Are young people being pressured into gaining University entry to feed their parents ego?

With the shortage of skilled tradesmen that England now has, surely a lot of younger people would be better with apprenticeships that can be equally, if not more rewarding than spending four or more years at a University and coming out with a qualification that gives them a slim chance of gaining employment. I know of a fair few young people who stack the shelves in in supermarkets, or work in the fast-food industry who have wasted four or more years at Uni, and all of that is for what, exactly? To be disappointed, and to have run up a student lone.

I appreciate many young people need a University qualification, in order to fulfill their ambitions, but I am also of the belief that too many young people don't really want to have to go down this route. As an older person, who had little opportunity to go to University, or felt the need to, as the norm for my generation was to get an apprenticeship and learn a trade. I was curious as to how the more modern generation feel about this matter, thanks, I'd really appreciate your feedback as it would be rather interesting, to know how in touch, or out of touch I really am.

People with degrees earn 1 mil more USD on average in their lifetime

At 3/22/13 01:36 PM, Scintillating wrote: People with degrees earn 1 mil more USD on average in their lifetime

In the UK, with the exception of a few, the highest earners, are tradesmen, working in the offshore industry, and associated engineering.

People don't always attend college or "University" just for the intention of coming out with more job opportunities.

I study in a university to expand my knowledge. My parents do not disapprove.

At 3/22/13 01:49 PM, mothballs wrote: People don't always attend college or "University" just for the intention of coming out with more job opportunities.

I find it a rather expensive exercise, to attend anywhere, for the length of time that you would be there, purely to socialize, or fill your head full of information that is virtually useless considering you may never get to use it, in the real world. I was always under the impression that University was a means of gaining a qualification, in order to enhance your employment prospects. I am unsure if this is what you meant by not always attending in order to come out with more job opportunities, but that is the way that it reads, I might be wrong, and if so, I apologise, I would be grateful if you were to elaborate upon other reasons for going to College, or University.

get a job

At 3/22/13 02:02 PM, BumFodder wrote: get a job

I already have one, thanks though.

At 3/22/13 02:03 PM, Bri wrote:

At 3/22/13 02:02 PM, BumFodder wrote: get a job

I already have one, thanks though.

get a better job

At 3/22/13 01:57 PM, Bri wrote: fill your head full of information that is virtually useless considering you may never get to use it, in the real world

So your definition of "the real world" is low paying, dirty labor that REAL PEOPLE do, none of those fancy jobs requiring "ejimucation". And you seem to think that because there's a slight possibility you'll have trouble finding employment after a degree outweighs the benefits of getting one? SCOFF SCOFF

At 3/22/13 02:05 PM, BumFodder wrote:

At 3/22/13 02:03 PM, Bri wrote:

At 3/22/13 02:02 PM, BumFodder wrote: get a job

I already have one, thanks though.

get a better job

Maybe if he could have gone to a nice university...

BE A BETTER PERSON Bri!

At 3/22/13 02:07 PM, Ceratisa wrote:

At 3/22/13 02:05 PM, BumFodder wrote:

At 3/22/13 02:03 PM, Bri wrote:

At 3/22/13 02:02 PM, BumFodder wrote: get a job

I already have one, thanks though.

get a better job

Maybe if he could have gone to a nice university...

BE A BETTER PERSON Bri!

Ooooooooooooooooooooooh! told

At 3/22/13 02:05 PM, BumFodder wrote:

At 3/22/13 02:03 PM, Bri wrote:

At 3/22/13 02:02 PM, BumFodder wrote: get a job

I already have one, thanks though.

get a better job

Again, I have worked in the criminal justice system for the last seventeen years, after a career in engineering. I am doing just fine, at 66 years old, thanks, this enabled me to offer people counselling, without any financial cost what so ever to themselves.

At 3/22/13 02:06 PM, Shauna wrote: OP, you do realize it can be free if you have outstanding grades? It's worth it when you have sponsors and such. It's not just knowledge or the socializing that's great, it's the feeling of gaining that makes it worthwhile. You can hold that diploma in your hand and gain opportunities anywhere around the world. It is so important to have it if you ever want to move. In America, the only way to succeed is to gain at least a bachelors or leech off a friend who owns a great job. Here, just having the knowledge to do something only works in small secluded towns or a city full of poor folk who will spend the less amount of money on you rather than someone from a professional workplace.

Also, college is cheap here in America. I don't understand your entire thread for my boyfriend is going through it for only a few grand a year. Thanks to some internet sites and used book stores, I was able to obtain books for nearly no cost to free.

Thanks for your reply, I find it interesting, however, not everyone can have the ability to gain outstanding grades, or the inclination to spend four or more years in education, based on my own personal experiences. I wish your boyfriend all the best, for his and your own future, it's always nice seeing that someone is pursuing what they want to do in life.

I'm switching schools for computer engineering. Why? So that I can be on top of technology and there is a high demand for this kind of stuff.

idk, i'm in college because i want to be a lawyer...and i gotta get my JD and pass my bar exam.

At 3/22/13 02:02 PM, BumFodder wrote: get a job

About fourty-percent of the Job market is effectively reserved to people with degrees. A degree is to an employer purely to show that you can operate on those high levels of evaluative proficiency. In-fact for that very reason it tends to be the humanities subjects who stand a better chance of getting a non-vocational job simply because their skills can be better applied to the real world so as long as that job does not require a mathematical aptitude.

I'm a Philosophy student aiming to do a Law conversion course after my BA; thought it best to learn to actually use my own noggin' before trying to hold an argument up in court.

I will cite my sources from the Career Advisers of Leeds University thank-you.

for many people, going to university is an investment. there is no guarentte you will get a good job after you graduate, but on average, those who have received tertiary level education are more likely to get a good job than people who haven't. university graduates tend to have better analytical skills. there are also plenty of summer internship opportunities if you are studying in a university, and you can get career advice...

some are truly interested in what they are studying and want to pursue advanced degrees in the future (either to satisfy their curiosity, or to become researchers).

and of course there are also people who just want to follow others footsteps. they are not sure why they have applied for colleges.

university education is worth it if you have clear plans.

I'm studying a plethora of university courses in search of interesting areas of expertise. You get paid to study in Sweden, so why not, it's a better alternative than just jumping on the first job you find without first contemplating desires and goals. It's more about attaining knowledge than merits for me.

At 3/22/13 03:46 PM, Entice wrote:

At 3/22/13 01:57 PM, Bri wrote: fill your head full of information that is virtually useless considering you may never get to use it, in the real world.

Yes because scientists, engineers, surgeons, researchers, and highly skilled/scientific workers totally aren't relevant in the "real world".

Just because you don't need a piece of information to fix a toilet doesn't mean that it's virtually useless

The point I was making is that a lot of people who end up with said qualifications don't get given the chance at getting a job, that is relevant to the study, and effort that was put into earning them.

Don't know you, but it feels awesome to have a diploma hanged in the office.

Totally worth it. Unless your university ain't worth shit in another country, in which that case you're fucked.

At 3/22/13 01:36 PM, Scintillating wrote: People with degrees earn 1 mil more USD on average in their lifetime

Maybe this is true, or was true back when I was in 8/9th/10th grades where they preached collage like falcons calling to one another for buttfuckings.

But whats 1,000,000/ let's say 55 years (starting from 20, living to be 75) that's 18181.81 per year.. WOW! Wait.. that's 336$ per paycheck, holy crap that'd double my old income.

Oh wait..that's bullshit becuase there are plenty of shlups out there with $100k+ in student loans that can barely find a mediocre paying job. There are a very very thin set of skills people can study for, have a extremely high employment rate, as well as have a overall much higher earning average. Some computer skill sets, some engineering skill sets, and a few other random as fuck jobs.

The whole collage for success has been bullshit for the last 10 years, at least. Tuition keeps climbing to record highs, and students are not getting anything out of it. At least the majority. It's societal norm to go to collage for success, this has been engrained into us for as long as we can remember, when I was a kid, collage used to make a huge difference, now that I'm 21, it means almost nothing unless you have a very specialized degree, or know someone wayyy up in the ladder to get you in.

At 3/22/13 01:34 PM, Bri wrote: Are young people being pressured into gaining University entry to feed their parents ego?

Because studying is fun! At least, when you can afford it. Tough luck if you live in a country where only private universities with outrageous fees count for anything in your resumee... :P

i'm studying physics because physics is interesting, I don't need nor expect mountains of money, but I would like a job that at least has something to do with physics

I think an amazing paying job isn't the right reason to be studying.

At 3/22/13 01:57 PM, Bri wrote: I find it a rather expensive exercise, to attend anywhere, for the length of time that you would be there, purely to socialize, or fill your head full of information that is virtually useless considering you may never get to use it, in the real world. I was always under the impression that University was a means of gaining a qualification, in order to enhance your employment prospects. I am unsure if this is what you meant by not always attending in order to come out with more job opportunities, but that is the way that it reads, I might be wrong, and if so, I apologise, I would be grateful if you were to elaborate upon other reasons for going to College, or University.

Yes, that is what I meant. But not everyone can afford it. That's why there's less expensive schools and more expensive schools. I know people that are just going because the rest of their friends who graduated high school are going and they would feel guilty staying out of the picture. American culture looks at higher education institutions as an important value for any individual, therefore more people who get the chance to attend will do it whether they are coming out with a useful degree or not.

At 3/22/13 01:40 PM, jaxxDS wrote: University's not worth it in my opinion, it's good to get an education, but that bachelor's degree sure ain't gonna help you find a job in the real world.

That depends entirely on what you're going to major in.

Example: Nobody can be an engineer without having spent at least four or five years in university first, and since there's a huge shortage of engineers and technicians (in my country) every graduate at my faculty finds employment very quickly. Perhaps in the past people worked their way up to engineer after becoming a welder or construction worker or something, but nowadays that's just not how it works anymore.

So going through university is completely worth it in my case. The same goes for any student who aspires to be a doctor, surgeon, lawyer or whatever other prestigious job you can think of.

If you're getting a degree in art or something things might be different, but those students might have different reasons for going to university anyway. Even if you end up having difficulties finding a steady job, it's still a nice life experience and it's good for your own personal development if you ask me.