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Wednesday 10 February 2016

Is it even worth it to study further?

Since my last posting regarding passions and fields of study worth pursuing, I did some more thinking. This brought up the question, "is it even worthwhile to study further?"

This bothered me quite a bit and so I decided to do some research.

I made a list of  twenty people whom I know and who have finished some or other level of University training. Some have Bachelor Degrees, some have Masters Degrees, and others have Doctorates. I decided to have a little chat with each one, and here is what I discovered:

1. All agreed that they regret the personal time they lost whilst studying. Such as missing out on family events, not being there for loved ones, not having any time for themselves, missing out on their children's lives, etcetera etcetera. The list goes on and on. When I asked them if they think it was all worthwhile in the end, they all said they were not sure because they can never get that time back, even though they have their degrees now.

2. Most agreed that the modules/subjects they studied have not been of any value in their professions. Now this is something I have experienced as well with education studies. Most of the modules I completed were of no use to me during my relief teaching or practical teaching periods and had absolutely nothing to do with how a real school or classroom functions. Even the methods we were taught to use when doing lesson plans, assessments and curriculum planning were not in use in any of the schools I had been to.

3. Fourteen agreed that the salary they are currently receiving was/is not worth the amount their studies cost them in the end. It is interesting to note that eighteen of the twenty admitted that they are still paying off their studies.

Okay, so far it would seem like studying is not worthwhile, however when I asked all twenty people what they think the benefits of their studies are/were, I got the following answers:

1. All mentioned the joy they felt when they finally completed their studies and got to graduate. They likened this feeling to having a child or getting married.

2. All mentioned the sense of accomplishment they feel.

3. All mentioned how much better people treat them since they have graduated.

4. Most agreed that they have found it easier to get employment since graduating.

This little research exercise helped me a lot and I recommend it to anyone who is in doubt, but who is already leaning towards a "yes" or "no" answer. The only problem is that in my case I have no idea if it is worthwhile for me or not (since the yes/no equation is perfectly 50/50 with me).

So, the question still remains, "is it worthwhile to study further?"

5 comments:

  1. What do all of you out there think? Is it worth it to study further? In your opinion what are the pro's and con's of studying and do you think the pro's outweigh the con's or vice versa?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am not sure what exactly you mean by worth it, I am a computer programmer and studying is part of my job description, beyond the initial college needed just to get started. I am a rare case where I made more money before I went to college, and financially it was the biggest mistake of my life, however I did enjoy my time there, and do like my job.

    I am not sure if it was "worth it". It certainly did not advance me financially in life.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Worth it", holds different meaning for different people. For instance in your case you can say it was partially worth it, because you enjoyed your time in college (the experience itself was worthwhile for you), however the costs weren't because it did not make a positive difference financially.

    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Most agreed that they have found it easier to get employment since graduating. In details please. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  5. Every single student will appreciate you man. You just did a nice job for them. Thanks

    ReplyDelete

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