When I was at college (10 years ago) I kindly informed my form tutor that I wouldn't be attending college one day, because it was 'University Day' or something like that. Where Universities would send in representatives and set up work shops, have lectures, etc. All to promote their Universities and it's courses.
He proceeded to tell me that I was being extremely silly and that I would amount to nothing in life it I didn't have a degree, as that was the way the world is going.
Fast forward 10 years and I am a home owner with a decently paying job enjoying a very respectable social life... (live in the South East, work in the City).
Having been in the industry I am now for all of those 10 years I have definitely seen recently a move away from employing graduates and grad schemes to employing college leavers and even school leavers...
I am defiantly not forcing my kids (when I have them) through University. I can see it's benefits for a whole number of careers, and personal development... however it is most certainly not the be all and end all. However if I feel they want to go because they have been told they need to go I will be sitting them down and explaining my experiences... happily balanced out with my partners experience. (1st in Law)
Same, my education is essentially 6th-form (went to school in South Africa) plus a diploma in programming after that.
Never went to Uni, moved to the UK when I was 19, worked in a call centre, moved up to project management, got Prince2 qualified, moved to a marketing analyst role, and now earn a good wage doing work I enjoy and am good at.
Unless they want to be a lawyer/doctor, then no need for my kids to go to Uni.
In my case, I was in secondary school when Tony Blair's government came into power. I had similar experiences of being told I would never be much if I didn't have a degree and I was asked "do you want to spend your life cleaning toilets and doing menial jobs"?
My brother had gone to uni but when he went he had grants. He walked away with pretty much £0 debt. Myself and my parents believed the lies and so off I went to university.
Two years into my degree I walked away from it all and got a job in a ceramics factory. I loved that job. I worked my way up from a labourer to a caster and was doing OK. It was physical (dare I say it menial?) work but it felt honest and at the end of my shift I went home with no worries. I was happier than I had been in a long time. I wondered why such a job would be frowned on by schools? By 2001 I was earning almost £20k for factory work. I was 20 years old, had my own job and my own car. Four years later I had my own place, albeit rental and I was standing on my own two feet.
Anyway, some life incidents and choices later and I am now doing even better. I work Monday to Friday and I earn a fair wage and own a home. I'm in consultancy now, but every step of the way I have not looked back and I am so glad I left uni as I was really unhappy there. I have never been particularly acedemic. That is not to say I'm not smart enough but I always had to work hard to try and make it all click.
Over the last couple of months I have been doing house refurbishment and realised a couple of things. I enjoy the more hands on kind of work and I take great satisfaction in a job well done. I think this is a key reason why I enjoyed making things in the factory. I am just wired up to enjoy the phsical hands on stuff more than the text book stuff but I am fortunate in that I can do both.
The problem is, young people with similar traits are being rail roaded into what may well not suit them. We are creating this false ideology that hands on jobs, physical jobs and suchlike are beneath us and without a degree and a high flying job we can't be happy.
I'm fairly happy in my work now but whilst I earn a lot more than the factory, my head is always in work even if I am not. Reports to write, emails to sort, clients to contact etc etc. I look back at those days in the factory and just wish I could go back. Slave to the wage now though!!
That said, I will be in a position in a couple of years time where I will be able to retrain so the world is my oyster, as it were
On a side note - I left uni with around £8k of student loan debt and a maxed out £1900 overdraft. The overdraft got sorted very quickly. But the student loan took over 10 years to repay with monthly payments ranging from £125 to £250 a month depending on my overtime (on the odd occasion it was £280). So this idea of student loans having 0 interest is complete rubbish. If I had known what I know now, I would have paid that debt back differently.
I really despair for these young people leaving with £30k+. Most won't ever pay it back, even if they are earning above the threshold.
