Your thoughts on university

**professor~yaffle**

claire21 wrote: »

I feel quite out of touch with the subject.

I'm 46 never went, both parents never went, all done well for ourselves.

Have 3 kids the eldest being 14

See in my head going back if you met someone that went to uni you were really impressed, you thought wow they are bright. They were like the cream on the milk.

It just seems to me like so many go now that it's not "special" anymore?

I met parents and it's the be all and end all that there kids make it to uni.

What are your thoughts, do you have to go now to get a decent job, is there no working your way up in a job anymore?

My 3 kids go to private school all about just over average in school sets eg no super bright child (debate not about that please) but I have no urge that they go to uni, only if they want to. But should I be thinking they have to in this day and age to get somewhere?

These days university is just like an extension of school, albeit a rather expensive one! A degree is seen as a kind of 'passport' to get a job. The £30 000 debt is sold by the Powers that Be as an investment for the child's future, but given the number of out-of-work graduates, many of whom have done mickey mouse degrees, I'd take that with a hefty pinch of salt.

I think you are right in not being too fussed about whether or not your kids 'go to uni'. University used to be for the small number of people who were gifted academically, and a degree was really worth something. Those days are gone, sadly.

claire21

Ciderwithrosie

Your son knew what he wanted to do and what he needs to get. That sounds great.

I have a fear of them not having a clue what they want to do (like me at 18) so how are they ment to decide what they want to do at uni if they go?

I can see the more I write the more I think how I was back then and perhaps wrongly think my kids will be the same as me.

poet123

claire21 wrote: »

Ciderwithrosie

Your son knew what he wanted to do and what he needs to get. That sounds great.

I have a fear of them not having a clue what they want to do (like me at 18) so how are they ment to decide what they want to do at uni if they go?

I can see the more I write the more I think how I was back then and perhaps wrongly think my kids will be the same as me.

When they take their subject options in year 9 that narrows down their choices and should produce an idea of where their interests lie.

At private schools there are usually careers seminars, opportunities for go to work with a parent days etc. Have you asked them to think about the future? We did that when ours were taking their options, yes, they may change their minds later but we found it opened the thought processes.

flea72

Working you way up on the job is a rarity nowadays and even a bottom end degree, will get you higher/quicker up the ladder than someone who has been in a job straightt from school/6th form (even tho they prob know the job inside out)

Also uni isnt all about partying, debt or gaining a first. You now need a degree for most jobs within the nhs, so nursing, midwifery, physio, etc. nhs pay for your tution/living so you should leave with no debt and unsocial shift patterns allow for very little partying

I wouldnt encourage a child to go to uni, if they werent that acaedemic and are likely to just go into min wage work anyway. However, if my child had fair intelligence and was undecided about a career path, then i would suggest uni as an option as it would give them breathing space to find themself and would give them a transferrable qualification, so wouldnt be a waste of time/money

Like you, uni wasnt a consideration for anyone within my family, you got a job and did your best. I finally got a degree in my 40s. Given the choice, id rather have attained it while still young and carefree, as compared to da yoof on my course, im still going to be at a disadvantage for career progression, but on the otherhand i bring life/social skills to my work that they lack

So, if your child has bigger aims, than just ticking by, in a dead end job, then i would def encourage them to go to uni.

claire21

Professor Yaffle

You think those days are gone too, I really don't want to upset anyone with a degree as I know they must be very proud to have it and worked hard.

But if those days have gone why are we saying you have to have it (in quite a lot of circumstances) ? Eg employers

Do employers think a degree today is the same as a degree 30/40 years ago?

I do think it shows you "stuck at something" and "saw it through" which I see as a quality when employing someone.

gunsandbanjos

I would advise going to university if the career you wish to pursue requires it. I certainly wouldn't go for the sake of going. There are lot of people with degrees that haven't got them anything other than a boat load of debt.

zagubov

Can I draw your attention to this earlier thread on this topic? Post #43 by Simon11 has excellent advice about how to use your degree for preparing for work.

It does matter to a lot of people where a degree is taken and what subject it is. Numerate degrees involving Science/Technology/Engineering and/or Maths (the "STEM" subjects) seem to be regarded as more serious than some other courses.

It's also almost down to the age of the institution, the newer ones are sometimes regarded maybe as having less of a track record. Courses taken at Russell Group universities are often regarded highly. Other universities with medical schools (e.g St Andrews) are also generally regarded as serious, and for former polys STEM degrees are regarded highly as well.

Some universities have special degrees in multiple subjects (e.g. Keele) or with time in industry (e.g.Bath).

The more a subject looks like one of the old-fashioned school subjects the more likely it is to appeal to a wide range of employers. On the other hand if you want a particular field of employment you pick somewhere that specialises in it, whether it's new or old.

barbarawright

When I left school in the 80s, it was fairly easy to get a white collar job with prospects on the basis of a couple of A-levels. Rightly or wrongly, those days are long gone and people need a degree to get an entry to banking or insurance or the junior ranks of the civil service or many other things. If they don't want to go to uni, that's fine - plenty of jobs don't require it. But there are very few people who will employ 18 year olds unless it's a specific practical apprenticeship. Sadly, getting a job where you can work your way through exams really isn't as easy as it was 30 years ago.

Alikay

My 3 children are 20, 23 and 25 and didn't go to uni. Not that they weren't bright enough (all got 11 or more GCSE's at A* and A) just that they chose different paths.
One became a nurse (OK, technically went to uni, but a vocational course in our home city rather than an academic course), one got an apprenticeship, worked for himself and is now a web designer down in the heart of Tech City, London, and the youngest has been in the RAF for 2 years.

I did feel a bit uncomfortable about it for a while, as most of our peers sent their kids off to good redbrick uni's, and I wondered if I should've forced the issue with them. However they're all happy, independent and doing well in the careers they've chosen. We always stress that learning is not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and that should they want to, there is always the chance to change direction and go to uni as an mature student, and we'd give them the same level of support and encouragement at 30/40 as we would've done at 18.

claire21

poet123 wrote: »

When they take their subject options in year 9 that narrows down their choices and should produce an idea of where their interests lie.

At private schools there are usually careers seminars, opportunities for go to work with a parent days etc. Have you asked them to think about the future? We did that when ours were taking their options, yes, they may change their minds later but we found it opened the thought processes.

The 14 year old really had no idea, he plays an xbox, watches films, plays football with his mates...all kid stuff no outside school hobbies (he's not home till 6.30) he has no idea about his future. He picked his subjects inc business studies and a computer related course (not sure of the title of it now, which were new subjects, history and because these subjects fell within "one box" ment he dropped geography. Doing French etc.

We have just had work experience week ....nightmare trying to find something, he wanted to do something computer related, I queried that as he doesn't show "an interest" outside of school eg I bought him a raspberry pi (I have no idea what it is) for Xmas but he hasn't done anything with it. You know how some kids grow up, taking a bike apart, fiddling with a car etc well he's not one of them, no enquiring mind. (Which was like me, so I can't be disappointed it would have just been easier if you had a clue what they are into) anyway after lots of phone calls we couldn't find a computer place to take him (small village etc not near a big town) so times running out, I phone the national trust as I thought mmm that would be interesting everyday something different and he was out with the volunteers and rangers and he LOVED it. He's not an outdoorsy adventure type person so I was very pleased he enjoyed it so much.