Is it worth going to university or keep trying to find a job?

[Dracularz]

Is it worth the chances of trying to keep trying to find a job and get experience or start finding universities and start applying to them soon?

I'm struggling between deciding what to focus on...

I could go to university, but I still don't even know what I want to study.
Or I could try to find a job and build up experience and also gain some income as well.

Does experience balance out a degree in the long run?

 

[Lacrecia]

I suggest that you rather try university first. It not only give you knowledge, but it's a sort of preparatory phase to build experience in a certain domain.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

 

[TheRealCallie]

Lots of people both go to university and have a job, so that could be an option too, right?

 

[DVEUS]

in the end a degree is what will matter most...believe me when i tell you that the more experience you have the less likely employers will hire you...because experience means $$$...

love your user name...welcome aboard drac...

 

[TheSkaFish]

Well, as far as I know, most jobs that you don't need a degree for, don't pay well at all. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, the degree goes a long way. I've seen studies shown somewhere that say that degree holders do earn significantly more over the course of their lives, on average.

Still, I'd definitely say you should take some time to figure out what you want to study before going to school because courses are really expensive and you want to graduate as fast as possible, you don't want to get caught up having to restart your degree and do all your work over again.

And definitely get an internship. That will help solve the problem of not having relevant work experience, and it will give you a good professional reference. I wish I'd taken this one more seriously.

 

[ABrokenMan]

I've got a degree (BA) and it hasn't helped me much at all. Some positions to which I applied for, I've been told I'm "over-qualified".
What really matters is choosing a field. If you want to enjoy your career and don't care much about income potential
that is one thing. But, if you want to maximize earning potential, find something that will be a growing field in years to come.
I know someone who has a ph.d in anthropology. She had to start her own business (small restaurant).
i think it is very dicey in 2014 to enroll in a place of higher education without any direction as to where you want to go.

 

[Ioann]

University can be a great experience, but only really if you love your subject. Why not get a job for a year, and think about applying to university then? You would (i) have some money saved, (ii) be more mature and broader in your outlook than a school leaver, and (iii) really know you wanted to be there.

 

[Ymir]

It depends, really. High school doesn't really teach people what they'll need to know for most jobs; it's hard to know what you want to be when you don't know what most jobs actually are and what you will have to know to get them.

I think getting a degree is a must if you are looking for something more stable, but even so, you have to pick it well, so if you really don't have a field of choice, if you really really have no idea what you want to do with your life, you should buckle up and try to get some real life experience first (in other words, try to get a job).

We have this idea that we must go to college as soon as we can, but that can wait for a while, if that's what makes you feel right.

 

[Troubadour]

The amount of money you'll make for a job which you need a degree for cannot be compared to the amount of money you'll make in a job that does not require a degree. Think long run and I think you'll find that going to university will give you a better future.

 

[ladyforsaken]

You know, I realise that it really depends on your luck with the employer you seek employment with. Sometimes they really look at experience, sometimes they only care for qualifications. So it's good to have both, as much as you can.

I just recently got a job, it's my first week and they hired me looking at my years of working experience rather than my qualifications, when all this while, a lot of employers have been rejecting me for not having a degree (well I have 2 diplomas but that don't mean anything to most places). So really - in my experience, it depends on who you seek employment with. Best is to have both, maybe look at which one you can achieve first within the given circumstances.

 

[Tealeaf]

This is completely dependent on what jobs, what experience, and what degrees. I can't imagine a degree in philosophy is going to help someone who's struggling to find work in the first place, but some schools will offer internships to students which count as experience.

In IT there are also various certifications that employers may like, but there's no such thing for, say, retail or being a line cook. Technical writers can go to school, but supposedly also volunteer for documents to gain experience and examples of their work.