Lexx Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 To put things into some kind of context regarding degrees in my own opinion - My wife has 2 x BSc, 1 x Masters, and 1 x PhD. I have zero degree's, and 2 x barely passed A-Levels. We both earn the same amount (well into the 40% tax bracket), and are both considered to be serious professionals. For every job that needs a degree, there will be another that needs an apprenticeship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 (edited) Who made a derogatory statement? I could very well say the same to you from your opening comment to me this evening. You need to stop taking this and yourself too seriously. I don't. That's why I "like" your posts. I see the funny side. Loosen up. Edited November 21, 2014 by Rock_Steady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Thats the point though isn't it Alex. That some career paths you will need a degree to get your foot in the door. For others you do not. My wife doesn't have a degree I do, up until a couple of years ago we were on the same salary. For jobs like law, engineering etc I would imagine having a degree gives you a very good chance of getting that first job vs someone who has just left school and doesn't have one. I am sure there are plenty of people without degree's who did other things which resulted in a well paid job. That said pretty sure I saw some stats about degree type (i.e. maths based, engineering based etc) vs the country average earnings and on average they were much higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 if I had my time again, I think I would've studied a trade and gone in for an apprenticeship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I am utterly hopeless at anything practical - if I had my time again, I would do a degree again..! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 A degree again?!? A degree in what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Something car related..! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Snap!! Me too. Can't you do that down a more vocational route? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I left grammar school in 1966 when very few people went to University. Off the top of my head out of 160 in my year (classes of 40 then) only around 20 went to University. In general these were the students who already had a clear career path in mind. A quick story...There were 4 of us who hung around together in School and when we were 15 my 3 mates were invited around to my house for tea. My mum asked them what they were going to do when they left school. One of them answered, I'm going to be a gynecologist (I didn't even know what that was) . Yeah right, but he finished up as a professor of phsycology and wrote several books on the subject worked as a navy doctor for many years too. When I worked in the labs at British Steel there was one degree between the 120 of us although plenty of us had what was considered to be a good qualification back then, an HNC in Chemistry. How things have changed, when I worked at Lubrizol we were taking on plant operators with HND's and HNC's in Chemical Engineering. So, a degree is really important these days as is the university you go to. It's also important to get a good degree and if possible a masters degree. My daughter had to work in Sports Direct, wait on at large functions and do some Gymnastic coaching to fund her masters degree but its really paying off now. Pete 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I done the apprenticeship route when i was 16. Could have stayed on for my final year at school and go to uni, but had zero interest in doing so. All my mates were skint and i was the one with a mortgage at 18 and a decent car. 8 years on ive moved from the tools (Heating Engineer) and now working as Mechanical Project Manager on one of the biggest jobs in Glasgow/Scotland. Apart from the apprenticeship, i put myself through an HNC course which was self funded. I feel this helped a little with the transition from site to office. I would love to progress to uni and continue on from my HNC, however i do not have enough desire to fund this myself. Im holding out for a company that will put me through it!! In short, you can make a very good living if you work hard for it! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Well done Ross, good mechanical engineers are hard to come by 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Snap!! Me too. Can't you do that down a more vocational route? Maybe at some point but I am in quite a nicely paid job at the moment (not one I particularly enjoy mind you) and have plenty of overheads...maybe one day... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyoldjanner Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Off topic but are you 'Hell Running' in your profile piccie? http://www.axevalleyrunners.org.uk/grizzly/ 20 miles of hills, bogs and wading through rivers along the east Devon coast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay.1r Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 As like ross, I took the apprentice route from School and only to hnc level through my company, now 21 paying a mortgage with a Z, a large majority of my friends are working ridiculous hours to just have a job, living with their parents but they all have degrees, I believe its all down to working hard to get what you want in life, as mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeezeebaba Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 (edited) I'm a degree trained geologist but for me university was a waste of time and money.I did work for Shell and a couple of water authorities but after three redundancies changed career totally. Since the polytechnics became universities the market had been awash with soft degrees like "media studies" etc. I know biologists and similar degree level people who just can't get into their chosen field for love nor money. If your going to do a degree then I would say a core subject like mathematics is the way to go. That said my partners brother started as a tea boy at Wintarther life and is now one of their top risk analysts,he left school with naff all. Edited November 22, 2014 by Zeezeebaba 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Thats the point though isn't it Alex. That some career paths you will need a degree to get your foot in the door. For others you do not. My wife doesn't have a degree I do, up until a couple of years ago we were on the same salary. For jobs like law, engineering etc I would imagine having a degree gives you a very good chance of getting that first job vs someone who has just left school and doesn't have one. I am sure there are plenty of people without degree's who did other things which resulted in a well paid job. That said pretty sure I saw some stats about degree type (i.e. maths based, engineering based etc) vs the country average earnings and on average they were much higher. Funnily enough that was what I linked a few pages back col...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobears Posted November 22, 2014 Author Share Posted November 22, 2014 Yes Will, you did and it was very useful in my lesson, thank you The economic crisis hit Spain much harder than the UK it seems and, for young Spaniards, a degree really is essential if they are to find decent paying jobs. The situation here is slightly more cloudy even though the stats you linked to seem to prove that having a degree is better than not having one. I am not worried about my daughter's choice to do a more practical course, albeit one that contains large chunks of science as I feel that she stands more chance of getting work that she will enjoy by going down this route. Here is a picture of her enjoying a typical day at college Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Thats the point though isn't it Alex. That some career paths you will need a degree to get your foot in the door. For others you do not. My wife doesn't have a degree I do, up until a couple of years ago we were on the same salary. For jobs like law, engineering etc I would imagine having a degree gives you a very good chance of getting that first job vs someone who has just left school and doesn't have one. I am sure there are plenty of people without degree's who did other things which resulted in a well paid job. That said pretty sure I saw some stats about degree type (i.e. maths based, engineering based etc) vs the country average earnings and on average they were much higher. Funnily enough that was what I linked a few pages back col...... Missed that, honest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurtB Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 (edited) I think timing has a lot to do with it. I am 27 and didn't go to uni. I finished college at 18 and got a job in the career I wanted. With the economic situation a lot of my friends who got into careers and jobs when we were 16-19 got their feet in the door and gained experience in their field when perhaps finding a job was easier. A lot of people my age who went to univeristy finished their education when finding a job was hard due to the economy, so struggled to find work, especially in their respective field. Also, possibly, there's an expectation to go to uni and go straight into a high paid job. We who started working at 16-18 worked our way up, gained experience so are on decent wages etc. If I had gone to university i would have had to find a job or career when there were few out there, whilst having no real job experience. I feel sorry for many of my school friends who struggled to find employment; many were very clever and worked very hard, they were just "unlucky" with the economy. So im my personal opinion / circumstances, getting a degree would have made my quality of life a whole lot worse! As a side note, when playing "The Game Of Life" every game where i ended up going to uni ended up a lot worse than when I didn't. Board games do not lie! Edited November 23, 2014 by KurtB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 For some people, they like to challenge themselves to get a degree - my wife didn't go to uni and is now later in life wanting to do one, it won't earn her extra money in a career as she already has some great experience that gets her into job interviews, but its a tick in the box of one of lifes things to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurtB Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 (edited) That's fair enough. From what i've heard no one regrets going to university, it seems like a great life experience. Good parties too! Edit - slightly misread your comment! I managed to do an HNC in my private time and with partial funding from work (and start an HND). Might be worth seeing if that is an option. No parties though! Edited November 23, 2014 by KurtB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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