Those who are currently in uni/have finished uni, did you actually learn anything?

I am a computing student and i am going into my third year. I have passed with around 70% for the first and second year. However today i was asked a question about programming and networking by a work colleague and i had no clue as to what answer i should give.

This made me realise that in two years of university i have not learnt much at all, i have only learnt enough to pass my coursework and exams then and there.

Anyone else feel the same?

Reply 1

Joinedup

20

Pretty common, graduates are generally pretty useless straight out of uni. least you've got some work experience from which you are also learning.

Reply 2

Juichiro

18

Contemporary university education SUCKS. Basically. Modern university education is all about passing exams and writing essays. Learning lies in practical experience on real context. Modern university: paying more than ever before to learn less than ever before. This is the shameful secret of our generation.

Reply 3

member520746

Original post by Juichiro

Contemporary university education SUCKS. Basically. Modern university education is all about passing exams and writing essays. Learning lies in practical experience on real context. Modern university: paying more than ever before to learn less than ever before. This is the shameful secret of our generation.

Please tell us more about your experience of being at uni in the 70s, before they adopted essays and exams

Reply 4

Juichiro

18

Original post by JCC-MGS

Please tell us more about your experience of being at uni in the 70s, before they adopted essays and exams

You fool! I mean that uni is too theoretical without enough emphasis on the practical side which is what matters most and what employers say modern graduates lack. You can swallow your arrogance along with your own pride.

Reply 5

ekudamram

Original post by Juichiro

You fool! I mean that uni is too theoretical without enough emphasis on the practical side which is what matters most and what employers say modern graduates lack. You can swallow your arrogance along with your own pride.

Some degrees are harder than others to incorporate practicality. Sure, 6 hour labs are nothing in a Chemistry degree, but Philosophy students it lab coats?

Reply 6

boba

I've only just finished my first year but I've notice that the more I learn the more my dads rants about the economy annoy me. So the main thing I've learnt is that my dad is an idiot sometimes.

Reply 7

Inglenook

After four years, I've learned a LOT. But the more I learn, the more I seem to notice all of the things that I don't know. So, I've learned a lot, but I feel much more stupid lol!

Reply 8

Inkerman

11

The interesting question is not 'how much did you learn?', the question you should be asking is 'how much of what you learned do you actually use in your job?'

I'm doing a PhD in my subject, and I use much less than 5%.

Reply 9

LimeTree.

12

Im coming to the end of a work placement for engineering... and if I take one thing away from it, it would be that I know absolutely nothing.

You go in as someone who goes to uni so generally everyone already has an impression of you; "That you're clever/bigheaded" etc and then you start work and realize you actually know nothing.

So next work placement I go into.. i'll have a completely different attitude to start with and just expect everyone to know more/ be smarter than I am.

Haven't graduated yet, but my engineering degree has so far taught me quite a lot. Or should have at least if I actually learned the material rather than focusing on passing the exams.

I've done engineering placements, and how much of my course have I needed to know for these placements? Well, the basic material covered on the degree is definitely very useful, and almost essential to a great many jobs, but when it comes to differential equations etc., haven't ever seen them being used in industry.

Reply 11

Antifazian

16

Uni has made me realise how much I don't know if anything.

Although, i've learnt a lot about myself and life in general.

Reply 12

blahblahblah1

12

This is why a lot of uni courses are now also focusing on work placements and employability skills as well as all the traditional essays/exams etc. My uni has a 50/50 split between theory and practical and has really high graduate employment rates. Obviously that doesn't mean I should just expect a job but its good that they are giving you the oppourtunity to get your foot in the door.

Reply 13

SunderX

14

As famously quoted: "You know nothing, Jon Snow".

Realising that in most cases, you actually do know nothing is a major skill. Very few degrees will practically prepare you for a job, and in any case, you're useless in the job until you learn how to do it. Your university education was supposed to mature you into a responsible individual, indicate to employers a certain level of aptitude and provide sufficient background. I think the biggest skill I got from uni was learning how to learn.

Once you realise you know nothing, you have the humility to go learn how actually to do something.

Reply 14

NB_ide

14

No more or less than I knew before. All "facts" faded within a few weeks of each set of exams. I have a general feel for my subject and work within in better than a lay person, but it's nothing much.

Reply 15

warp2125

We have actually been quite lucky in that the uni has mixed the theory with practical elements to reinforce the learning. Last year we were learning about business info systems. To help the uni had us actually build a custom database to meet the needs of a specific business.

Reply 16

UniversalAutocrat

Uni is a joke (apart from the very, very top like Oxbridge, LSE etc). I go to a Russell Group and I've done well in the first year (averaging 1st), however I can't exactly say that I've learnt a great deal. Really, it was just learning quick for exams and coursework etc. Any knowledge that I've actually gleaned has been from my own leisure readings and musings.

I guess it's more to do with personal discipline than just university alone (i.e. if you really want to remember things so much that answers are at the tip of your tongue when asked questions, then you will remember loads) - at least with me anyway.

Reply 17

avÃ©ry

15

I learnt that my course wasn't what I wanted to do and that my career aspirations are much different than I imagined. That said, I still have to go through the last year because it's too late to do anything about it now. I don't feel like I've learnt much at university, more like I've learnt a lot in my own time because I wasn't getting it at university.

Reply 18

TheCount.

16

I felt like I knew a lot before exams, but now, two months having elapsed since... I remember zilch.

Reply 19

Tpos

17

I'm having doubts about going to uni and these responses have made them worse!
{sigh}
I have to make my decision soon though, enrolment's in a few weeks.

Those who are currently in uni/have finished uni, did you actually learn anything?

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