It's exam time and I have decided to write a little piece on a university degree from a current student's point of view.
A survey taken place in the UK in
2015 says half of all students agree their university degree was not worth the
thirty something thousand pound debt it left them with. However, records show
that over ten thousand more students applied to university last year.
A similar study
was done in Spain, in 2015 there was a record of 1.361.340 students inscribed
in university, public and private. Again, the number of college applications
has increased while over half or the recent graduates regret their decisions on
course or university.
Sixty percent of
graduates in Peru said they regret getting their university degree.
Many of the surveyed
pupils say they regret their past decisions due to either they didn't get
enough orientation or the course wasn't structured properly.
Students today are
demanding more than what they expected when university fees were lower, the
professors however have become more inattentive to the work done by students,
some admitting they do not correct essays or exams the way they should, but
rather mark the paper on the amount written or the first page.
A few days ago, I
decided to do a little study myself and asked a number of students if they were
happy with their degree and if it met their expectations (we are now solemnly
talking of UMA), the majority said they were not. They all said they are
studying just because there isn't really many other options and most agreed
they didn't think a lot of subjects were relevant to their course. I also asked
them what their plan was after graduating or in the next few years, most of
them said they were waiting to hear about their Erasmus application, a European
exchange scheme, as if it wasn't done, their curriculum wouldn't be all that
great. Something a friend of mine studying in England said was not as common as
in Spain, and wasn’t that popular academically speaking, although a number of
students do participate.
The majority in
Spain also assumed they wouldn’t be doing any work experience in their study
period and that they would be lucky if they get work after graduating, as most
companies ask for experienced young graduates... How do we get experience
without being given a chance?
A multitude of Spanish
students have already accepted that they are most likely to have to leave Spain
to get a start in their career, the majority however want to return as soon as
possible to job opening in higher positions.
With all these
cons to getting a degree, I ask myself is it actually worth it? Does it make
you wiser? More knowledgeable, sensible or rational? To be honest, I think not.
Obviously degrees like medicine, engineering, science and law need a study base
and a lot of learning, but many degrees in humanities are talent based, I study
advertising and Public Relations, and obviously in the two years I have been
studying I have learned things that are relative to my future career but
honestly, they could have all been learned without studying the things I
studied, and in a lot less time. This is a common thought between students and
teachers alike.
What do you think
of the copious amounts of university students and the price they pay for their
education? Worth it or not? Feel free to comment.
Today's ‘modern’ education system was for the most part created over one hundred years ago. Does that still make it modern?
ReplyDeleteAs technology follows Moore’s Law in perpetuity, the educational system aimed at this modern and to a degree future arena, has little chance of keeping up. Given that it takes at least 1-2 years to design a course targeted at any new information technologies and the course itself takes 3-5 years to study, the subject matter is essentially 5 years out of date before it begins.
Which begs the question of ‘Is a university education really worth it?’.
You will require work experience to get a job which, for the most part you cannot get whilst studying. Like Schrödinger’s Cat, it is a bit of a conundrum!
University teaches you how to think, how to be part of a team and conversely how to work alone. You learn how to question the so called facts from all sides and then take measure of your findings.
Can you get by without a degree? Of course you can but it requires more perseverance to get your foot in the door. {from Paul}