should i go to university?

[eternalworm2008]

My current life plan is to do nothing until im 18 in a little over a year and move in with my e-husband and he'll maintain me. but once im 18 he'll still be in university himself for like another year. I could move in then and there but i'd probably have to get a job to maintain myself. so, until he graduates and gets a job, should i go to university myself? even if just for a year? if i were i'd major in computer science, seems fun.

[Dan Q]

I went to university here in the UK a couple of decades and change ago, and studied computer science. There were some clear highlights:

• I met lots of fantastic people; much of my current circle of friends are people I first met while a student, or through people who still were - this includes my partner (we'll have been together 19 years this year!), her husband, people I've subsequently tapped for work/networking opportunities, etc.
• I discovered a love of voluntary work which gave me a huge sense of purpose and pride ever since
• I met the person who introduced me to my first serious employer, and to my first serious employer, and as a result got my first proper programming job
• I founded a nonprofit that I'm still involved with 24 years later, which does a huge amount of good in the world
• I learned some things from the course itself: a theoretical grounding that I still occasionally lean on and that I would have been less-likely to pick up were I entirely a self-taught (as opposed to a mostly self-taught) programmer
• It taught me to study at a HE level, which ultimately led me to two further enjoyable degrees (in addition to my BEng Comp Sci I nowadays have a BA (Foundation) Counselling & Psychotherapy and a MSc Info Sec & Forensics - I have a habit of collecting a degree for each decade of my adult life so far!)
• It gave me a "stepping stone" to the real world, which I definitely wasn't mature enough to handle well at 18!

But... I don't routinely recommend university to people. It's increasingly - and insanely - expensive, and doesn't represent good value-for-money from a learning perspective (if you want to be a programmer, or devops, or similar, at least, I think that you can learn faster and better under your own steam nowadays... although going through formal education doesn't stop you also doing that, of course).

So even though my experience of my first undergraduate degree was worthwhile, I think I went through the experience under conditions that are different from those that you face, and my experience might not be applicable to you. It very much depends on what you want to achieve!

If your aim is solely, or almost-entirely, to get the skills you need for most careers in computer science... I can no longer recommend it: it's too expensive and provides too little value. If your reasons are more-diverse, then... maybe!

[noahie]

I went to a well-known and decently prestigious university. I dropped out my junior year. This is my take:

University these days is immensely expensive. If you have to take out a significant amount of debt to pay off tuition and if you can't get enough financial aid, it's not worth it at all. The only circumstances in which it makes sense to go to university are if you want a career that requires significant post-graduate education (lawyer, doctor, scientist, etc.). If you know what job you want, university can be worth it if the job requires the education.

If you don't know what career you want, do NOT use university as an excuse to find it. There are so many cheaper and less crowded opportunities to explore careers. Career fairs are still a real thing. Career counseling exists for non-students, so that would be a better approach than university IMO. For a lot of jobs, particularly in realms like software engineering, finance, etc., the most important thing that will get you hired is NOT a bachelor's degree.

It's skills. Skills, skills, skills.

Employers do NOT care where you went to school for many jobs. The main thing they care about is whether or not you will be competent enough to stay on the job. My advice would be to get a "low-skill" job in something like retail or food service to show that you can hold down a job and then on the side, work towards developing skills for a higher paying job with better conditions.

I hope this was helpful. Good luck

[littlelum]

I had the rare luxury of going to university for free while living with my parents, so I probably shouldn't comment on the financial side of things. But here's my experience. I got a degree in Computer Science, with a pretty good GPA. But no one wanted to hire me, since I didn't have any job experience whatsoever. After a year of halfheartedly applying for jobs, I gave up and settled for a job at Subway. Honestly, while programming was fun as an occasional hobby, I would hate doing it for a living. I don't regret going to university, but that's only because I didn't have any financial burdens AND I had enough free time to interact with some great people, AND I had enough time to relax and do nothing in particular, AND I had my parents to help me out with things, AND I enjoyed learning the subject material. Obviously, I was in a unique situation, so it's probably not that helpful to you.

Oh, and university takes much longer than a year. If you only plan on doing it for a year, you probably won't get anything practical from it.

[Melooon]

Also as someone who did CS (although unlike Dan I had a horrible time in college ) - I would generally agree with the above posts; if you're interested in CS theory rather than a career (as I was) it may be worth it at an affordable collage; but for jobs, CS graduates are oversaturated now, the grunt work at companies that used to be done by new-hires can be largely done by experienced programmers using AI tools. The demand is just not there anymore.

If you goal is simply to find a stable and rewarding career that will support you in life, I'd highly suggest taking up an apprenticeship at a trade like plumbing or electrical work. It will always be in demand, you'll always have work, you can make your own hours, and you wont be stuck behind a desk.

If you're just looking for a taste of collage experience for a year, that is totally worthwhile, but don't waste it on CS; do a fun/interesting course like literature or arts; those courses give you lessons you'll get value from your whole life no matter what you do, and you'll meet some interesting people. 

[Eunice]

If you want to, and only study a subject you really like. I had to go to college to study librarianship because my parents wouldn't accept a non-vocational subject. All I wanted to do was literature. I ended up dropping out, though I did meet my husband, so there's that. In later years I did get my degree, from the Open University. But if I'd been able to study what I wanted, life might have been very different.

[monsterrobotics]

Agreed with everyone else in the thread: University nowadays requires a good plan to get your money's worth.

I am lucky to have had some resources to help pay + went to a fairly cost-effective university. Others mention that getting (work) experience can be more helpful, and this is true. However, a benefit of a good university is not just the classes, but the student services and opportunities that you, yes, technically also pay for but are fairly optional.

You can use and have access to a Career Center, be it specific to majors or universal for the university as a whole. These can also exist for the public to use, but it depends on where you live (some areas will be better supplied with resources and access)! You can join clubs, rise in rank, and do projects with peers (which is also inherently networking, which is a big part of finding opportunities). A campus is typically a great way to "learn" how to be an "adult" while easing into the typical day of a full-time careers-person. Internships are more likely to seek students who are in a program, too, though not all think it an option.

There are a lot of genuine benefits of University, but the current state of the world + lead up to being an adult doesn't really prepare you for it. It definitely requires some thought and cost/benefit analysis, I'd say. Talking with a career advisor for the general public about your aspirations might help too, local government or libraries tend to have something for that.

Another option for you to consider if you want to "try" for a year is a community college / associate's degree. Cheaper usually, and can transfer up to University.

[Solinus]

I'm in community college for graphic design, which I chose mainly due to cost and location, but they also seem to be a good college since theyve been around for at least 50 years. I've only completed my first semester, but I applied for student employment as my first job and am waiting for the second semester to start. So far, so good. However, their graphic design program can't transfer up to university.

[TheFrugalGamer]

There's a lot of great advice in here and I generally agree with all of it. I did, however, want to offer two points that I hadn't seen brought up.

The first is that, from what I've seen, University is great when you know exactly what you want from it. This gives you a clear goal and something to work towards, and allows you to pointedly take advantage of what the college offers. I've known many people who attended, and many of them were unsure of what they wanted out of it. Many of them (though not all) dropped out, and left with regrets and a lot of debt. Others, however, went back later in life when they wanted a specific degree to further their careers. They were able to get exactly what they needed and then pivot that towards a raise or new career path. The degree plans they chose, whether they were at a traditional or community college, were well worth the effort for them.

The second is a suggestion that may or may not apply to you, but it's worth checking into. Many universities offer a thing to community members called auditing, which lets you sit in on a class without earning credit for it or being required to turn in work. Sometimes there is a fee involved, or sometimes not, and it varies from campus to campus. But if you're near a place that offers this, it would be a great way to see if you like the atmosphere and course material without having to fully commit to attending. Since you're on the fence, it might help you decide which way you'd like to go.

[fablefound]

to vouch for what a lot of other people are saying: university is what you make of it, and also a major financial privilege.
i actually really enjoyed my university experience, and might go back for grad school next year, but those two above facts were very true in my case. i went above and beyond, getting work placements and stuff, and i also got to stay with family and get some financial support.

looking beyond whether or not university is in the cards, though, seeking work is probably a wise move... single-income households are unfortunately becoming harder and harder to maintain, especially if one or both parties are also in university. my partner and i both work full-time, but we're still staying with our families and saving up for as long as possible. i don't know you or your partner's circumstances, but i digress, it felt like something worth saying. cost of living is brutal.