Today, thousands of teenagers will receive their A level results. Baited breath waiting for the envelope that could decide their next step.
Listening to the ‘help line’ advice on the radio it would seem that it may well be the end of the world if they don’t get the results they need.
I remember that pressure well. In fact, I remember being told by a teacher in my third year of senior school that the options I decided for my subjects that year would be one of the most important decisions of my life. 24 years later, I can’t even remember what they were, or indeed, my O Level and GSE exam results.
My point.
There seems to be massive pressure on youngsters to achieve academically. It seems to be an all-or-nothing sales pitch by parents and educators (and the media) that will decide the rest of their life After doing badly at my exams (compared to expectations), I went to college for re-sits and then finally flunked out after 3 months of that (the worst three months of my life).
Then, my first job was stacking shelves at Tesco for a year – a job I loved. I’m 38 years old now and I can’t remember the last time someone asked me for my exam results, or if I am degree educated. Funnily enough, many of the people around me are the same. They may not have a twenty year old degree to their name, but they have common sense and they are good at their job.
Education is a great thing. It’s an opportunity to create options for yourself in life. But there are other ways of doing that. At sixteen, I was an idiot. At 38, I don’t care that I was. I went into the workplace and worked my way to where I was now. What’s more, I didn’t enter my career with a £20,000 debt hanging over my head.
The world is changing. The education model doesn’t seem to be. I know where I’d rather aim for.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
A very valid view but lets not be to quick to dismiss the benefits of higher education, especially in response to the current economic situation.
Many young people are now turning to higher education because they cannot find employment or employers to take them on employment training schemes. The pressure, for many young people, is to find work opportunities in an already saturated job market.
One clear reason for attending university is that the opportunities for non-graduates are even more limited for those who have studied a degree.
Evidence is showing that unemployment within young people is expected to increase, even when the economic situation improves. Those young people without qualifications will be the worst affected as fickle employers will have the ‘pick of the bunch’ mainly because many graduates can demonstrate both practical work experience and a commitment to learning and training.
Many students undertake part-time working while at university and this makes them very attractive to employers- they can clearly demonstrate work place skills and show a commitment to self-progression and personal development.
We should not dismiss all the benefits that higher education can offer; contrary to some opinions obtaining a degree is hard work. Students have to demonstrate a real commitment to their subject and research area, often working to tight deadlines on multiple projects using limited resources and facilities.
Degree study and research challenges the intellect, students have to justify their research and show clear evidence in their thinking and approaches. University does expand life skills and now provides the opportunity to meet people from all works of life, from all over the world.
Yes, many students will graduate with an expected debt of £23,000 but graduates are predicted to earn a higher salary premium of more than £115,000 over their lifetime compared to non-graduates.
Many universities are now starting to see an increase in mature students, with people leaving the work force to pursue a degree education.
The education model is changing, evidence is shown by the introduction of the new 14-19 education reforms and the current changes occurring within A-level study and university programs. Student fees are in the process of being reviewed, with some fees being resolved completely.
On a personal level, for every job that I have applied for within the last ten years each employer has asked for evidence of my higher education qualifications- even for general temporary positions.
Thanks for the comment Sharon and all a valid points. Excuse my natural negativity towards education, it’s just that I can’t see the value and many of the advantages can be gained without going down that route.
That graduates are predicted to earn extra salary won’t necessarily mean they will anymore. I think the world in general is moving far too fast to be able to predict something like that.
If people want to do degree courses and universities, that is a path that they can choose. My main issue is the pressure placed on the need to take this route at that it adds that much value to a person as a commodity in the workplace.
In the world of small business (especially technology) you can not beat real world experience.
For certain (technological) industries, experience is worth far more than time spent in higher education – there’s no real standard or widely known principle degree that one can earn that puts them in good stead for being a web designer or developer for instance.
Other industries do however – teaching for example, requires a PGCE, or as in my case, a 3 or 4 year Bachelor degree. Accountancy, Engineering and other Professional industries would generally be the same.
Despite the specific and generic IT qualifications out there, IT is often seen by some NOT to be Professional – indeed the British Computer Society has been championing this recognition for a while – and so experience trumps qualifications.
In some industries, practical work based experience will have the advantage but this is changing.
When our small web business recently went though a recruitment process to appoint a developer, those applicants who demonstrated the right skills, training and work experience were graduates.
I had initially assumed that applicants with evidence of practical work-based skills and learning would be better equipped than those from a higher education background. I was shocked to discover that applications received from young graduates not only showed evidence of varied training and practical work experience many also had work experience within advanced technologies, project management, new indicatives and client relations.
A friend, with over 18 years work experience within a transport company, started employment as a driver working his way up to middle management- he is now looking to undertake part-time degree study because he recognizes that graduates entering the company at his current level have the edge.
Salary predictions will always be made, but there’s enough research and evidence provided by economists to identify that graduates will earn more in their lifetimes.
Yes, in certain industries, you can’t beat ‘real world experience’ but with an advancing population and competitive job markets (markets which are weakening rapidly) those with graduate level skills are gaining more employment opportunities and official employment stats prove this.