Food Project

Baking is like life, you don't always have to follow the recipe.

Getting a straight forward job just isn’t an option anymore.

(Extracts from my A2 coursework)

For this generation of students, there seems to be no other option than to pack up, pay up and prepare for another three or more years of tedious studying. 

Around October time the sixth forms and colleges are ablaze with talk of ‘Personal Statements’, ‘Student Finance’ and ‘UCAS’. They are bursting with University visits and talks about which one to choose. The occasional talk about apprenticeship comes about every once in a while, but that is always the lesser option. Of course. For many people apprenticeships offer a lot more than a degree ever could. They can offer a brand new experience, valuable skills and even find a path that they wouldn’t have dreamed of taking before. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely admire people following their passion, its a very important thing to do. But what about those of us who dont know which path to choose or havent found a ‘passion’ as off yet? 

Student finance is the big issue that comes to everyone’s mind when the talk of university arises. This becomes apparent if we think back to the 2010 student protests in London, suffice to say that there is now much more generous financial support available for those who need it. Grants can vary from family to family ranging from £0 to £3250 depending on your household income; these are spent within a week on huge amounts of alcohol and then it’s pot noodles for the rest of the year. However some student loans can be a life saver for most because it’s ‘free money’ especially as the banks let you repay loans by so little a month and now your tuition fee doesn’t get paid until you earn a £21,000 salary and even then it’s only 9% a month. Basically the more you earn the more you pay. Many students in education feel a lot of pressure to attend university because you have to get the best grades you can to get there in the first place, this does give students something to work for, an aim which is a benefit of higher education. 

Employment is limited even with a degree  However a lot of universities do have a relatively high employment rate than others, so its evident that degrees help along a lot of career paths. With jobs seldomly arising,  employers have many applicants to chose from and the deciding factor could most definitly be higher education. ‘Degree or no degree? that is the question’.  

In the words of John Lennon ‘They hate you if your clever and they dispise a fool’. We can’t win!