MSE Parents Club Part 15

tarajayne

We knew some people who's son was 28 and had only ever been to uni since college. Just before they moved from here he got a job but after 4wks didn't like it so had applied to go uni again. He got in and they were funding it again from the sale of the house. As far as I know her hubby was not best pleased but she gave him the money.

delain

I was going to go to uni then DD1 (then 2 and 3, and now 4) arrived and delayed everything :rotfl:

aless02

Hmmm, this is a hard debate to weigh in on, because I did my undergraduate in the USA at a private university (much higher fees) and my postgraduate in the UK paying extortionate international student's fees! In the USA, the funding available in the form of grants & scholarships is much higher, BUT we don't have the same sort of loans available either. Our loans have higher interest and payback is not linked to earnings . They are also capped and only available for tuition, not living expenses. I was extremely lucky in that I got enough scholarship/grant money both from the government and my university that my parents were able to pay the rest via installments from their savings. I will be grateful for the rest of my life that they did this for me. However, I paid for my postgraduate myself - tuition was paid via a loan which I will be stuck with at least 10 years and is NOT low-interest and my living expenses were paid through my personal savings and working! I worked all 5 years of my education, summertimes too. My degree is totally 'useless' but I did it because it's something I was passionate about learning about. I think government initiatives are causing more problems than they are solving - people should only go to uni if they want to or desire a profession that *needs* it. Apprenticeships are definitely something I think we need more of - plus greater support and pushes for vocational educations.

Half the problem is employers...DH didn't go to uni and hates it because SO many employers say they want people with degrees even if the job is not remotely specialised or does anything that someone who didn't go to uni couldn't do. It's ridiculous. There needs to be greater recognition for things like NVQs, diploma, whatever...

SusanC_2

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Thats mostly why I never went, I could think of a few courses I would happily have done, but they served no purpose, wasnt sure i even wanted a job in those industries, or what job i would get with any relevance, so I wasnt gonna put that on my parents for me to end up doing the kind of job i did anyway.....

This is why I think the push to get everyone to go to university is silly - it is unecessary for many jobs and implies that those jobs that don't need degrees are less skilled/valuable.

MadDogWoman_2

I've seen a job advertised asking for a Graduate Administrator, paying the same as a normal non-graduate administrator!

SusanC_2

aless02 wrote: »

My degree is totally 'useless' but I did it because it's something I was passionate about learning about. I think government initiatives are causing more problems than they are solving - people should only go to uni if they want to or desire a profession that *needs* it. Apprenticeships are definitely something I think we need more of - plus greater support and pushes for vocational educations.

I don't think your degree is "useless" because there are topics where it is good for society for people to have knowledge of them even if there is no direct application of them into a job/career. There are also many jobs where you need to have a degree because of the skills learned rather than the subject knowldege gained.

tarajayne

And Aless I think your post makes the point perfectly that we are becoming nothing more than a country of 'give me, give me, give me.' Other countrys just accept paying. I'm not saying I think they should be able to charge what they like, and I don't think the 'better' Uni's should become ridicoulously expensive. But if you want to go you pay, and a decent system of how people pay needs bringing in. Set charges per course maybe across the country. Now I don't know how it all works, I've never been so have no idea but I'm sure there must be a way.

bexta

CAFC - you're younger than my lil bro, and you don't come across as dumb.

ethelsmum

Afternoon all .
I've skimmed back but can remember nowt! I didn't go to uni, although I wanted to. I went to college and got A levels etc but the course I wanted to do at uni required a years work experience in that field and I couldn't get any paid work and couldn't afford to volunteer for a year so I went in to admin.
I would love to study a degree part time but can't afford it at the moment.

We have so much snow here its :eek:. Its coming over the top of peoples wellies, theres no buses and no chance we can get off our road in the car so me and baby are snowed in (OH and kids have gone walking in it), so its a pj day.

aless02

MadDogWoman wrote: »

I've seen a job advertised asking for a Graduate Administrator, paying the same as a normal non-graduate administrator!

This is my point - you don't need a degree to be an administrator. It's a new elitism in Britain - major gripe.

SusanC wrote: »

I don't think your degree is "useless" because there are topics where it is good for society for people to have knowledge of them even if there is no direct application of them into a job/career. There are also many jobs where you need to have a degree because of the skills learned rather than the subject knowldege gained.

'useless' in the fact that it doesn't lead to a career, is more what I meant . Yes of course there are jobs where degrees are necessarily due to skills needed, my point was the millions of other jobs where a degree doesn't actually contribute anything to the job other than being a random entry criterion.

tarajayne wrote: »

And Aless I think your post makes the point perfectly that we are becoming nothing more than a country of 'give me, give me, give me.' Other countrys just accept paying. I'm not saying I think they should be able to charge what they like, and I don't think the 'better' Uni's should become ridicoulously expensive. But if you want to go you pay, and a decent system of how people pay needs bringing in. Set charges per course maybe across the country. Now I don't know how it all works, I've never been so have no idea but I'm sure there must be a way.

To be fair, it's been that way in the USA for a long time so families expect it and budget for it from birth. To suddenly change to that sort of system would be a huge shock, so I can sympathise with how young people must feel.

At least it's capped AND kept at flat rates country-wide...in the USA, you really do have to pay to get a better school, which is unfortunate.