Uni or not?

[Patalayus]

Hi guys, I'm just curious about your opinions on going to university and whether you feel like here in the UK its worth £9000 per year or whether you think it's more beneficial to start work straight after higher education? Curious to see what routes you might suggest over others? This is partially for my own benefit, I'm looking for a career in the IT industry so what are your thoughts? Thanks, pat.

[imPixelTV]

1 minute ago, Patalayus said:

Hi guys, I'm just curious about your opinions on going to university and whether you feel like here in the UK its worth £9000 per year or whether you think it's more beneficial to start work straight after higher education? Curious to see what routes you might suggest over others? This is partially for my own benefit, I'm looking for a career in the IT industry so what are your thoughts? Thanks, pat.

i know literally nothing about this shit but if i was in your shoes id go for it and get a job somewhere (NOT pizza hut)

im only in y11 so i dony need to worry about this atm 

 

gl w/ whatever you decide to do

[Patalayus]

Thanks imPixelTV

[imPixelTV]

Just now, Patalayus said:

Thanks imPixelTV

np famoli

[GSTARR]

Here in America the general thing to do is go to a university and work part time (20+- hours a week)

[2FA]

I guess that depends on what kind of career you want in the future.

[mintlou]

I said no to Uni and took an Apprenticeship in IT. I'm earning and learning, getting professional certifications along the way. In my opinion employers are often going to want those with relevant experience, which is what working as an apprentice teaches. 

 

I've got a few Microsoft certifications this year and I hope to continue getting them as I'm working. I find that working also gives you time to find a style of work which fits you, so you can get a better grasp as to what direction you want to go on in for the rest of your life. What if you took a degree in networking, then got a job in networking, only to realise that the uni stuff was not comparable to it?

 

That's just me though

[Ithanul]

^ Agree with above.

 

Experience and certs will get you farther in the IT field.  Unless you come across jobs that want employees with a degree in CS, but most of those will still have the alternate requirement of a person with experience and/or certs.  Also, boils down to knowing people in the field as well.  If there one skill to build up on.  It is building up connections with people working in the areas you want to get hired in.

 

Though, I don't know how employers are out there in the UK.  This is based on my experience over here in the States and with gov IT jobs.

[Mark77]

A degree in CS can make you a lot of money if you go to a top school and are a relatively top student.   It can make a lot of money if you're lucky too.  But if you graduate somewhere in the middle, even the upper middle, the problem is that you'll be considered 'overqualified' for very mundane jobs like tech support.  But under-experienced and under-skilled for the top end jobs. 

 

In a nutshell, its a big gamble.  If you're 15, already doing Java code and understanding big-O notation, binary trees, graphs, and all that, then by all means, go do CS at a good school, and you'll be making $200k/year at 30.  Okay, that $200k/year will probably be in a place where a house costs $1M (not that you'll have much time at home to enjoy it!).  But its still good money for a 30-year-old.

 

But if that's not you, there are definitely some other great pathways into the IT professions which are still quite useful and don't involve university.  For instance, employers for "network engineering" positions generally place more value on vendor (ie: Cisco, Microsoft) tech certificates such as CCNA, CCIE, than they do in Computer/Electrical Engineering degrees.  And plenty of people find jobs on the help desks, and eventually move into areas such as project management, earning decent money. 

 

The big elephant in the room these days is that the employers have brought close to a million IT workers from foreign countries (read:  India) where even $60k/year is considered an extravagant salary, on guest worker visas.  Displacing local workers.  So at some point, if your job could be done offshore, or by someone from a foreign land for cheaper, chances are, its going to be under pressure. 

[as96]

I decided to look for a job instead of going to university.
Honestly I didn't feel like studying for another 3-5 years, I'd rather go work and earn some money.

 

[Mr.Meerkat]

And if you lived in Scotland (or anywhere else in the EU other than Englando, wales and Ireland I think) it's only like 1.2K a year...although it's a year longer to get a degree...

[mrchow19910319]

Go to Uni no matter what. Trust me. 

People said it is useless because they've been there and they wasted their time. 

I dropped out of college cos I was sick, and took a year of medical leave, then when I came back to school , got sick again. 

Seeing doctors every day fucked me up real good, then my grade started to change from A to B to C to F. 

Then I dropped out.

 

IF YOU HAVE THE CHANCE, GO TO UNI NO MATTER WHAT. 

[Mug]

To be honest, I think uni is almost always worth it. I went to uni, got a Bachelor's degree and now I'm back to do a Master's. University opens so many doorways which otherwise would be closed, even in the IT industry some jobs just require a degree to go into them.

 

If I was going into IT to do programming specifically, I would try going down the route of an apprenticeship. A degree in Computer Science (or anything computery) isn't really worth anything compared to solid work experience and examples that you can show a prospective employer to prove that you can programme.

 

My bachelor's degree was from a modern university for Computer Science and Chemistry. After graduation, I was keen to get a job in the field but I quickly realised that my degree was pretty useless without a sandwich year (at least on the computing side). I also got multiple job offers from pharmaceutical companies but declined them because I wanted a cushy IT job, not one at a big pharma company paying £18000. I found what I thought was my perfect job, I got paid £22k per annum for IT admin (so a lot of button pushing basically) but I got bored quickly so here I am doing a Master's in straight Chemistry. Hopefully after this I'll get a decent enough job at a pharma company that I'm not getting paid peanuts... or maybe become a teacher, I'm undecided.

 

You mention the money side of going to university and I can tell you that it's literally all political scaremongering what you've heard. I know it's scary looking at all these big figures but in reality it's more like a graduate tax in the sense that only those who actually benefit from university will pay it off. The loan doesn't affect your credit rating, it's just considered as a bill like your internet or gas. The money side shouldn't put you off at all, it will be fine.

[Bsmith]

Whatever you do, remember that the IT industry is getting flooded on nearly all levels, everywhere there are software engineers, developers, sys admins etc pooping out of nowhere that just came out of college or worked for a start-up that failed. So if you decide to start looking for work be prepared to have a harsh time and face rough competition especially if you are aiming for the bigger companies that hire fresh out of school people by the dozens and wear them out very quickly. If you stay studying however be prepared to make long hours and be part of big classes., ICT/IT is booming and the bubble has to burst somewhere, although everything is transitioning to digital formats, you still need to be part of the higher ranks if you want to have a good chance.

[VerticalDiscussions]

9000£ a year? Is that Cambridge, Oxford or the Imperial College of London (cheaper entry courses or a special scholarship) o-o? If i had the chance to go to Cambridge i wouldnt even think twice xD!

 

Or were those universities like 40,000£ per month o-o?

[Mug]

8 minutes ago, VerticalDiscussions said:

9000£ a year? Is that Cambridge, Oxford or the Imperial College of London (cheaper entry courses or a special scholarship) o-o? If i had the chance to go to Cambridge i wouldnt even think twice xD!

 

Or were those universities like 40,000£ per month o-o?

In the UK, all public universities cost £9000/year to UK nationals.

[VerticalDiscussions]

2 minutes ago, Mug said:

-snip-

Dayum...

 

Here its either -1000€ or near 2000-3000€ per year.

[Monkey Dust]

Honestly it's a tough call. For a 3 year course it's £27K for course fees, plus living expenses and rent isn't getting any cheaper any time soon. Unless your parents are willing and able to help you out a lot you'll come out with £60K debt minimum. Admittedly you don't start repaying until you earn over a certain threshold, and it get written off once you reach a certain age (nice bit of budgetary can kicking by the coalition government, the huge expense of all that education won't hit the public purse until George Osborne is safely in the old people's home) they are still there and will be a drag on your earnings for most of your working life.  

 

If you're looking at going to a highly regarded Uni to do a course that is in demand by employers, it's worth the risk. If you are looking at going to a more average Uni, or your course has shaky career prospects at the end of it I'd say no. I work in an office, there are a lot of people around me with degrees working dead end office jobs. You don't get a degree and have great job prospects forever after. There is a lot to be said these days for learning in the evenings while doing a full time job, especially for a fast moving field like IT.

[ThinkWithPortals]

33 minutes ago, VerticalDiscussions said:

Dayum...

 

Here its either -1000€ or near 2000-3000€ per year.

I know. All the Europeans I've spoken to were shocked that we pay that much for post-secondary education. Oh well.

[Volbet]

Wow, £9,000/year...

In Denmark you get paid a minimum of £1.100/year to attend university.

 

Whether or not uni is worth is up to you and the goals you want to achieve.

A lot of IT jobs can be had through industry experience and certifications.

Usually you will have to start with shitty helpdesk jobs, but on the upside you'll get paid for studying instead of paying for it.

 

For me, university is definietly worth it, partially because it's free, but also because I need a degree to work in my desired field. 

[KE2012]

Having just graduated from Uni, I can tell you that I if I could, I would go back in time and slap myself silly for wanting to go to uni. Also don't kid yourself into thinking that its only 9K per year, by the time you add on interest, accommodation, and loans, it's almost double the price.  I would certainly look into apprenticeships, I know a few are in apprenticeships and they are being paid to go to uni.  

 

 

[Patalayus]

Thanks KE2012

[Unhelpful]

Yes go to uni. People who get right out will tell you not to because they're still reeling from the grueling day-to-day routine, but it really is worth it.

[Statik]

On 10/9/2016 at 10:26 AM, mrchow19910319 said:

Go to Uni no matter what. Trust me. 

People said it is useless because they've been there and they wasted their time. 

I dropped out of college cos I was sick, and took a year of medical leave, then when I came back to school , got sick again. 

Seeing doctors every day fucked me up real good, then my grade started to change from A to B to C to F. 

Then I dropped out.

 

IF YOU HAVE THE CHANCE, GO TO UNI NO MATTER WHAT. 

That's not really true man. You shouldn't tell people to go to uni no matter what. University wasn't for me.

 

If he wants a career in IT or whatever, yeah it's pretty much a necessity, but you can have a successful career without post secondary. It all depends on what you want to do with your life.

[mrchow19910319]

8 minutes ago, Statik said:

That's not really true man. You shouldn't tell people to go to uni no matter what. University wasn't for me.

 

If he wants a career in IT or whatever, yeah it's pretty much a necessity, but you can have a successful career without post secondary. It all depends on what you want to do with your life.

Yeah... I guess so....