Higher Education Essay

Higher Education

There are many choices into further education that one could pursue such as drama schools, university courses, foundations courses etc. But there are also many pros and a con when pursuing further education; below is a table of just some of the examples of both sides:

Pros of further education	Cons of further education
Human Capital - Certain jobs will require a Master’s or PhD. If you have an idea of what you want to do after you stop studying (and with rational expectations you should appreciate that this point will eventually come) find out which qualifications you need to do it.	Fees - These are not limited by the government and can vary substantially. Typically the fees for Master’s courses are much higher than for PhDs each year. Fees are also highly variable. Some will be as ‘cheap’ as £3,000/year while others will be far higher than this, with the most expensive fees in excess of £15,000/year.
Signalling - A Master’s from a university with a good reputation can open doors with employers. This is the case even if you want a job which won’t involve any of the material that you learn on the Masters. This is especially true if you have gone to a university which might not have an established ‘brand’ with employers. This is less true with a PhD – three years is a long time to spend acquiring a signal!	Wages Forgone - You still will have living costs, but without wages or a student loan. When you take the opportunity cost of lost earnings into account further study can be even more expensive.
Consumption - If you enjoy studying (which most people considering further study will do) then you should take this into account. This is especially true if further study allows you to do a job which you would enjoy	Unnecessary - Moving on to further education just isn’t necessary. It is a common myth that people should keep learning until they graduate, but there are many successful people with no degree to their name such Richard Branson who didn’t attend any further education. You don’t need a degree to earn enough to live a comfortable lifestyle, so don’t force yourself into further education just because people expect you to go that route.

References taken from websites:

Studying Economics: http://www.studyingeconomics.ac.uk/where-next/further-study/pros-and-cons-of-further-study/

Goldsmith University Careers Blog: https://sites.gold.ac.uk/careers/the-pros-and-cons-of-further-study/

In summary this table speaks about the very basics of the choices you have to consider when studying further education such as it will cost a lot of money and will only continue to get more expensive but on the other hand paying all the money is worth it to get the qualification as it will look better to many employers, especially if it comes from a respected drama school such as RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). 

Even from a young page it is either expected or assumed for many students to always progress into further education either by teachers or parents, who ultimately want to see them succeed but do not think of the problems that it may cause. Many people are constantly stressed about the requirements of certain grades to progress into certain areas of study and because of this are often left constantly worrying about their studies. There is also an argument that grades are a poor communicator of a child’s progress, Chris Crouch (secondary school teacher) said on his blog “I can't believe that we realistically put any stock in what they measure and what they communicate. At best they are an accurate snapshot of where a student is but they do not provide parents or students meaningful feedback for improvement or even growth”.

Chris Crouch (Educator) Huff Post Blog: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/grades-do-more-harm-than_b_4190907

When such a comment comes from someone who is employed to educate children it again makes you question how meaningful they actually are, especially when they are changed constantly by the UK’s Department for Education such as recently when they changed the grade boundaries for GCSE’s A-G in 2016 and GCSE’s 9-1 in 2017.

Some people also say that educational practices should not just focus on grades but rather on the background of the student, say someone who seems like they have a natural talent for acting or mathematics or swimming and that it comes down to whether further education is more about how much money they can make from the person on the course or if it’s worth it to give them a scholarship because they see that natural talent and decide its worth it to nurture and take time with that student. It is fair that everyone may get these opportunities but only If they are in the right place at the right time, if a student is turned away from a place of study due to their grades, then they would never get the chance of a drama scout or such ever showing up, thus meaning that such a talent would go to waste. To make matters worse, a bad grade puts a lot of negativity and uncertainty into someone’s life which would further restrict them from the choices they make in the future  due to the bad experiences they have had from education.

Overall an argument for pursuing further education will always stand either due to the ever increasing pro’s or con’s, I personally believe that it isn’t always up to the person how their situation pans out, some are lucky enough to be in a position where pursuing further education is always going to be the option, but there are always those who are not, and there will always be people who succeed because of education and those who will succeed without it that will never give a genuine answer on if it’s worth it to pursue it or not.