I agree with you, however as always, context is key.
I’m speaking from the other end of the usual timeline - I wrapped education up after getting fucked about at my further education college. I’d lost interest and continuing my studies in my youth would likely have resulted in extra debt, burnout, or failure (or even the triple crown if I’d stuck it out). I went into employment instead.
Twenty years later, I’m back in part time study and I’m in year five of a six year degree programme - literally taking twice as long to do a normal BSc pathway because of the part time element.
I’m doing it for funsies. I felt like I had unfinished business with it, I really wanted to continue the study at least through undergraduate level, but I’ve done it for my own reasons rather than for a job or extra coin. The skills I’ve learned along the way - critical thinking; how to credit people for their work; and the general study material have been more than enough to consider this decision to be a success.
That said, I know I’m in an incredibly privileged position to do what I’m doing, and I’m quite sure that a lot of folk couldn’t spunk £160-180 per month for six years, particularly when wages are stagnating and cost of living keeps rising. I’ve gone in to this wanting to learn about the field I’m studying, and not to hang my hopes of a job on that bit of paper the hopefully comes at the end of it. If nothing else, this course has shown me how little I know about the wider field and the world in general; and also how easy it is to game most systems including educational establishments for the most part - so in terms of employment, I can see how postnominals or a fancy certificate mean fuck all to employers.
I look at it as another formative stage in life - I’ve learned, I’ve developed, I’m a few grand lighter, but it opens new exciting doors to be able to get closer to the cutting edge in my current study field, or even pull the handbrake up and turn the wheel at the same time on my study career and pick another topic to read with more confidence.
I think the key is to at least enjoy what you’re doing in general. If you hate your field or you’re doing it because your job’s pinned to it, then you’re going to have A Real Bad Time™️ and I can see why people would be bitter about it when things go sideways after all that work.
I agree with you, however as always, context is key.
I’m speaking from the other end of the usual timeline - I wrapped education up after getting fucked about at my further education college. I’d lost interest and continuing my studies in my youth would likely have resulted in extra debt, burnout, or failure (or even the triple crown if I’d stuck it out). I went into employment instead.
Twenty years later, I’m back in part time study and I’m in year five of a six year degree programme - literally taking twice as long to do a normal BSc pathway because of the part time element.
I’m doing it for funsies. I felt like I had unfinished business with it, I really wanted to continue the study at least through undergraduate level, but I’ve done it for my own reasons rather than for a job or extra coin. The skills I’ve learned along the way - critical thinking; how to credit people for their work; and the general study material have been more than enough to consider this decision to be a success.
That said, I know I’m in an incredibly privileged position to do what I’m doing, and I’m quite sure that a lot of folk couldn’t spunk £160-180 per month for six years, particularly when wages are stagnating and cost of living keeps rising. I’ve gone in to this wanting to learn about the field I’m studying, and not to hang my hopes of a job on that bit of paper the hopefully comes at the end of it. If nothing else, this course has shown me how little I know about the wider field and the world in general; and also how easy it is to game most systems including educational establishments for the most part - so in terms of employment, I can see how postnominals or a fancy certificate mean fuck all to employers.
I look at it as another formative stage in life - I’ve learned, I’ve developed, I’m a few grand lighter, but it opens new exciting doors to be able to get closer to the cutting edge in my current study field, or even pull the handbrake up and turn the wheel at the same time on my study career and pick another topic to read with more confidence.
I think the key is to at least enjoy what you’re doing in general. If you hate your field or you’re doing it because your job’s pinned to it, then you’re going to have A Real Bad Time™️ and I can see why people would be bitter about it when things go sideways after all that work.