Uni and life decisions!

apprenticeship?

Apprenticeships are an option yes but I think I can only apply for those until I'm 20 which is 6 months time.
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i did mine at 24, and had people who where 30+ with kids doing it with me
 
Scrutinize said:
Success in psychology requires a PhD. To land a job in the field worth doing requires a masters and from a decent well regarded uni.

Degrees and masters are often needed to meet exempting entry criteria to professional bodies which offer the memberships and charterships. You can achieve these in some industries with training and experience alone but it is a longer process, sometimes 10 years. This is only relevant in certain professional sectors but you can hit a glass ceiling without them (eg core engineering without a CEng).

Bar quick win technical roles (eg some areas of IT, programming or contracting) to make decent money, you only need to be good at making money, reading people and the situation and good with clients. Degrees don't teach commercial acumen, even MBAs, but they may open up the job opportunities where you can succeed. Even if you set up your own business as a tradesman (plumber, electrician etc) the above still holds true.

The challenge is, you oftem need a degree to be a PA or administrator these days simply because so many applicants come from people with them.

If you consider going to uni, pick a decent degree at a good well regarded uni. Work hard to get a 2:1 or 1st because competition for grad jobs is high and they can afford to filter on degree classification. Plan to do a masters since this improves your chances and opens up more opportunities, it is also good fun prolonging the uni life.

Regardless of the above, good people with the right work ethic, aptitute and motivation will always succeed though, and it is easy to identify these in life and at interview. I would and always do take a person with the right work ethic and aptitute over qualifications.

Too many people expect the world on a plate or are apathetic. Unless you come from the right social class with £££m in family wealth, this doesn't work.
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The most important thing is the transferable skills from the degree. Actually, I think most people only find what they want to do by identifying what they don't want to do. A lot of people change their career choices during their degrees. Nothing wrong with that, nor with choosing psychology if it's interesting and opens up the doors from just having a degree.
 
helpimcrap said:
Only go to university if you have an idea or dream that needs it.

I wanted to go to university to help others in the same way I was helped. A long and very risky journey but hopefully I'm doing OK considering I'm doing it and funding it entirely by myself.
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Nah a degree is like currency. Something you can put on your CV. It shows you have attained a minimum level of education.

Also shows you have a decent ability to learn and your all round skills (maths, English and the written word are all up to standard).

Do not shun the Uni degree, it will pay you back later. It provides a platform which employers can work with and judge you.

For example I have just recently started a job as a Linux engineer. The company has quite a big academia and research flavour to it, and I know they have taken me on despite not having all the skills they need because I have a degree and they believe that with training can fill those gaps.

They can only really make that judgement based on the fact I have a degree. (or two)

But also keep in mind it's not just the certificate that's of worth, also how much you put in and take out from the experience.

Think very carefully what subject you want to study and ideally that will be related to the field of work you will be in for the best part of you career.

For example I work in the field of computers, but went and studied Politics and Sociology. I would have a much better grounding of computing principals had I gone and done computer science degree.

But hey ho, since then I did a Masters conversion course and have learnt on the job, through training and via self learning at home.

But of course a university degree in the subject would have been a better platform to start from.
 
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Rudeboy1 said:
Oh really? My bad, thought I only hadid until I was 20!
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Nope some crappier companies will only take the youngsters because they dont have to pay them minimum wage like the over 21s but any of rhe big worth while ones wont bat an eye at age.

Demand for places can be high though in my year it was 1000 applicants for 75 spaces, which is partly why so many who got in were older.
 
Nitefly said:
The most important thing is the transferable skills from the degree. Actually, I think most people only find what they want to do by identifying what they don't want to do. A lot of people change their career choices during their degrees. Nothing wrong with that, nor with choosing psychology if it's interesting and opens up the doors from just having a degree.
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Quite.

Isn't the second most popular degree among bankers History or something?
 
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Nitefly said:
The most important thing is the transferable skills from the degree. Actually, I think most people only find what they want to do by identifying what they don't want to do. A lot of people change their career choices during their degrees. Nothing wrong with that, nor with choosing psychology if it's interesting and opens up the doors from just having a degree.
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SPG said:
Transferable skills..

Isn't this just another word for i did a crap degree ?
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Nitefly said:
I don't think so. People with history degrees seem to do quite well in all sorts of fields. Even Lord Neuberger did a degree in Chemistry :p
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Professional sectors need employees who have; good comprehension and written skills; the ability to learn and research subject matters; the ability to present and communicate, the ability to think critically and often take a considered approach, and most importantly the ability to interact and work with other people in a professional manner.

History graduates do well because the subject tends to attract the above type of person to start with. History isn't really subject to that 'any degree will do' mindset like social sciences or business studies.

The majority of professional sectors actually need highly compliant, technically capable staff who are motivated to work hard and do well but are not overly ambitious. There are always limited progression routes since there are only so many leadership and management roles and very ambitious people (especially graduates) can be quite transient, counterproductive and job hop.

The best transferable skills from uni comes from the grads who live uni life to the fullest, run a club or society and work hard. So when it comes to interviews, their experience of working, learning, developing themselves and leading others comes from real life and not being a raid leader in world of warcraft.
 
SPG said:
Transferable skills..

Isn't this just another word for i did a crap degree ?
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http://www.insidecareers.co.uk/career-advice/what-skills-do-graduate-employers-look-for/

Literacy and numeracy
Time management and organisation
Oral and written communication
Teamwork
Creative problem-solving
Initiative and enterprise
Critical and analytical thinking
Ability to apply discipline, knowledge and concepts
Information gathering, evaluation and synthesis
Emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills
Adaptability
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The ones highlighted in bold are the skills pretty much unique to job seekers who hold a degree.

I'm not saying applicants who don't hold a degree wont posses those skills but it would be an exception and in a paper sift, the graduate will beat out the non graduate on those skills almost every time.

I think when people say "well, I got a job paying x without a degree", they got that job because those skills weren't a requirement. For example, try and get a job teaching if you don't have a degree and see how far you get.
 
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Scrutinize said:
Professional sectors need employees who have; good comprehension and written skills; the ability to learn and research subject matters; the ability to present and communicate, the ability to think critically and often take a considered approach, and most importantly the ability to interact and work with other people in a professional manner.

History graduates do well because the subject tends to attract the above type of person to start with. History isn't really subject to that 'any degree will do' mindset like social sciences or business studies.
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That's true but I don't really think people who study Psychology can't be those sorts of people too. I know a Psychology graduate that I consider to be fairly bright and she is doing well - it does seem to be a competitive field though... not a particularly lucrative one either from what I gather.

The best transferable skills from uni comes from the grads who live uni life to the fullest, run a club or society and work hard. So when it comes to interviews, their experience of working, learning, developing themselves and leading others comes from real life and not being a raid leader in world of warcraft.
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Yes, there's a lot to be said for those 'soft skills' - misleadingly referred to, I think.
 
I'd go to university for the experience alone. I think I had more fun there in four years than I probably will in the next ten. :( And of course, the degree is nice to have.
 
Thats because most folk are 40k in debt and have go live back with mommy, till they 35.

Still the UK generously paid for uni education and actually gave me money to go :) We did have to study back then though.
 
Those who believe that student debt feels in any way similar to a bank/credit card debt is on cloud cuckoo land.

Tiny interest
No effect on credit rating
No bailiffs or final demand notices
No direct debits - dealt with via payroll (unless you are self employed, if you are why did you go to university?)
Flexible payments dependant on your income
Pay nothing if you are under the threshold
 
terley said:
Those who believe that student debt feels in any way similar to a bank/credit card debt is on cloud cuckoo land.

Tiny interest
No effect on credit rating
No bailiffs or final demand notices
No direct debits - dealt with via payroll (unless you are self employed, if you are why did you go to university?)
Flexible payments dependant on your income
Pay nothing if you are under the threshold
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Interest is money lost in your pay-packet and it keeps going up....
Credit rating NO -- Getting a mortgage YES + iother loans amounts to same thing.
I know lots self employed.... Lets say IT contractor....
Flexible as no getting away from it.

Last comment is valid and why people go self employed :)
 
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