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Original poster

is University education really overrated?

242 replies

lovethehighlands · 18/08/2022 22:05

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?

OP posts:
Fairislefandango · 18/08/2022 22:36

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

What, all of them? So we don't need any teachers, doctors, lawyers, scientists etc then? What a daft attitude!

Newsflash - not everybody wants to do a manual job. I had no interest in starting a business. I had the absolute time of my life at university, and couldn't have done the job I've done for 25 years without my degree. Both my dc want to go to university. They don't want to be plumbers or carpenters!

I honestly don't think you have a clue what you're talking about.

EarthSight · 18/08/2022 22:38

Come on OP. Tell us all how much your OH earns. You know you want to.

SheilaWilde · 18/08/2022 22:39

If nothing else it might teach you how to punctuate.

comeonangel · 18/08/2022 22:40

lovethehighlands · 18/08/2022 22:26

NHS outsources loads of staff from abroad. i dont know what jobs you think these kids will get. its too much of a downpayment on a job you wouldnt get.

couldnt 50K be used to open a business?

Show quote history

This truly makes no sense. The NHS definitely employ staff who have trained at universities abroad.

Engineers, social workers and scientists (most, at least) don't work for the NHS. They still need to go to university to learn how to do those jobs; they can't pick up those skills from talking to mates or learning from family members like your DH did to learn his trade.

Discovereads · 18/08/2022 22:40

is University education really overrated?

In some circles it is over-rated, but in this case OP you are seriously under-rating the value of a university education.

JubileeTissues · 18/08/2022 22:41

It's results day. She was giving you her good news.

Can't believe you said "my boyfriend is a master carpenter" in response 🤣 cringing for you.

sittingonacornflake · 18/08/2022 22:41

Also the whole 'couldn't use you use £50k to start a business' doesn't work.

The loans you take out to fund university aren't really loans. Think of them as more a 'graduate tax'. The repayments are a tax you essentially pay directly from your earnings after graduation provided you earn a high enough amount.

If you never earn enough to pay it all back it's written off after so long.

An 18 year old fresh out of a levels can get a 'loan' to fund uni fees, but wouldn't be likely to get a £50k loan to start a business.

Crikeyalmighty · 18/08/2022 22:41

OP- I come from a family where my dad had a very skilled trade and yes we earnt well and had a lifestyle that say 2 high up teachers would have but he had arthritis by the time he was 46 .

Not everyone bases their education on what it brings to the wallet- some do, some do not.

My son who is bright still chose the apprenticeship route in IT and at 24 is ahead of friends who graduated 2 years ago-

The lady was just proud- don't piss on her chips or it makes it look like you have a chip on your shoulder

TobyEsterhase · 18/08/2022 22:42

MigsandTiggs · 18/08/2022 22:34

This.
And many tradesmen use accountants....who need a degree.

Show quote history

I am an accountant and don't have a degree

An accountancy degree is worth diddly squat on its own: passing your professional exams is what matters

pointythings · 18/08/2022 22:43

You sound like someone with a massive chip on their shoulder. Today was results day. Your friend was allowed to be excited about her DS' achievements and you just pissed all over her - very bad manners indeed.

As for the debt - it isn't debt in the sense that the bailiffs will come after you if you don't pay it, and you know that very well. So stop being a bloody reverse snob about it.

It takes all kinds to make a world. Different paths take different types of education. There's no point in anyone looking down at anyone else.

EarthSight · 18/08/2022 22:45

The more I read your posts, the more insecure I think you are. Good on you for setting this woman straight OP! 😂

Honestly, I suspect that you are the same type who would put 'University of Life' on their profile.

TeeBee · 18/08/2022 22:46

Personally, I'd sooner be educated and I'd sooner my children be educated. University broadens the mind and makes people grow up.
I don't think any path someone chooses is wrong. You sound bitter and spiteful to be honest.

Discovereads · 18/08/2022 22:48

The loans you take out to fund university aren't really loans. Think of them as more a 'graduate tax'. The repayments are a tax you essentially pay directly from your earnings after graduation provided you earn a high enough amount. If you never earn enough to pay it all back it's written off after so long.

Martin Lewis has a lot to answer for with this deceptive meme.

Student loans are loans. Really, they are. They are not a “graduate tax” because for one guess what you still owe the money back even if you drop out and never graduate. It’s also not a “tax” because taxes are form of government revenues, and your student loan repayments aren’t going to the government but to a private corporation.

If you never earn enough to pay it back plus interest by the end of the loan term then the remaining balance is paid off by the government using taxpayer (our) money

SheilaWilde · 18/08/2022 22:50

I'm assuming you're not that bothered about being able to access healthcare, education for your children, solicitors/lawyers. Yeah let's just say 'fuck it' to Higher Education. Your post makes no sense, all jobs should be valued equally but the route to some necessitates going to university.

Despairingof · 18/08/2022 22:50

Given you are relatives, the student in question is also your relative. Couldn’t you have just been happy for him and indulged his proud mum
moment for one day?

MigsandTiggs · 18/08/2022 22:53

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

That's harsh and downright incorrect. In Scotland, uni is free. You're even against people going to college?
If your friend has a good Computer Science degree, something is preventing him from getting a well paid job and it's not his degree!

We do need tradesmen, but also uni educated professionals.
Your post is reverse snobbery.

PeekAtYou · 18/08/2022 22:56

What wrong with just saying "Well done to your son" Your aunt is close minded but pissing on her parade on A-level results day is also pretty crappy.

You obviously can't learn all jobs as an apprentice. People going into health for instance need learning and exams to check they know what they are doing before practicing on real people. Society needs tradespeople but also needs other people like engineers, doctors and lawyers. The latter group needs more than A-levels.

Just because you know medics with the same standard of living as you (actually technically your husband) doesn't mean that their education was wasted. Their strengths and interest were in jobs that involved more education which isn't a bad thing.

Cherchezlaspice · 18/08/2022 22:56

DH and I both have postgraduate degrees that have served us extremely well. However, I remember when we were still studying, we’d quite regularly meet people who seemed angry at the very idea of anyone having the audacity to get a Masters or a PhD. Very aggressively ‘I didn’t go to uni and I’m fine’ and ‘you need to get out in the real world and earn a living’. OP reminds me of these people.

I find it fascinating. Why do they care so much? It’s not their time or their money, so is it just deep seated insecurity? Is it a class thing (I’m not English and the way class distinctions permeate everything here is really interesting)? Is it just rage that everyone isn’t exactly like them?

Leafblow · 18/08/2022 23:02

You didn't put her straight, you pissed on her sons hard work to brag about your husband and came across as a knob.

Some uni degrees are not worth it for the end result, loads are however.
Mine is worth it, I got a bursary so no debt and no course fees and I am not a fool for not wanting to be a carpenter.
I would be a terrible carpenter- I am good at my job, it just happened to require a uni degree.
People are good at different things, yes trades are great and it is a very good career path for people who want to work in the trades- not everyone does.
And not everything is about money, I like the job satisfaction that I get from my job, I am fufilled and challenged and I enjoy the work, even if it is not best paid. I don't think I would enjoy plumbing and I don't have the necessary skills for it, so I am not a plumber.

It is not really that hard, she was excited and proud of her son, you are welcome to be excited and proud of your husband, neither thing is better.

sittingonacornflake · 18/08/2022 23:04

@Discovereads you're right, that should have read 'like a' tax. I assumed it was fairly self explanatory that it wasn't actually a tax but having read your comment I can see that I was unclear. Apologies for that.

Crikeyalmighty · 18/08/2022 23:06

@EarthSight or school of hard knocks. I have no problem with anyone choosing a trade or apprenticeship etc - I do have an issue though with being rude to a proud mum

Discovereads · 18/08/2022 23:07

sittingonacornflake · 18/08/2022 23:04

@Discovereads you're right, that should have read 'like a' tax. I assumed it was fairly self explanatory that it wasn't actually a tax but having read your comment I can see that I was unclear. Apologies for that.

No need to apologise, it’s Martin Lewis who is to blame in all honesty as he calls it “a graduate tax”…when is neither applied to graduates nor a tax.

Wheresmymoneytree · 18/08/2022 23:07

What do you do OP?

I couldn’t do my job without a degree.

I don’t think everyone working in a trade is well thought out either…. If everyone was a carpenter, nobody would pay for a carpenter.

Cocopogo · 18/08/2022 23:11

Your OP is all about your husband but what about you OP. What do you do? What high earning under graduate job do you have?

HoneyIShrunkThePizza · 18/08/2022 23:14

Anyone who makes under £27kish for the rest of their lives (is it 27? Something around there) won't pay it back anyway.

I went to a top 5 university and absolutely loved the experience. It allowed me to learn a subject to a very high level with leaders in the field. Like sex but for the brain. I dropped out midway through for issues unrelated to the course. I earn £55k now aged 30 - my first two employers were both impressed with my uni even though I didn't finish!

My husband didn't finish school and earns more than double what I do in IT.

I both agree and don't agree with you. I think you can earn well without university, but life isn't just about money. Personally I wouldn't be cut out to be a tradie. I have a high stress job but I work from home 3 days a week and my job is easy on my body. I have private health insurance and other benefits that mean illness isn't a worry. If I break my leg skiing I can still earn money. I got 6 months fully paid maternity leave. There are benefits to white collar careers and uni is an easy (yet not the only) way to access them.