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Uni, is it all worth it?
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Pink Bullets
So 156 out of 1,561 managing directors said degrees are pointless. For all we know, they could be the MDs of McDonalds, Burger King, Tesco, Asda, I could go on...
If that survey is going to influence your decision to go to university, you are obviously not intelligent enough for university.
If that survey is going to influence your decision to go to university, you are obviously not intelligent enough for university.
I decided a long time ago that I wasnt going to waste money going to university. I actually only came across that survey a few days ago, so lal.
Maturity
Not a degree.
It is a module.
It is a module.
OMG really? Why didn't anybody say so? I'd been thinking it was a degree for years!!! Hahaha!
I'm in my second year. Uni' is a good place to 'grow up' and mature with people and support around you, whilst gaining a good qualification. Yes degrees are becoming more common place, but I don't think that THAT in itself is the 'problem', what I think it is is that in order to make it easier for people who are not intelligent enough to do a decent degree such as maths/sciences/engineering/etc, degrees such as 'facebook' and 'david beckham studies' are being introduced (I could also mention media/film etc).
Its the truth, frankly.
Its the truth, frankly.
I think so but I'm also doing a science degree and having spent the last few years working crappy shop jobs, I have absolutely no idea where I could start building my career other than a very long stretch volunteering or talking my way into something at the very bottom (I'm 21 already so unlikely) No, a degree is the best possible next stage for me. Yes, I'm going to be in huge debt but alot of my friends are already in tons of debt with credit cards etc...know which I'd rather have.
e-sound23
Im in my third year and 23 years of age. After having a good think about the pro's and con's to uni i have come to the conclusion that for most people, uni is not really that useful and maybe even worthless. I would be interested to hear what others had to say.
When I applied for uni I honestly thought it was by far the best way to improve future job prospects etc, but after going through the system im now not convinced. A degree seems to be common place, pretty much anyone can get one and this makes them less valuable to employers.
Ok people might say, think of all the life experiences or your gonna "find yourself" and most people think its cool that you can give yourself liver cancer for three years. But do we need Uni to do all that?
When I applied for uni I honestly thought it was by far the best way to improve future job prospects etc, but after going through the system im now not convinced. A degree seems to be common place, pretty much anyone can get one and this makes them less valuable to employers.
Ok people might say, think of all the life experiences or your gonna "find yourself" and most people think its cool that you can give yourself liver cancer for three years. But do we need Uni to do all that?
I wanted to go to university because I like to study, and I wanted to keep improving my English while living the real "university experience" that you cannot get in France. Also, I cannot do my degree in France, and the prospect of having very small classes and going on a year abroad appealed to me, as my course is literally tailored for me (I'm the only one in my uni doing it) and that I really wanted to go to university and study language.
Now having a degree definitely helps you getting a good job. In the field I'm interested in, it's definitely needed, and if I decide to go back to France, there is no way I can get a decent job without at least a master degree, so I'm not done studying yet. However, I do believe university is an amazing experience and will offer you lot if you know how to make the most of it.
By just being at uni I boosted my CV thanks to all the extra-curriculars I can do like rowing or creating and running my society. My university has links with several schools and organisations offering programmes in the field I'm the most interested in, and as my departments are small I can literally do anything I want and get help for this.
University isn't just about getting a degree and studying, it will help you grow up and gain experience in life (nice transition between living with parents and alone), it's the one time when you can (for most of students) work and study at a good level at the same time, it teaches you how to be independent, but there's always help out there if you need it.
University can make you become more confident about your projects in life by supporting you and helping you out when you need it, so even if paying fees seems to be a crappy and useless idea, you won't just get a good job by getting a degree, you've also learnt a good lesson about life, how to lead yours and what to do with your newly gained skills. That may all sound a bit optimistic, but that's how I feel about my degree at the moment, and I'm probably the happiest student paying fees to go to uni everyday instead of staying at home wondering when the strike will stop and if the university will still be blockaded after three months as it could have happened had I stayed at home and got free education.
Well, right at his moment in time, it's looking as if I've wasted two and a half years of my life trying to chase a degree that I may not even get into the final year of.
Got let go from my 40 week placement on tuesday, and finding it nigh-on impossible to get hold of another placement to finish off the weeks I need to get into fourth year. Most companies either aren't looking to employ, or have already filled their placement slots and have started lining people up for next year as well.
And seeing as the uni I go to are unwilling to show any flexibility in their rules at all - in fact, frankly I think their student support programme is pretty dire and is only kicked into life under extreme circumstances - it could be a case of I'm not allowed back next year due to insufficient weeks of experience being gained.
So yeah, right now, I think uni's a massive waste of time. If I knew what I do now back when I was applying for uni's in college, I'd definitely take more caution in what and where I choose.
Got let go from my 40 week placement on tuesday, and finding it nigh-on impossible to get hold of another placement to finish off the weeks I need to get into fourth year. Most companies either aren't looking to employ, or have already filled their placement slots and have started lining people up for next year as well.
And seeing as the uni I go to are unwilling to show any flexibility in their rules at all - in fact, frankly I think their student support programme is pretty dire and is only kicked into life under extreme circumstances - it could be a case of I'm not allowed back next year due to insufficient weeks of experience being gained.
So yeah, right now, I think uni's a massive waste of time. If I knew what I do now back when I was applying for uni's in college, I'd definitely take more caution in what and where I choose.
Broderss
In my opinion any university lower than rank 25 is not worth it. If you were to go to one of these lower than 25 I think you'd be better getting an apprenticeship or jumping straight into work, because employers will want to get the best students from the top universities so you're not going to get much chance of that in a poor university. Also I think some degrees have more worth than others, such as a degree in media studies or English literature (or some ****) will be almost worthless because what job prospects do you realistically have? None. So it is really worth it? No. If you will do a realistic course in a good university then by all means go for it. If not then you'd be better off getting a job and working your way 3 years into the organisation.
That's my
at least.
That's my
at least.If you want to be rich from your degree, yes, go to a top uni, that would give you better prospects. But if you wanted a nice steady job for lower pay, but more than you'd get in a shop, like working in education or healthcare, qualified staff are in short supply so most state schools and NHS trusts don't discriminate against what uni you went to. In fact, many lower-ranking universities tend to be more specialised with vocational careers than high-ranking ones, the main reason the older universities are higher up is because they take into acount higher entry requirements and are usually in a prettier area.
Pink Bullets
There aren't any jobs I'm remotely interested that don't require a degree, so obviously I think it's worth it. I don't care how much it costs - I'm not willing to spend my life doing a job I dislike.
This.
I want to work in scientific research so the only way for me to that is a degree (and then probably a MSc and a PhD...I fear I'm going to a student forever
). And although along the way it's probably going to be equally important for me to also have experience, you can't get into most scientific fields on experience alone-a degree is a must. So yes, it's going to be very worth it.I can't stand people who go on about going to a 'top 10/15/20' uni or it's 'pointless'. Unless your idea of a 'good' job is simply one that earns you a massive salary within a few years of graduating (i.e. working in IB) rather than one which you find stimulating and satisfying and earns you enough to live on, it's just a load of nonsense.
I'm in my second year at University and think it is worth it, to a certain extent. As soon as I got here I realised that my course perhaps isn't very useful and I did consider dropping out. I also don't really enjoy the social side of University so I felt for a while that I was wasting my time when I could be working and getting useful skills and experience. But I decided to stick it out in the hope that it'll be worth it and that my degree will mean something to employers in the future. If I wasn't at University I would always wonder "what if?" and I think I would regret not getting a degree.
LOL - one in ten think that, so the article writer thought it was safe to make a broad generalisation about all employers.
Broderss
In my opinion any university lower than rank 25 is not worth it. If you were to go to one of these lower than 25 I think you'd be better getting an apprenticeship or jumping straight into work, because employers will want to get the best students from the top universities so you're not going to get much chance of that in a poor university. Also I think some degrees have more worth than others, such as a degree in media studies or English literature (or some ****) will be almost worthless because what job prospects do you realistically have? None. So it is really worth it? No. If you will do a realistic course in a good university then by all means go for it. If not then you'd be better off getting a job and working your way 3 years into the organisation.
English literature is a solid academic subject. What makes you think it gives rotten job prospects? Admittedly one is not likely to get a job of direct relevance to the discipline, but that's the case with most degrees. The point of a degree is often merely to display a level of intelligence.
If it actually IS worthless then I'm really going to regret not taking maths ...
I think university will be worth it for me.
Studying something I'm really interested in for three years will be brilliant. And I'm looking forward to the social side.
Studying something I'm really interested in for three years will be brilliant. And I'm looking forward to the social side.
cpj1987
Personally, university was definitely worth it for me.
I spent three years growing and learning as a person, finding out who I truly was. I had lots of experiences, I gained an excellent education which led to my ideal job upon graduation, and, most importantly, I made brilliant friends and found the love of my life.
All that for £21k ain't bad, in my opinion.
I spent three years growing and learning as a person, finding out who I truly was. I had lots of experiences, I gained an excellent education which led to my ideal job upon graduation, and, most importantly, I made brilliant friends and found the love of my life.
All that for £21k ain't bad, in my opinion.
yeah. everything cpj does with her life was the right decision. if you want to be happy be like cpj. she propa luvs herself up you kno.
Yes.
You have to pay for rent/food whether you are at university or not and university accomodation itself is generally not that expensive.
As for the tuition fees, sure £9K is a lot, but you pay it back with no interest and on highly favourable terms.
Also, who knows how much tuition fees are going to increase over the next few years, so it's better to get a degree done now than later.
You have to pay for rent/food whether you are at university or not and university accomodation itself is generally not that expensive.
As for the tuition fees, sure £9K is a lot, but you pay it back with no interest and on highly favourable terms.
Also, who knows how much tuition fees are going to increase over the next few years, so it's better to get a degree done now than later.
It depends on what you want to do. Some jobs require a university degree to qualify for the job, in which case it is necessary.
For other jobs, a degree may not be needed, but it can point you in the right direction or get your foot in the door. That said, a degree isn't a silver bullet that will guarantee you a better job. It all comes down to the individual at the end of the day, I know people who've gone to good unis and ened up with lesser jobs, and I've known people who went to lower ranked unis who've been more successful, purely because they have more drive to succeed in life. Or I've known people who didn't go to uni at all and done better for themselves than university graduates because again, they had higher aspirations or were willing to work harder.
From a social aspect, uni is what you make of it. It can be worth it if you make some of the best friends you've ever made and for some people, meeting the love of your life. All sorts happens at uni. I'm not going to lie, even though I do enjoy the social aspects and have made some good friends, my best friends are still my friends from home. It's a great place to try new things you wouldn't have been able to do at home, whether it be sports or work experience to improve your CV, the opportunities you get at uni are huge.
For other jobs, a degree may not be needed, but it can point you in the right direction or get your foot in the door. That said, a degree isn't a silver bullet that will guarantee you a better job. It all comes down to the individual at the end of the day, I know people who've gone to good unis and ened up with lesser jobs, and I've known people who went to lower ranked unis who've been more successful, purely because they have more drive to succeed in life. Or I've known people who didn't go to uni at all and done better for themselves than university graduates because again, they had higher aspirations or were willing to work harder.
From a social aspect, uni is what you make of it. It can be worth it if you make some of the best friends you've ever made and for some people, meeting the love of your life. All sorts happens at uni. I'm not going to lie, even though I do enjoy the social aspects and have made some good friends, my best friends are still my friends from home. It's a great place to try new things you wouldn't have been able to do at home, whether it be sports or work experience to improve your CV, the opportunities you get at uni are huge.
cpj1987
You have a problem with that? 
Why does it matter what I've done, specifically? I was simply answering the question.
Why does it matter what I've done, specifically? I was simply answering the question.
you're silly. go through your own posts and look at how often you love yourself up, innit though. proper disgusting.
hope you dont have any children. that would be horrible.
rymeloui
please do tell (im debating about going to uni or not)
I'm only speaking about uni from my personal experience. I don't think I picked the right uni, or course, and if I were given a second chance I'd do things a different way. On the plus side, I do feel like I've developed and matured as a person, and I've also learnt how to control my finances a lot better as well. I'm stuck in a bit of a rut at the moment, if/when I can find a placement to resume getting these damm 40 weeks experience together, I'm sure my outlook will change a bit.
As a general thing, as long as you make sure the course and the uni you go to are the right ones for you, you'll have a blast.
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