Is it worth going to university anymore for the average joe?

[-:Undertaker:-]

Is it worth going to university anymore for the average joe?

Under the Conservative government of the 1990s and Labour government of the 2000s, universities in the United Kingdom saw a huge expansion with many former polytechnical colleges becoming many of the universities we know today. With this came a huge increase in the number of young people going to university, which reached the 50% point in the late 2000s. In addition and despite increases in tuition fees, university numbers have continued to rise/stayed stable and show no sign of decline.

But it this right? Many would argue that anything other than red brick universities and a few others aren't worthy of the name of a university, and that the numbers of people leaving with degrees as well as the types of degree are making degrees pretty much worthless to employers. On the other hand, one can argue that with the increase in numbers going it's created a knock-on effect where by it is forcing more and more people to feel like they have to also go to university to compete in the workplace.

There are plenty of nifty prizes to be won within this forum and we have some new awards and prizes to be won in this forum and beyond. Focus on putting a good argument forward, try to be controversial and you'll be rewarded!

The debate is open to you.

[Empired]

No. I'll be applying to Uni this year but if I don't get into an "aspirational" one then I won't be going. No point in wasting at least 3 years of my life, getting into debt, and even then only having less than a 50% chance of getting a job once I'm out. No point at all.

[FlyingJesus]

ye its r8 gd

[Zak]

I'm always going to be in favour of universities because employers use qualifications as a way of screening their applicants and a lot of jobs require a degree as a prerequisite to get an interview

I would have not got my job without my degree so yes it is worth it

[GommeInc]

A degree is only half of the University experience. The other half is made up of the actual social experience, personal development, career development, amongst other things. Going to University purely for a degree does not exist anymore, people now go about volunteering, work placements inside and out of the University, learning new cultures or new areas of interest on top of their degree.

I find many who go to University develop a greater understanding of society, culture and politics which develops within University, albeit in a warped way which isn't really reflective of what actual society, culture and politics is.

Postgraduate studies are now what separate the different levels of academic studies. Undergraduate study comes mixed with the personal development, career etc side, while postgraduate study focuses more on and shows future employers, that you are committed to a certain subject area.

[Vause]

I have two sides to this argument.

YES: In my opinion, it really is about the experience of going to Uni and "seeing what all the fuss is about" - you meet new people, gain some form of independence and hopefully you'll end up with a degree or some kind of independence. I'm currently doing a University degree in journalism, however I'm not based at a uni and I work at BBC Radio Nottingham and my work is submitted online, so I'm not getting into the debt of people who do actually go to one.

NO: I've got so many friends I went to school with who have gone to uni, done their 2 or 3 years, ended up in thousands of pounds worth of debt and ended up working in a dead-end job. Unless you know you're going into a job you excel in I feel it could be a waste of time and obviously a huge waste of money.

It's quite a difficult decision actually because I'd of loved to of lived in halls and experienced the day-to-day life of a uni student, but I'm glad I've gone straight into a job with my degree.

[Jetcutie]

Mhmm, I was thinking of going to university but I don't feel like going for 3-5 years of my life, even though university may be better and student loans are the hardest thing to keep on top of I will be doing a level 4 IT Apprentiship instead.

[The Don]

Worthwhile financially it depends on the degree. If you plan on getting a degree in 19th Century Russian Agriculture then don't expect to be paying off your student loans any time soon. Obviously if you can afford it and you're not worried about job prospects in a relevant field then study whatever you want, but if you plan on getting a job in a field relevant to your degree and expect to earn a decent amount then you're gonna need to be sensible about what degree you choose to pursue.

[Empired]

Mhmm, I was thinking of going to university but I don't feel like going for 3-5 years of my life, even though university may be better and student loans are the hardest thing to keep on top of I will be doing a level 4 IT Apprentiship instead.

Same that's my problem as well. I just don't really think I'm passionate about anything enough to want to spend at least 3 years of my life studying it. And I don't think uni is the right place for people who aren't absolutely sure about what to study.