Is there any point in going to university anymore?

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Original post by Captain Hindsight

average salary of a graduate - 25k
average salary of someone who isn't a graduate - 15k

is it worth it? It's not worth 9k a year, i'll tell you that right narrrrw

The thing is the average starting grad salary is about 22k. However, only about a third of grads get 'graduate jobs' or on graduate schemes (read it) so its debatable whether its worth going unless you do something like medicine/law

Reply 41

Maddog Jones

Can't just measure the value of a degree in monetary terms.

Would I rather work in Parliament, my dream job? Or in a similar job like a Political PR firm? Doing my degree will bring me that.

I might earn more as a plumber.

But you have to take into account that you'll be doing this job for what, 50 years? You gotta love it ^_^

Reply 42

digitalfever

Original post by Howard

Not many plumbers making $100,000 a year or anywhere even close. According to the ONS the average wage for a plumber in the UK in 2009 was $27,709. That was in 2009. Since then the construction industry has taken a nosedive so it's probably somewhat less than that today.

In Canada they do.

Reply 43

TimmonaPortella

Do you not think it's a little simplistic to compare average graduate and non-graduate salaries...?

Which degree you're taking/ what you want to go into is obviously going to have a large effect.

Original post by Captain Hindsight

average salary of a graduate - 25k
average salary of someone who isn't a graduate - 15k

is it worth it? It's not worth 9k a year, i'll tell you that right narrrrw

Reply 44

Mr Young

Original post by Nadooo

Is there an actual point to it nowadays beyond "everyone does it"? Or are we just being milked by universities for money that we might not be able to repay until 50, if at all? I mean tangible, clear benefits for "academic" subjects (STEM, languages, traditional arts). Whenever I've asked someone this question, I always get something along the lines of "but you learns sooooo much about life! so much fun!" instead of an actual answer.

Yeah, can't I do that in my garden with a beer and a bouncy ball? :confused:

So what I'm asking is: what do we gain from going to university? Does anyone know the salary breakdown between degrees? I'm really disparaged tbh, especially with the 2012 fee rise and I'm three days away from sending my UCAS off forever!

Thanks. :smile:

all I can say is that my headmistress told me today that her friends that went cambridge have got jobs coming in from all companies, offering amazing salaries. I guess thats just if you go oxbridge though.

Reply 45

AspiringGenius

Original post by Pride

don't say that...

is that why you want to be a doctor?

I'm pretty sure there are other degrees with 0% unemployment.

Reply 46

Howard

Original post by digitalfever

In Canada they do.

Do they? I live in Canada. Maybe I should retrain as a plumber.

Reply 47

*Hakz*

Original post by SaBzY

In terms of earnings..

Nice one.

Reply 48

digitalfever

Original post by Howard

Do they? I live in Canada. Maybe I should retrain as a plumber.

Sarcasm. Lovely. What the world needs more of. But yes many of the plumbers that I know make well into the 100k but they also own their own small businesses.

Trades make good money.

Reply 49

ned0

You:

- increase your networks (extremely valuable in all facets of life)
- learn new concepts and new ways of thinking
- meet and interact with people who are vastly different to yourself
- actually spend years sitting down and learning (you would have no chance to do this if you went straight into workplace)
- all the actual course content itself; I can guarantee you before I started I didn't know what an income statement, call option, forward hedge or cost-side synergy was. I'd be ^^^^*d without that knowledge and would command absolutely no premium in the jobs market
- signal your value to employers (the degree itself is a signalling too to breakdown the information assymetries between yourself and the employer, who isn't able to directly observe your true quality, and so must use a proxy for your quality which is your degree. If you didn't have one, you would be 'pooled' into the category of people who don't have degree who, on average, have a lower ability than those who do. You then be offered a wage based on the average ability of a non-grad rather than a grad. Oh, and, almost all 'good' jobs require a degree of some description

Reply 50

Howard

Original post by digitalfever

Sarcasm. Lovely. What the world needs more of. But yes many of the plumbers that I know make well into the 100k but they also own their own small businesses.

Trades make good money.

Depends. If you own your own business maybe. Or if you're union.

What part of Canada are you in?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 51

takethyfacehence

Original post by Howard

From a "life experience" point of view? Well, if you think that living on Pot Noodles, not getting up before noon, and getting pissed in the SU bar is "life experience" then maybe.

How about people who go to uni, get up every morning and do something with their time, getting involved in extra-curriculars, networking, working hard (eating what they want - fairly sure what one eats has nothing to do with anyone else, unless it results in serious malnutrition/it's to do with the career e.g. the person is an athlete)..?

Reply 52

digitalfever

Original post by Howard

Depends. If you own your own business maybe. Or if you're union.

What part of Canada are you in?

Some days I consider trades. But... being a female electrician would be an uphill battle to say the least.

I'm in Manitoba but I'm originally from Toronto. What about you?

Reply 53

JPDub

Original post by Howard

Poster was from Canada. Yeah, in Canada trades makes you a hella a lot of money. My cousin is a welder and he makes 140k. That's in Canadian dollars though, so it would be less in pounds.

Reply 54

JPDub

Original post by digitalfever

Some days I consider trades. But... being a female electrician would be an uphill battle to say the least.

I'm in Manitoba but I'm originally from Toronto. What about you?

Heavy Duty Mechanics is where it's at :wink:

Reply 55

ch0llima

Original post by Mr Young

It's elitism, really. You can study anything at Cambridge and walk straight into pretty much any job regardless of how qualified you really are.

This seems to be especially true of investment banking in particular - I know someone from school who worked in an IB briefly (not as a trader though - can't remember what his job title was) on the back of a First in History from Cambridge, with no prior experience or interest in the field and no internships. He isn't a ****-hot mathematician or economic mastermind by any means (he is very cultured and arts/humanities oriented) , but the hypothetical guy from LSE who is wouldn't have the same chance at getting the same job. FWIW this guy quit after a year and does postgrad medicine now as he didn't take to finance, but that's not the point.

Basically, Oxbridge is a round-the-world air ticket without having your bags searched or having to show your passport.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 56

Arteta

University changed who I am for the better. It's been the best experience of my life and it's worth paying double for. If you can go, do it. Even though you'll rack up some debt, you'll learn more about who you are and you'll be a lot more employable.

Reply 57

Howard

Original post by digitalfever

Some days I consider trades. But... being a female electrician would be an uphill battle to say the least.

I'm in Manitoba but I'm originally from Toronto. What about you?

Waterloo.

Reply 58

digitalfever

Original post by JPDub

Heavy Duty Mechanics is where it's at :wink:

Reply 59

Mr Young

Original post by ch0llima

wooww.... I wouldn't expect it to be that easy haha
yeaa I guess, if you go oxbridge you must be set for life,
but you still have amazing places like you said, LSE, who could be just as capable to do the job, but because he doesn't go Oxbridge he won't have a chance against other oxbridge applicants, I think it's quite sad.