Despite being called ‘Not Going To Uni,’ we are not actually against the idea of university education. In fact, some of our staff went to university and had a great time (others perhaps less so), while we also have people here who didn’t head off to uni. That said, it is hard to ignore the pro-university bias that is promoted by many schools and colleges. While the government are looking at ways to even up the scope of careers advice for young people, we have always been about promoting alternatives so that teenagers understand the range of choices that are available to them. There may be many different ways to get into your chosen career, but if you are never told about them how are you to make an informed decision about your future? With thousands of students going to, and graduating from university each year, in the interest of balance, here are five reasons why you might want to consider NOT going to uni!
“I don’t know what I want to do?”
There is a notion that it is a good idea to go to university if you don’t yet know what you want to do for a career. The idea is that you can give yourself three more years to make your mind up, however, with tuition fees you are not ‘giving’ yourself more time so much as buying it! Besides, how can you choose a relevant course to study if you have no idea what you are going to do with the qualification when you get it? Instead, it might be worth taking some time to try out some different jobs and get some experience. You might want to consider looking at options for volunteering to get an insight into different job sectors or take some smaller, less time consuming and expensive courses to see how you get on. There is nothing to say you can’t then study later when you have a better idea as to what you want to do…
Save money!
As we hinted above, the financial factors of going to university are hard to ignore. With maintenance loans and tuition fees to repay graduates are finding themselves with thousands of pounds of debt before they have even applied for their first job. With no guarantee that you will get a great job when you leave university (despite what you may have been told), you have to decide whether the degree and the university experience is really worth such a large gamble?
Had enough of education?
For some people, by the time they finish their A levels they have had enough of classrooms, tutors and education in general. You might want a change of scene and to try something different, or maybe start earning some real money for a change? There are plenty of jobs aimed at young people fresh from school or college, or you could opt for a mix of work and training by doing an apprenticeship. Learning in a working environment, while earning a wage, is different from sitting in class, and offers a more ‘hands-on’ experience.
A waste of time?
Spending three years at university before looking for a career in your chosen field isn’t always necessary these days. Sure, there are some careers that still ask for a degree, but with more careers offering entry through apprenticeships, not to mention other options such as doing a sponsored degree with an employer (they pay your fees!), university is no longer the be-all and end-all to a good career. Rather than wasting time studying for a degree, would you be better just to get involved and start working your way in your chosen career?
Better prospects?
With thousands of graduates leaving university each year, there simply aren’t enough ‘graduate level’ jobs to go around. This means that many of them are forced to take work that they could have walked in to straight out of school – and all without the debts of tuition fees! While there is no guarantee that you will get your dream job when you leave university, apprentices tend to stay in work – often with apprentice employer - once they qualify. As an apprentice your employer has a vested interest in your success (they paid for your training after all). A university, by contrast will care about your grades to make themselves look better, but once you leave you will be going head-to-head with all the other graduates for that top job. With the snobbery that exists saying that some universities (and by extension their graduates) are better than others, your grades may not even be enough to win the day for you! Plus, as with an apprenticeship, impressing an employer while you are already working for them is surely a step in the right direction?
