if you don't get into a Russell Group university, skip going altogether

wimblewomble_2

More broadly speaking, people were sold on the idea of getting a degree to get better job prospects.
But now, almost every other person has a degree is something or other.

Recent BBC article suggests as much as a third of UK workers are over-qualified for the job they are doing.
What that usually means is not earning enough to be able to pay off the debts they have incurred.

I dont envy those having to make a decision about going to uni or not, Russell Group or not.

Can't really comment about RG unis, but in the field of computing, employers just want ability and experience over uni or degree grades, unless the role demands a specific skill-set, such as artificial intelligence (usually defence-related roles), economics (for programming trading algorithms for banks), etc.

Simon11

I went to Brunel university which is an average university, however they have a very strong link with employers and heavily promote year work placements.

Through this I managed to get a whole year experience of work and taking a few jumps in my career, I'm earning £40k before the age of 25 + bonuses.

You don't need to go to a top university, its all about relevant work experience AND networking.

Finally, don't let poor A Level results get in your way, I only got BBCC!

Diggs.

I actually think people are under-playing the "which uni" issue here tbh. I expect there are plenty of employers/sectors in respect of which it's true to say that the uni an applicant went to doesn't matter. But there are also plenty to whom it is an issue.

I've worked in 2 professions (accountancy and law), and assisted graduate recruitment in both. Within all of my employers, the uni applicants went to was a factor that was considered in the cv filtering process and, to a lesser extent, at later stages of the recruitment process. Law, for example, is a rigorous subject. But employers have confidence that a graduate who has studied law at, eg, York and come out with a good grade has been thoroughly put through their paces and proven a certain level of commitment and academic ability. They don't automatically have that same level of confidence in the same degree awarded by a former poly.

Even several years down the line from entry level, a lot of firms specify that they want applicants who studied at a certain calibre of uni.

I'm not trying to be harsh, and as I said before this is only one factor. However, given the we don't know what field the OP wants to go into, I think it's a little naive to suggest that the uni s/he went to won't be relevant to employers. As I say, I hope this doesn't come across as me trying to be discouraging - but if you don't know the obstacles you face, you're not going to be well prepared to overcome them!!