The Biggest Decision Of My Life

demon8991

demon8991

demon8991

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Joined
7 Jan 2003
Posts
4,458
Location
Gold Coast, Australia
I recently finished my first year at university studying maths with computers I enjoyed it very much but always knew I wasn’t up to the standard to come out with a good degree in it. I finished this year with 2 passes and 2 fails, I am now faced with the big decision whether to search for employment or not and stay at uni, I have been looking at banking and financial jobs in London and hope to gain some experience there.

I am very money driven and want to earn lots (as we all do) but I have very good numerical skills and thrive in problem solving.

I know I am of degree standard intelligence but I don’t think I'm quite good enough to get the 2,1 degree I wanted in maths, changing choices leaves me very limited as my two strong a levels were in maths and ICT, with a D in chemistry.

What are the chances of getting a good job in London and progressing quickly and earning big without a degree, just through hard work and experience alone?
 
You are not likely to earn 'lots' in the financial sector without a degree. A numerical degree on the other hand will serve you well, especially from a good uni. Perhaps retake the year? At any rate id say stick with uni. The chances of you progressing without a degree and earning big quickly, in the finance sector are slim to none. Some accountancy firms are willing to take people with A-Levels, you could then achieve an ACA or similar in a few years, and rise up. In that case though the big bucks could take time to come, forget IB Front Office salaries. It all depends though on what you quantify as big money.
 
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I dropped out of Uni before my first year was over (although this was due to a series of medical conditions that prevented me attending a fairly significant percentage of my classes)

If you go for any high filght jobs you will be asked to justify why you left Uni. This could reflect badly on you unless you have a very positive explanation.

It also depends upon what you want to do. There are very few formal qualifications for what I do and you can work your way up quite quickly but you need to have natural ability and a fair amount of luck.
 
A good career in finance does not beckon for you if you found the subjects in the first year of a degree too difficulty. Sorry to be harsh, but thats pretty much the situation.
 
>:|sh4d0w|:< said:
You are not likely to earn 'lots' in the financial sector without a degree. A numerical degree on the other hand will serve you well, especially from a good uni. Perhaps retake the year? At any rate id say stick with uni.
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In general I would agree but put the caveat that it is not always the case. Certainly when it comes to change and change management high wages do not require a degree.
 
Not going to post as the amount of abuse in other threads for so called "willy waving" is untrue.

Suffice to say you can earn significantly above the average if you apply yourself, have a natural ability and catch the right breaks. It involves taking the right risks.

Experience is what is required more and more. I would certainly value someone with proven ability and experience over someone fresh out of school with a degree.

It also depends on the company culture, the HR policies, the people hiring a whole host of factors.
 
demon8991 said:
GOD!

I dont know what to do!

How much do you think i could earn without a degree?
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Dont panic, your best route would be looking at the accountancy firms, PWC and the others of the Big 4. They accept without a degree, although i suspect the D is chem may be a problem (or may not i cannot say). This would allow you to gain an accountancy qual while on the job, and you may be able, once in a company to rise through, and eventually make some fairly decent money. However for an IB regardless of department you would need a 2:1 or above, so would have to complete a degree, i cant say without knowing your uni, but with the D in chem, you could hope for Operations or Technology departments within a bank at best, and im afraid these dont be the nice bonuses you read about in the papers.
 
Yer that’s what I was thinking, I mean I am very new to all this but I was thinking of getting a job a back office getting some good understanding and experience and then progress into something more demanding.

There are so many 'educated idiots' in this country surely experience should be the biggest factor in whether or not a good job can be delegated.
 
Bar said:
Not going to post as the amount of abuse in other threads for so called "willy waving" is untrue.

Suffice to say you can earn significantly above the average if you apply yourself, have a natural ability and catch the right breaks. It involves taking the right risks.

Experience is what is required more and more. I would certainly value someone with proven ability and experience over someone fresh out of school with a degree.

It also depends on the company culture, the HR policies, the people hiring a whole host of factors.
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Very very true. I work for an investment bank, and I would say I could do what I am doing without any university background. Granted it would be harder to actually get the job secured with only A-Levels, but I would say experience is where it's at. Do what you think is right, start from the bottom if you have to and work your way up, always applying yourself, and offering yourself to go on as many educational courses that your firm has to offer!

/End advice - lunch hour finished 8mins ago :eek:
 
You could do alright without a degree but...

[TW]Fox said:
A good career in finance does not beckon for you if you found the subjects in the first year of a degree too difficulty. Sorry to be harsh, but thats pretty much the situation.
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I agree with that. If you found the first year of a degree difficult and want to take up a career in a similar area, I doubt you'll be earning very much at all.
 
There are very few jobs that actually require a degree, but with more and more people going to university, the competition for decent jobs is increasing. If you can make yourself stand out in some way without a degree... then do so... but you don't want to get to the stage where you work for a company and then find a couple of years down the line you're being held back whilst new graduate employees are being fast tracked for management.

Perhaps re-assess the subject you've chosen at university. I've just finished my degree in Physics with Computer Science at King's. I've got a 2:2, but it's been incredibly hard for me - physics, and maths in particular was really the wrong choice for me (I got 77 in my final year project, a first, likewise for the comp sci modules... whilst i was getting 40-50 for the physics). That said, employers will look upon physics as a better degree than others. So it's swings and roundabouts.
 
I just failed my second year.

I had two choices.

Resit or start work.

Without a degree, I was looking at all manner of rubbish work.

I'm resitting.
 
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