One in four graduates now regret having gone to university

One in four graduates regrets going to university, according to new research.
Do you wish you had made a different decision?Do you wish you had made a different decision?
Do you wish you had made a different decision?

A survey found many former students regret paying so much for their degree and wasting their time socialising.

And nearly half believe they could have reached the same level in their current career through a trainee or apprenticeship scheme.

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And while 93% of the 2,000 graduates polled 'enjoyed' their university experience, nearly half are in a job which is not related to their degree.

Joe Crossley, Business Development Director of Qube Learning which commissioned the study, said: "It's natural for a lot of graduates to finish their degrees expecting to jump on the career ladder almost immediately, but this is often far from the truth.

Under pressure

"Many students feel the pressure to achieve a high grade otherwise they feel they risk being unemployable but when they finally secure a job, their qualification becomes redundant.

"It's also surprising how few undergraduates are advised on alternative routes to university studies.

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"With the amount of debt now accompanying higher education, other options, like Apprenticeships, need to be made more clearly available to people looking to pursue a chosen career."

Many of those polled said their degree was little help in getting a job, with a third not even even asked about it in their interviews.

More than four in five said there is too much emphasis on achieving either a 2:1 or first classification.

The research found just a fifth were made aware of apprenticeships as an option in place of undergraduate university studies following A Levels, with less than five per cent told about distant or online learning.

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One quarter graduated without any qualifications useful to their career, with just under half admitting they could be where they are now without a degree.

‘Waste of time’

The study found a list of degrees that Brits think are a 'waste of time' with Fashion, Drama and Media Studies appearing in the top 10.

Nearly two thirds of respondents who graduated with qualifications considered 'pointless' admitted their degree didn't help them to secure their current job.

It was also revealed the university degrees that the nation believe to be the most useful, with 88% agreeing a degree in Medicine beats a degree in Law or Engineering.

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However, just under half of those who have studied a degree in Medicine said they could have gotten the same job through an apprenticeship scheme or something similar.

One in five said because of their studies they are now behind either those who did apprenticeships or those who went straight into work.

Two in five said they feel they are underpaid in their current job despite having a degree with less than one in ten using skills developed during their degree on a weekly basis.

Career changes

One in 10 have since changed careers since graduating and are now investing their time in new qualifications.

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One in five admits to working in an unpaid role in order to get their current job with more than one in 10 never using skills developed during their degree.

Half of respondents said time management was one of their most treasured takeaways from their experience compared to 29% whose most valuable skills were the ones bespoke to their chosen career.

If given the option to go back and do it all again, nearly one quarter of grads would go down an alternative route to university studies such as an apprenticeship, online qualification or learning a trade.

Over half agree their university experience did more for their social life than their education, with nearly one in five leaving university having met their partner.

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A sixth of graduates admitted to wasting their time at university and a further one third of respondents said the ability to make new friends was a key skill gained from their experience.

Joe Crossley, from www.qube-learning.co.uk continued: "It's imperative that people from as young as 16 years old should be made aware of the educational choices that are out there for them.

"It does not have to be a traditional path of A-Levels and University, there is a huge amount of scope for individuals to learn a trade, through Trainees and Apprenticeships, whilst being educated at the same time."