University or Job?

Im currently on a gap year and i did a work placement a couple months ago at a very large retail company,, . Apparently they were very impressed with me and have offered me a full time job at their head offices. The salary is £20k a year. I know this a good salary for a 19 year old with only a-level qualifications... so...

My current dilemma is whether i should take them up on this offer or go to university in september! Any thoughts?

Reply 1

Paralove

21

What's the progression like? Will your degree choice allow you to progress faster, and be paid more? What career are you going to enjoy more and continue in in the future?

Reply 2

Guy96

OP

2

Original post by Paralove

What's the progression like? Will your degree choice allow you to progress faster, and be paid more? What career are you going to enjoy more and continue in in the future?

I think the progression is good, im filling the role of a person they are promoting, whom theyve had for 1-2 years. I did enjoy the work placement. The big thing is ive never know what ive wanted to do, ive applied for economics at university because it is a good degree to have and i enjoy the subject, but this seems too good to miss, do you think i could do open university or maybe ask for potential day release..

Reply 3

Paralove

21

Original post by Guy96

I think the progression is good, im filling the role of a person they are promoting, whom theyve had for 1-2 years. I did enjoy the work placement. The big thing is ive never know what ive wanted to do, ive applied for economics at university because it is a good degree to have and i enjoy the subject, but this seems too good to miss, do you think i could do open university or maybe ask for potential day release..

Personally, I would go to university. Economics is a good degree and can help you get into many jobs that you couldn't do without a degree. You will have more options open in doing the degree than not.

Reply 4

r-t

22

Original post by Guy96

Im currently on a gap year and i did a work placement a couple months ago at a very large retail company,, . Apparently they were very impressed with me and have offered me a full time job at their head offices. The salary is £20k a year. I know this a good salary for a 19 year old with only a-level qualifications... so...

My current dilemma is whether i should take them up on this offer or go to university in september! Any thoughts?

Definitely take up the job. There are so many graduates who cannot find jobs and end up having a massive debt at the end. The salary may not be the best now but as you pointed out it is quite good for someone your age and will increase in the future. You mentioned in another post that you enjoyed the job and they were very impressed with you so you may be promoted quickly depending on your progress. If you really want the degree and experience of uni though I suggest going to birkbeck university. It is an evening university which means that you can work during the day and then go there in the evenings and it is in a reasonable spot on the league tables for economics. This is however provided you live in London because this uni is in London :smile:

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Reply 5

username1370718

2

Think about why you want to do economics. If the answer is 'to get a job' then it would idiotic to...turn down your shortcut to a job. I would only recommend the Economics degree route if you have a genuine drive for it and know what you want. Do not forget there is no reason you can't change your mind a couple of years down the line. Degrees will still be there but your job offer will not.

Original post by Guy96

Im currently on a gap year and i did a work placement a couple months ago at a very large retail company,, . Apparently they were very impressed with me and have offered me a full time job at their head offices. The salary is £20k a year. I know this a good salary for a 19 year old with only a-level qualifications... so...

My current dilemma is whether i should take them up on this offer or go to university in september! Any thoughts?

Hi Guy96, how did you get on?

There are many pros and cons to university and full time employment, and we'd love to know what helped make your decision.

Reply 7

Guy96

OP

2

Original post by M&S Careers team

Hi Guy96, how did you get on?

There are many pros and cons to university and full time employment, and we'd love to know what helped make your decision.

Well, I havent yet. I went back to them and told them that I fealt that I needed a degree. After a couple of weeks they replied and said that they could consider sending me to university (sponsored) with day release.) now I need to decide again as this is a big opportunity but I might be missing out on uni life:/

If you want I can tell you what I decided on doing in a month (the deadline to decide if I want it or not) I would need a way of contacting you though, or just through this?

Take it!

Entertainment Forum Helper

19

[QUOTE=r-t;54690333]Definitely take up the job. There are so many graduates who cannot find jobs and end up having a massive debt at the end. The salary may not be the best now but as you pointed out it is quite good for someone your age and will increase in the future. You mentioned in another post that you enjoyed the job and they were very impressed with you so you may be promoted quickly depending on your progress. If you really want the degree and experience of uni though I suggest going to birkbeck university. It is an evening university which means that you can work during the day and then go there in the evenings and it is in a reasonable spot on the league tables for economics. This is however provided you live in London because this uni is in London :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

I agree.
And if you still wanted to do a degree, then you could do the open university or something.

Original post by Guy96

Well, I havent yet. I went back to them and told them that I fealt that I needed a degree. After a couple of weeks they replied and said that they could consider sending me to university (sponsored) with day release.) now I need to decide again as this is a big opportunity but I might be missing out on uni life:/

If you want I can tell you what I decided on doing in a month (the deadline to decide if I want it or not) I would need a way of contacting you though, or just through this?

This sounds like a great opportunity!

Try not to feel pressured into making a decision, you can make your worries clear to your potential employer to see what they can offer you in terms of reassurance and clearing things up for you.

And if you're still unsure, a good pros and cons list always helps us out in a sticky situation!

We'd love to hear about your thought process on deciding, please feel free to message us through our profile on TSR.

M&S Careers Team

Reply 11

nоt elohssa

2

Do both. If you find it hard, you can always drop the job after the first year (when it starts counting). I worked full time in my final year (took annual leave for exams) and it didn't affect my results and I was very happy with the decision. Only downside is the social side of things i.e. if you choose to work you will only have week-ends.

Reply 12

doobucks

16

Just do the job then go to university later as a mature student. Beats being 50k in debt anyway.

20k at age 18 is great. Take it this way. If your salary is more than your age you're doing fine.

Original post by nоt elohssa

Do both. If you find it hard, you can always drop the job after the first year (when it starts counting). I worked full time in my final year (took annual leave for exams) and it didn't affect my results and I was very happy with the decision. Only downside is the social side of things i.e. if you choose to work you will only have week-ends.

How is that going to work if he has lectures 9-5 and he also has a 9-5 job.

Reply 13

nоt elohssa

2

Original post by jam277

How is that going to work if he has lectures 9-5 and he also has a 9-5 job.

Just don't come to lectures. I dunno if some uni's take note of attendance for lectures. Mine only took note of attendance for tutorials but I never got a single complaint from them about my absence. Also what uni has lectures 9-5? It's usually like 3 a week.

Reply 14

GhostIy

11

Definitely go to Uni, don't take the job!

The salary is fairly low anyway. If you do go for it, do a degree online like someone else mentioned, Open Uni is cheap and only requires a few hours per week part time.

Reply 15

blackened_sky

12

Take the job, university isn't going to suddenly disappear, whereas you might not get another job offer like this for many years. Especially if you don't know what to do at this stage, uni could end up being a waste of time.

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