Can you have a great future without a degree?
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I'm 20 years old and the only possible university course I'm interested in is a youth work/community development course. Problem it it's very specific and generally the pay for youth workers is quite poor. It's the only thing I'm interested in doing and while my family are harassing me to go down the doctor/teacher/engineer path it's just not going to happen. I'm worried I'm going to spend 4 years at university with no money and then end up with a useless degree that doesn't even get me any well paid work.
There's alot of things I'd love to learn in life and possibly do "on the side" (learn and then do Sign Language translating jobs for example) but without a degree will I ever have the big house, fancy car, holidays and stuff? Is it worth going down a career path where job satisfaction is good but the money is poor?
There's alot of things I'd love to learn in life and possibly do "on the side" (learn and then do Sign Language translating jobs for example) but without a degree will I ever have the big house, fancy car, holidays and stuff? Is it worth going down a career path where job satisfaction is good but the money is poor?
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The trick is to get your foot in the door and get a couple of years experience. After that your lack of a degree probably won't matter much - especially the way so many degrees have been cheapened of late. Having a degree used to mean you were someone special.
Generally luck, sense and hard work, I suppose.
You will probably end up spending most of your life at work so you need to enjoy it (I know a lot of people aren't lucky enough to have that but that's the ideal). The job I do isn't great, I enjoy it to a degree but if I didn't get on with the people I work with (honestly it's a great team) I would have been looking for a new job a long time ago. I spent 10 months in a job I didn't like and with people I didn't get along with and I was miserable. I wouldn't have stayed even if they'd doubled my pay.
Follow your dreams. If you have a passion for youth work/community development, GO FOR IT! My parents separated when I was 12. My late father seemed obsessed with me becoming a lawyer, and my mother would've liked me to have gone down that route, or maybe become a classical musician. Neither of those careers (or the lifestyles that come with them) are for me.
Look at what you need to do to get you to where you want to be in life. Is it work experience? Is it helping out somewhere in your spare time, with a view to it becoming a job when one becomes available? Is it night classes? Or is it a university degree?
YOU know what you need to do. Be focussed, be dedicated, and don't let anyone deter you from following your dreams.
If earning potential is your motivation, why don't you think outside the box a bit? You say you're interested in sign language, so why not look into something like Audiology? Not necessarily uber well paid, but an allied health profession so good career progression and (probably) decent(ish) earning potential - AND you may be able to combine it with working with young people? Obviously, that will depend on your qualifications to date (eg are they science focused?)
Or, if you're thinking youth work, but not teaching, there's degrees in Social Work and Community Education that might be a good starting point for you.
A degree IN ITSELF will not get you the big bucks: it can open doors (and is a now essential in many professions) but it's what you make of it that counts. And, likewise, people can and do do well financially without a degree - though not, I'd suggest in the area of youth work (unless, I suppose, you started your own business and grew it).
You might find this website useful: http://www.planitplus.net/careerzone/
The biggest point to make is that the question you ask, do you go for what you like or money, is a big one, and nobody can make the decision for you. I thought I wanted money but after a while working I realised that I was not prepared to do what I saw happening, and I decided to do something that paid OK and offered progression but which I was proud to do and was worthwhile.
You will only find that out for yourself in time, and you should get as far as you possibly can with education.
It made him realise that he preferred working outdoors, rather than being cooped up in an office. He also noticed that it helped his mood and well being. He's recently got a job as a gardener, only on the minimum wage, and it's extremely physically demanding, but he's just relieved that he's found work and is finding it fulfilling.
Support.
Youth and Community
Support Worker Range which tops out at 25,830
And Professional which tops out at £36,741
I would imagine a degree is required for Professional. but I'm sure you could find out.
Bear in mind that your unlikely to repay much of your tuition fees on that sort of money.
This is a tricky bugger because you see loads of people determined to be "x" only to find what they wanted deep down was "y"
And secondly wether the barriers removed by obtaining a degree to bring you closer to "y" justify the financial/time investment while you work on it
You find that balance between something you can carve a living out of and actually enjoy doing you'll be amongst the lucky ones.
I like the metaphor of somebody trying to place a square peg into a round peg hole (because in a way it sums me up as well), sometimes you need to create your own square peghole for it
Maybe it helps, but ultimatly without the degree you can still do just fine
Is that an awful salary? I imagine costs of living would be low for me (single person and probably my first house/flat would be a small, one bedroom rented place) but would I really be restricted with that sort of money in terms of holidays, spending etc?
After that it was of no use to me whatsoever.
But I got mine back in the days when grants and bursaries were in abundance.
Happy days
I have a similar story. I am a developer (.net)/. I have no degree but have an amazing aptitude for it. I got my Microsoft certification (MCPD Enterpris level!). My point would be that if you have an aptitude for something, you can do it without a degree.
I have a similar story. I am a developer (.net). I have no degree but have an amazing aptitude for programming. I Did get my Microsoft certification (MCPD Enterprise level!). My point would be that if you have an aptitude for something, you can do it without a degree. Maybe you could look at vocational qualification instead.
Sadly there are a lot of 'mickey mouse' degrees out there that have no relevance to the workplace at all and are fairly pointless.
There are plenty of ways to take an MBA or study with the OU as your career progresses and many employers will support you with your development by fully or part funding your degree, or giving you day release.
Yes. Well social anxiety and "depression" (not saying I have the illness but I would say I'm sometimes very depressed) played a factor in that job, as well as travel (night shift) and the fact it was only for a week. I regret it of course and feel like an idiot trying to defend my actions but I'm well aware that I need to sort out my personal problems in order to maintain any sort of job.
It depends where you live and what your tastes are.
The firm prospered and my relative with it. He is now the chief exec of the firm, drives a Bentley, has use of the firm's private jet, lives in a swanky house in an exclusive road, has a CBE and influence where it counts.
I appreciate that we're not all going to do as well as he has, but it just goes to show that you don't need a degree to succeed in life. He has now been given an honorary degree anyway, so he got there in the end!