News Crazy UK Student Costs!

[00dave]

everyone here who has a bee in their bonnet with students, why dont you tell us what your job is and how much of a help it is to society? at least then you might have a reason to take the p*ss out of other people.

Well I'm gonna bite on this one.

As you know I served in the RAF, refuelling the big noisy things and transporting the big explodey things.
I now work as a sterile services technician for a private healthcare firm that operates to ease waiting lists for the NHS. My job involves reprocessing all those instruments used in theatre for reuse in another operation. Probably a job most of you have never heard of before but certainly an important job, if I make a mistake people can actually die.

Have I earned my right to complain about students?

 

[Aoami]

I've worked my arse off for everything I have. I've always been self-employed, and self-dependent. Yes, you could say that I'm annoyed about people who seem to want something for nothing, especially when I'm paying for it.

In 2009, Education should be a right, not a privilidge, no matter how high you want to go. We don't live in a third world country, we live in a country that can afford to lend people money to acheive a higher level of education.

There is no doubting that the level of tax in our country is high, but surely rather than moaning at your tax dollars going into youth trying to better themselves, you'd be better off moaning at them going towards an inept police force, an average national health care service, and pointless, unwanted wars.

My Dad comes from a very working-class mining community in South Wales, and grew up with nothing. He now earns well as an Air-Traffic Controller and is delighted that he has the income to be able to give me £20 or so when i need it when i'm short of money at uni. He doesn't resent the fact that i've chosen to become a Student, rather than follow in his footsteps. If he had the means to attend University when he was my age, he would've, but he didn't, and he's dealt with that.

If i was to come away from 3 years at University with a third, then perhaps he wouldn't be so happy, but I feel privilidged to have the opportunity to study and intended to finish my course with a decent degree. It might not help me walk into a high paying job, but so far it's been great life experience, and there is no doubting that it'll at least go some way to giving me a better life when I have finished.

The point, after all that, probably just boils down to the fact that it's childish to resent people having more opportunity that perhaps you did. It's right for anyone to be proud of what they have acheived in life, if they've reached their goals, but wrong to judge others for taking a different path.

 

[Aoami]

Following on from the above post, perhaps this would be a valid question to ask;

Do the people complaining about students in this thread have children? If they do, do they go to uni? If they don't, would they want them to attend uni if they were to have children?

 

[Tom]

The point, after all that, probably just boils down to the fact that it's childish to resent people having more opportunity that perhaps you did. It's right for anyone to be proud of what they have acheived in life, if they've reached their goals, but wrong to judge others for taking a different path.

So you think I'm jealous of those people?

The jealousy in this thread certainly doesn't come from me.

 

[Aoami]

So you think I'm jealous of those people?

The jealousy in this thread certainly doesn't come from me.

Jealous? no. I don't think that was implied, and i certainly didn't mean to imply it if i did.

What I said was that while you made the most of your opportunities to become what you are, not everyone is lucky enough to fall into those opportunities, and as such you should not judge other people for taking what chances do arise, one of which is of course, university.

I think it's more likely that people are jealous of your situation rather than vice-versa, and that's why i said I think it's childish to resent people for going to uni.

 

[Talivar]

You really do sound like your stuck up your own arse lol. The way the system works atm thankfully no1 has any cause to be jealous of someone like you.

 

[Tom]

tom i know you have not necessarily said this, but you seem to have the same view as the others against university.

why shouldnt people be able to go to university and do a degree based on gardening for example? the job at the end is as useful to society as a photographer is. even more useful than both of these are binmen. if it wasnt for them, the streets would be full of litter and vermin. ofcourse, in the end, all jobs are useful to society in some way.

They can take a degree in whatever they like, so long as in the end the course pays for itself. Does one need a degree in gardening? What purpose does it serve? A degree in biology perhaps, with a thesis around gardening.

not everyone wants to be stuck on these 'jobs' that there are plenty of, nor be on the dole. im sure as fuck not going to work on a till for 40 years just because there is a lot of job vacancies for that. i went to university so i wouldnt have to do those kinds of jobs but if the government thought like you, i wouldnt of had the choice.

I have no problem with that. You're obviously an intelligent individual who wants to better themselves. Fine. There are, however, a lot of people who simply are not able to do what you want to do. That isn't about background, or nurture, or education. You know the types of people I mean, they're usually on Jeremy Kyle shouting at oneanother. Self-respecting people who have had a shitty upbringing will usually find a way out of such things. They're the ones who need help, and I've no problem with the government paying for that.

thankfully the government does think like that, and now ive got a degree and a career that is worthwhile.

sorry i have no idea what this means. im just interested to see what jobs people have when they tell others they cant contribue to society .

Good for you, hopefully you'll earn enough to pay far more back into society, both financially and socially, than your education cost. Unfortunately the government you appear to laud knows very little about education. If it did, it would know that centralisation isn't working. Teachers know about education, not governments.

I'm a television cameraman and location sound recordist btw. I took a two-year National Diploma at Salford College in Professional Audio Systems, and passed. Then I took a two-year HND in Audio and Video systems, remembered the relevant and practical parts of the course, and fucked off to earn money a few months before my exams—so I never passed that one. I scrimped and saved for years, buying the tools I need for my job, bought a house on my own, and pay for everything myself. No income support, no tax credits, nothing. The only discount I can get is a single-person allowance on my considerable council tax bill. Meanwhile, the woman next door, who has, to my knowledge, not ever worked in the 8 years I've lived here, gets everything paid for by the government. While being ignorant of exactly why she doesn't work (she isn't disabled, or mental or anything), that's something I'm not happy about.

I don't build hospitals, or save lives, or have a prima-facia value to society. What I do do however is work as part of a machine that provides education, news, and entertainment for millions of people. Nobody is going to tell me that isn't worth something, especially not the taxman, who takes everything, and gives fuck all back.

 

[Tom]

Jealous? no. I don't think that was implied, and i certainly didn't mean to imply it if i did.

What I said was that while you made the most of your opportunities to become what you are, not everyone is lucky enough to fall into those opportunities, and as such you should not judge other people for taking what chances do arise, one of which is of course, university.

I think it's more likely that people are jealous of your situation rather than vice-versa, and that's why i said I think it's childish to resent people for going to uni.

My apologies, I misread 'that' as 'than' in your original post.

 

[Pfy]

What I do do however is work as part of a machine that provides education, news, and entertainment for millions of people. Nobody is going to tell me that isn't worth something, especially not the taxman, who takes everything, and gives fuck all back.

Not insulting you're job or anything and of course it does serve purpose but I think you're over selling it a little there.

I never went to Uni and sometimes think that maybe I should have. Not for education (GCSEs is where I stopped) but for the life experience. I earn a decent enough wage and am happy with a mrs and 2 kids.

Everyone obviously has different values and drives in their lives. Some strive to be 'better' than others, some to be richer.

Is University worth it and does it have it's place? Yes, of course, but only to some.

 

[Ormorof]

There is no doubting that the level of tax in our country is high, but surely rather than moaning at your tax dollars going into youth trying to better themselves, you'd be better off moaning at them going towards an inept police force, an average national health care service, and pointless, unwanted wars.

Tax in the UK is high perhaps compared to Ireland and maybe France...but you ever looked at the tax system in Norway? they might as well pay tax on their taxes!

but of course people dont mind paying more tax if they can see the benefits, you do get the feeling (in many places in the UK anyway) that you seem to be pouring your earnings into a big black hole while all around you roads are in bits, hospitals are falling aparts, kids are being taught in schools with temporary rubbish classrooms (you know the huts that were meant to be standing for 6 months while the new buildings were under construction but the money for it dissapeared somewhere), and all you ever hear about is people sitting about on the dole for years and years doing nothing (hey i lived in Hull where they have 5% odd unemployment and about 30% "economically inactive" meaning they have never worked and their parents probably never did either, in some cases grandparents), but not everyone on the dole is just leeching, i spent 3 months unemployed then got lucky enough to be offered a way out and those 3 months were the worst 3 months of my entire life, it was soul destroying sitting about applying for jobs working your arse off all week trying to get in anywhere to do anything only to be told either "no thanks, we only employ people on the new deal" (which i still dont understand) and seeing all the morons who are, like Tom described, getting the free ride with housing rent, bills, food, and the jobseekers allowance, and free training etc while those of us who actually are trying get nowt kicked back once you are out of the education system effectively

so on one hand i agree that something needs to change, on the other i think university is a brilliant opportunity for anyone and i would recommend it to anyone, to give it a shot, even if they just do a one or two year course, its an amazing experience and it does open doors that probably wouldnt be open otherwise (no way in hell i would have gotten my job without my time at uni, although what i studied, chemistry, has nothing to do with it the things i learnt specifically at my subject i learnt alot more than just about chemistry at uni, and thats as it should be )

ok bit of a rant and massive overuse of brackets but what the heck, its monday

 

[tris-]

maybe im getting the wrong end of the stick. it appeared to me people were saying x degree is useless so the job from that is also a waste of time.

btw i probably owe about £15,000 in student loans now, disregarding interest. i doubt i will ever pay the full loan back at the rate the student loans company take payments. blame them before the students, they give the loans! although if i had move out of home, and if i started the course a year later (the fees went up) you can add about 12k to that loan.

 

[Trem]

Tom? -

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