in a total dilema here what would you do?

elantan

hey everyone,
little bit of background for you all so that you know where i am coming from...i'm 34 1/2 i am studying biological sciences at college through swap with a guaranteed placement at uni...i have always wanted to go to uni since i was a kid....due to family c r a p didnt get the chance to....it has taken me till this time to be able to get to this stage in life..so i have very happily loved every second of college i dont live a student life exactly... i still work full time(gotta still pay mortgage and bills etc) on the night shift (when i study) it isnt easy i knew this before i even attempted to try for college and i am managing (my hubby who is and always has been an amazing person)has taken up the slack with household chores etc supporting me all the way ...theoretically i could not wish for anything better(except to not have to work) i was in college the other day ..we had a visitor from the uni who explained that if we managed to get our honours degree we could look forward to(if we were lucky enough to get one) a job paying £19,000 which will go up as you go up the wage scale etc..then said ...this is good dont you think? out of my class i am the only one of a more mature (34 shoot me now) age ..i said "no i think is absolutley mince" when asked why i explained that my hubby (who is one of the most intelligent people i have ever met ...just not academically)left school without any qualifications and has only ever read one book in his life earns a damb sight more than that and i earn near enough that why would i want to get into 5 years of student debt (avid member of dfw and proud)to just earn a tiny bit more go without sleep have to rely on my hubby to support me through..and not have a guaranteed job at the end of it ..why would i want to do this?..she then went on to say .."but that is starting wage you will work your way up"....in her defence i think she forgot that she was talking to a 34 year old and not a kid(hey i look young lol) i then replied with the ...oh you mean the 20 plus hours over time unpaid the work home unpaid just to prove you can do it so you can get the money story ...i've been there done that ..(maybe i'm just cynical)..by the time i graduate i will be nearly 40 what chance do i have?....anyway...i digress and could go on (as i'm sure you have gathered) what would you do ?...would you go to uni? or just say na not worth it?....



sorry for going on ..this has been going round my head for a while now ..and i know it's my decision but would appreciate some opinions..thanks

sgx.saint

I don't think anyone can make this decision for you, but only provide their views and opinions on the positives and negatives.

I think everyone has a right to higher education (University) and I, a mature student also(24) am absolutely loving my time at University. It sounds like you really enjoy college which leads me to believe you will absolutely love University.

If you can afford to goto University i.e. still pay rent, bills etc then I say go for it.

19K is a an averageish starting wage for a graduate, but you will have so much more to offer than just you degree when you graduate. You have years of work experience which means you will be in a greater position to negotiate for a higher salary.

Anyway, thats just my few thoughts, its a bit late and im tired

elantan

sgx i really appreciate your thoughts...i know only i can decide and i do love college..and i know i will love uni ...and i desperately want to learn more about everything and anything....this has just been going roung in my head so much ..my hubby doesnt want me to go for many reasons...but the one he vocalises is that he feels it is too much for me (and he may be right) but knowing our relationship much as i love him i need some unbiased opinion ...and i thank you for giving me that....

elantan

hey and at 24 you are a young pup ...i'm thinking of caledonian uni in glasgow..i noticed your teeside where do you go to if i'm not being to personal?

Tustastic

Elantan, I hope to start a part-time first degree in February and I am over ten years older than you. I have been in the workforce for decades and have climbed more than one greasy pole successfully. Just tonight I was telling somebody about my degree course plans and they assumed I was doing an MA, based on what they knew about my age and work history. I am doing it because I want those letters after my name and I want the intellectual challenge. I have already earned the high salaries and had the higher status jobs. I have also learned that there are more important things in life. The degree is for me. That said, if in future I want to climb another greasy pole, this time round I will have the degree under my belt and I won't have to jump through extra hoops to prove that I am capable of a job.
In terms of pay, life is often unfair. The most responsibility I have ever had in my life is when I was nursing. I was responsible for people's survival, I had to front up to professors and I was paid pennies. People with far fewer qualifications and responsibility wouldn't get out of bed for that pay. But the degree is a way of showing yourself that you do have the brains to cut it. You are on the right track and I wish you all the best.:)

elantan

tustastic,...this may sound corny and stupid ..but in your short message you have put into words exactly what i feel and think ....i too am currently responsible for peoples survival i have had the sh!tty jobs the !!!!!! pay and scraped by and struggled and after we got our talk i was thinking....well i have proved that i have what it takes ..man i got 29/30 for a chem test (my week subject but thanks to a fantastic teacher i have learned) i am proud of what i have achieved so far ..i need to think not of the money but of the sense of personal worth ..i swore to myself when i got through the !!!!!! of my childhood that i would never be lying on my death bed saying "i wish " i want to lie there (hoping a bit here) thinking wow ...thank you both from the bottom of my heart ..i am not going to say here and now that i wont have doubts i know i will ..as we all do ..but both of you have shown me exactly what i needed an outside opinion to point out....

elantan

it had even got that bad this week that i didnt study thinking wht is the point..and i dont like to give in to anything...but that did knock the wind out of me....

Tustastic

Elantan, you are investing in yourself and proving something to yourself. It is great that your OH is supporting you, even if they have complicated feelings about you doing the degree. In a few years time you will be a graduate and you may decide to knock out an MA or MBA related to whatever career path you are on at the time. From what I've heard, struggling to do a degree is easier than getting your prior experience APEL'd. Best of British luck to you!

pboae

I first left school when I was 16, if I had stayed in that job I'd be earning 2 or 3 times what I earn now, but I may have ended up smacking my head against a filing cabinet out of sheer boredom.

I went back to college, sometimes working, sometimes studying, sometimes both. Wracked up more debt that I care to think about, and now have an insecure poorly paid job. But I loved studying, and I love my job, and that has made it worth it for me.

Looking back logically, I should never have gone back, and sometimes I do really regret it, but when I think where I would be if I hadn't, I know it was the right choice for me.

lisa_75

I am also a mature student in my third year. Uni for me has never been about career or money. It has been about personal growth and proof I could do it. One of my tutors once said to me that it is such a shame that so many students are there for the job at the end of it, not to learn for learning’s sake.

If you are going to uni just for the high salary, don’t bother as you won’t enjoy it. It is a hard slog and you have to be committed to more than just the £ signs.

It is the best thing I ever did. If I get a great job at the end of it, fantastic. If not, I am not too bothered as I have made friends for life and learnt so much about myself.

jennybear

One of my friends left school and got a job with the civil service, worked his way up a few stages, very decent wages but no job satisfaction, he didnt want to still be doing what he was doing until he retired and even though he had worked his way up, he felt like he was drifting and had no real direction. He saved up a bit of money, jacked in his job, did a foundation year in uni and then a media/computing degree. He graduated last year when he was in his thirties with absolutely no regrets. He always said to me 'Id rather have tried it and ended up back in the civil service four years on, knowing that if it hadnt worked out, I tried, rather than wondering "what if"'. If you feel you would like to try uni - go for it - you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Oh and my friend now has another pretty well paid job tutoring adult education classes in the subjects he covered in his degree!!