Degree

[santaman2000]

Yes, and you can study from overseas as far as I can make out. Not sure what you do about the 'summer schools' though (think of a bunch of middle aged people that think they missed out on Uni social life, letting their hair down at a residential teaching session for a weekend or a week - there have been more than a few divorces based on it).

Thanks. I thought so. I finished my degree on a similar program; while most of my classes were traditional in person classes they were in what Emmy-Riddle called their “Worldwide Campus.” Basically a classes were offered in person at the individual military bases around the world in their education office classrooms using local professors/instructors And having an ERAU staff member locally overseeing it. It had advantages and disadvantages. The obvious advantage being that the other students hade extremely similar experiences. The disadvantage being that the other students had extremely similar experiences. That and the fact that since the student body was so much smaller than the main campuses, they had a more limited offering.

 

[Tengu]

How does student debt affect you?

 

[santaman2000]

Personally, not at all. See posts I made further upthread and you’ll see the Air Force paid for most of the last half of my degree and the first half was very inexpensive and and more than offset by the Soccial Security Widow’s pension Mama drew because of my staying in school.

Likewise my grandson‘s journey is being financed by scholarships and grants so he won’t incur in such debt. However if he succeeds in qualifying for the ROTC scholarship next year he will incur an obligation to serve. That’s not a proble since he intends a miltary career anyway.

My Daughter, his mother, is another story though. She incurred a huge student debt (less than the $100k in the meme though) persuing a degree that she’s been unable to use due to her physical health.

 

[gra_farmer]

How does student debt affect you?

That's the real question, when I was doing my BSc I was told about the student loans and how they were interest free.....they lied, my wife barely pays the interest off each year.

For me, the offer of relatively free loan money sounded to good to be true, and I was right. So I continued working full time through my BSc, it meant I missed the uni life and was shattered all the time, but student debt free, and importantly still got a 1st.

When I was doing my PhD, I made sure that the people benefitting were picking up the bill, I had to set things up for them to get the funds in the first place, but I took money back from them to do the work.

 

[TeeDee]

That's the real question, when I was doing my BSc I was told about the student loans and how they were interest free.....they lied, my wife barely pays the interest off each year.

So how much disparity are you talking?

 

[gra_farmer]

So how much disparity are you talking?

How much you pay off per year is relative to your earnings. With children and working part-time, the pay off is less than the interest in that year.

The actual values I don't know, as my wife has given up telling me about the debt, it will just always be there in the back ground.

My advice, is anything above a BSc / BA get sponsored by a plc company, focus on their targets, you then get it paid for. I am currently working for a private company and I am the second supervisor on 3 PhD's that my company is sponsoring. Really wish someone gave me that advice when I was setting up my PhD.

If you are going down the sponsored masters or PhD, look for no less than 15k a year plus fees

 

[Tengu]

Yup, I want to do more studying

 

[bobnewboy]

I am ‘Joe’ . Or at least I was a Joe as I’m retired now, and was in telecoms. I did a full apprenticeship and would strongly recommend that approach for any of my younger relations. I worked hard, took chances to advance, and reached the highest tech level available in a multinational telecoms OEM. No degree required.

 

[Paul_B]

Back when I was at uni I got a student loan in my first year. Didn't need it but I put it into a savings account and earn a lot more in interest than it charged me. I regret paying it off for the naive idea of never a lender not a borrower be. If I had kept it as a loan capital it would earn more than the interest and after a certain period if time it would have been written off by the government. Not sure how it is now but back then you could defer repayment after graduation for as long as you were below iirc national average salary. For various reasons including redundancy and restarting career I was. I'd have reached the period of time that the debt gets written off without affecting your credit rating. I didn't because I paid it off in my first year of working and unemployment and work and unemployment

Tldr - My student debt was an investment that I could have deferred and never paid off.

Martin Lewis is a massive fan of university education for all. He goes on talking tours to school kids thinking of applying to university especially from more deprived areas. He advocates the UK system where student loans are semi state controlled in a way that you only pay back when you're earning a salary that you can afford to pay. Then you only pay back in manageable amounts. Can't remember the figures but IIRC you are earning over £25,000 before you have to repay. Even then you're paying back something as low as £5 a month. Repayment only gets steep when you're on very high salaries. If you don't fully repay in a certain timescale the government pays it off. All the while it's got interest at well before market rates, in my day it was at a rate that effectively only meant the value repaid was equivalent to is value when first borrowed.

That financial journalist is quite evangelical about how the UK student loan system is set up so you can't fail me with it. A no brainer decision to take the loan up to enable you to study. It's a positive thing because he's convincing bright kids to go to university from poor areas. That's valuable not just for them but for social mobility.

As for social mobility the UK is far behind where it was in the 60s and 70s. Back in the 70s there was a period of new higher education universities and polytechnics being founded including the open university. The result was a lot more social mobility than now.

My mum was one of the first women and mothers to graduate from OU. She's been reported in the newspapers as a good pr for the ou back then. She did it while looking after kids, working part time and basically keeping house (although my dad was very enlightened for the days and helped a lot keeping house and childcare when not working). One of her fellow graduates back then was a man who left school at 16 or earlier and into an unskilled job. A few years ago he was on the OU alumni magazine cover after he got his 7th OU degree!!! It's a good university system and actually carries out a lot of its own research too just like campus universities. It is also a good research university, yes the ou presents opportunities to do a PhD and even academic career with them. Great organisation IMHO.

 

[henchy3rd]

Perhaps a healthy mixture of free and subsidised? Seeing what level of debt many students have to carry with them for years, it's is staggering, especially in this day and age. I am not entirely clued-up on this topic but perhaps the Government and/or educational departments will start to (if it does not already) prioritise certain degree courses to meet the urgent needs of the changing world? Especially if there is a hole left in funding from the EU due to Brexit?

Don’t know the ins & outs of university debt, except my ex girlfriend had qualifications coming out of her ears & only paid back £300.00 per year & she had a well paid job.

 

[Laurentius]

My dad left school when he was 12 was called up into the army as soon as he was old enough, the army was his university and when he was discharged he had a trade to go to which lasted him until the harsh times of the 80s when he became redundant. I have no doubt, given the way he appreciated knowlege that he could have benefited from the opportunity to take a few years out in middle age to gain a degree, just for the sake of the learning and the experience. However I am sure he would have felt underqualified and intimidated to even start the process. One of the best things going a few years back was the 2+2 schemes being run by local FE colleges and also access courses which were a good route for middle aged people without the formal qualifications into University. I feel that there is a general benefit to society that is to be gained from anybody who improves their education at whatever stage in life, and that is why I believe it should be assisted from the public purse because it is like the principal of insurance, in the end everybody gains.

 

[BrewkitAndBasha]

I agree but has anyone ever found any career advice of value? I know the career advice that was dished out to my kids when they were in the last years of school was given by a woman (could just have easily been a man) that had very little life experience, had not succeeded in any career herself, and had a very narrow view of what different people could do for an enjoyable career.

Good point and in reality finding the right balanced track record of experience, successes and failures along the way and a pretty good understanding of the candidate, as well as the market requirements and opportunities etc. is a tough one to crack I suspect.

 

[fenix]

I am involved in recruitment at work, we manufacture gas sensors and analysers used in a just about every industry. All sides of the business are covered from our Sussex HQ, including R&D and manufacturing. One of the main things I look for on a CV / covering letter is technical hobbies, electronics, radio, astronomy. If I am looking for somebody to fill a technical position I will always give a hobby electronics candidate an interview, and have given the role to people without a degree because they had an interesting technical hobby.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I have long wondered how a hobby of "knife making" would be viewed on a CV. While not technical enough to be applicable for an electronics tech business, it certainly can have carry over with other sorts of engineering. However, with all the bad press these days, I can't help but think many recruiters would burn such a CV inside a salt circle!

 

[Stew]

I have long wondered how a hobby of "knife making" would be viewed on a CV. While not technical enough to be applicable for an electronics tech business, it certainly can have carry over with other sorts of engineering. However, with all the bad press these days, I can't help but think many recruiters would burn such a CV inside a salt circle!

I've never put in on an application though have been braced for it if asked at interview.

 

[Tengu]

I once met a guy at a job club and he had `shooting` on his CV.

I said nothing but I didnt think it very good idea.

Hobbies on CVs is one of the most divisive things ever.

One sport
One collectable
One creative
one interlectual.

Makes for a well rounded person

 

[TeeDee]

I once met a guy at a job club and he had `shooting` on his CV.

I said nothing but I didnt think it very good idea.

Hobbies on CVs is one of the most divisive things ever.

One sport
One collectable
One creative
one interlectual.

Makes for a well rounded person

one interlectual.

Indeed.

 

[Broch]

Befor i whent to uni i couldn't even spell ingineer now i are one.

 

[Potatohead]

A ) What is your Degree in?
BEng(hons) Energy Engineering (mechanical)

B ) Did you have to pay for your Degree?
No. Day release through work when i was mid twenties.

C ) Do you actually use your Degree in a relevant way to your current Job ?

Yep. But a function of getting the degree after getting into a career. Not my first choice of career but left school at 16 in a recession and got strongarmed into an apprenticeship by my parents.

D ) If you had your time again - would you have you advise yourself to do the same subject? or maybe forgo the Degree path entirely?
Would still probably be in some kind of engineering as it was in the family. (Really wanted aviation) Was not a studious person, more practical, so found it hard going. But would probably advise myself to do a degree again as for me it unlocked a different level of thought processes and ways of approaching problem solving.

 

[TeeDee]

But would probably advise myself to do a degree again as for me it unlocked a different level of thought processes and ways of approaching problem solving.

That is a very interesting statement.
Engaged and created different thought processes. That is no small thing.