if uni is a “waste of time” why are more people applying?

I was told that uni was a waste of time. Why are more people applying to uni now than ever before? surely this depends on the degree that you are doing eg law is not a waste of time but something like English might be.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 1

Quick-use

20

I think perhaps the universal sentiment is that having a degree alone is not worth it. In other words, if you don't pick up marketable skills or work experience and instead come out with just a degree, then you're probably going to struggle since your CV will just be your GCSEs, A levels and university degree. These academic achievements won't cut it when going for a graduate job since you're not applying to 'study', but rather to 'work'. If you were, however, applying to pursue something academic like a PhD (which tbh is considered a full time job), then your CV of GCSEs, A levels and university degree would suffice.

People need to remember that university degrees for the most part are academic pursuits. Especially at the more traditional and renowned universities, you're basically being taught academic skills to help you to potentially become an academic.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 2

nexttime

22

Because university isn't a waste of time for those people?

Objectively speaking: graduates earn a lot more (with certain subjects and unis earning a lot more than others), and certain careers are not accessible unless you've been to uni.

You've also got to consider that people don't always go to uni for career or money-making purposes. Uni is pretty fun, and you can access risk-free money to pay for it which most people won't even pay back :dontknow:

(edited 3 years ago)

Should be pointed out that while English doesn't really give you many directly applicable technical skills in the same way CS, engineering, law, etc. do, it still gives you useful transferrable skills.

Reply 4

asif007

19

Lots of students choose to go to university because they want the "uni life" and socialising rather than looking more closely at the skills, employability and value for money they would gain from a particular degree course. We're seeing students up and down the country who arrived at university this year thinking they were going to have the time of their lives. But now their courses are online and they're stuck at home or in student accommodation away from their families with very little work to focus on, students might be finding that they regret their choices of university and/or degree course. Some of the students who graduated last year into a pandemic and a very difficult jobs market with high unemployment might be thinking they should have chosen a different degree with better teaching and more marketable skills, instead of focusing on where they can get the best social life.

Reply 5

username2825764

17

University has been anything but a waste of time for me. I finished in May with a 1st, 2 internships completed and one graduate job offer. Without university I wouldn't have achieved what I achieved.

Reply 6

linedpaper

19

I don't think uni is a waste of time, especially if your course is one where you need a degree e.g. hard to find apprenticeships. I think it comes from people not realising uni is no longer a way into an instant job because of how watered down the applicant pool is e.g far too many people are going to uni, especially those who aren't bright enough. Covid does not help this.

More people are applying because they are told that uni is going to give them a career, and is the only option towards their goals. Really they should shut down a majority of unis, make careers accessible without a degree and keep uni for the very best. Going to uni with CDD is useless. Plus, people like the experience.

Reply 7

Fox Hound

17

I think it's because going to uni alone used to guarantee a job and security once you'd graduate. Now it's more of a formality, like having the right to work here, and employers instead are more interested in your work experience and extra-curricular activities. It's definitely not a waste of time, at least you've got a shot at landing a graduate jobs as opposed to having zero chance if you never went to uni.

Reply 8

JOSH4598

15

Original post by linedpaper

Really they should shut down a majority of unis, make careers accessible without a degree and keep uni for the very best. Going to uni with CDD is useless. Plus, people like the experience.

I agree - far too many institutions now have the ability to issue degrees in subjects or for courses which really should be some sort of diploma at most.

I think it stems from John Major's reforms which converted many polytechnic colleges into fully-fledged universities, making degree-level education accessible to pretty much everyone and (if my memory serves me right) changed the degree standards regulation which essentially gave universities much more autonomy over what grades they distributed. This is quite an interesting article which touches on it.

These changes should be reversed and many universities turned back into polytechnic colleges. In addition the £9,250 fee ought to be put back down to £3,000 (which is more reasonable for students to pay) with a repayment interest rate which isn't a complete scam as it currently is at 5.6%.

The longer the government delays the issues we see with higher education the worse the problem will become. I recall the estimated bill in the next thirty years totalling somewhere between £400-500bn to write off loans with all their interest. It's incredible how such an unsustainable system has been created really!

Edit: Sorry this is fairly off-topic compared to the original post!

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 9

adam271

21

I think University this year might be deemed a waste of time lol.
Some students are having to redo the year because they couldnt get any lab time.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56040870

Reply 10

username4892364

7

it depends on uni and course. there is simply no point to attend useless degree at very low ranked university.

Reply 11

username4892364

7

Original post by JOSH4598

I agree - far too many institutions now have the ability to issue degrees in subjects or for courses which really should be some sort of diploma at most.

I think it stems from John Major's reforms which converted many polytechnic colleges into fully-fledged universities, making degree-level education accessible to pretty much everyone and (if my memory serves me right) changed the degree standards regulation which essentially gave universities much more autonomy over what grades they distributed. This is quite an interesting article which touches on it.

These changes should be reversed and many universities turned back into polytechnic colleges. In addition the £9,250 fee ought to be put back down to £3,000 (which is more reasonable for students to pay) with a repayment interest rate which isn't a complete scam as it currently is at 5.6%.

The longer the government delays the issues we see with higher education the worse the problem will become. I recall the estimated bill in the next thirty years totalling somewhere between £400-500bn to write off loans with all their interest. It's incredible how such an unsustainable system has been created really!

Edit: Sorry this is fairly off-topic compared to the original post!

You are so out of touch with reality. Britain is so poor and it sustains entirely on borrowed money, so it is impossible for university tuition fees to drop to 3000, remember what Liz Truss did? Her policy of tax cuts and spending increases has thrown financial and money markets into turmoil. In my opinion, the university degree should be for those with excellent academic skill, the rest should take vocational training or apprenticeship. Half of the UK universities should also be abolished as they are useless.

Reply 12

ThatguyAl

16

I'm a lead engineer working for a global company and been involved in the recruitment process from both sides - when looking for jobs before graduating from Uni and when hiring STEM people in for such jobs. I also volunteer to support students and graduates to help them build strong CVs and to perform well on their interviews. Just to give you an idea where my opinion comes from.

On general terms, I think you should only go to university to get a degree if you know that you need that degree to get into that profession of your choice and that there is no other feasible way for you to get there otherwise. In my case that was why I did it and one of the reasons was time - it only takes 3 years to get a BEng to prove to vast majority of employers that I am a knowledgeable engineer.
That being said, you definitely need some work experience before you graduate. And before you start throwing stones at me remember that there is plenty of opportunity out there to do a summer placement or even better a 12-months internship before you graduate. Just by having at least a 2:1 predicted grade and having some relative work experience will set you so much further apart from the competition that you will get a graduate job without much of an effort, assuming you know how to write a good CV and how to present yourself on an interview. At least that's the case for STEM related subjects, I have very limited understanding of other fields. A STEM graduate will have an average salary of £28K-£32K, which is more than enough to pay off your student loan without thinking too much about it. Unless you live in London, don't live in London if you rent, but that's a separate topic.

From employer point of view, you won't believe how many times a saw a CV from a graduate candidate who hasn't done anything else apart from studying at university and completing their degree. Not just relative work experience, but also zero other work experience and zero other relative activities the candidate could have participated in. Heck, at least do some projects in your own time to prove that you can connect theory with practice. Design a robot, write some code, get a Github page with commits, do something. Show that you love what you learnt.

It definitely feels that many students mistakenly assume that a degree will automatically grant them a job after they graduate. They will not. Remember that there are hundreds of thousands of students graduating from universities all across the UK every year! You can google the statistics and what have you, but if you get a 1st class degree + if you have at least a summertime worth of relative work experience + you have a well-structured CV and you know how to perform on the interview, I can guarantee that if you apply to 20-30 graduate jobs, you'll get 3-5 job offers at least, all paying upwards of £28K.

Treat university as a tool to get where you need. Studying at Uni is not the goal, it's just a step. Otherwise the Uni will be a waste of time and money.

if uni is a “waste of time” why are more people applying?

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