Welcome to Guest Post Friday, where today’s words of wisdom come from Andrew Brookes at Zazzle, as he weighs up the value of education against experience:
Degree vs experience: The all-important career path choice
There’s an awkward moment in any young person’s life when it’s time to make a big decision on your future. Before then life has been fairly structured – it’s all about school, lessons, study and exams and looking to get the best possible grades.
Towards the end of your studies though, you realise it’s time to turn those grades into something tangible and contemplate a career in the big wide world. For a lot of people the immediate choice comes down to one simple question: should I go to university or not?
Based on your thoughts and hopes for a possible career you need to look at which route to take next. The important thing to note – and it’s a source of comfort during a time that can cause a lot of anxiety – is that this decision isn’t some sort of stark fork in the road. As this article by Jobstoday explains, choosing one path doesn’t shut the door on the other.
Going into work or taking on an apprenticeship doesn’t necessarily mean the end of study – you can still earn qualifications while you work – while reading for a degree can be more practical than it sounds. You’re not so much at a fork or crossroads in your life – merely looking into the route planner for the direction you want to take to reach your goals. Sometimes you can end up at the same destination whether you go for university or work and it’s just the route that’s different.
It’s important to bear that in mind when weighing up the two options. This isn’t a ‘vs’ in a boxing match sense, there may not be a knockout reason for choosing one over the other, it’s merely about mapping out the rough direction you’re heading in – with flexibility to tweak this as you go too.
Strengths of opting not to go to university
So, what if you choose not to go to university? What are the strengths of following this route?
There’s no point denying it, top of the list is money. Tuition fees and student finance remains a big political issue and shows little sign of disappearing off the agenda.
Students are indeed daunted by paying fees – even with the help of loans – and this is not a factor if you follow a work/apprenticeship route. Apprenticeships offer the balance of being able to ‘earn as you learn’ – in fact some apprentices are even able to earn as much as they’d have to pay out in fees each year.
Student finance isn’t a black and white issue. There are ways to get help and you will only repay your student loan once you’re earning but there’s no doubt that an apprenticeship is a way of putting a little bit of cash in your pocket and avoiding paying out further down the line. It’s important to remember too that apprenticeships or on-the-job training schemes will see you pick up transferable skills and won’t just narrowly prepare you for one job.
The qualifications from work-based learning range right up to those that match degree-level academic qualifications. You can finish an apprenticeship, for example, with a qualification AND experience.
That’s more than handy when you come to cast your eye about for job opportunities as you won’t get frustrated by the fact that everyone seems to want some form of experience.
It’s a way at a young age of quickly arming yourself with an impressive CV worth investing in. Going to work or signing up to an apprenticeship also means you won’t feel like you’ve drifted around and wasted any time. In depth academic study can feel enlightening at the time but how useful will all those countless hours in the library really be? Will would-be employers actually be impressed by your niche degree?
A degree can be hard work and not all of your efforts will be directly contributing to a specific career goal.
The benefits of university study
All of that doesn’t mean that university study is without merit – far from it.
Take that obscure dissertation you slaved over for hours on end. The research, writing and editing skills you will have honed in this and your essay assignments are definitely transferable and should be valuable wherever you end up next.
It may sound a bit wishy-washy but you shouldn’t also ignore the benefits of academic study to your own intellectual development.
The right type of study can be a great opportunity to challenge your beliefs and broaden your mind, seeing you exposed to a host of exciting different ideas and theories to fuel your curiosity about the world. Taking on a degree can also give you the breathing space to weigh up your career. It’s important for young people to know that it’s fine to be unsure about what you want to do. Opting to carrying on studying in a field that you have a real flair for can give you the ideal amount of time to fine tune your plans as you mature, all the time still developing skills that will be useful in the workplace.
Unless your heart is 100 per cent set on a very specific job it doesn’t necessarily matter what degree you get from your studies – instead the challenge is to take on the best course you can at the best university you’re able to reach. Any summary of the benefits of university would be lying to you if it avoided the social side and, just like with the academic benefits, it’s fine to mull this over as one of the reasons you want to go off to university.
This isn’t solely about drinking in cut-price student bars – although let’s not pretend that’s not part of it – but is also about the benefit to be had from joining clubs and societies and leaving home to go it alone.
Apprentices and people heading into the working world can, of course, lead an active social life but university comes with the right environment to make that much easier and more structured. The sorts of social activities you can undertake as a student can also help towards building your confidence as an adult, once again preparing you for wider society and the career you wish to pursue.
Availability
It may not sound the most romantic of reasons, but availability is important when it comes to considering a degree or work. Not every university will offer the course you want to study for and not every career will offer an apprenticeship or have jobs available.
Apprenticeships are typically found in fields such as engineering, manual fields or creative industries but that is changing – with law, banking and many more areas offering them. Looking back to 100 years ago, the most popular apprenticeships were in dressmaking and engineering – nowadays the top two are health and social care and business administration.
When it comes to a degree be realistic. You need top grades to get into Oxford or Cambridge – don’t be unrealistic and put yourself under unnecessary pressure.
Research
The key for any young person as they weigh up this important decision is research.
If you like the look of a particular university then go to an open day – take a tour around, meet the people running the course and ask plenty of questions. You’ll quickly get a view on whether it’s the right place for you. Look at the accommodation too.
If you’re weighing up a job then research the company thoroughly – follow it on social media and check out what its employees are saying on there too to get a feel for the sort of work you’d be doing and the sort of people the firm employs. Until you’ve looked into an option properly you shouldn’t rule it out – you might be surprised by just how exciting a course sounds or just how much you could earn at a job suited to your skills. Failing to research all of your options could be a factor behind going down the wrong path.
Solely focus on what works for you and recognise that you can change paths if things don’t work out. You can sign up for a degree further down the line or leave a course and get a job if university really doesn’t work out. Speak to older friends and family and you’ll find that many people’s career routes are far from being a straight line from A to B. Their advice can be extremely useful – even if it’s just to help you know what to avoid!
Remember too that the world of employment and training is changing all the time. Just because your chosen career isn’t traditionally entered through an apprenticeship don’t worry. If the right opportunity is there for you then grab it.
The answer to the ‘degree v experience’ debate is dependent on what works best for you once you’ve factored in finances, availability, your skills, your ideal career destination and your personality. Be ambitious and research thoroughly to find the right answer for you.
Whatever your educational or professional background, check out Adzuna for your next step on the ladder.