Is University for you? (Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?)

Member Name: Bryn Pearson

Product:	Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?
Date:	29/07/01 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: make your own choice

Disadvantages: parents, techers and the governemnt aply too much pressure 'encouraging' students tro carry on.

Currently there is a lot of presure on students to stay on and take a degree. Chosing not to will for many arouse parental disapproval but University is not the only option.

Assuming that you've stuck with A leves, at 18 there are a range of things you could do, including University, looking at more practical training or heading out into the workplace. The most important point to make is that none of these choices have to be for life. At any point, you can change your mind and do soemthing else. It is better if you know what you want to do, but don't be afraid of delaying your decision if you have no idea what you want. There is a lot to be said for taking a couple of years out and working before you go to University or college - this gives you time to work out what you want, and to be sure about your plans (a year out certainly helped me to decided wat would suit me.) The other advantage to delaying is that you can save up some funds, which will make student life far more bearable.

Practical or academic? There's always been a certain amount of elitism regarding academic degeres and some looking down the nose at vocational training. I think this is tragic and counterproductive, but unfortunatly its a reality we all have to contend with. There is nothig wrong with chosing a pracical course. Of all of my friends, it is the one who took the vocational option who now earns the most - about twice as much as a Cambridge graduate friend with a maths degree! If you have a vocational qualification, you are actually qualified to do soemthing, and this makes gettting into the jobs market a lot easier. Most of the Arts degrees do not quaify you for anything at all - they can certainly enrich your life and help you develop, but few are the jobs that will automatically open up to you as a result.

Staying on post degree? This is a choice many of us do not have. Funding for post graduate work is such that unless you have a very good result for
your degree, you will be unlikely to get a place. If you can pay your own way or have a company willing to back you, life is a little easier, but you won't get this option in an arts subject. A masters or Doctorate is not necessarily going to make you more employable - employers may perceive you as being overqualified, likely to leave for something better, or too unused to dealing with the real world. It is possible to make a carreer out of being an academic, but the options are limited.

What are you good at? Are you practical and hands on or are you better at writing essays, carrying out research and using your mind? Can you afford to go on? This is a big issue for most of us, and for most the answer "no" will come up sooner or later. Is going on going to be of any use to you at all? There's nothing wrong with wanting to do a degere for its own sake, but if you don't want to do one and it won't be of much use to you, don't let family and peers presurise you into doing it. (I've seen that one happen to enough people.)

There's nothing wrong with admiting that soemthing isn't working and changing your mind. You have to make the choices that are right for you and you shouldn't feel obliged to stick with anything if it clearly isn't working. If you decided at a later date that you'd like to advance your education, you can always go back - the oldest student on my English degere course was in his sixties, so it's never too late.

A personal note. I took my A level, had a year out then went on to do an English degere, which I loved. On that course were a lot of people who were there because they were expected to do a degree. Some dropped out, some hated it but perservered. If you aren't personally motivated, it's hard to keep up with the work and you won't be doing yourself any favours. I probably could have gone on, but I felt that it was time to get out and have a go for my
self. Perhaps I will go back when I am older and take a postgraduate degree - perhaps not. It's your life, live it as you want to and don't let other people's expectaitons get in your way.

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