Posted on Sunday 15th of October 2006 at 13:50 in Random

University Debt Consolidation - Was Uni Worth it?

It occurred to me 12 months ago while pondering my post university prospects that the situation is no longer as clear cut as it had been for those whose footsteps I now tread in. It used to be the start of your storybook life, graduating from university meant that you had achieved some divine status among society and would force the local townspeople to bow down before you, whereas now it gives you massive debt and very little head start over your peers who dove straight into the workplace. In Britain the average debt is ?10,000 ($18,565) for graduating students, is university the head start it was always made out to be?

I made it through my Computer Science degree with a less than exemplary grade and ?12,000 of debt, after 3 years of intensive programming, late nights, takeaway and less social interaction than was advertised and while I have managed to find work relevant to my interests, many of my peers are finding that their situations are less than ideal. Debt is only increasing for graduates and Computer Science is one of the more vocational degrees - if we are finding work difficult to come by then surely this whole University programme isn't all it's cracked up to be?

"I didn't really imagine "the best days of my life" to be worrying about consolidating my student debt"

In the days of old University was an institute that only the elite few attended, consequently the degrees they achieved were employer gold, paving the ideal life their parents had always wished upon them. Now times have changed, many students are attending university as a means of prolonging their avoidance of work. This situation is worsened by the high numbers of non-vocational degrees (Beckhamology anyone?) meaning that graduates are a dime a dozen, with many employers valuing a student with a 1st in Sociology over another with a 2:2 in Artificial Intelligence. Now, without returning to the time honoured "BA vs. BSc" argument, I feel that University isn't the ticket anymore. I didn't really imagine "the best days of my life" to be worrying about college debt consolidation.

Ah yes, consolidating my student debt - quite the can of worms. In today's world (in Britain at least), it's nigh impossible to leave university and live away from home due to the negative financial situation "College" places upon you. I have good experience of this, having graduated in July.

I was in employment before my graduation - needing to use holiday days to attend the ceremony and the corresponding party. This meant borrowing money to afford rent so that me and my fabulous girlfriend could live together - hours away from home in a prime location for IT work. University placed me in such debt that I needed to draw upon all my resources to make rent payments. However, renting is too expensive and wasted money so we are in the final stages of buying our own house - again, borrowing more money to afford solicitors fees and the like... Fortunately I have savings and a supportive family meaning that my "official" debt has barely increased.

While this information is less than relevant it highlights a very real situation - I have had to work myself stupid for several years to put myself in a situation where I have almost as much debt as my post-tax earnings and no skills that couldn't be learnt part time using internet resources.

You can teach yourself web development in a matter of months. A decent grasp of PHP can be made within 6 weeks at a guess. So ultimately computing graduates are paying ?10,000 to learn the ability to write a report (which most students still do appallingly) and to have the opportunity to forget UML.

Although some may argue that university is about the experience more than it is the prospects it affords, this is true, but I'm sure I wouldn't value the experience at ?10,000. It will take me years to consolidate this debt and I know I'm not alone in finding a miss-match between the negative numbers against my bank account and the wholesome experience I remember. It's frustrating to think that for the majority of my life I'll be followed by the need to consolidate my college debt.

 

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