Are degrees in the UK value for money?

economic

SingleSue wrote: »

And you are not getting my point either, by doing what she has, she has a better chance of making a success of her life than if she had done nothing. It is better to have tried and then failed than to not try at all.

It's still early days post degree for her, in 10 years time things could be a whole lot different.

My boys are a prime example of trying to do the impossible, we were told there was no point in trying educationally with them, the task was just too great but I wouldn't listen and it was a good thing I didn't just give up. Middle son is at university and not in prison (where he was likely headed) and youngest son, despite us being told he would never be able to go to a mainstream high school let alone do GCSEs, not only went to one but has also completely obliterated all predictions, got his A levels (top of his year, not one single mark dropped) and is also at university and working at a first level.

We didn't know if it would pay off, if we were wasting our time and it certainly wasn't cost effective for me (as I said, I gave up a very well paying career to do it) but we had to take the risk, we had to at least try even if everything appeared stacked against it being a success.

let me try another approach with you. a bit extreme but that should help you understand my point.

every week for the past 3 years i pay £1 for a lottery ticket in order to try to be more comfortable financially. i never win anything. but at least i am trying right? and so i should continue to buy lottery tickets.

Arklight

economic wrote: »

let me try another approach with you. a bit extreme but that should help you understand my point.

every week for the past 3 years i pay £1 for a lottery ticket in order to try to be more comfortable financially. i never win anything. but at least i am trying right? and so i should continue to buy lottery tickets.

She understands your point, she just thinks it's ridiculous.


At least you appear to have moved on from eugenics. Which is at least some progress.

SingleSue

westernpromise wrote: »

They vote Labour to be given other people's money. They then applaud themselves without irony for their own fairness, decency and freedom from greed.

Not my children.....nor I.

SingleSue

economic wrote: »

let me try another approach with you. a bit extreme but that should help you understand my point.

every week for the past 3 years i pay £1 for a lottery ticket in order to try to be more comfortable financially. i never win anything. but at least i am trying right? and so i should continue to buy lottery tickets.

Completely different thing actually, no effort goes into it at all, so can hardly be called trying. A degree, even one that attracts derision on here takes effort, organisation, dedication and despite all that is believed, some measure of intellect..

economic

SingleSue wrote: »

Completely different thing actually, no effort goes into it at all, so can hardly be called trying. A degree, even one that attracts derision on here takes effort, organisation, dedication and despite all that is believed, some measure of intellect..

again you miss the point. ill try one more time.

i do a phd in nuclear physics. but nuclear physics has no job openings for the foreseeable future as anything nuclear is banned worldwide. do i continue doing the phd blindly (at least i am trying right?)? or do i reassess my position and actually see what sort of jobs i can get with a phd in nuclear physics and then decide whether to change direction or not?

economic

westernpromise wrote: »

Exactly. She keeps any gains and dumps back onto the taxpayer any losses.

she could also have another baby with a fellow student whilst studying.

SingleSue

economic wrote: »

again you miss the point. ill try one more time.

i do a phd in nuclear physics. but nuclear physics has no job openings for the foreseeable future as anything nuclear is banned worldwide. do i continue doing the phd blindly (at least i am trying right?)? or do i reassess my position and actually see what sort of jobs i can get with a phd in nuclear physics and then decide whether to change direction or not?

Then you change course and try something else, aka still trying rather than going woe is me and giving up and not attempting to better yourself.

I like another cliche, if at first you don't succeed, try try try again (I usually add a few more tries though just to cover the bases :rotfl:)

I've never been one to just sit back and accept life, I would rather try to make a success of things even if initially something doesn't work, I'll just try a different way to obtain my goal. If I hadn't had that view, things would have turned out so differently for the boys as everything was trial and error. Some things worked brilliantly but others were a disaster and I had to think of something else to try. It was tenacity and the refusal to give in despite some failures which made the real difference.

I also accept we are not all the same though and that is probably why we will never be able to understand each other's point of view and that is fine too, it's what makes discussion and debate so exciting and interesting.

economic

she can try all she wants but i hope she doesn't try at the expense of the taxpayer.

SingleSue

Effectively though, that was exactly what I was doing. I gave up my career and became a carer on benefits whilst I was trying to make a difference. It worked out for us though as I have gone from having only one son who had the potential to earn and two who would be the recipients of the tax paid by others to all 3 who will be paying their way.

My situation was a complete longshot but as OCD as I am about avoiding risk, it had to be done. Ok, I have beggered up my career and my health in the process but they have great potential now to do amazing things with their lives and make a difference to others.

economic

what university and course/degrees do they do?