Is it worthwhile having a university education anymore?

Question

The Govt wants to get 50% of the population going to university. One of their arguments is that university graduates get more than the median That argument only holds if less than 50% go to university. By definition if 50% of the populace goes to university the median wage will be determined by university graduates' wages. Anyhow, with students needing to take on average debts of £33,000 for their course will any higher wages actually compensate unless they do courses such as medecine, dentistry, engineering which tend to be well paid? I doubt it.

cheyenne, I have to correct you. It was the LABOUR government which introduced top up fees for education now at £3000 pa but likely to rise to £20,000+ pa for good universities like Oxford and Cambridge once the current 5 year cap at £3000 is completed.

I like the comment that we are living in an "unconsciously facist state" - there's a lot of truth in that!

Answer 1

I think this 50% figure is rubbish. There are so many people going to uni as they are told to and only being mediocre when they would be brilliant plumbers, electricians etc and happier overall. I also think there are far too many time wasting degrees which aren't worth the paper they are written on! I would hold a plumber in much higher regard than a Media Studies graduate! Anyway, if you want to do real subject and especially ones which lead to a career e.g. Engineering (I'm biased on that one!), medicine, dentistry, nursing, veterinary.

Answer 2

The simple answer is yes, but maybe the real question you are asking is whether being a graduate is financially benificial and the answer I think in many cases is no.

As more people gain degrees, particuarly in the less that valuable subjects, graduates become two a penny. This harms their job prospects and a degree starts to become the minimum qualification expected for the most menial jobs.

Raising the education of a population is a good thing but this goverment seems to want to do it on paper and not in reality - ref: GCSE, A.level fiascos. Degrees are heading the same way with some meaningless subject being taught to keep to 'targets' and earn their money from student numbers.

On the plus side education is never wasted (even when poorly admistered and incorrected funded). So I would suggest doing a subject that you actually enjoy and forget about doing one to get you rich!

Well, that is the case for most students, if you are fixated with getting weathy then you will need to start you own business as you will never get rich working for someone else. Hence, dentisty, medical doctors, solicitors, and so on are a good financial investment. But then again you can get rich buying and selling houses, running a plumbing business or becoming a celebrity.

This country does not recognise investment in intelligence and is currently outsourcing it...which can only be a bad thing. The current top up/loans system means that only the weathly will be going to university...we are heading back in time.

Answer 3

Good point.

The thing is that is 50% go to university, they will all want to come out with well paid jobs. I know that I would if I went (only 16) so that I could pay off my debts in money as well as time. The thing is, surely we have a limited number of high paid jobs? I think that this links to immigration in some ways, because there are not many Uni Graduates that would want to be a cleaner (for example) but immigrants want these jobs. Who is going to do such jobs if we won't let other people do them?

I think the same thing will happen as is happening to the A-level system. A first won't mean as much as it used to in the past, just as four As is sometimes average!

Furthering your eduction however will always be a good thing, and can only mean for a better British economy, which must be a good thing.

Answer 4

You answered your own question: It is worthwhile having a university education. But it may not be for everyone. Those who are unwilling, not interested, financially unable should not go to a university to get a degree.
If you intend to stay in the work force for 45 or more years after age 21, you will benefit with a degree. Many employers will only hire college graduates as trainees. Persons with degrees will have an easier time finding new jobs when it becomes necessary.
There is the possibility that you would start a rewarding career without a degree. But you are trying to look at it statistically. The odds are against you.

Answer 5

I really like the point you're making when you talk about the median wage. Personally I have never believed the argument that a university degree significantly increases your wages in any case, but I think with the target of 50% that fallacy, as you have so eloquently shown, is at last dismissible beyond any reasonable doubt.

I think my answer to your question would be that it depends. If you don't want to know then the answer is no, if you want to know how to the answer is still no, but (and bear in mind this is coming from someone who has completed two bachelor's degrees and two research degrees, and still has no clue what the answer is) if you want to know why then it might just be the best place to ask the question. Like me I doubt that you will find the answer, but I think the quest is worth the financial sacrifice.

Answer 6

I went to university and yes, I am still paying for it. Every month when I get my wage slip I see the student loan deductions and think of what I could do with the money!! However, I am sooooo glad and proud that I did it. I got a good degree which has led to a good career and good pay. Not only did I improve my education, but I had the time of my life. I moved away from home and met people I would have never met had I not gone. I had the best laughs, great times and made some excellent friends. For the experience alone it is worth it.

Answer 7

A good standard of education is very important as it holds you in good stead all your life. One can do well without having a degree though a degree is almost prerequist these days especially when applying for professional jobs. However, there are those that feel the need to go to university as they have a thirst for learning that can only be quenched by going to uni.

Is it worthwhile going to university, well it depends on how a person applies themselves whilst at university and whether they work hard to achieve their gaols, thus equipping themselves with the necessary qualifcations to follow their choosen career path that will eventually provide them with a high salary and thus a good standard of living.

However, many university students leave without achieving their goals and have nothing, not even the knowhow to get themselves into the job market, to them initiative is a foreign word. The only thing they come away with are students debts. Then what happens they take any job to pay off their debts and unless they are proactive in bettering themselves, they have wasted a golden opportunity that many would give their eye teeth for.

I would say that this poxy government are duty bound to provide everychild with a good education and help those who are less able to learn to get a basic education at least.

They should not worry about what percentage of the population does or does not go to university. After all if a person is keen to go into higher education you can learn whilst you earn. If someone wants a degrees, the OU offers named degrees these days, distance learning, learning on line, night classes. The opportunities for learning new skills has never been greater for adults. No, it's the lack of a good education for future generations that concerns me most, not only me but thousands of other people.


Probably not the answer you are looking for...sorry!

Answer 8

In many cases it does not anymore. Take for example Computer Sciences (or whatever it is called in your country). Here in Canada a government run college course is 2 years and at university it's a 4 year program mainly because of the quantity of useless courses they add to expand it to 4 years. Graduates come out making the same amount of money. Except the university grad has not only paid for 2 extra years of school, they have also lost 2 years of wages.

Answer 9

The more people who gain degrees the more it devalues the status/benefit of having a degree. Or looked at another way, the more people who have degrees the more important it is to have a degree just to get a mediocre job.
I know that I am going to cause rage when I say that I believe that it is far easier now to get a degree than it was 30 years ago. The standard required has dropped a great deal. The number of former colleges which have now been given University status is a joke & an insult to the intelligence of people like me who know the real reason for this happening.
I see & interact with many so called graduates of today who would have struggled in a "Secondary Modern" in my day.

Answer 10

Although I am in total disagreement with the current policy to arbitrarily increase the number of university students whilst steadily increasing the costs, I do beleive it is still a worthwhile endeavour. I think it is obvious that employeers look more favourably on those people who have successfully completed a degree, and as more people follow this path, it would seem sensible that it will be increasingly important to be one of the haves, rather than the have nots. However, I don't beleive it should be like this, its just the way it is. Much better, it would seem, to respect all forms of gathering knowledge and experience, and support people in their considered choices, instead of deciding what they should be doing before they have even reached the appropriate age to consider it for themselves. But thats what you get in an unconciously facist state. Ho hum.