According to statistics, at least one out of four people always drop out of the university after finding out that it wasn’t for them. While it is essential to attend a higher-learning institution to get a high-value education, you must consider some factors before doing so.
Most students always join universities because of careers, forgetting their aspirations in life. This article has detailed critical questions to guide you.
Do You Need a Degree?
Before choosing to join university, you need to ask yourself if you need a degree to be where you want to be. Why is it so? The reason is that some careers do not necessarily require having a degree. According to experts from Authority.org, only a few jobs need one to have a degree that is credited. Such careers include medical practitioners, doctors, and other related occupations. If you plan to have a specific job in life, it’s advisable to conduct research and find out if it will be of use. Just sit down with an expert and then check the pros and cons of having the degree. You need to check if joining is necessary for your career or other alternatives you can check out.
Costs of Joining a University
Getting a university education is quite expensive. You can pay full fees, or you can have a loan that will cater for the expenses till you finish your university education. Regardless of the above, the cost is always high. There is no need to join university, incur high fees, and the course will not be of help. University expenses are many; fees, transport, accommodation, purchasing of learning materials, equipment, and many more. These costs require prudent decisions on whether they will pursue education or not. Since it’s a long term investment, you need to calculate its costs, student loan repayment period, and the job market. You need to analyze if a degree will help you acquire a better job and the duration. If the career you want to take does not require such education, then there is no need for it. But if it does, then university is for you.
What Is Your Career Plan?
Having a career objective is like having a route map to your destination. Once this is clearly defined, it will be easier to understand if you need to join the university or not. That is why undertaking a career plan training will be of high importance. Most of the technical careers, the skills are gained through apprenticeship, or from technical schools, if this will be your field of study, you do not need to go to university.
What Is Your Talent?
Some careers have been developed through passion. This career does not require a person to join a university for them to excel in them. Examples of this career are musicians, painters, modelers, etc., this group can work so efficiently and have good returns in their work.
With the new technology at stake, some of these stakeholders may opt to join the university to keep up with it.
What Are The Alternatives to Joining a University?
You do not have to stress yourself joining university if you have readily available alternatives. Attending a university has its importance. But if you can get such importance somewhere else, with added benefits, you need to reconsider your decision and seek these alternatives. The university doesn’t provide everything you might need. Some other options can equip you with something related to what you could find in the university. So what are these alternatives?
- Colleges: to some employers, a college education is just enough for some careers. You can do a diploma course at a college and get you a good job. The good thing about colleges is that their fees are lower, and they incorporate apprenticeships in their courses.
- Taking a gap year: you may decide to postpone your university education by just a year to come up with a better decision on whether to join a university or not. You can use this year to travel, research, and maybe look for a job.
- Finding a job: is not an easy route; many people end up getting jobs while thinking about their next form of education. Since the university is not for anyone, you can decide to find a suitable position for secondary school leavers, as you ponder your next move in life. But if you are planning for a complicated career such as medicine, this step is not recommended.
Times and moments for following people’s advice and falling into the peer pressure are long gone. Some decisions require critical thinking to save time and costs. Deciding on university education is one of them, and we hope the tips shared in this article will help you come up with the best decision about your education and career.
