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[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Doing the maths last night on a Master Degree, you don't start paying until you earn over £22k pa. That's on a £10k loan,... which accrues 6% interest per annum.

So, if you walked out of Uni into a £32k per year job (ie: 10 grand over the threshold) you'd pay back £600 a year.... identical to the amount you accrue in interest! So let's say you only ever earn £32k per year for the rest of your life, you'll spend all year paying off the interest, before starting back at square one again! Christ that made me swallow hard last night!

Ok, so if I earn £42k every year forever it'll take 16.66 years to pay my Masters off... (plus what I owe on my original BA Design degree off, of course., not even taking that into account!)


Then I suppose there's a house to own at some point. And people wonder why so many are benefits scroungers??

The scrounger issue is a separate one.

Although the rest of your post illustrates a valid point...

Going into debt in order to gain an degree is a futile exercise. Instead of poncing around Thailand in the name of 'finding yourself' get a job, even at McDonalds but preferably one in a field that is of interest, and work your 'dangle berries' off for a year or two.

This will achieve two things: firstly you'll have a much better idea about your direction in life, and secondly, if you do still go to university choose a course based on cost rather than prestige* and go debt free.

* Ask your self this... Did you ask your doctor/dentist/solicitor where they got their degrees? Didn't think so. If your local Tech offers the course you want to do, stay at home and do the course there.

Hindsight can be a cruel bitch at times.

What a knowledgeable individual you are  Try putting some of your advice into practice, you'll be Prime Minister in no time  :

Sadly, since 1979, it's been possible for a British PM to come with a pair of tits.

My late grandmother used to say of Thatcher........"she's a plucky girl for having a go but I think it's a job for a man"

I agree.

[Doctor Gollum]

Doing the maths last night on a Master Degree, you don't start paying until you earn over £22k pa. That's on a £10k loan,... which accrues 6% interest per annum.

So, if you walked out of Uni into a £32k per year job (ie: 10 grand over the threshold) you'd pay back £600 a year.... identical to the amount you accrue in interest! So let's say you only ever earn £32k per year for the rest of your life, you'll spend all year paying off the interest, before starting back at square one again! Christ that made me swallow hard last night!

Ok, so if I earn £42k every year forever it'll take 16.66 years to pay my Masters off... (plus what I owe on my original BA Design degree off, of course., not even taking that into account!)


Then I suppose there's a house to own at some point. And people wonder why so many are benefits scroungers??

The scrounger issue is a separate one.

Although the rest of your post illustrates a valid point...

Going into debt in order to gain an degree is a futile exercise. Instead of poncing around Thailand in the name of 'finding yourself' get a job, even at McDonalds but preferably one in a field that is of interest, and work your 'dangle berries' off for a year or two.

This will achieve two things: firstly you'll have a much better idea about your direction in life, and secondly, if you do still go to university choose a course based on cost rather than prestige* and go debt free.

* Ask your self this... Did you ask your doctor/dentist/solicitor where they got their degrees? Didn't think so. If your local Tech offers the course you want to do, stay at home and do the course there.

Hindsight can be a cruel bitch at times.

What a knowledgeable individual you are  Try putting some of your advice into practice, you'll be Prime Minister in no time 

Sadly, I went to the wrong school

[STEMO]

Doing the maths last night on a Master Degree, you don't start paying until you earn over £22k pa. That's on a £10k loan,... which accrues 6% interest per annum.

So, if you walked out of Uni into a £32k per year job (ie: 10 grand over the threshold) you'd pay back £600 a year.... identical to the amount you accrue in interest! So let's say you only ever earn £32k per year for the rest of your life, you'll spend all year paying off the interest, before starting back at square one again! Christ that made me swallow hard last night!

Ok, so if I earn £42k every year forever it'll take 16.66 years to pay my Masters off... (plus what I owe on my original BA Design degree off, of course., not even taking that into account!)


Then I suppose there's a house to own at some point. And people wonder why so many are benefits scroungers??

The scrounger issue is a separate one.

Although the rest of your post illustrates a valid point...

Going into debt in order to gain an degree is a futile exercise. Instead of poncing around Thailand in the name of 'finding yourself' get a job, even at McDonalds but preferably one in a field that is of interest, and work your 'dangle berries' off for a year or two.

This will achieve two things: firstly you'll have a much better idea about your direction in life, and secondly, if you do still go to university choose a course based on cost rather than prestige* and go debt free.

* Ask your self this... Did you ask your doctor/dentist/solicitor where they got their degrees? Didn't think so. If your local Tech offers the course you want to do, stay at home and do the course there.

Hindsight can be a cruel bitch at times.

What a knowledgeable individual you are  Try putting some of your advice into practice, you'll be Prime Minister in no time 

Sadly, I went to the wrong school

Ah well, at least you can tell others how to do it. 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Doing the maths last night on a Master Degree, you don't start paying until you earn over £22k pa. That's on a £10k loan,... which accrues 6% interest per annum.

So, if you walked out of Uni into a £32k per year job (ie: 10 grand over the threshold) you'd pay back £600 a year.... identical to the amount you accrue in interest! So let's say you only ever earn £32k per year for the rest of your life, you'll spend all year paying off the interest, before starting back at square one again! Christ that made me swallow hard last night!

Ok, so if I earn £42k every year forever it'll take 16.66 years to pay my Masters off... (plus what I owe on my original BA Design degree off, of course., not even taking that into account!)


Then I suppose there's a house to own at some point. And people wonder why so many are benefits scroungers??

The scrounger issue is a separate one.

Although the rest of your post illustrates a valid point...

Going into debt in order to gain an degree is a futile exercise. Instead of poncing around Thailand in the name of 'finding yourself' get a job, even at McDonalds but preferably one in a field that is of interest, and work your 'dangle berries' off for a year or two.

This will achieve two things: firstly you'll have a much better idea about your direction in life, and secondly, if you do still go to university choose a course based on cost rather than prestige* and go debt free.

* Ask your self this... Did you ask your doctor/dentist/solicitor where they got their degrees? Didn't think so. If your local Tech offers the course you want to do, stay at home and do the course there.

Hindsight can be a cruel bitch at times.

What a knowledgeable individual you are  Try putting some of your advice into practice, you'll be Prime Minister in no time 

Sadly, I went to the wrong school

School?......luxury.

I lived in a cardboard box and ate worms from the garden until I was twelve.
 

[redelitev6]

It's a business , the whole system is geared up to make as much money from students as possible 

[Kevin Wood]

We've got Tony B. Liar to thank for it. It was he who decided that everybody had to go, and if some couldn't cope with Engineering or Law then they'd dumb it down with degrees in hairdressing and stamp collecting. 

University is aimed primarily at preparing people for a life of academic research not for a job in business. As such, at the relatively low levels of take-up academia needed, it was fine to fund it from the public purse, but, now we have students saddling themselves with loads of debt when the vast majority would be much better off getting a position in industry with some on-the-job training, an option that is self-financing to boot.

What we really need to be doing is promoting vocational schemes like apprenticeships, and bringing back polytechnics and tech colleges, not trying to find ways to dress up a system that is fundamentally flawed.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

We've got Tony B. Liar to thank for it. It was he who decided that everybody had to go, and if some couldn't cope with Engineering or Law then they'd dumb it down with degrees in hairdressing and stamp collecting. 

University is aimed primarily at preparing people for a life of academic research not for a job in business. As such, at the relatively low levels of take-up academia needed, it was fine to fund it from the public purse, but, now we have students saddling themselves with loads of debt when the vast majority would be much better off getting a position in industry with some on-the-job training, an option that is self-financing to boot.

What we really need to be doing is promoting vocational schemes like apprenticeships, and bringing back polytechnics and tech colleges, not trying to find ways to dress up a system that is fundamentally flawed.

Agreed.

Having 40% or more attend university looks good as a statistic. What is it they say?..... lies, damn lies, and statistics.

[ronnyd]

Even the local "Technical Collages" are calling themselves Universities now. Sounds rather posh for one day a week day release. Was never ever on the cards when i left school at 15 in 1959 to go on to higher education, just wasn,t considered a "working class" thing.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Even the local "Technical Collages" are calling themselves Universities now. Sounds rather posh for one day a week day release. Was never ever on the cards when i left school at 15 in 1959 to go on to higher education, just wasn,t considered a "working class" thing.

I went to Uni as did a couple of my cousins and our Nan was very sniffy about the whole thing. 

I can remember her to this day saying "Our sort of people don't go to University!" 

[Doctor Gollum]

We've got Tony B. Liar to thank for it. It was he who decided that everybody had to go, and if some couldn't cope with Engineering or Law then they'd dumb it down with degrees in hairdressing and stamp collecting. 

University is aimed primarily at preparing people for a life of academic research not for a job in business. As such, at the relatively low levels of take-up academia needed, it was fine to fund it from the public purse, but, now we have students saddling themselves with loads of debt when the vast majority would be much better off getting a position in industry with some on-the-job training, an option that is self-financing to boot.

What we really need to be doing is promoting vocational schemes like apprenticeships, and bringing back polytechnics and tech colleges, not trying to find ways to dress up a system that is fundamentally flawed.

Ah yes, £100,000 to study German Polka History

[tunnie]

It worked for me, I went to Uni (Brunel) because I was not sure what I wanted to do when leaving college, after doing a BTECH in Computing.

4 year uni course, taking in all sorts, with 1 year placement as I.T Techy and I fell into mobile development. My final year project was a mobile app for theme parks, which went down well with mobile phone app company when applying for jobs post Uni.

I did though, scrape through on the much lower fee's, but still left with a substantial debt. However the jobs pay well and if sensible you can over-pay and after 7 years paid it all off. Also managed to save a considerable 5 figure sum for flat deposit at the same time. But then again, I was booring for most part only dabbling a bit with motorbike and such. Some people I know travelled the world and did all sorts before actually getting a job.

[Doctor Gollum]

I paid mine off in about 18 months. But it was one loan from one year and the amount was peanuts compared to some of the crap I got into...

£1,300 should have been dealt with in 18 days if I had had my shit together.

Two false starts and a breakdown got me nowhere, my ONLY saving grace being that I worked my nads off.

Anyone who suggests different should spend six months living at the Swiss Air ticket desk at Heathrow whilst trying to do a degree 50 miles away.