Why is there still so much emphasis on university when it's no guarantee of success?

I can understand uni being a big thing like 20+ years ago, but in today's society, a degree is not really worth it.

With tuition fees rising and unis becoming greedier by the day, students should think carefully before dedicating 3 years of their life learning material they could easily learn online for a fraction of the cost - unless it's for medicine/dentistry/law etc.

Also, once you graduate you officially owe the Student Loans Company money, and they will follow you to pay it back.

Unless a degree prepares you for a job or is really in demand, there's no need to go.
You can still get a relatively well-paid job without a degree.

With all this in mind, why waste 3 years studying for a degree (unless it's for medicine/law/dentistry etc)?

(edited 3 weeks ago)

Reply 1

TBFCTom

You have to think about it from an employers perspective and not just a perspective of "I can learn this online". Employers are far more likely to hire a graduate then a non graduate, especially if the job is in the specific field that your degree is in. The degree is the verification and proof of your ability to work in that field.

Sure you can learn the things taught to you at university online, but someone with a degree in, for example, graphic design, is far more appealing of a potential employee than someone who watched a bunch of YouTube videos and pinky promises that they know their way around photoshop. It ultimately looks much better on your CV, and in an increasingly competitive job market, this is particularly important.

There are other qualifications with similar value to a degree that can be more economically practical, such as certain apprenticeships, that are equally as valid but overall the impact a level 4 qualification (an undergraduate degree or equivalent) can have for your job prospects cannot be understated. As of 2023, the average university graduate makes £10,500 more per year than the average non graduate.

While I am not sure where you got your sources about the information on student loans you wrote, it appears to me you are repeating talking points often used in the USA where student loans are much less regulated and can tuition fees can cost upwards of $40,000 per year. The university systems in different countries can be very different, and can be much more predatory. Should we be talking about the USA, I would almost 100% agree with you that student loans are a ridiculous burden.

In the UK the you only begin to repay your student loans once you reach a certain income level, for those set to leave this year (me) that is £27,295 a year, or £2,274 a month, at which point you begin to pay £5 a month towards repaying the loans. This scales up incrementally until you are making £33,000 a year (£2,750 a year) at which point you will be paying the maximum of $42 a month. Should your income rise or fall, it will automatically be updated.

After 40 years after you graduate, any remaining loan yet to be paid off will be written off and you will be free of your student loan debt, no matter how much you owe. Should you never in your working life reach a yearly pay above the threshold, you will never have to pay your debt. It is predicted that 65% of students at university now will ever pay their debts back in full.

Also you claim that university is a waste of three years but I would argue that it is a very good middle step between living with your parents, and living alone independently (provided you live away from home for uni. If you asked me if I believed that I had wasted any of the two years I have been at uni for, I would say no, as I have met some of my best friends, and have had some of the best years of my life. Although this is ultimately my opinion and experience, and university is always gonna be what you make of it, and others experience may differ.

Hope this answers your question
Tom

Reply 2

Chikenwingwong

Uni is also the best 3 years of your life and is where most people make lifelong friends. These experiences cannot be had anywhere else and is worth the cost for most people.

Reply 3

username7372293

Original post by Chikenwingwong

Uni is also the best 3 years of your life and is where most people make lifelong friends. These experiences cannot be had anywhere else and is worth the cost for most people.

I disagree. I doubt most people make lifelong friends at uni, and even if they did, what's wrong with friends from 6th form or school? You can make friends for life in all different places - job, school, volunteering, etc.
I made good friends at 6th form college, no need to go to uni to do the same just to get into debt.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 4

zoeapariteta

Original post by A318

I can understand uni being a big thing like 20+ years ago, but in today's society, a degree is not really worth it.
There's little evidence a degree actually opens up more doors for you - schools and colleges just say that so they can brainwash more young people into going as that gives them something to brag about on open evenings.
With tuition fees rising and unis becoming greedier by the day, students should think carefully before dedicating 3 years of their life learning material they could easily learn online for a fraction of the cost - unless it's for medicine/dentistry/law etc.
Some people say most students don't have to pay back their debt, which is a lie because they do.
Once you graduate you officially owe the Student Loans Company money, and they will follow you to pay it back.
Unless a degree prepares you for a specific job or is really in demand, there's no need to go.
Employers aren't more likely to hire a graduate than a non-graduate and you can still get a relatively well-paid job without a degree.
With all this in mind, why waste 3 years getting into debt - unless it's for medicine/law/dentistry etc?

Nothing guarantees you success, I don’t understand why people think going to university somehow guaranteed you a high flying job. Statistically speaking university graduates earn more than non graduate counterparts. I believe this figure is like 20% more on average. This is goes up with your level of mastery. Going to university as in things in life is about being strategetic and being productive with your time. Your degree is important, picking the right degree with career pathways into the kind of salary you want is key. Going beyond your degree by getting additional qualifications, internships, placements, networking with school staff and members of the industry. Your degree is bog standard, everyone has a degree you need to make your self stand out if you want success. That has always been the case.

Reply 5

Dunnig Kruger

Graphic Design.

An employer has 2 candidates. Both are aged 22.
One of them has recently finished uni and has a graphic design degree.
The other has 2 and three quarters years experience as a graphic designer. Working on different projects for more than one client or employer. They turn up to the interview with an extensive portfolio of work they've done. They became certified in Photoshop plus InDesign and Illustrator at the age of 18. This candidate also invested in public speaking, practical sales and marketing, social skills, leadership skills, finance skills training between the ages of 19 and 21, by ploughing a proportion of their earnings into training and mentorship programmes.

It's clear to me which of those candidates is far more likely to be offered the job.

It would be totally unfair to compare someone fresh out of uni to someone fresh out of 6th form.

You have two 14 year olds. One of them is a deadbeat dropout. The other is a conscientious, hard working pupil. Which of those is more likely to go to uni? Which of those is more likely to be in demand in the workplace and therefore earn more money over time?
The statistics on average incomes are entirely misleading if anyone concludes that getting a degree helps you to earn more money (in the majority of careers in 2024). Because the cohorts are not the same. We're talking about one group that will have more deadbeats and another group that will have more hard workers.

On the friends, romantic partners, social life front. With our graphic design example, the one that didn't go to uni invested in public speaking and social skills training / mentorship between the age of 19 and 21. They've had the training to know how to smash it at a club, pub, supermarket, shopping mall, street, social event when it comes to meeting people, breaking the ice with them, interacting with them, getting to know them.

Having said all that, if we have a 22 year old and all they've done since leaving 6th form is to be unemployed with periods of minimum wage type jobs, then it would be fair to say that they should have gone to uni.