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The job I want has a degree as a must
Reply 21
Original post by RoundTrip
Trust me a degree in a decent subject isn't useless. I have just completed an apprenticeship but have decided to quit my job and go uni. Yes, I got paid a decent amount and got experience but I feel I would be stuck in the same position for decades with little chance of ever progressing. A degree gives you options.

Some guy just got a job at my place, 2:2 in mechanical engineering from de montfort, so poor grade in a good degree from a crappy uni, he has just walked in right at the top, has a company car, started on above 30k I believe and is having his masters paid for. He is also being sent abroad regularly to Switzerland and Austria for specific training. Probably has the potential to go a lot further with experience.

Meanwhile I did an apprenticeship and have a crappy boring job with crappy hours and semi decent pay and low career progression. I am limited in where and what I can do because my training was in a really specialized field so I can't really bring any useful skills to other companies.

Gonna work hard at uni and give it a real go. Should've done it a long time ago but we all make mistakes. Admittedly this is my own (limited) experience but apprenticeships aren't all they're cracked up to be for 99% of people and would suggest to anyone that they should take their education as far as possible because I've seen what the workplace is like if your stuck with crappy qualifications.


wow.. thank you for your reply, but it depends on what your apprenticeship is... i heard apprenticeships in accountancy firms are fantastic ?
Original post by RoundTrip
Trust me a degree in a decent subject isn't useless. I have just completed an apprenticeship but have decided to quit my job and go uni. Yes, I got paid a decent amount and got experience but I feel I would be stuck in the same position for decades with little chance of ever progressing. A degree gives you options.

Some guy just got a job at my place, 2:2 in mechanical engineering from de montfort, so poor grade in a good degree from a crappy uni, he has just walked in right at the top, has a company car, started on above 30k I believe and is having his masters paid for. He is also being sent abroad regularly to Switzerland and Austria for specific training. Probably has the potential to go a lot further with experience.

Meanwhile I did an apprenticeship and have a crappy boring job with crappy hours and semi decent pay and low career progression. I am limited in where and what I can do because my training was in a really specialized field so I can't really bring any useful skills to other companies.

Gonna work hard at uni and give it a real go. Should've done it a long time ago but we all make mistakes. Admittedly this is my own (limited) experience but apprenticeships aren't all they're cracked up to be for 99% of people and would suggest to anyone that they should take their education as far as possible because I've seen what the workplace is like if your stuck with crappy qualifications.


Despite your experience of apprenticeships. There are some descent apprenticeships out there with great career progression, good starting salary and the opportunity to study for qualifications further. So, all in all depends on the apprenticeship scheme.
Original post by zssr
wow.. thank you for your reply, but it depends on what your apprenticeship is... i heard apprenticeships in accountancy firms are fantastic ?


Yeah this is in engineering. Apprenticeships can be good, one guy on my course has just bought a house aged 22, has a nice car and is going onto do a HNC and HND. No debts, the courses are spoon fed and it's basically impossible to fail and probably got a great job at the end.

But most people on my course are stuck in crappy factories doing boring machining/maintenance work for a below average wage. It really all depends on the industry and how lucky someone has been but in my industry a degree really is the way to go.

I am grateful for my apprenticeship as it has taught me skills and given me a nice nest egg to get through uni with. And hopefully those 3 years of experience in industry will set me apart from everyone else I'll be competing with.
Reply 24
Original post by bat$h!tcrazy
Sorry, I meant to say that University's a scam. I pay close to £13,000 a year, and don't feel like I'm getting much in return.



what do you study and what university ?

the only thing is it all depends.... one of my cousins actually did an I.t apprenticeship but it was an high street firm, and it was a scam never paid him, now he is at university.

i think there should be some sort of a system that filters out scam schemes.
maybe a governing body which certifies and protects students.

but at university you will be paying approx 30k for three years.

uni is good for specific courses for example, accountancy, engineering, medicine, becoming a teacher/lecturer/researcher. etc
Reply 25
Original post by RoundTrip
Yeah this is in engineering. Apprenticeships can be good, one guy on my course has just bought a house aged 22, has a nice car and is going onto do a HNC and HND. No debts, the courses are spoon fed and it's basically impossible to fail and probably got a great job at the end.

But most people on my course are stuck in crappy factories doing boring machining/maintenance work for a below average wage. It really all depends on the industry and how lucky someone has been but in my industry a degree really is the way to go.

I am grateful for my apprenticeship as it has taught me skills and given me a nice nest egg to get through uni with. And hopefully those 3 years of experience in industry will set me apart from everyone else I'll be competing with.


im pretty surprised they have not paid for your degree as some apprenticeship do sponsor.
Reply 26
Original post by Apocrypha
If youre gonna go to university and not work whilst youre doing your degree you might aswell not go to uni.

If you have no experience whatsoever youll be starting from the bottom regardless.



well, to be honest some graduate schemes give you a chance for example pwc, it seems like iv read that people with no experience but great grades have been employed by pwc without any experience.
Reply 27
University is a waste of time if you're not doing Medicine, Dentistry or teaching.
I graduated last month and currently can't even get low paying jobs to think
of it I could have been better just getting a job when I was 16 but I'm currently now competing with 16 year olds
to get those entry level low paying jobs
Original post by zssr
im pretty surprised they have not paid for your degree as some apprenticeship do sponsor.


I asked but it was more convenient for them to have me stuck in the position I was in. That way they wouldn't have to waste time and money training anyone else.
Reply 29
Original post by RoundTrip
I asked but it was more convenient for them to have me stuck in the position I was in. That way they wouldn't have to waste time and money training anyone else.



thats ridiculous, stingy lol. but you will deffo go far with such a great mix of work experience with a degree maybe you can come back to the same place and be in a better position with higher salary.
Original post by zssr
what do you study and what university ?

the only thing is it all depends.... one of my cousins actually did an I.t apprenticeship but it was an high street firm, and it was a scam never paid him, now he is at university.

i think there should be some sort of a system that filters out scam schemes.
maybe a governing body which certifies and protects students.

but at university you will be paying approx 30k for three years.

uni is good for specific courses for example, accountancy, engineering, medicine, becoming a teacher/lecturer/researcher. etc


I'm studying Computer Science at Lancaster University.
University has its merits, but I think for a piece of paper attached at the end of 4 years and a ****load of debt, its not really worth it. That being said, i'm going to Uni this September with this in mind. I have been in the workplace before and I know for a fact that simply having a degree isn't enough to get you anywhere

Relevant experience is all that matters these days... after you get your degree, that you back at square one again, hustling for jobs.

Its only important for Law, Medicine etc.

not art lol
Reply 32
according to the guardian "Almost half of recent graduates in the UK are in non-graduate jobs" so as you can see even the graduates these days are fighting for a job at non graduate level.

Original post by zssr
i think the education system needs to re-assessed. I am sure a lot of people with degrees are unemployed even after doing applications after applications. i know of people who have received 1st class degrees and they can not find a job. maybe its the degree someone chooses?


I think this is largely because many people just don't know what to do with their lives. Even now, when I'm talking to people who are finishing their degrees, after they've chosen their courses and campuses, after they've chosen their A levels, after they've chosen their GCSE's, it has all been wild guessing and they're waiting for something to just "happen" for them, rather than going out and seizing something themselves.

We live in a lazy society, so I'm not surprised there are so many unemployed.

Does this mean that people are unemployed because they're lazy? Of course not. Does this mean that things are out of balance because other people just don't want to commit to something? I think yes, definitely. And it's unfair on the rest of us.

Original post by Rikudou_Sennin
University has its merits, but I think for a piece of paper attached at the end of 4 years and a ****load of debt, its not really worth it.


If that's what you think university is about, then it will be a waste of time for you.

Again - people assume that the point of university is to get a few letters after your name because they think that it'll automatically land them a good job, and that's exactly the kind of egotistic laziness that plagues the education system today.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by crayolaguy
Well I am going to uni to study maths. I'm not even thinking about what job I'm going to get I am just going to go because I love maths, that's why anyone should go. To study a subject that you really enjoy and learn more about it. Theres also the experience of being at uni and meeting new people. If you don't really like a subject then maybe you shouldn't go but it's most certainly not a waste of time and you are at a massive advantage over the people that didn't go.


This is exactly how I feel!
If you have the option to go to uni and study a subject you're passionate about, meet new people, and generally trap the benefits of being a student for a few years - take it!
What's the worst that can happen? You spend few years and get degree out of it! If you have to start at the bottom anyway it doesn't matter if your 16 or 22.
If you got a full time job, married and kids and 16 your life would be set- why would you not want to delay that and enjoy yourself?


Posted from TSR Mobile
Here is my view :
Why get a degree in something which has no direct relevance to a specific job?? e.g Getting a degree such as a pharmacy is linked to a specific job but getting a degree in Business is just pointless......
Thats my view, it might be wrong.
Reply 37
Original post by Jack1472
If you have the option to go to uni and study a subject you're passionate about, meet new people, and generally trap the benefits of being a student for a few years - take it!
What's the worst that can happen? You spend few years and get degree out of it! If you have to start at the bottom anyway it doesn't matter if your 16 or 22.
If you got a full time job, married and kids and 16 your life would be set- why would you not want to delay that and enjoy yourself?


Posted from TSR Mobile


yes experience wise university is awesome but 30k come on its a joke... considering iv been at university im even fighting for non graduate jobs as well. but your right if your passionate about a particular subjects go for it. however i did politics and its hard to find a job.
Reply 38
There probably is demand for certain graduates, but it probably isn't as high in the UK.

One of my cousins did Business management, was jobless for around 2-4 months searching within the UK and decided to go 'screw it, looking for UK jobs isn't getting anywhere' and now works at a JPMorgan branch in Mumbai.

If you are really willing to make sacrifices with how geographically flexible you are, then your chances will be much better (Though obviously this is not realistic for people with certain circumstances)
Surely university is all about improving your job prospects. £9,000 a year is very expensive for an "experience" and nothing else

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