Having a job vs. studying: which is better?

Try studying in a country that pays you to do so instead.

NB: Still waiting for this to actually become reality, will be very happy when it finally does

Who the hell wants to study?

for the last 18 months ive been doing both and its a bloody killer

PhD is a route to an end. If you can do the job you want in industry without a PhD, why go back to graduate school?

For me studying because I like learning and it will lead me to big money jobs (MONEY!!! )

I wouldn't like having a job right now, honestly can't think of anything that would be worth my time.

Who the hell wants to study?

I enjoy learning about new things, and I always thought I would be someone who went to Uni, and became an academic afterwards. Then I went into work. I loved doing actual work, getting paid for it. That first job - the first wage pack - all that money! I couldn't go back to not having money.

Now, at 19, without having been to uni, I am earning a graduates wage, and I am absolutely loving it. My job is one that opens many doors for me, and it's also a job where I'm happy to put in the extra work, to get as much as I can out of it. I have so much choice - I could potentially look to study part time alongside full time work, but I'd much rather just learn as much as I can - and I have the freedom to learn about any subject I want to, without paying for anything more than the books. So I prefer working, because I can still expand my knowledge.

pharmacy aint a money racket these days hun

A lot of people are desperate to study. It's really telling, reading this thread, to see how many young people take their education for granted. People bemoan state schools and teaching quality etc in the UK but when you look at the bigger picture there are children all over the world who cannot even read or write at a basic level and have no chance of dragging themselves out of poverty. We should be grateful for the education system we have and the opportunity to take full advantage of it and continue to college/university.

Also, mature students are rather keen to go back to education in order to make career changes or take advantage of opportunities that they didn't have when they were younger.

Edit:

In answer to the thread title, having both been a student and worked - I would choose studying every time. So much so that I'm going back to do a second degree. You've got your whole life to work - most of us won't retire until our 70's and unless you're super passionate about your job and paid enough to actually enjoy your life outside of work (beyond paying the rent/mortgage/car/bills) then that isn't something to look forward to. There's always something new to learn as a student whereas work can quickly become routine and monotonous.

Also, mature students are rather keen to go back to education in order to make career changes or take advantage of opportunities that they didn't have when they were younger.

Edit:

In answer to the thread title, having both been a student and worked - I would choose studying every time. So much so that I'm going back to do a second degree. You've got your whole life to work - most of us won't retire until our 70's and unless you're super passionate about your job and paid enough to actually enjoy your life outside of work (beyond paying the rent/mortgage/car/bills) then that isn't something to look forward to. There's always something new to learn as a student whereas work can quickly become routine and monotonous.

Within certain industries, your continuous working experience may play a role in getting a raise or getting your next job so staying in education for too long could be a disadvantage in this sense.

Work can be deadly monotonous and routine but so is education; the only difference is one is living in a bubble of structures and rules and another is profits and revenues

I know, I'm one of those mature students . I'm less enthusiastic about the whole thing than when I was 18 and embarking on my first degree but I'm also acutely aware that I'm extremely fortunate to do a second degree and have the opportunity to change paths. The financial/academic/personal strains of returning to rigorous study, for me, outweigh the prospect of staying in work which is unfulfilling and doesn't pay enough to live comfortably. So I still choose education over a job even though I'm not the kind of mature student who is going back to uni to study something for pleasure with no financial worries etc.

That's true but often those industries are not well paid. You can work your way up the ranks fairly quickly in fast food chains, some retail companies and admin jobs but the pay at the top isn't all that great and job security isn't either.

I used to work for a well know retailer after I graduated and having been with them for 12 months I was told I would be considered for the supervisory position. I was made redundant with no opportunity for a transfer within weeks when the company collapsed. Because of the nature of the collapse of the company (i.e the front line workers are kept in the dark until the 11th hour) I had no chance of finding new employment before it was too late.

I was lucky because I was 20-something with zero responsibilities so I could afford to be unemployed but other people I worked with had to re-mortgage their homes/move cities/had kids to look after.
It had never happened to them before. No one believes it will ever happen to them, so most people don't think about it or put things in place to prevent it, but I experienced it very young and it taught me a great lesson. You cannot be dependent on a company. Yes they pay your wages, and in that sense you are dependent, but you also need to be able to stand on your own two feet without them - and that means having a skill that you can quickly take elsewhere even at short notice. That means getting qualified in something useful. Anyone can sell t-shirts, coffee, CD's, insurance etc and employers know it - they can let go of/replace people indefinitely.

So I'd advise young people to get a particular qualification that they can take with them and not rely on any company for their continued success- they need to rely on their own skill. It's good to have a trade or a profession - that involves study. Working your way up is honorable, but ultimately, you will be dispensable. If you have a trade to take elsewhere, or a professional qualification that is in demand then life will be much more financially secure in the long run.

Who says I'm going to stick with pharmacy?

An ending to? Education never ends, be it after university or in the work place.A PhD is a certification recognising that the person is capable of doing research and has specialised in a specific field (to the point of having contributing, probably a microscopic input in the current domain of knowledge).Some people go to graduate school for various reasons e.g. to better understand their fields, extending their prior knowledge, foundation for a PhD, getting a raise and some people just do it for the prestige of the programme in order to gain an advantage in the corporate world (MBA?)

nosey question: did you come from a low income family:?

secondly what industry then?

answer for nosey question: Nope, just normal I guess and why would you ask?

Pharmaceuticals?

What did you study?