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Feel stuck - already got a degree, how could I afford another?

I feel stuck. I already have an undergraduate and Master's degree. The undergrad was taken in the Labour years when everyone was being shovelled into uni, and I finished it because I was basically schooled to 'at least get your degree, then figure out what you want to do'. The Master's was my own attempt to build on my undergrad, but I've had enough of the industry already.

I wish I could change direction- it's not a silly pipe dream or a yearning to hide in education, I do have other skills which I think I could develop pretty well- I just don't know how to afford it. If as a mature student with existing degrees, if I didn't have to pay all my fees upfront or could get a student loan, I'd do it. I don't care about the debt- it'd be worth it. But I don't have the money now. Does anyone else just feel completely trapped by high fees and ELQ rules?

Reply 1

**Toria**

What course were you wanting to do?

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 2

RyanT

15

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/educationandlearning/adultlearning/financialhelpforadultlearners/careerdevelopmentloans/index.htm

I'm doing a part-time evening course whilst paying for fees using that. Should be able to pay off the loan by the time I finish studying. No interest charges until 1 month after course finishes, nor repayments till then either.

Reply 3

drummer

12

With the ELQ it sounds like for most people studying a second degree will be very hard since you have to fund it yourself upfront. I heard they could've brought tuition fees up way past £9000 for ELQ but it seems it's staying at 9K for now. The only way would be to save up from a job.

Reply 4

jami74

12

I know people who are self funding their degrees. They work nights and/or weekends during term time and then full time plus overtime during the summer. Obviously this only works if you've already got a job that is flexible and no other commitments.

Reply 5

bownessie

19

A lot of people on my friend's optometry course are mature and self-funded, some of whom even have families. Most of them just work while they do their degree and have saved some before starting. It isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it is perfectly possible and lots of people do do it.

Reply 6

Observatory

20

What do you hope to accomplish by doing a second degree?

I can think of very few circumstances doing a second undergraduate degree could possibly be a good idea. Basically just if you want to do a PhD in a totally different field and you can't get accepted directly to a masters. This is extremely risky as a career plan and is almost certain to lose you money if that is what you're after.

I would recommend the Open University over a brick university if you absolutely must do this. Far lower (though no longer totally insubstantial) fees, so less chance of bankrupting yourself.

Reply 7

RyanT

15

Original post by Observatory

What do you hope to accomplish by doing a second degree?

I can think of very few circumstances doing a second undergraduate degree could possibly be a good idea. Basically just if you want to do a PhD in a totally different field and you can't get accepted directly to a masters. This is extremely risky as a career plan and is almost certain to lose you money if that is what you're after.

I would recommend the Open University over a brick university if you absolutely must do this. Far lower (though no longer totally insubstantial) fees, so less chance of bankrupting yourself.

I'd be surprised if the OP wanted to do a full undergrad again...
If the OP is thinking of this then they should take a graduate diploma. Get the graduate diploma, it's equivalent to the undergrad degree. Perhaps not as broad, but given that the first year is a waste of time it''s 12 months vs 2 x 8 months on undergrad, so the gap is smaller then you probably imagine. Also since it will take 1 year fulltime equivalent, within two years you can end up with a masters degree in said field at similar cost to the 9k undergrad annual fees (probably even cheaper).

Reply 8

edjunkie

15

OP, what are your current qualifications and what do you want to do? It may be possible to change careers without doing a degree or a full masters. You could consider a diploma which allows you to choose the most relevant modules to you and pay for it as you go.

Reply 9

Spence_LJS

Look at NHS courses which are exempt from the ELQ policy? I'm doing a second undergrad course and it's entirely funded and I get a bursary and half a student loan... It really depends what you want to do though? You don't mention this, so it's quite hard to advise...

Reply 10

a-----dog

You could take a careers development loan???

Or work and save for a few years. It's tricky because you want to have kids, but after 35 it is hard for women to conceive. To be honest though, why would being a student stop you from meeting a life partner and getting knocked up?
You're a mature student so it's a bit different from being a youngster in Uni, so 30 something year old men will still be attracted to you.

Reply 11

Klix88

17

Original post by a-----dog

You could take a careers development loan???

Or work and save for a few years. It's tricky because you want to have kids, but after 35 it is hard for women to conceive. To be honest though, why would being a student stop you from meeting a life partner and getting knocked up?
You're a mature student so it's a bit different from being a youngster in Uni, so 30 something year old men will still be attracted to you.

This post is coming up to two years old.

A CDL is a maximum of £10,000 which is hardly going to dent an undergrad degree with annual fees of £9000.

Thanks for your evaluation of the fertility and pull ratio of the older woman though. Your insights are just fabulous. Food for thought: Our eyesight can also be a bit dodgy but we can still read the dates on an internet discussion...

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 12

emmbee90

Honestly we are in hard times, i can't even afford a simple course, what you can do is do an apprenticeship even if your over 25 you only have to pay half towards it which is wayyy less than say a course which is like £1,250 - £6k, for the content they give you it really isn't worth that much money, be real here, if anything else gave you little stuff for that money would you pay here? i sure wouldn't, and loans are not a good thing as you will be in debt and paying them off for the rest of your life it's not a good thing at all. You can get higher apprenticeships so look into that but you'd still need to save some money up as higher apprentice positions you have to pay half towards but you learn a lot more in the process than in a course will ever teach you in a year, you already know this we all do so why do people still keep paying into colleges?, i find it disgusting how they rip people off so much. Colleges these days are ok for starting people up and colleges are now only starting to benefit school leavers, the college near me they give everything to 16s - 18s, bursaries, lots of places and course, us over 18s we only get travel and a beginner course then all we can do is go on an NVQ apprenticeship so you might as well too. Times are changing so you just got to change with it.

Feel stuck - already got a degree, how could I afford another?

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