got packing for Uni. I had a great time, and a completely different life with so many opportunities that would not have come my way as a typist.

all my female cousins came round to tell me it was a waste of time and I could earn more as a typist

What silly, mean-spirited girls. Some people just like to piss on other people's chips when they see them achieving something and are jealous. Tall poppy syndrome.

Didn't realize there are trump-voters kind in the u.k too……………