should you go to university/higher education without a plan?

Loopy28

I went to uni in my late 20s to study for a degree. I was sick of dead end jobs and wanted better career prospects. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do but knew I was interested in health so opted for a degree to become a health professional.

The advantages for me were
-I enjoyed the three year break from work and I liked the study.
-I improved many skills aside from subject knowledge including improved grammar, I.T skills etc
-As I completed a degree in a profession, I came out qualified to do a job

The disadvantages
-I was quite skint for 3 years
-I left with over 20k student loan debt (although this does not bother me too much now as the repayments are linked to my wages and come directly from my pay)
-I left with overdraft and credit card debt-this did bother me and took many years to pay off, in fact seven years later and I am still paying off my last personal loan which was a consolidation of all debts as there seemed to be a knock on effect and I have another 4 years until I am debt free.
-In the south west where I live, my degree gave me no better chance of getting a decent job in my opinion in area other than my health profession.

I ended up deciding the health profession I trained for wasn't for me. I ended up doing jobs that many non graduates were doing.

It did end up completing my teaching qualification though, which I could not have done without a degree and am now grateful for completing it as I now love my job and earn a good wage.

You need to ensure you study a subject you have an interest in and that can lead to a job you want. Don't be under any illusion that a degree means a decent job. Graduate positions are very competitive.

Running_On_Empty

Cubanista wrote: »

hey,


thanks for the advice everyone. one last question - do you know what other sites can help choose a career? apart from national careers advice service.


thanks,


Cubanista.

Try prospects.ac.uk
It's very comprehensive website aimed at undergrads but don't let that put you off. Try the career planner here:
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/myprospects_planner_login.htm

SavingforDiamonds

If you are going to do a university course without a career in mind, try to do a traditional subject if there are any that you like/are good at (e.g. maths, science, history...) - most employers prefer them to the more modern subjects (e.g. film studies). That will help keep your options open for when you graduate.
Most universities have really good careers services you can use if you are enrolled there, and can give you advice and even put you in touch with graduates who are now working in various fields.

Cubanista

hi again,











so I was thinking about how i am interested in psychology and anthropology, but i have heard that i would need to do a lot of extra training even after getting a degree in both these degrees otherwise it would be hard to find a good job with them.





is this true? has anyone here studied these subjects before? was finding work hard after?





thanks,







Cubanista.

lobbyludd

there are lots of psychology graduates. tons of them. If you want to be a clinical psychologist you'll have to get (very tricky) and complete a 3 year training post. But you shouldn't be asking about that here - look on NHS careers and the college websites about careers in psychology. Having the degree can be useful in marketing/media/business careers but only as a background to relevant experience (and as an aside, I've never known a media degree lead to a job in the media, people who have media jobs have often done russian/ history/ something of a more traditional arts-degree because they were interested in the subject and then interned/joined graduate programs on the basis of studying at a good university.... people with media studies often go straight into entry level sales jobs). Psychology is still in some quarters seen as a soft-option, non numerate pseudo-science degree - where the only valuable learning and experience is at post-grad level (anthropology would be viewed differently I think). Again look at the employment post degree stats - where do people go after the degree?

yes go to university - it's GREAT, but do something you love, go somewhere where the course has a good reputation and a good post-graduation employment and a great careers service and ring them up before you apply and quiz them about what their graduates end up doing - ask if they have mentors/alumni that you can speak to in order to get a feel of the opportunities afterwards....