I am in my first year at university studying psychology, and I am finding it very tough. I'm not settled socially yet and despite working really hard at my course, my grades are less than average. I'm considering switching university (and course) but I'm tempted to pack it in and just try to find a job. Do you think tertiary education is really worth it? And how does an unremarkable degree stand up to work experience?
There are some questions in life that other people can't answer for you. What others can do is raise the themes that you need to be thinking about. Why did you decide to do your degree in the first place? What was your desired outcome? If it was just delaying tactics, then in this current environment it's probably not a good idea just to think, "I've started, so I'll finish." But if you actually had a clear target of what you wanted to achieve, then why has that changed, or has it changed?
It's more about understanding your own personal motivation for doing it because I don't differentiate between a degree and experience. I always look for good people regardless of degrees but I do like people who have actually done stuff. It wouldn't bother me at all if you could explain why you had embarked on a degree course and then why you switched.
So, it's all about why you did it in the first place. Making short-term decisions on a whim is not an option because they're decisions based on your career and your life. There's lots of choice today and it can be paralysing. At this stage, it's all about what you want, because markets, economies and situations change and can do so quite rapidly. You're talking about something more long term than worrying about whether the job market will be volatile in the coming months. You're setting yourself up for life. When you imagine university it's easy to think of the exciting bits and forget about doing the work. I think it's perfectly valid to say, "It's really not working out for me and I'm going to try something else." It's a strange one for me because I do think that if you start a job then you should finish it, but university is about setting yourself up for life. Take enough time to consider your decision very carefully because making a decision when you're fed up is never a good idea. It's a big decision and you need to be in a good place to make it wisely.
Deborah Meaden is author of Common Sense Rules (Random House, £7.99). Read more advice from Deborah Meaden.
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