Giving University the Third Degree: Is Higher Education a Total Waste of Time?

‘A waste of time’ is how one third of young people deem university, according to a recent study. As someone who studied psychology and ended up in animation, this got me thinking... was it? Is the £40k debt worth it? People go to uni for a couple of reasons – to further their careers, or, let’s be honest, to take a bit of a break before entering the real world. For me, it was definitely a bit of both. Having grown up in the bright lights of London, one of my university criteria was to relocate somewhere far, far away. I found myself studying Psychology in tiny old Lincoln, where it takes 15 minutes to walk from the town centre to the outskirts. After three years, I got a very average 2:1 and went on to never use the degree again. At least, not directly.. 

University did give me a tonne of transferable skills. You’re talking to new people, organising your time and workload, giving presentations: learning social skills, organisational skills, public speaking skills. But most importantly it kind of gives you a safe space to try things out – even if you realise you’re terrible at them (RIP acting career). It’s a zero-risk opportunity to test the waters and to try and find a little spark for something. 

For me, that spark came in the form of TV, but I was still unsure on what roles were available and accessible. I explored a few different options through being part of the Filmmaking Society; looking at directing, writing, camera work. At one point I even convinced myself that being in front of the camera was my calling. A seven hour queue for a very underwhelming Star Wars audition humbled me pretty quickly. 

Having said that, you can explore as much as you want and have a great base of skills from university but nothing beats on-the-job experience. More so for production, those initial skills become much more complex when you have the context of a job and clients. You need to navigate different personalities, figure out your best diplomatic self, manage expectations and eventually learn to develop a level of patience which is impossible to teach.

Obviously, there are also financial considerations for university that just aren’t always viable. Luckily, for those that don’t go down this route, I think the industry is getting really creative in how we hire people. There are communities newbies can get involved in, work experience opportunities and internship initiatives that cater to a more diverse hiring pool. 

So, on balance, is uni worth it?! Ultimately, a degree means very little if you don’t take advantage of it. It’s great if you’ve studied graphic design, but what people want to see is the portfolio and skills you obtained from that course. I came out of uni with a degree that didn’t explicitly contribute to my career, but in hindsight, I realise I developed on a personal level and the extra-curricular stuff did the heavy lifting for my professional development. To be frank, my most valued skills and experience have been from learning on the job. I still love psychology and – if the threats of AI taking over our jobs ever ring true - I will very much be falling back on this career.