Poll: University Graduates

[RoonMian]

I know very well where you're coming from. I started studying automotive engineering at the University of Applied Arts and Sciences in Dortmund, Germany in 2005. After two semesters went pretty much okay I fell seriously ill and had to take a break of several years and now I'm 27 and still fighting my disease and struggling with getting into studying again. So I too am a "mature age student".

If all that is still worth it though depends on what you're studying. For me it absolutely is. My field is very demanding (first semester had eight exams; five of those were failed by between 70 and 80% of those who took it and another two by more of half the people who took it) but the rewards once your finished are great. An economic institute that analyzes the job market for german university graduates put the salary that graduates of my field get in their first year at about 42.000? (about 52.000$) on average and raises are pretty frequent.

And besides my profession is pretty sought after. Before the financial crisis you didn't even have to apply for jobs because corporations would buy the lists of graduates from the school and apply themselves. You defended your thesis, got hammered for two weeks straight, got home and had your mailbox full with job offers. And slowly we're getting there again. And that's just Germany, people like us are sought after all over the world.

So yeah, even if it takes me ten years, still worth it.

One thing to consider for sure: Academic Education at the times of Mass Universities begins with the post graduate level. Here in Germany we recognized quickly that the Bologna Progress failed and that a Bachelor Degree is insufficient for most Jobs with an academic profile. So most educational programms are geared for either masters level or for our traditional degrees (Magister Artium, Diplom and State Licensing Programms, which are still held in higher esteem than the new degrees by most employers)

Not entirely true. What I just wrote refers all to the bachelor's degree which actually is enough in engineering to make a very decent living out of it.

 

[Alex Cowan]

Studied Music at University, I learnt absolutely nothing new! The course was pretentious and full of students and lecturers encouraging each other to sound the same as successful artists.

Luckily I only attended the course because I need the qualification to teach music. Now I have to get some experience together before another year of University to gain my teachers qualification

Was this a specialist music college, or an academic university music course?

 

[NitehawkFury]

I studied film and digital media, with an emphasis in film production. After a year break of trying to get a steady job while doing freelance work, I decided to go back to school to pick up my Master's Degree at the University of Utah, where I currently study video game design and production.

 

[Guffe]

Not sure what to answer in the poll.
"Attending" I guess since I am really close to getting into the police academy (In Finland) and that is similar to University, here at least...

 

[Tipsy Giant]

Studied Music at University, I learnt absolutely nothing new! The course was pretentious and full of students and lecturers encouraging each other to sound the same as successful artists.

Luckily I only attended the course because I need the qualification to teach music. Now I have to get some experience together before another year of University to gain my teachers qualification

Was this a specialist music college, or an academic university music course?

It was a University known in the UK for arts, the course wasn't you standard classical music course it was supposed to be a creative sound and music course but instead was a circle jerk for twats like John Cage!

 

[deidara]

Wow surprised so many people hare are uni students. There are mature age students, but generally it's a pretty limited age group. So more than 50% is interesting. I just started this year. In the middle of my mid semester exams right now.

 

[rednose1]

Seems like everyone did the college thing first, so I'll add a little flavor to the mix.
Got out of high school and didn't really have a plan, so I joined the Navy. Got to travel, and had some fun, but learned very early on that it wasn't the life for me.

What I did get out of it was experience (which got me my current job) and VA benefits. Also lucked out and got a job that will pay for me to go to college (based on grades, and on my own time of course). I'll still attend college (getting all the paperwork ready for next semester) and it will be abnormal (taking night classes, weekend classes, being older than everyone else, etc.) but I think overall it worked out for the best, and wouldn't change anything if I could.

 

[Colour Scientist]

I finished a BA in History last year and I'm currently more than half-way through my MA. College in the Summer kinda sucks, but I've loved my time in University. Try to make as many new friends as possible, it makes the experience so much better.

That said, when this MA is over I never even want to look at a university for a very long time!

 

[Alex Cowan]

Studied Music at University, I learnt absolutely nothing new! The course was pretentious and full of students and lecturers encouraging each other to sound the same as successful artists.

Luckily I only attended the course because I need the qualification to teach music. Now I have to get some experience together before another year of University to gain my teachers qualification

Was this a specialist music college, or an academic university music course?

It was a University known in the UK for arts, the course wasn't you standard classical music course it was supposed to be a creative sound and music course but instead was a circle jerk for twats like John Cage!

It was that kind of attitude that put me off applying for Durham. Interestingly, the course I found to be least pretentious was the one from Oxford, which is unusual!

 

[Tipsy Giant]

It was that kind of attitude that put me off applying for Durham. Interestingly, the course I found to be least pretentious was the one from Oxford, which is unusual!

What do you hope to get out of the course?

 

[Smokej]

Not entirely true. What I just wrote refers all to the bachelor's degree which actually is enough in engineering to make a very decent living out of it.

This assumption is based on what? Just talking from my personal experience (Teacher at academic Highschool=Gymnasium), those of my friends and relatives who work in academic jobs, i would say the opposite is true. Even in jobs with a shortage in skilled manpower, a bachelor rarely gets you into the middle management tier (it will get you a job non or less but for the real deal you need the post graduate degrees)...

And if you are studying in Germany it should be painfully obvious that the Bologna Process failed. You just need to take one glimpse into the many newspaper articles and studies about it. Or even better ask your professors...

 

[Alex Cowan]

It was that kind of attitude that put me off applying for Durham. Interestingly, the course I found to be least pretentious was the one from Oxford, which is unusual!

What do you hope to get out of the course?

I really don't know. Arguably the ability to put 'MA Oxon' after my name, which is apparently an advantage. I am genuinely interested in the course content, so the ability to study something I enjoy for three years (at this stage) looks great in itself. I'm still relatively undecided about the future, so I think this would give me a fairly solid backing into whatever I wish to do next.

 

[Palademon]

I'm going to uni this year...on a games course

Reasons: because I can't make games otherwise.

 

[bojackx]

None of the poll options are suited to me, but I picked "No".

I'm going up to University in September (hopefully) to do a Chemistry degree, which I'm relatively sure I want to do. There has been a huge emphasis on being sure of the degree you want to do, because if not you can waste a lot of money. I ended up choosing Veterinary Science, then Zoology, then Computer Science, before finally settling on Chemistry. I'm really hoping it's the right choice.

 

[RoonMian]

This assumption is based on what? Just talking from my personal experience (Teacher at academic Highschool=Gymnasium), those of my friends and relatives who work in academic jobs, i would say the opposite is true. Even in jobs with a shortage in skilled manpower, a bachelor rarely gets you into the middle management tier (it will get you a job non or less but for the real deal you need the post graduate degrees)...

And if you are studying in Germany it should be painfully obvious that the Bologna Process failed. You just need to take one glimpse into the many newspaper articles and studies about it. Or even better ask your professors...

It's not an assumption on my part, it's how it is in my field according to my professors, networking on one of the 2 or 3 conventions like car-connect that are in my region every year, the Hannover-Messe, and the BDI (Bund Dortmunder Ingenieure) and the analysts I mentioned in my post. Staufenbiehl Institut, pretty interesting stuff to read actually. Besides that the IG Metall brokered a deal years ago that people with a bachelor's degree are not to be discriminated against. Also, I can compare both directly since I started off doing Dipl.-Ing.-studies and switched over to the bachelor due to my illness. Comparing both the bachelor actually has more stuff in it as the diploma didn't have general physics and chemistry which are now required by the Bologna Process. The year less is achieved by cutting out one of two semesters working in the industry (now you're just doing the one where you write your thesis) and adding more hours to the week.

That part where bachelor graduates rarely go into middle management just isn't true, at least it isn't in my field. The only difference is that you can't do some specialized fields right out of uni because the bachelor studies don't offer the right courses but instead you have to qualify for those field through working experience or further training... and of course the paycheck you start off with.

Edit: Aaaaah, forgot the last part... Yeah, the Bologna Process is not that much of a success, I won't argue that. A lot of my buddies are studying to become elementary school teachers and they do absolutely NOTHING just with the bachelor, you're right about that. But as I said in my first post, it depends on what you are studying. In my field - engineering - it doesn't make that much of a difference. That's why I did not say that you were wrong but instead said that you were not entirely right.

 

[Chemical Alia]

I graduated from a state school in Pennsylvania with a BFA (drawing) in 2008, and got my master's in interactive technology in 2009 from SMU. Grad school was actually more like a trade school for me where I learned skills for a specific job in a specific industry, whereas the fine arts studies gave me a well-rounded background and allowed me to develop my technical skills.

I wouldn't trade my education background even though what I do doesn't require a degree because there are so many things I never would have bothered to learn about on my own and I think that makes me a better artist for it. My advice to people who are studying art-type things is to always be thinking about what vocation you want to apply your skills to and really focus towards that, because it can be a really nebulous area academically.

 

[Naeras]

I'm currently in my second year of my bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, and I'm having a blast. Plus I've already gotten a job offer for when I'm finished, although I will probably finish a Master of Science-degree first.

 

[KittensTiger]

Yes it was worth it to me. I majored in and now have a Bachelor of Science in Economics. I've been fascinated by Economics since I was a kid.

Advice: Be careful with your major. Think about what you want to do after you get your degree. Think about why you are pursuing a degree. If it's to get a better job think about what you want to do and plan your major accordingly. Majors can range from highly useful in the job market (engineering, economics, business, to mostly useless (english, literature, history). If you are doing it just for self-gratification go ahead and choose whatever interests you for a major. Of course the golden mean is to find a major that is not only useful but that you find gratifying. Unfortunately many of my peers fall into 2 categories. 1. Chose something very useful but they hate it. 2. Chose something very gratifying to them but now they have a degree that is not very useful and they have a tough time finding a job.

Enjoy the journey that is university!

 

[BENZOOKA]

I will be a mature age student as well, in a year or couple of them. Once I get the rest of the shit finally sorted out that have lead me to my current point, instead of being on the verge of graduating like most of my peers.

 

[Padwolf]

I am graduating in July with a BSc, I studied English Literature and Sociology. To be honest I'm not too sure what I want to do after.