Is it worth going to Sixth Form / College and university?

If you spend all your time studying for your subjects, this must have some form of negative psychological impact to your brain. From my experience and research so far, most subjects in sixth form and college are taught so that the person passes. Teachers don't care about expanding the students imagination, they in fact (mostly unintentionally) delude and train the students to become consumers and conformists working for around £25-40k a year. We aren't being taught, we are being trained. How many film directors or artists or millionaire entrepreneurs and businesses men do you know who went to college? Here are some examples of college/university dropout successes; Quentin Tarantino the director of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Richard Branson, owner of the virgin company. Sir Alan Michael Sugar, owner of Amstrad, dropped out when he was 16! Bill Gates - Microsoft. Steve Jobs - Apple. These examples made me lead to the assumption that we are being trained in college and in university, and on top of that, we are paying to be trained! It's ridiculous! Is paying 27 thousand pounds for a three year course in University really worth it? I surely don't believe so... modern education methods corrupt the students imagination and potential to thrive and become a somebody.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

FelixFelicis

I study because I am passionate about my chosen subject. I also want to make a decent amount of money doing what I enjoy, and if that's what you call "being trained" then I suppose I am. And quite happy about it.

Reply 2

Playa10

Not unless you get into a top uni or you have contacts

Reply 3

Borderline

Don't go then. For employers, it will only make Uni grads more competitive against you. Unless you think you are the next Gates/Branson etc.

Reply 4

morecambebay

It's far from a perfect system. What you do is up to you. Why not take a gap year where you try self employment, find out what you are capable of, then make your decision after that?

Reply 5

Bellissima

if you don't want to go to university then don't, but unless you take an apprenticeship and go down the route of plumbing/electrician etc. then it is unlikely that you will have a comfortable lifestyle... do you thing bill gates, alan sugar etc... are the norm for people who drop out? they are one in a million and have a lot of luck, ruthlessness and natural business smarts on their side.

Reply 6

LittleMissDramaQueen

I agree completely with what you're saying, and agree that for many trades it is pointless to go to continue education. A lot of people I know carry on to do sixth form/college because it is the done thing to do, whereas they probably would have saved themselves a lot of time (and in some cases money) If they had went to do something like an apprenticeship instead.
However, I certainly would say that a lot people, if they are planning on getting a well paid job, need to go to university; simply because the market is so large of people that do have a degree, that you're going to be viewed negatively. I think this is much more about generation than anything else. My father, for example is in his late forties, he went to sixth form and took his A level, however he didn't venture further to university. Now he has a fairly successful sales and marketing business. My mother is the same, she left school at 16 with only her GCSEs and then proceeded to have me at 18. However she also went on to become an manager of a successful firm. However, would they get the same opportunities today? Unlikely. This is because there are so many people who are getting degrees, and are also competing for this job. Unfortunately the reason for taking a degree has taken a shift. For a lot of people it used to be about enjoyment of the subject, however for many people now, it is simply an access into getting a high-flying job in the city.
I'd agree therefore that in an ideal world, if things had been the same as in Gates' time, or even Tarantino's then for many wouldn't be a point of going to university, however in a time, where theres little jobs in the first place, if you want a highflying career then you'll need one.

Reply 7

Jake22

Original post by Niko Bellic

How many film directors or artists or millionaire entrepreneurs and businesses men do you know who went to college? Here are some examples of college/university dropout successes; Quentin Tarantino the director of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Richard Branson, owner of the virgin company. Sir Alan Michael Sugar, owner of Amstrad, dropped out when he was 16! Bill Gates - Microsoft. Steve Jobs - Apple.

I hate this use of the term 'dropout'. It is a pejorative term for a decision that is often chosen conciously rather than through lack of talent or ambition.

I finished school when I was 16 because that is when school ended. I didn't 'drop out'; I stayed until I had completed my GCSE exams.

To me a 'dropout' is someone who starts something and quits before they finish.

Reply 8

dean01234

look who else dropped out at 16!

If you drop out of school at 16, unless you are extremely talented at something that is in high demand, you will probably not get a 'real' job.

Sorry to break it to you but you will probably not follow in the footsteps of steve jobs, or bill gates etc.

And to end with some people who did go to university:

Warren buffet
Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Matt damon
Steven Spielberg
Oprah

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 9

trixster

Well, some degrees are arguably pretty useless, others obviously are extremely useful.

Most of the individuals you pointed out are highly successful in business and technology. They personally may not have attended university, but I'm pretty sure many leading individuals (computer scientists, engineers, etc.) within their businesses will have. They are not running a one man ship.

Reply 10

trixster

Original post by dean01234

look who else dropped out at 16!

If you drop out of school at 16, unless you are extremely talented at something that is in high demand, you will probably not get a 'real' job.

Sorry to break it to you but you will probably not follow in the footsteps of steve jobs, or bill gates etc.

But what about people who did go to university?

Warren buffet
Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Matt damon
Steven Spielberg
Oprah

Exactly.

I mean, these are not the best of economic times currently, but LONG TERM I think having a University degree in a decent subject opens up more far opportunities than if you do not.

Reply 11

LittleMissDramaQueen

Original post by dean01234

look who else dropped out at 16!

If you drop out of school at 16, unless you are extremely talented at something that is in high demand, you will probably not get a 'real' job.

Sorry to break it to you but you will probably not follow in the footsteps of steve jobs, or bill gates etc.

But what about people who did go to university?

Warren buffet
Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Matt damon
Steven Spielberg
Oprah

Decision made. Degrees are useful.

Reply 12

Rahmeh.

I agree with you completely when you say that we are being "trained" however, going to 6th form and university does not stop you from achieveing what you want outside of lessons/lectures. No one can stop you learning more about your subjects and exploring it in the depths and understanding that you want, going to college and uni is just so you can get a certificate that will allow you to have a better paid job!

I also want to add that not all types of training is bad, it all depends on what your interests are!

Reply 13

hannahchan

Well what is there left to do? Go to Uni and then start living life. Do you really want to start life right now? When your 16?

Reply 14

ed-

Original post by Niko Bellic

The people who make it big time without university are very few. Look at the careers of the people you listed. They're all extremely tough to get into, but at the same time don't require qualifications.
The period of studying, for a lot of people, is the time where they decide what to do for the rest of their lives. If you don't have a plan, you won't get far, with our without qualifications.
College and uni are worth it if you don't really know what to do (but then you may not have the motivation), or if you have a clear goal that requires qualifications (like going into law).
If you drop out, then you need to have an idea about what you're going to do; you need to be very business minded. Just remember, everyone wants to be a somebody. What separates you from everyone else? A lot of people have these dillusions that there's some sort of problem with conforming to the norms, but they're norms for a reason. Young people have this attitude that they have to do everything NOW, but why? Why decide to drop out of studying when you have no other plans other than, 'I want to be successful' ? Make the most of your free education to sort your head out.
If you really had the mindset to be the next Bill Gates, you wouldn't be asking around a public forum.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 15

orange'94

Some of these people you have quoted , yeah fair enough. but for every one of those threes several million you didn't make it, times have changed. You cant get a job in Mcdonalds without decent grades these days. I think you should go to college and then after taking some qualifications go and spread your wings and start a business also good luck with that :smile:

hope you do well.

Reply 16

Snowfreeze

Original post by Niko Bellic

How many film directors or artists or millionaire entrepreneurs and businesses men do you know who went to college?

How many film directors, artists, millionaire entrepreneurs and businesses men do you actually know? You mentioned Steve Jobs; you probably never heard of him before he died. The ones you've heard about have been extremely highly publicised because there are so few of them; you don't see 100 different versions of Alan Sugar on the street everyday. They were lucky; you or anyone else you know won't be as lucky if you drop out and follow these examples.

On the other hand, 95%+ of the people I know who went to sixth form and uni are successful. You say that teachers don't care about inspiring the students in their subject; from my experience, my teachers go to the end of the world to inspire me in their subjects, as well as trying to further me in life so that I can be somebody.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 17

Jake22

Original post by dean01234

If you drop out of school at 16, unless you are extremely talented at something that is in high demand, you will probably not get a 'real' job.

I'm sorry to break it to you but you are talking out of your hole or rather just parroting back what has been force fed to you by overbearing parents and school teachers.

Me and many of my friends finished school at 16 and many of us are doing well for themselves now. For example:

- D is a self employed gas fitter and makes over £35k
- N worked for estate agencies for a few years before setting up his own lettings agency with a friend. He also owns several of his own properties that he lets out.
- C worked started working in tech support and is now a network admin making around £30k
- M is in the police
- S is in the Royal Military Police
- Before I went back in to full time education, I was an insurance underwriter working for a major financial institution. When I finally decided to go to university, I turned down an overseas job offer that would have netted me £40k in my first year at 21 years old.

and the oldest of us is 28 so it isn't as if we are going back very far into history.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 18

Snowfreeze

Original post by Jake22

I'm sorry to break it to you but you are talking out of your hole or rather just parroting back what has been force fed to you by overbearing parents and school teachers.

Me and many of my friends finished school at 16 and many of them are doing well for themselves now. For example:

- D is a self employed gas fitter and makes over £35k
- N worked for estate agencies for a few years before setting up his own lettings agency with a friend. He also owns several of his own properties that he lets out.
- C worked started working in tech support and is now a network admin making around £30k
- Before I went back in to full time education, I was an insurance underwriter working for a major financial institution. When I finally decided to go to university, I turned down an overseas job offer that would have netted me £40k in my first year at 21 years old.

and the oldest of us is 27 so it isn't as if we are going back very far into history.

My economics teacher used to be a senior executive in a worldwide bank. He was made redundant 2 years ago, being one of the major players in the bank. How on Earth is anybody who dropped out of school at 16 going to get a job that brings in 20-40k at 21 with no qualifications? Maybe 15-20 years ago, but certainly not in this day.

In today's economic climate, 16 year old drop outs who can work every our under the sun since they're not in education, can't even get jobs in McDonalds or Matalan, because there are hardly jobs available, worsened by the fact that they have no qualifications. Even retail shops like Jack Wills and Topman in my area are asking for GCSE maths and English at grade C or above before they even consider you, to differentiate between the hundreds of applications they get from the hordes of drop outs.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 19

Jake22

Original post by Snowfreeze

How on Earth is anybody who dropped out of school at 16 going to get a job that brings in 20-40k at 21 with no qualifications? Maybe 15-20 years ago, but certainly not in this day.

Well I did and it was only just over 5 years ago. I had 5 years of work experience; and around 4 of those were relevant to what I was doing. I got onto a grad scheme without qualifications because the company realised that my experience of actually doing the job made me a better bet than a wet behind the ears college boy.

I suppose it is fair to say that I had some opportunities that I wouldn't have today but then again, the economic climate will eventually improve and things will get better again. I don't think that the proportion of kids going to university 5 years ago was that much higher than today.

Original post by Snowfreeze

In today's economic climate, 16 year old drop outs who can work every our under the sun since they're not in education, can't even get jobs in McDonalds or Matalan, because there are hardly jobs available, worsened by the fact that they have no qualifications. Even retail shops like Jack Wills and Topman in my area are asking for GCSE maths and English at grade C or above before they even consider you, to differentiate between the hundreds of applications they get from the hordes of drop outs.

...and do you think having a degree makes it any easier to get a job in McDonalds or Topman?

You are confusing two issues. There is mass youth unemployment - people with degrees often aren't finding things any easier than those without.