Is a uni degree essential?

August 10, 2009 12:58 PM

Should i finish a uni course in a field i dont want a job in?

So, ive done 2 years of my university course, and ive realised that i only took it because my parents expected me to go to uni and i had to pick something. So i picked a school subject i found easy.

Im now realising that personally, id rather have a job that makes me happy than pays me a lot of money. And i want to be financially independent of my parents, who currently pay my rent and bills, because while they are lovely people, they get on my nerves. I know this is probably more about me than them, but still, i want to cut off their control from my life. So im seriously considering looking for a full-time job in a field im interested in (starting as an apprentice), and if i can find one, dropping out of uni.

Is not finishing uni a terrible idea? Will i have doomed myself to debt and struggling? Will i seriously regret it?

Im in the UK, btw, and 19.

posted by stillnocturnal to work & money (18 comments total)

It's hard to advise without knowing what your current course and the alternative career are, but do know that even if you aren't taking money from your parents, they will continue to annoy you. So don't change your life plan just to avoid being annoyed by your parents.
posted by wholebroad at 1:08 PM on August 10

Oddly enough, there's a big debate raging today on the blog Get Rich Slowly. I wrote the article, so I'm a bit biased, but the conversation has brought up a bunch of issues, both for and against degrees. Just thought you might find it interesting.
posted by jasondbarr at 1:23 PM on August 10

Think very carefully about this, as, I'm sure you realise, it's a huge decision. Some questions to ask: This field you're interested in - a life-long ambition or a recent discovery? Are there actually jobs in the area at the moment or would two more years be too long to wait? Being just out of college myself, I know that it seems like an awful long time until you're finished, but when I was that age (and now still) I went through radical changes of mind and heart. I can empathise too with your desire to be financially independent, but this independence won't stop your parents getting on your nerves. You've got it easy if that's the worst you have to say about 'lovely people'!

Speaking from my own experience of having doubted my course and kept with it, and from knowing others who've done the same, I'd say make sure that it's not dissatisfaction with some other aspect of your life that makes you want a change as opposed to the subject you study itself.

Also, unless your degree is very specific, there'll probably be a huge choice of careers out of it that you'd never thought of and that they don't tell you about in uni :)
posted by hannahlambda at 1:26 PM on August 10

So, you've done 2 years? I assume it's a 3 year course? My (personal) advice would be finish the degree. You'll be out of the course in less than 12 months (8-9 tops, but who's counting?). Even if you never ever ever use the degree you have the piece of paper that serves as a marker that you are capable of getting a bachelors degree and does not waste the two years you've spent doing it.

Also, if you have an idea of what you *want* to do, a university is not the worst place in the world to take baby steps in pursuing it while you finish your degree.

Finish it. With the world getting more and more educated do you really want to cut yourself out of the market having done the majority of the work to get there?
posted by gadha at 1:29 PM on August 10

Finishing university is a great way to find a good job and be financially independent. Now, if you are majoring in a field you don't enjoy, then you should change your focus. If you honestly feel like you would be most happy in a career that doesn't require a university degree, then I would encourage you to leave and follow that path.

But please, don't drop out of school because your parents annoy you and you don't want to be dependent on them anymore. Grin and bear it, accept their loving gift of support, and in two years, get a great job and be on your own. In the long-term, two years of your life at age 19 is nothing compared to the benefits of a university degree.
posted by Tooty McTootsalot at 1:29 PM on August 10 [1 favorite]

You not loving your degree and your parents being annoying to you are two separate issues. Treat them as such. If you want to be independent, get a job. If you don't like what you're doing, find another path that's of more interest to you. This is what most people I know did (doing boring jobs while they studied, to be financially independent). But really, at 19, my opinion is you should (a) work anyway, (b) take advantage of the help your parents are giving you, and (c) finish your courses especially if you're almost done, or switch program. A completed degree is worth something; there are far more chances you'll regret dropping it, sometime in your life.
posted by ddaavviidd at 1:41 PM on August 10

Finish. My answer would be different if you had done only one year, but assuming it's a three year degree you are more than 2 thirds of the way through. You'll regret it later if you don't, you wont' be eligible for funding to go back and do it again, so finish. You'll be done by June, you can still take steps to what you actually want to do.

So far my degree has proved completely useless job-wise, but I'm still so so glad I did it.

A lot of this depends on what you are studying, and what you want to be doing. A lot of what you gain from university has very little to do with studying. If you don't like your subject, see if you are able to study any subjects outside your core subject

If you do decide to stay, be sure to enjoy your final year, you won't get to do it again!
posted by nunoidia at 1:46 PM on August 10

To some extent, especially at the undergraduate level, that degree is proof of your ability to commit to and complete a program. You're rather far along to abandon the pursuit and I think you'd wonder about the opportunities lost later on. If it's just tedious, you don't have that much further to go. If it's not on the path you want to be on, have you looked at how the credits you've accrued might be put toward another degree?

I think I agree with some of the others above that I might have a different answer if this were your first year or you were just about to start. But if well begun is half done, then two-thirds is practically finished.

Good luck.
posted by yamel at 1:57 PM on August 10

Since you're 2 years through a 3 year course, I'd stick at it and complete the course. Failing to do this may label you a quitter in some people's eyes, and some of them may be recruiters looking to offer you a job.
My view on your first degree is that it demonstrates the ability to learn, develop and apply knowledge. I've said to people before that it's a passport, the qualification on your CV gets you in for the interview, after that it's up to you to get the job.
As others have said, separate your feelings about your parents from your feelings about your course. Good luck!
posted by arcticseal at 2:06 PM on August 10

The cost of university in the UK is very different to that in the US, so (especially when you've already done most of it) there's no good financial reason for you to drop out - having a degree, any degree, often comes in handy when applying for jobs, and it doesn't sound like you have real plans for 'a field you're interested in'. Why can't you get a part time job and stay at uni? You might even earn enough to take over some of your own bills, and reduce your parents input into your decisions a little.
posted by jacalata at 2:12 PM on August 10

Its a four year course, i still have two years to do. Which i really dont like to think about. But thanks for the advice :) You are all probably right.
Oh, and the reason that my parents and my uni course are linked in my head is because i feel like im doing it just because they want me to and to make them happy, not because i want to. But yeah, i'll deal with them separately

Thanks everyone ^_^
posted by stillnocturnal at 2:18 PM on August 10

My anecdote: I graduated with a BS in computer science 1 year ago. I did all of my major-related courses in the first 2.5 years of study and then finished up with electives during my final 2 years. Despite not studying anything even related to my major for those final 2 years of college (I took history classes, writing and literature classes, economics classes, and spanish classes ) I still could not receive a raise at work until I graduated. My programming skills didn't double when I finally earned my diploma, but my salary did. It's silly and bureaucratic but that's how it works. A college diploma may not mean much to you, it sure doesn't to me, but it makes a huge difference to your employers.
posted by trueluk at 2:23 PM on August 10

Just try and get hired while you're doing your course, rather than quitting and then looking for a job. Then you can compare the potential job and the uni course side-by-side and make your decision.
posted by so_necessary at 2:27 PM on August 10

Yes, finish it. In the UK at the moment theres a lot of talk about how not everyone needs to go to Uni etc. etc. I'm sure your aware about it. Maybe it is true in theory, but that is irrelevant seeing as you live in a world where a lot of people are getting degrees. Employers will find it much easier to not look at a degree-less application if they already have 20 from people with degrees.
posted by munchbunch at 2:33 PM on August 10

Finish finish finish!

For these reasons:

• Education, especially in a horrible economy like this one, is a fantastic investment, because it will pay rich dividends to people who otherwise (at 19, with only some college, where will you be starting on the income scale? not high.) wouldn't be able to leapfrog up that high - according to the United States Census, people with "some college, no degree" earn an average of $41,447 a year after turning 25, while those with a four-year degree or above earn - at least - $59,365 after 25 - that's a massive, massive difference. That's basically an extra at least £11,000 a year, from 25 until you stop working maybe 40+ years later, for you doing two more years of college. A contractor off in Iraq right now might bring in, if they're lucky and don't go nuts from living on a base all the time, more than $250,000 over a year, which sounds huge, I know - but imagine bringing in almost four times that for just two years more work. Think what the magic of compound interest does to even a portion of that money if you sock it away.

Over a lifetime, that's the difference between struggling and being able to change jobs when you want to move, take time off with your family, visit those places you've always wanted to go. The degree helps to remove the need for you to stay in one high-paying job in a certain field forever.

• On a more immediate time-scale, you might spend weeks or months pounding the pavement with no promise of finding a job - and the added factor of not being in the academic track anymore will mean no or limited access to the support that exists at your uni for students about to enter the labor force. And all that time you're not in class: you're home with the folks.

• "Exotic" jobs that bring in money - teaching English in South Korea or Thailand or the Gulf, for example - often state a requirement for a degree because there needs to be some way to sort through the nine zillion applicants for that high salary, and to preserve the quality of the teaching pool in places where English-speakers are rare commodities. You can't even get a visa to go and try to get a job there without a degree. You can work in cowboy schools and risk deportation and lower salaries for legal workers.

• It shows employers that you've put in time and commitment to something beyond your own personal interests, a huge plus. A CV with a BA Anything at the top, short of you having already won a Nobel Prize, tells a prospective employer that you're determined, hardworking, dedicated, and motivated by challenging stuff. Without? Now I'm looking for a reason to keep reading - your CV is halfway to the bin, perhaps. Why take the risk?

• Though you may leave with some debt, I imagine that it pales in comparison to what many Americans might have, and even we, in the end, mostly get along OK. Britain's loan repayment system - at least the income-based repayment link I clicked on - seems to be quite reasonable and clear, with lots of options for people out of work or transitioning between careers/life stages.

• If you EVER decide that you MIGHT want to go further with your education, like pursuing a Master's degree, a first degree is essential, as are the references you will obtain from the professors with whom you worked on your final year's work.

• But most of all, when you say this:

"i want to cut off their control from my life"

I feel like there needs to be a discussion with them about what boundaries you're feeling chafed by. Moving out on your own or in with some friends need not be a huge burden financially, and may actually wind up cheaper if your folks are in town - if you lived in a huge student house with, say, 6 or 7 people, your share of utilities might be lower than what your parents are paying now. Sharing costs and living on your own with flatmates is a great adventure, and leads to strong friendships and, I think, higher confidence.

It's also a good idea to examine how financially independent you are right now. Do you have the means to go on vacation with friends when you want, pop over to a concert now and then, pick up a pair of jeans when you need to? Would you be scraping by every month? What decisions would you have to make - and what decisions would already be made for you?

Limited education = limited future potential earnings, as a rule. And do entrepreneurs disprove the rule for everyone? No. But looking at my own parents, who grew up with no financial ability to attend college and no motivation on their own parents' part to get them there and support them - I have to recommend that you stay, if only for the promise of being able to give your kids someday the same level of support your folks are helping you with now.

Finally: it's summer, right? Are you at home a lot right now? It's time to get out! Head to your uni's career center and see what part-time on-campus jobs are available (library assistant, sports-equipment-checkout-guy, person-who-swipes-student-cards-at-the-student-union...) - if you're in town already, setting up a job with the uni makes your commute an absolute snap and your bosses knowledgeable about the demands put on you (and all their employees). A win-win. All my jobs in college were on-campus, and it worked out really well.

PS:

• Getting personal: My own parents, despite decades of hard work, still have the threat of not being able to find a job if they lose theirs now - because so many more people have degrees now and because degrees are required for certain jobs now, even if to us the actual doing of the job has nothing to do with a degree. When they started out in the labor force in the late 1960s, this was less of an issue; now, the struggle to keep their jobs is coming into sharper focus. There's a specific job in my mom's company that she just cannot apply for, end of story, because she has no degree, regardless of her years of experience and knowledge about how this job would work. The decision was made in some corporate office far away, and it really bugs my mom that people who have no real-world experience BUT a degree in something can waltz right in and take a job she knows she's qualified for.
posted by mdonley at 2:40 PM on August 10 [2 favorites]

You'd be well advised to finish.

Doesn't the UK have a fairly low percentage of people who finish Uni? Presumably this makes UK degrees worth relatively more than US degrees.

Also, from someone older you may find that you don't care about how much you earn that much now. You may find that as you become older and may want a family, house etc money starts to matter more.

Also, the field you are study now may be more interesting to work in that it is to study. It's hard to say.

Could you go part time and get a job to earn some money to give yourself greater freedom?

You say there is some field you'd like to do an apprenticeship in. Would it be possible for you to work casually or something in that field while you finish your degree?
posted by sien at 4:58 PM on August 10

I did the first two years of my degree when I was straight out of school (18 years ago, yikes), didn't know what I wanted to do, picked a subject I wasn't hugely interested (but was talented) in -- basically, the same as your situation, without the nagging parents.

I bailed after two years, and started painting houses, then landed a gig as a scanner operator -- which took me into desktop publishing/Mac support/web development and such. But....I knew that a degree was going to be important if I ever wanted to move up to a strategic position, as opposed to an operations position.

I'm two courses away from finishing my BComm in Marketing, which has taken me almost nine years to complete, part-time. I SO WISH I had finished it the first time around, regardless of what it was in -- the time commitment of doing it this way has been spectacularly suck-filled.

Maybe look at altering your courseload to a different major, using some of the credits you already have? I changed my major three times before I figured out what was the best fit. I have no idea what the UK university system is like.

But, regardless, I vote with the "stick with it" crowd. Two years? Pshaw -- t'aint long atall.
posted by liquado at 6:14 PM on August 10

As a UK lecturer my general advice would be to stick it out.

Codicil 1: How are your results and motivation? Are you managing to keep turning in good grades? If not consider getting out, no point finishing with a third or worse and a mountain of debt.

Codicil 2: What is the potential for taking the credit you already have and transferring to a course that will recoignise them and let you finish your degree there? This will of course depend on what you want to do and what you are already doing. If you stop what you are doing at the end of your second year then you will be in a difficult position for getting your LEA/the UK government to pay the full fees for another 3 or 4 year course, they will generally only pay up to 4 years all together. Getting on to the start of a second year of a three year course now will let you access fee payments until the end of the course.
posted by biffa at 2:27 AM on August 11