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The death of the degree?

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The death of the degree?

As a sixth-former you’ve now revised for so many exams every year that your nightmares consist of flashcards, rainbow coloured highlighters and carefully constructed timetables. Plus with every teacher persisting religiously that university is the necessity of life it seems the next logical step. But today’s economical climate shows another story, one without a happy ending of dream salaries and expense paid holidays.

    Recently the influx of tabloid stories reporting the increasing unemployment amongst students paints a worrying future for undergraduates. Every paper is scaring students with figures of the struggle of finding employment after gaining that once sought after degree. With now more universities than ever before we’re increasingly becoming a highly educated generation but still this isn’t reflected through the job market. Today it seems that work experience is the key and whilst some students are studying others are taking the leap straight into work to scrabble for a hold on the job ladder.

      To add to the unemployment fears some papers have suggested the possibility of the cap on university fee’s being lifted. Although at the moment this remains only a possibility if it is implemented it could ruin students financially. Universities would be able to charge however much they liked and illusive institutions like Oxbridge could raise their fees making their universities even more exclusive. With competition at its highest for 2011 applicants just imagine the situation 1 or 2 years on. Applicants may not only need the perfect grades, outstanding personal statement and glowing references but also an unlimited financial supply.

    University is becoming further and further from being a universal institution. University should represent the chance for everyone to learn, and to experience the precious age of being young and carefree. But for some it reflects a 3 year financial battle and the bleak outlook of unemployment even with the degree which you’ve paid an arm and a leg for.

    On a happier note the benefits of university have convinced me to face the financial battle head on; cheap drinks, freedom and a whole new city to explore.

Comments:

1 Trevormcdevor | on 21 July 2010

Nice indifferent ending to your own argument! Totally empathise with the points here, i know quite a few people who have just graduated and are finding it tricky to get any work, especially in the degree areas that don’t encompass work experience or years of work in industry, it’s all about the (mostly voluntary) work you put in while studying so you can load a CV up later. Uni is definitely fun though, but a lot of my mates are polarised with work when they come back home here, either being asked to work 8 days a week or not getting any shifts at all. Swings and roundabouts

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