dont understand degrees anymore

hello007007 · 21 August 2017 at 9:59PM

I was on thread regarding how much does a 30 year old has saved.

I was horrified to read about people buried in uni debt and on 20k a year at 30 odd years old etc..., one can get a job with that wage without a degree for example, a full time postman in our area is on 23k. Then there were people on 65k a year and only 25 years old.

What stood out to me the amount of university students on lower salaries. I didn't go to university myself, as a result back in 2000 I thought I would be skint all my life. I am currently not working however, I would be on about 40k full time in my industry (experienced makeup artist for TV and film). My husband went to university and also started his Masters degree before dropping out due to me getting pregnant - he is now a postman.

My son is 15 years old this year. We have spoken about education before however I feel unexperienced in advising him what is the best route. My belief that UNIVERSITY = SUCCESS does add up anymore to me.

What I don't want to do is leave his future solely to him to decide on, he does even know what he wants to do. I feel their should be some guideness (not pressure) from parents.

Is the traditional university route worth it anymore?

dawyldthing · 21 August 2017 at 10:06PM

I really think it depends what you want to do. Teachers, doctors etc need a degree but a lot of things you don't need one

TELLIT01 · 21 August 2017 at 10:15PM

This all stems from some idiot in Government some years back having the bright idea that 50% of the population would benefit from having a university degree. The fact that nothing like 50% of jobs either require degrees, or would benefit from employing a person with a degree, was ignored. The result was dozens if not hundreds of 'degree' courses in subjects which didn't give the recipients any better chance of employment than had they gone straight into work when leaving school. It can even be argued that the degree makes them less employable as they are hitting the job market at a higher age, with elevated pay expectations but no experience.

stuartJo1989 · 21 August 2017 at 10:29PM

Quite a lot of professional entry level jobs (IT/office based etc) consider a 2:1 degree as the absolute minimum these days.

Plus, the debt you end up in is effectively *free* because you'll never pay it back if you end up in a 20k/year job. Simply a write-off!

I think that university is helpful if you have a plan, but if you are going to uni for the sake of it then it won't be as useful (but is a pretty good doss).

boliston · 21 August 2017 at 10:39PM

I don't think university is purely about "learning" as it also helps people become more independent as they will usually be living alone for the first time in their life, often in a strange city where they will not have the comfort zone of nearby friends and relatives. A lot of it is about acquiring useful life skills as much as academic study.

theoretica · 22 August 2017 at 12:23AM

University can be very useful for financial/life success - but it isn't the only way and all Universities and courses are not equal and nor will all students benefit equally from the same course. Work hard and do well at an engineering degree and the chances are employers will appreciate this. Scrape through with the minimum of last minute effort in a degree in Klingon and I imagine this would be less use to further your career.

bugslet · 22 August 2017 at 8:46AM

I took on a 23 year old as an artic driver, he earns over 40k - admittedly long hours and away from home, but he's happy in his job. He left school at 16.

Of course he is unlikely to move from driving to anything else, though it is possible; my ops manager was a truck driver. Then again, seems to be a lot of people with degrees that will never earn what he does.

I wouldn't mind university degrees coming from general taxation at previous levels say, 15% ish, but not at 40% ish of school leavers, which is what it is now. So many degrees that aren't needed.

As for life experience, try being an 18 year old girl driving a forklift in a groupage yard, all of life was there:eek::D

Kynthia · 22 August 2017 at 10:08AM

While it is possible to get a good paying job without a degree, many fields do require a degree. These of the jobs then offer the chance to progress to earning more than a postman over time. So a lot depends on what career you want.

martinsurrey · 22 August 2017 at 10:19AM

hello007007 wrote: »

Is the traditional university route worth it anymore?

Yes it is.

but let me caveat that.

The "traditional" uni route was the best and brightest doing academic courses that lead to jobs that require those academic skills.

If you can see your son being a business leader of the future (or any other position of influence), a degree in a rigorous subject (so not golf course management) will do him the world of good.

Its not the subject content that really matters, its the soft skills around logical/critical thinking, research, deadline management that really matter.

I find the current obsession with going to Uni a bit silly, there is nothing wrong with learning a trade, and most trades will earn a lot more than a lot of media graduates.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser · 22 August 2017 at 10:24AM

A good degree in a good subject from a good university is still extremely valuable.

A poor degree in a Mickey Mouse subject from a poor university is worth a lot less than three years work experience.

ReadingTim · 22 August 2017 at 10:31AM

There are too many people going to university who frankly, shouldn't. Equally, there are too many institutions which call themselves 'universities' which frankly, aren't. And at the end of the process, there are too many jobs which claim to require a degree which frankly, don't.

University should be for the intellectual elite - to say 50% of the population should go is like saying 50% of the population should play for the national football team or compete in the Olympics.

Personally, I'm glad these sky high fees are making some question the value of what they're paying for, because many have been sold a lie as to what their 'degree' will get them - a lifetime of debt, some of which will never be repaid, a worthless 'degree', and not even the intellectual and educational experience university should offer.

That said, given the OP specifically asked about "the traditional university route", I would still say yes, if it was a "traditional", ie Russell Group university. Much below that and I suggest you'd have to think pretty seriously about whether it's worth going.

dont understand degrees anymore

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