Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Jon MW]

In terms of the original question I'd say whichever route their individual personality made them most suited for - apart from poker - poker can always be there as a background backup and once they have a decent qualification (of whatever type) they can always give it a go as a full time thing knowing they have another option available.

[DaveShoelace]

Yeah good point about getting credit. In which case I'd suggest they do it alongside a part time job. Plenty of students do almost full time hours and a part time job.

[neeko]

The purpose of increasing university entrance over the years for successive governments has been to lower the unemployment rate amongst under 21s.

3 year academic Uni degrees should be limited to the top 20% of school grads.

The next 20-30% should do 2 year intensive vocational degrees.

For me it was a great way to leave home, drink lots and have a great time. (There was 12 hours a week of education to fit in as well somewhere)

[Rod Paradise]

http://www.stuff.tv/google/surprise-13-fun-features-google-search-has-been-hiding-you/feature

For the Google doodle fan....

[pleno1]

I forgot I had posted, but I think its so, so wrong that kids can leave school at 18 and make a decision (this decision is usually made when they are 16/17 that will not only impact the rest of their lives, dictate their whole direction in life but also get them in tens and tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt.

I would guess on average over 50% of people who are 17 want to be something else by the time they are 25. What choice do they have? Their parents very likely will not/ can not support them through another degree so they are left pretty unhappy in an industry that doesnt excite them or usually in the case an industry that is far too competitive (media/sports etc)

I think it should be mandatory that everybody has to spend a year doing something before even applying to universities. I also think there should be more ex students who regretted going to university coming to give speeches at schools rather than what I received (lots and lots of meetings with prospective universites)


maybe im completely wrong though.

[Jon MW]

I forgot I had posted, but I think its so, so wrong that kids can leave school at 18 and make a decision (this decision is usually made when they are 16/17 that will not only impact the rest of their lives, dictate their whole direction in life but also get them in tens and tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt.

I would guess on average over 50% of people who are 17 want to be something else by the time they are 25. What choice do they have? Their parents very likely will not/ can not support them through another degree so they are left pretty unhappy in an industry that doesnt excite them or usually in the case an industry that is far too competitive (media/sports etc)

I think it should be mandatory that everybody has to spend a year doing something before even applying to universities. I also think there should be more ex students who regretted going to university coming to give speeches at schools rather than what I received (lots and lots of meetings with prospective universites)


maybe im completely wrong though.

Most people don't do a degree relating to a specific industry though - and like Simon suggested, even those with specific degrees don't have to be stuck with that area as it's just proof you have the capacity to work to that level. I know a few people with very specific degrees (like Town and Country Planning for example) who don't work in the field the degree was - but the degree still helped them get the job.

Having said that - I do agree it's a problem, I'm not sure your solution would help though as most would just spend that extra year travelling or working in a shop to raise extra finance. Even if they happened to get a placement in the industry they thought they were interested in - it might make them realise they're not so keen after all - but it wouldn't provide many people with an idea of what they wanted to do instead.

America gets a lot of things wrong but we could borrow a bit from them with a very generalised first year followed by 3 years of a Major - that might give students a bit more perspective before they are forced to specialise.

[DaveShoelace]

I forgot I had posted, but I think its so, so wrong that kids can leave school at 18 and make a decision (this decision is usually made when they are 16/17 that will not only impact the rest of their lives, dictate their whole direction in life but also get them in tens and tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt.

I would guess on average over 50% of people who are 17 want to be something else by the time they are 25. What choice do they have? Their parents very likely will not/ can not support them through another degree so they are left pretty unhappy in an industry that doesnt excite them or usually in the case an industry that is far too competitive (media/sports etc)

I think it should be mandatory that everybody has to spend a year doing something before even applying to universities. I also think there should be more ex students who regretted going to university coming to give speeches at schools rather than what I received (lots and lots of meetings with prospective universites)


maybe im completely wrong though.

Getting very wise now you are rubbing fiddies on your tiddies with all that internet poker money, agree with every word. A month of full time work in a shit job taught me way more about life and what I wanted out of it than three years dicking around at Uni hoping everything was going to sort itself out.

[VBlue]

I hope that I will give my boys enough opportunities, experiences, encouragement, and guidance to have as good an idea as possible art age 18 to have a decently strong sense of direction - work, uni, year out, whatever.

Do we, as parents,  incest enough in our kids, or do we let them coast through and absolve ourselves of the responsibility in the hope school will care enough to guide them? My parents did next to fuck all to show any genuine interest in what I was doing or where I was headed other than to try and bully me into staying on to do A levels because my Mum wanted the kudos and the same with Uni.  Then blamed me when I moved solely to get away from home and did nowt academically the whole year I was there.

There has to be a genuine investment in ours kids and their futures and unselfish reasons tohelp them get there.

[Tal]

Really hope you mean invest.

[The Wycher]

You're 18 just finished school, good at poker, good student. It's 2015, do you go to university, get a job, play poker, get an apprenticeship or travel?

1) Go to Uni.

When I was young, I never knerw ONE person who got to Uni. These days so many more get the chance. They should take it.

Top notch question Pads.


Problem with Uni now is that everyone goes, and what's more, all the information they consume when they are there is readily available online. If I ever have kids, I'll be talking them out of going to Uni and instead spending a year or so working for free in an industry they want to work in. They'll learn more, progress faster and it will cost them much much less.

Remarkable how many young uns detest the idea of working for free, but happily pay for three years at Uni which guarantees very little in the workforce.

I think I was probably one of the first generations of people to go to Uni when degrees started getting worthless. I learned nothing there. I managed to learn to be self reliant and to budget, but that was in my student house, not the lecture hall. It's horribly cynical but the whole Uni thing today is a lie we are selling our young people.

I partly agree with this, I think to many kids just go to Uni because everyone else does and they really don't know what they want to do in some cases. I work in accountancy and the worst trainees for us would be those with accountancy degrees as they believe they know everything whereas a 18 year old who has spent the last 3 years working in accountancy is a million miles ahead.

Having said all that if I didn't need to work and could afford uni I would go and do an ancient history degree at the drop of a hat, and I think there are some careers that need the Uni knowledge.

[maccol]

Really hope you mean invest.

That really is an unfortunate typo.   

[pleno1]

I remember very clearly why I went to uni when I did. I had agreed with parents I'd take a year out and then would go to do journalism at a good university. My 2 best friends were going to Sheffield hallam and had all their stuff sorted out, I decided I wanted to go when they went and to go together and then eventually decided at the very last minute to sack the gap year off.

A really immature decision at the time but like I say i find it amazing hat society allows people to make these decisions. I could have been a very bitter 25 year old right now.

[aaron1867]

You're 18 just finished school, good at poker, good student. It's 2015, do you go to university, get a job, play poker, get an apprenticeship or travel?

1) Go to Uni.

When I was young, I never knerw ONE person who got to Uni. These days so many more get the chance. They should take it.

Top notch question Pads.


Problem with Uni now is that everyone goes, and what's more, all the information they consume when they are there is readily available online. If I ever have kids, I'll be talking them out of going to Uni and instead spending a year or so working for free in an industry they want to work in. They'll learn more, progress faster and it will cost them much much less.

Remarkable how many young uns detest the idea of working for free, but happily pay for three years at Uni which guarantees very little in the workforce.

I think I was probably one of the first generations of people to go to Uni when degrees started getting worthless. I learned nothing there. I managed to learn to be self reliant and to budget, but that was in my student house, not the lecture hall. It's horribly cynical but the whole Uni thing today is a lie we are selling our young people.

I partly agree with this, I think to many kids just go to Uni because everyone else does and they really don't know what they want to do in some cases. I work in accountancy and the worst trainees for us would be those with accountancy degrees as they believe they know everything whereas a 18 year old who has spent the last 3 years working in accountancy is a million miles ahead.

Having said all that if I didn't need to work and could afford uni I would go and do an ancient history degree at the drop of a hat, and I think there are some careers that need the Uni knowledge.

I only post on here to interesting posts & I suppose this is one.

I don't think a graduate is behind someone who has working experience. There was an article not so long ago, from a tabloid like The Guardian in which it showed that people who graduate from Uni are in front of the individual who starts from the bottom upwards. I think this might be in financial terms, but it I think it would be correct. You walk out of Uni with a degree in a subject these days and you aren't starting from the bottom, you are likely to be starting from some sort of position in the company, where as it would take the guy with no qualification a good few years to get there, if at all.

But you are right, the numbers for University are a lot greater, but they are a lot better getting a degree for the money, rather than signing on.

I started Uni some years ago and I can walk into a decent job these days, but it's rather tedious as within the time of study, I have been able to start something of my own, in which in terms of finance is more than I would get by some margin by a graduate job, maybe the degree was a complete waste of time?

As for the situation at 18, who is good at poker then? They can't just walk into jobs at 18 either, unless they have previous & Uni can sometimes be the best option.

Good question though - I would never advise poker though (and who is good at poker at 18?), I've never really understood the whole fascination in wanting it as a job, those late nights and you miss the next day. You miss half you life, imo. Everyone to their own though.

[DaveShoelace]

Really hope you mean invest.

That really is an unfortunate typo.   

It's a freudian clitoris.....I mean slip

[Kmac84]

I'd encourage my kids to do the opposite from what I did, so I'd be all for them travelling and discovering what they wanted to do.  I'd also encourage them to get outside of Glasgow to find work as I firmly believe opportunities to the young up and coming are fairly limited. 

I'd probably encourage them to go for apprenticeships as well unless they showed they were going to very good academically.  The reason for this is with a very good apprenticeship you will always find works and can always travel. 

I went to Uni to early, I flopped and ended up with quite a bit of debt that set me back in my early 20's from doing things I really wanted to. 

For me, I was the first in my family to ever go to Uni so I think mentally I wasn't prepared.  I also had no real clue with what I wanted to do in life, and my the time I had figured that out I had already messed up.