Is further education universally beneficial?

 "Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a f***ing big television." Irvine Welch, said it well. We are fed a rhetoric of school, university, career, house, marriage, and then children. That this will make us happy and fulfilled. Even at school, the idea of university was treated as the of pinnacle education, opening doors to amazing opportunities. However, despite obtaining a 2:1 from university, I have yet to find these doors. I am not the only one to feel this, only 52% of graduates find a graduate level job. When former students eventually land a degree related role, it is usually a temporary position or an unpaid internship. There are 21,000 unpaid internships in the UK; that’s one in five of those offered.

In secondary school, there were several classes in which we had ex-students speak to us about the fundamental importance of university. It was obvious that these students had been told to stay upbeat and push the idea of further education upon us. For the school, there is an agenda to ensure that a large percentage of students continue to university. This ensures that the school remains at a high level of excellence. For them, it is a point scored against other schools. I did not receive any of the same information about apprenticeships or their benefits. Instead, I was encouraged and supported in filling out an application form for college, to complete my A levels. My experience at college was the same, most tutors pushed the superiority of university education. I would have loved to have access to a careers advisor, to talk through my options and decide where my strengths were. I felt that I was on a conveyor belt, moving through life without control.

I was lucky enough to finish college when the tuition fees tripled to £9,000 per year, which means that my debt now stands at over £40,000. But was it worth it? Well, yes and no, but mainly no. Along with several of my peers, I found the experience of university invaluable. Moving away from home demands a growth in maturity. Budgeting, washing, time management, cooking and cleaning are all tasks that first year students must adjust to. Living with housemates and attending classes with peers, forces everyone to talk to other people. As someone who lives with anxiety, this pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I am extremely grateful for that. I developed into a more confident person and often led during group projects. Therefore, for personal growth, I feel that university was a vital tool for personal growth.

As for university, the average weekly contact time stands at 15 hours per week which you are expected to match with out of class study time. Your course is supposed to be a ‘full time job’. As most universities run two sixteen-week terms, that’s £281.25 per hour of tuition. Obviously, there are other costs that the university must cover, but I feel that with an average 14, 320 students, they could afford to drop the price. In addition to this, as fees rise, there is also higher level of students, leading to a reduction in the ability for professors to spend time with their students. So, there is a higher price for a lower level of service. This lack of support has undoubtedly led to the diminished welfare in students. Those who find themselves struggling with living independently and with a stack of classwork, become stressed with minimal support from university staff. It is unsurprising that 6.4% of first years leave before the year is up.

On top of the increase in price paid for university, the additional earnings for graduates over non-graduates has declined (45% in 2004 to 24% in 2017). This may be due to an increase in student numbers as on average half a million more people are enrolling per year. Degrees have lost their sovereignty; most people now have them. Having completed my degree with an upper second class, I assumed that there would be plenty of opportunities for me to realise my dream of working with animals. Alas, there were very few and most demanded years of experience. This is something that is not provided through university, unless you have a placement or sandwich year. I endeavoured to gain experience during university, however, was unsuccessful in this. Now, I am working a job that does not require a degree, but it is with animals, so I’m halfway there.

At university, each school was designated a careers mentor. In the life sciences, our advisor had never worked in or, it seemed, never researched the science sector. In our third year, I attended the ‘careers fayre’, while this was great for business and marketing students, there were no stalls for animal sciences (well except a meat production company). Coming towards the end of my final year, with no job prospects in sight, I panicked and applied for a master’s degree at the same university. It appears that university has become a ‘safe bet’ for people who are unsure what to do and wish to stall.

In retrospect, I feel that I would have benefited more from an apprenticeship or college course and wish I was given more information surrounding those options. Although I enjoyed university, I do feel that I have spent too much time and money on something that was mis-sold to me. I feel that apprenticeships were marketed to me as an option for those who are less academic, however, I believe that they could be beneficial to most. Alternatively, work experience and placements should be an integral part of degree courses at university for students to expand their knowledge and network for future careers. Universities need to do more to prepare students for life after study, as I now only feel prepared for further study or a job in research. The current system of university snobbery and the idea of using a degree as a stopgap while one decides on a life path is failing graduates. There needs to be more talk on alternate routes onto the career ladder for young people. The path that is best suited may be the one that is less obvious to you.