Last year I wrote an article titled University Is a Waste of Time (And Money) – and quite astonishingly, that bad boy is currently ranked #1 on Google.
That’s wild.
What this tells me is that there’s a lot of you out there going through exactly what I went through a decade ago, so I think I owe it to you to write another article on the topic.
If you’re overthinking this decision, and feel totally overwhelmed by it, then you’re in the right headspace.
Yes… the right headspace.
Choosing whether or not to go to university or college is a huge time, financial and psychological investment.
This is not a decision you should take lightly, so the stress you’re feeling right now is very much warranted.
You should be doubting it, and you should know exactly what it’s going to cost you.
I racked my brain trying to think of as many things as possible that I wish someone would have told me before I enrolled in university, and I think I’ve done an alright job at remembering them.
Again, I need to preface this article by saying that if you want to become a doctor, a nurse, a dentist or anything else that obviously requires a degree, then this article is not for you.
But if you’re heading off to university because it’s just the next step everyone expects you to take, or you’re wondering whether or not you even need a degree to do what you actually want to do (chances are you don’t), then this one is for you.
So, here are eight things I wish I knew before starting university, so you can make a much more informed (and wise) decision.
1. Your degree doesn’t guarantee a job
Just because you’re studying the thing doesn’t mean you’re going to get a job doing the thing.
Underemployment is a huge problem for graduates.
Underemployment is when someone has a job they’re overqualified for, or when they are working fewer hours than they want.
It’s especially common for recent university graduates who have to settle for roles outside of their field, because they can’t get a job doing the thing they spent $50,000 and five years of their life studying (funny that).
In the United States, the underemployment rate for college graduates aged 22-27 was 41.2% (I was shocked seeing this number).
In the UK, this number was 31%, and in Australia about 15%.
Your degree puts you on a level playing field with… other people who have a degree.
What then separates you are your people skills and your real world experience, two things you probably won’t be honing during your years studying.
2. Proof is more important than a piece of paper
Let’s say you’re an established business owner, and you’re interviewing two people who are applying for a job at your company.
It’s a writing role, and they’ll be writing three weekly blog posts for you.
Person A has had their own blog for two years now, and even has a couple of articles ranking on Google.
Their writing is engaging and actually enjoyable to read, and they already have an audience of people who enjoy their work – you can see this because it’s public.
Person B has a degree, and they’ve got ‘writing’ listed as a skill on their resume.
They don’t have a blog, and have never posted anything publicly, but they got a high distinction in their feature writing class at university.
Who would you hire?
Person B used to be me, and I wondered why the hell I wasn’t getting anywhere.
Proof that you can actually do something will always be more important than a piece of paper saying you can.
3. You’re paying for access, not just education
“The doors of the future are locked from the inside.”
J.G. Ballard
University goes beyond education.
It gives you a framework: lectures, tutorials, assignment deadlines, exams.
This is the biggest upside in my opinion, especially for someone who craves structure (me).
But you must realise that this structure is bloody expensive.
You’re paying a lot of money for a system that organises your time, focus and goals for you.
I think a lot of people go straight to university from school because they can’t imagine their lives without these enforced deadlines.
I completely get it, because that’s literally what’s forced upon us for our entire lives up until we turn 18.
But if you’re only going to university because you’re scared of what life might look like without a timetable, then you’re paying a hell of a lot of money just to delay the inevitable.
And trust me – it catches up with you eventually (*cue younger jack vomiting from nerves before his first day of work experience that he had to actually organise himself*).
4. You can learn anything you want online for free
I mean…
I don’t think you need me to tell you this.
And I certainly don’t think this is even debatable anymore.
There are literally thousands of courses taught by Ivy League professors online for free.
You can learn economics from Harvard, philosophy from Yale or computer science from Princeton, all completely free.
Yes, this is actually real.
And yes, it’s free.
No entrance exams, no crushing student debt, no thirteen-page application begging for them to accept you.
You can build skills faster, cheaper, and in a way that actually makes sense for what you want to do.
Sure, you don’t get the piece of paper, but you’ll actually learn to do the thing, which, as we’ve established, is what’s most important.
5. Your course is probably already outdated
If your course doesn’t include AI, it’s already outdated.
And even if it does, AI is evolving at such a rapid pace that there’s a good chance you’re learning last year’s information (at the absolute best).
University curriculums are slow.
Technology, and the real world, is moving faster than ever.
Trust me, I don’t want AI to be at the centre of everything we do either – but that’s the way the world is going, whether we like it or not.
University courses have always been outdated, but this has never been more true.
6. You’re underestimating the student debt
The reason I emphasised the ‘free-ness’ in an earlier section is because student debt is really a much bigger problem than people realise.
In the US, student debt ($1.7 trillion) exceeds the country’s credit card debt.
Think about that for a second.
People are drowning more in student loans than they are in consumerism (and we all know how diabolical the latter is).
I’m still paying my student loan off, and I’m 28.
When you’re 17 and deciding whether or not to go to university, the money isn’t really something you think about (which is crazy to think back on).
But it’s in the background, snowballing away.
And when you finally check your balance and see the costs associated with each subject, you realise why they made you take all of those random electives.
It wasn’t about making you well-rounded, it was about beefing up the degree and stretching it out to justify the price tag.
And man it hurts to pay that back.
7. Being an interesting person will get you further than your degree
“The best education you will ever get is investing in yourself.”
Warren Buffett
The world is full of people who have qualifications.
But being someone who is curious, creative and actually has something interesting to say – that’s what’s going to get you noticed.
I realised when I first became a journalist that my people skills sucked.
I was anxious, like all the time, and holding a press conference or interview with a well-known person (like Robert Irwin), made me sh*t myself.
In those moments, no one gives a crap about what qualifications you have, they only care about how you hold yourself, how you treat them, and how interesting you are to be around.
This extends to every facet of life.
If you lack these traits, don’t expect a qualification to mask them.
8. It’s okay to just not go
Like, really… it is.
Forget all this other stuff and just ask yourself… why?
Do you actually want to go to university or college?
Are you just going because your friends are going, or your parents want you to?
Are you going because you think there’s no other option?
Asking ‘why’ should be the very first step, but ironically I think it’s a question that you never really think to ask (I certainly didn’t).
It might not seem like it right now, but trust me when I say there is absolutely nothing rushing your decision.
Take some time to travel the world.
Take some time to game, party and be a loser for a bit.
Take some time to waste some damn time!
God knows I did, and I regret absolutely none of it (I doubt you will either).
It’s okay to just not go, even if it’s just for now.
Chase What Excites You, Even If That Means Going
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that.”
Howard Thurman
But what if you ask yourself ‘why’ and you’ve got a really damn good reason?
Then go!!!
Life isn’t all about wise financial decisions.
What university/college lacks in a lot of areas, it can make up for with a damn good time.
If you’re really passionate about a certain topic and want to devote your life to that with like-minded people (and you’ve considered and are okay with everything above) then do it.
I’m certainly not trying to stand in the way of you chasing your passion, because I know how rare passion can be.
Follow the things that give you energy and make you excited to get out of bed in the morning.
If that happens to be pursuing a university degree learning about a topic you love, then do it.
But for all of you 17-year-old Jack’s out there… think twice, three times, seventeen times even, before locking yourself into another four years doing something you really don’t want to be doing.
Life’s too short for that, and you know it.
