Who has filled all these positions and left so many of us hovering in unreliable job-agency doorways, I hear you demand? Well, all the school-leavers of course, who chose that scary, grown-up path you hastily avoided right at the beginning, and jumped on the salary ladder instead of the wobbly debt rope. By the time you have graduated, they have worked their way to the top floor, have well and truly got their feet under the big marble table that is their desk and are earning more than you can ever hope to pocket in this glum, precise moment in time.
So which path is best, you ask? Both hold risks but whereas previously university held an unspoken guarantee that your BA would carry you through ahead of those sans degree, which consequently encouraged many to enrol, this is no longer the case, and the scrutiny which your qualification and CV face is terrifying. With the climate as it is, either path is a leap into the unknown, both with unemployment as the fast approaching dead-end.
Personally, although I’m aware a degree is not the ultimate key to success as you can undoubtedly triumph in your career without one, I will forever believe that a degree will get you ahead of the game at higher speed. However with the job front as dire as it is, my advice is to remain in education for as long as possible. Ride out the recession, grin and bear the loans, and save the job hunt until a more economically friendly time. But however many qualifications you hold, you will not get anywhere without a little bit of luck and that’s something that can’t be achieved through education.
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