Subject: Higher Education
Posted by: agony
Date: Feb 07 10
I'm a high school graduate - never went to university, and never felt the lack of it. My children are both in the process of getting some post secondary education, in "practical" subjects, such as engineering.
My question is: have you any higher education? Has is enriched your life, and in what way? Do you have any regrets about it? What would you do differently now?
Posted by: agony
Date: Feb 07 10
I'm a high school graduate - never went to university, and never felt the lack of it. My children are both in the process of getting some post secondary education, in "practical" subjects, such as engineering.
My question is: have you any higher education? Has is enriched your life, and in what way? Do you have any regrets about it? What would you do differently now?
38 replies. On page 1 of 2 pages. 1 2
doublemm 
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I went to college after high school and earned 5 A-levels. I'm planning on going to University in September. Hopefully it'll be worthwhile! :) Reply #1. Feb 07 10, 3:36 PM |
redwaldo
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I come from an immigrant family; my parents moved from England to Australia when The Beatles came to Oz (1964). Coming from a working class background I often heard that "you can learn about that in books". Australia provided the environment to achieve my goals: I went to University and eventually taught Political Science at various Unis. around Oz. Do you need a Higher Education to achieve your goals? Not necessarily, but it certainly helped in my case. Reply #2. Feb 07 10, 3:43 PM |
tom_1
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For me, college wasn't an option. I enlisted in the Marines right out of high school. Married, had a long successful career in business and have never looked back. One of my children has a masters and is thinking of more, One has just interviewed for a doctoral program. They are well adjusted, so I guess we should each seek our own level and keep many things in life in balance. Tom Reply #3. Feb 07 10, 3:46 PM |
| guitargoddess
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I recently finished my (first?) four years of university. I'm not sure if I'd say I found it "enriching", it was kind of just the thing to do. Like, there was really no question of whether I would go or not. I am finding I appreciate it a little more now that I'm done (I complained about it relentlessly and wanted to quit in my second year). Maybe it's more that I'm finding that it was 'easier' to stay in school and the real world blows, lol. But I am finding lately that I miss the learning and intelligent discussions and stuff. Reply #4. Feb 07 10, 3:52 PM |
satguru
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I think if you relate it to individual goals then some require degrees and more and others don't. I wanted a profession like my parents both had, and although dropped out a year after my second attempt, I then worked for a surveyor who treated all his staff like dirt and earned a fortune for an hour's work when he went out on a survey. We earned less in a week than that and went back and took my last chance to pass, and finished a law degree, used that to teach in private schools and home tutoring, and went to college once a week to become a counsellor which was what I always wanted to do instead, although it pays nothing like law or accountancy which was my first try. But without the degree I'd have ended up drifting from job to job for the rest of my life, couldn't have taken the counselling course and maybe not have earned enough to by my house. So for me I'd have been very little without it and sorry my health didn't allow me to complete a masters I was taking in evening classes after my first degree. Reply #5. Feb 07 10, 3:54 PM |
tezza1551
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If I wanted to train as a nurse now, it would have to be at University. Luckily, back in the good old days, it was three years in a hospital, actually learning on the job. Had I been starting my career now, I probably wouldn't choose nursing - maybe teaching languages or using languages in some form or other. However, the year i finished school, wool prices were at an all time low, and I needed to do something where I would earn while I was learning - nursing was the answer, and fortunately, I loved it. Having said all that, having recently had some contact with the health system after changing careers 15 years ago, I think the patient got a much better deal, as far as general care goes, under the hospital based training system. Higher education is not something you can or can't do without.. it is what is right for the individual. In my second career, I worked as a career counsellor, and used to see young men from farming backgrounds brought in, usually by their mothers, for me to convince them that Uni was where they should set their sights - not farming. In many cases, profiling revealed that farming was exactly where they should be, and I would suggest they consider a post secondary Agricultural college instead. Reply #6. Feb 07 10, 4:35 PM |
| EmmaF2008
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I've attended uni full time after school and I have zero regrets about it. I loved it; it gave me a bit of time to grow up (I was barely 17 leaving school), and it taught me how to think critically. Most of school had been rote learning. It wasn't just that though. I was exposed to lots of different people, and even stupid pranks that were part of rag week were experiences that I'm glad I didn't miss. The only thing I would do different is I would have stayed in full time education longer - I'm now considering returning to get my Masters degree. All that said, it is definitely not for everyone. I have friends who wish they'd never bothered. I do think it depends on the person. My brother started, dropped out and has never looked back. Reply #7. Feb 07 10, 6:45 PM |
| honeybee4
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I married right out of high school and never went to college. All of my kids except the youngesr son went to college. They were all taught good work ethics. The youngest son probably now makes as much if not more than my three college graduates. Reply #8. Feb 07 10, 7:34 PM |
agony
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EmmaF2008 brings up a point I was thinking of - the chance to grow up. I also was 17 when I finished high school, and went straight out into the working world, living on my own. It didn't hurt me, but there were some lessons that I had to learn rather abruptly, let's say. How valuable a part of the uni experience is the chance to get away from home, but still not entirely out in the rough and tumble? Reply #9. Feb 08 10, 8:49 AM |
| guitargoddess
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I don't think I'd say the university experience helped me grow up or anything. In fact, it was barely an 'experience', all I did was go to classes. But I never left home, so that could be why. Reply #10. Feb 08 10, 10:18 AM |
beachbumb101
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CellarDoor
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I'm not sure that university necessarily insulates you from learning some lessons abruptly. I knew people who fell on all sides of that one, including some people who perhaps would have done better with more direct, real-world responsibilities than they got by going straight to university in the way they did. Universities kind of cultivate a sense of being insulated from worries like bills (paid only every quarter, and often by parents) and health and so on, but real problems do arise and the university environment may not be the best place to deal with them. Gambling and binge drinking are real problems that lead to rude awakenings (or, worse, to death), and are very common on campuses. For me, university was an incredible experience; I found it quite amazing to realize just how many people were out there, doing crazy things to somehow increase the sum of human knowledge. I had one professor who is a world expert in carving flint weapons, caveman-style; he'll make some flint handaxes and so forth, and then he and some graduate students will go out and butcher a goat. Then they compare the markings they've left on the bones, with markings on fossil bones, and that's how you learn about truly ancient butchering techniques, weapons use, handedness and so forth. I mean, just knowing you could get paid to do that really made the world a much larger place for me. Reply #12. Feb 08 10, 7:55 PM |
Juggernaut314
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I don't think my college degree did much more than prove I can learn things -- which some jobs look for. Reply #13. Feb 09 10, 9:30 AM |
rayven80
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I graduated high school and never felt the need for a higher education. My sister had a boss who told her that everyone needed a college degree, even if it was in basketweaving. I don't agree. Reply #14. Feb 09 10, 9:37 AM |
daver852
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I've got a bunch of degrees in a variety of subjects, and none of them were of any use whatsoever in any of the jobs I've had. Except that you had to have a college degree for some of them. Academic credentials don't impress me. Reply #15. Feb 09 10, 11:04 AM |
jonnowales
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I am in my first year at university and I agree in parts with CellarDoor regarding problems with binge drinking and to a lesser extent gambling. For the most part, from a teetotal perspective, the whole thing is a continuous Oktoberfest - alcohol is an extremely dangerous thing to let young people learn how to handle on their own (which is why I am in favour of young people being allowed to drink alcohol with a meal and at home well before 18 - I think it is allowed in the UK?). I wish I could say that the vast majority of students are able to teach themselves moderation with alcohol but it just isn't the case. Many Brits will be aware of the drunken student who urinated over a war memorial - nicely done sir, what a laugh! Furthermore, vandalism is almost deemed normal. I do agree with Agony however that university does cushion the blow of responsibility by those responsibilities being bestowed upon the student gradually. For example paying a thirdly/quarterly accommodation bill and other basic payments. Get a job and support a family without going through university and there is a heck of a lot thrown on you in one go. I personally love my subject - absolutely everything about it and I am quite happy about the prospect of 3.5 years being the time required to get my masters in physics. I will not be satisfied until I get my PhD and so could be in higher education for another 6.5 - 7.5 years. This is quite obviously not for everyone, my brother has never really liked school and is by his own admission not hugely fussed on the idea of university but the recession and the appalling state of youth unemployment is definitely a factor in his renewed consideration of higher education - he is now likely to attend university. That scenario is all too common as the statistics of application to British universities going through the roof. Just do what makes you happy! :) Reply #16. Feb 09 10, 12:03 PM |
Cross36
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My higher education came through literature courses as my college professors challenged me to read beyond our recommmended studies and apply human ethics to everything around us. Reply #17. Feb 09 10, 1:46 PM |
Cymruambyth
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I dropped out of university when I realized that if I got my B.Ed degree I'd end up as a serial killer! Back then, one could teach for two years after the first two years of B.Ed studies, and it was that experience that revealed to me the fact that I would go nuts if I spent more than an hour a day with more than four sub-teen children! I taught in an elementary school for only one year and then made my escape into theatre, where I was much happier. I had a good career in theatre and advertising, and I have no regrets about dropping out of university. I went back to university in the early 1990s to study theology with a view to ordination in the Anglican Church but after two years I realized that I am not the stuff that priests are made of and dropped out of university a second time. However, nowadays it seems that a university degree is more and more necessary it one wants to hold down a decent job. I take university courses in subjects that interest me, despite my advancing years, and I taught for 14 years in the continuing education division of a local university. I also have a certificate from the Anglican Seminary, University of the South in Suwhanee, Tennessee after completing the four-year Education for Ministry Program. Reply #18. Feb 09 10, 1:53 PM |
Lochalsh
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After I got the BA, I thirsted after more knowledge of my subject and went for the MA. When that was done, I still hadn't learned all I wanted to, and I studied for and got the PhD. I'm in the humanities, so I didn't acquire the degrees as an act of money lust; I was simply enamored of my field, and that's been so all my life. Reply #19. Feb 09 10, 7:41 PM |
| Lochalsh
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I was a bit reluctant to list my credentials, though I'm proud of my achievements, first as a student and then as a teacher. I didn't come from a privileged background economically, so it was a hardship on me to delay earning a salary for so many years. I'm glad I did it, though, and, believe me, I've never been out to impress anyone with my background. What I did, I did for myself. I learned about my specific field, certainly, and I also learned how to learn. I took the small-town blinders off and expanded and expanded my world view. Reply #20. Feb 09 10, 7:56 PM |
38 replies. On page 1 of 2 pages. 1 2
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