Manchester Poly/ Met Uni, went just as the change happened. Did Environmental Science. It was OK, didn’t quite get the grades I wanted but have done OK out of it eve if has taken a long time to get where I am now. In hindsight I’d have gone somewhere different as I didn’t have that an exciting time. Since done MSc and other post grad stuff, I wish I’d have done the MSc straightaway but I got a job and experience before doing one. Doing OK with QUANGO in public health hoping to survive the cuts.

Go to a good university and more important do a vourse you enjoy and make sure it has work experience or get summer experience in the field you work in.

I went to bath, studied civil engineering. A long hard course, I had difficulties in my final year and only ended up with a 2:2

I still had 3 job offers out of the 6 I applied for. good uni, good experience, I had a year out, and a good set of extra cuticular activities.

Trent Poly – Mech Eng – Late Eighties

Lovely

Yes but wish I went later in life now.

Went from a high 2:1 to a low 3 by the end of it. Really off the rails and ended up fleeing the country to sort myself out.

Good experience, but could have been so much more productive

1990-93 at what is now University of Gloucestershire, BSc Geography. Bloody loved it so much went back in 1995 to do a Masters and lived there after for a while. 20 years later stil got 15 or so close friends from Uni, some of which settled in Cheltenham permamently and i’m down every two weeks watching Gloucester at Kingsholm. A move back may be on the cards soon.

dundee uni – 04-08

2:2 mech eng

turned down a phd developing my honours project into a much more complex model

entered my first graduate job last year after a year cycling round nz.

currently in africa. its opened my eyes thats for sure – always said i wouldnt do this – but **** it you only live once , cant see everything from my bike (unless i win the lottery)

I’ve just gone back to uni for the 2nd time having taken a gap year. Went to northumbria originally, now at the royal college of art/imperial college doing a double masters

Lancaster University – Social work – left though as erm I discovered Madchester in the summer and it seemed more appealing than Uni. I indulged too much so had to escape the drug culture so I moved to …..Holland 😯 I may not have thought that one through too well 🙄
UCNW – Bangor Uni 94-97 Psychology hills mountains what was ther enot to love?
Teaching post grad qual at a institute now a uni but it was rubbish

I went to Northumbria…..at least sometimes/

Aberystwyth 1981-85, Computer Science. Had a great time and came away with a degree that opened doors and got well paid job as a result. Now paying for my kids to go through Uni – I was on a full grant!

Another engineer here, Automotive Engineering at Loughborough. Graduated in 97 I think. Was lots of Jocks then too!
Did an MBA too at Imperial which is an amazing institution, especially if you get to do things with the RCA.

skiprat – Member
Yes i went to Sunderland Uni from 94-97. ……….but also worked hard, our course had the 2nd longest hours of the whole uni, only civil engineering was longer. ……….

Sunderland Civil Engineer here.

Although it was a Polytechnic when I went. 86-90

Materials Science and Engineering at Manchester – 1997 to 2001. A top city to live in, good university and on the whole good fun too. I’d certainly recommend going if you have the chance – even if you don’t end up using your degree directly it is an excellent experience. My third year was an industrial placement which was brilliant and I think was a big help in getting my first job.
My only regret would be not making more of the sports facilities and ending up being a fat knacker at the end of the four years from drinking too much and doing no exercise!

Portsmouth, engineering systems BEng Hons 2.1

had to repeat my second year but otherwise I enjoyed it.

Ba history and politics got a 2:2 for the usual reasons
Ma human rights, ethics and international relations both at Kent at Canterbury

Had a great time made great friend many if whom Im still in contact with.

Was at uni in the early 2000s and even then it was pretty bad value for money, Ma was challenging but I could have done my Ba (to a better standard) in 1 year – 4 hours a week – 1 3000 word essay every 6 weeks?

I went, and it was a massive education in every way: socially, mentally, and academically. Bangor from 2001-4 for my Bronze Swimming certificate, stayed at Bangor for my Permanent head Damage, and then was postdoc there in the same group, but moved to the lovely new ‘Environment’ centre (with solar panels over the glass roof so you have to turn the lights on…)

On the whole, whilst small, Bangor was a great place to be a student, and to work. With the A55 and Holyhead train line it’s not too isolated, yet has some mazing scenery.

I then did a few months as a postdoc at Lancaster (nice city, shitty 60s dump of a campus) before being extremely jammy and getting a research scientist post at CSIRO in Oz.

Money-wise I think my student loan and overdraft came to about 15k. (Un)fortunately due to the warped idea that the cost of living is cheap in Australia, it looks like I’ll pay my loan off in 3 years now. I thought the £140/m was bad enough in the UK, but £360/m takes the biscuit when they do their calculation bout wages from abroad. Pity, I’d rather save for house and pay it back slowly, but at least I’m stuffing UKPLC by paying my taxes to another government, so that’s something to be cheerful about….

No, just a plain old HNC in electrical engineering and Bedford College on day release during my apprenticeship but it does me ok.

Southampton here 🙂

Started at Glasgow Uni with my BSc Archaology, then Liverpool Uni for an MSc in IT… and then that hippy quarry in Wales mentioned earlier for my second MSc in Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies.

aP – if you want to chat to someone about Machynlleth it drop me a mail: info@pumptrack.co.uk since you are thinking of going 😉 Won’t be near email until Sunday night again though!

Victoria University of Wellington – BA in Classical Studies. Loved it, Art History lectures that started at 5pm what’s not to like ? Was my home town so have to admit didn’t mix much with other students, all my friends went into work or tech after 7th form so hung out with them seeing bands mostly at the weekends.

Then Masters in Info Management at Brighton University (a teaching polytech really) by distance.

I use the second degree in my job all the time, the first one is useful for the odd pub quiz. Nothing like a good classical education I reckon.

“Slacked off, so only got a 2.1.”

Just spotted this…

Out of 40 students on the course, Only 3 1st class degrees were awarded which is typical. Bu they were awarded to 3 of the 4 foreign students who paid loads in fees and were helped along by the rest of us (except in Mathematics where they were outstanding).

I “went to university” but never really got round to going to university

drink and women were awesome though

Another BEng in Mech Eng here at Liverpool 99-02 plus a MSc in Lasers straight after.

I’d absolutely recommend Liverpool for university. Brilliant city with good night life.

If I had my time again I would apply myself a bit more at uni, perhaps with a year in industry and I’d focus my efforts on subjects I enjoyed and was good at.

I don’t feel I use any of my degree in my job and feel like I could be doing so much more but hey ho. Still time to discover my niche.

I did mech eng with aero at Brunel Uni from ’96 to 2000.
I also did a foundation of engineering course as my a-level maths wasn’t good enough to get straight on the course.

I did a thin-sandwich course which meant 2x 6 months work placements, which were definitely worth it.

Since leaving uni I hardly use my degree in my day to day work & wonder if I chose the right course. I did what I enjoyed, but have realised since choosing a particular path, that engineering isn’t quite the career I thought it would be.
I found my degree lacked the practical aspects of engineering that would have been more useful than things like theoretical three-dimensional fluid dynamics taught by professors who clearly didn’t want to be there.
When I went for the open day they show you engine test bays, gas turbine demo’s, wind tunnel stuff but when you actually get there you actually use very little of it unless you stay on to do a phd or need it for part of your final year project.

The social side of uni life was great as was being independent, but you can get that without going to uni.
Biggest regret was choosing a uni/degree with such a low women/men ratio!!

Economics at Durham (van Mildert) had a great time, met a great girl and managed to sack off the first two years and have a panic induced working hard third year and come out with a 2:1 and straight into a good job. (tip when you apply for jobs early in third year employers look at your first and second year results so its not a very good srategy to do bugger all work. i lucked it out but it was close!)

Strathclyde uni, Immunology and Microbiology BSc. (Hons)
Glasgow uni, Biological sciences (BSc)
Glasgow Caledonian uni, PhD in Sensor technology/photonics
Uni of the west of Scotland…job playing with sensors
Im scared to enter the real world!

Huddersfield University, B(Sc)Hons in Geography 2:1
12 years later and I’m using it with the Environment Agency. 🙂
And Still living here!

Rob where did you go out when you were there?

The Church (milk?) was my stomping ground and I was always in the Zetland (now named soemthing else).

I was in Exeter OTC from ’93 – ’97. “Studying” business studies (BA) at Plymuff Uni allowed me to do this.

Pros – Plymouth was a great place to go to Uni, socially and geographically. OTC was ace fun and we got paid ( a lot ) for mostly messing about and getting drunk.

Cons – Course was pretty pants and I don’t think I really learned anything from it to be honest.

4 awesome years though and the money from the OTC meant that I didn’t come out the other end with massive debts.

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Gonna attempt to hijack the thread slightly…

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I’m studying a part-time one-year “Certificate in Higher Education” (basically two A-Levels) in Maths and Physics at the moment and pretty soon have to decide if I want to go to uni at the end of it.

Not sure what to study.

Not sure uni is worth the cash.

Pretty sure there won’t be an opening for another wannabe rocket scientist if I ever get that far…

Anyone got any advice they feel like dumping on me? Would be most appreciated… 🙂

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Also: 1999-2003, University Of Reading, BSc (Hons!?) Horticulture, 2:1. Have made precisely sweet effay use of it since then, but uni was a doss at the time. I wish I’d used my freetime more productively (as others have said) to pursue useful extracurricular stuff, rather than just coming out of it owing the SLC £16,000 with basically no chance of ever paying it off…

Would I recommend it? No idea! Hence the advice-begging above!

I went to Northumbria just after it was changed from Newcastle Poly. I studied Business and it was a very enjoyable place to be and not too far from home for weekend visits.

I became a chartered accountant working in industry so I would have got on faster in the world if I had not gone to University as it is all about the professional qualification.

I paid no fees and the taxpayers gave me £2400 a year for my troubles (self employed father), holiday jobs meant I had zero debt. I would have to think very hard about paying the current norm.

Yeah I have a degree in furniture design and a HND in making. Hmm in hindsight a would have done a apprenticeship or the like and feel I would be better off financially and possibly have a bigger skill set. Although I met a lot of friends and can now span the globe knowing I’ll know at least one person in every continent, plus the degree has been useful.

Other than the above advice, the one thing I think British people often don’t think about is studying abroad. There are some brilliant uni’s in Holland for example.

I studied Visualisation at Teeside from ’98-’01, I realised about half way through repeating my second year that it really wasn’t what I wanted to be doing, so ended up spending all my time in the pub or on the bike – the North yorks Moors were ten minutes away.

I now work in an engineering role and make no use whatsoever of anything I did study.

If I had my time over knowing what I know now, I would still go to uni, but would make damn sure that I was going for the right course for me.

Went to Keele ’92-96. Best time of my life played rugby lots and found out I preferred it to football. Met a girl there and then another and so on. And found out that if you drink too much you could fall over and break something. Got a 2:1 in something no where related to what I do now.

Then did masters down in Sussex after a year off paying of a minor overdraft. As I lived in Brighton I ran up a debt of 10k but did an It subject so paid it off in my first job as they got taken over by a much larger company. Real piece of luck.

I really feel sorry for people trying to go now. Its seems it’s so business orientated both in terms of getting the best degree for your pound and funding the right career afterwards. When I went we just grew up in a big play-school.

Now as I sit in my grown up job on a Friday afternoon I wish I was back at Uni! Grass is always greener…

Went to Uni of Hell/Hull to do Nursing 96-99. Loved the first 18 months, just a total piss up, and lots of (female)Student Nurses(!) – still with one of them 14 years later. Second 18 mon ths involved shifts etc so it meant we actually to work, hard. Kinda ruined it but otherwise had a great time. Having said that, now that i work in the Offshore Industry, and see guys who are barely literate earning £120k per year , i sometimes wish id said sod it and gone off to become a roustabout at 18..as, in fairness, my father kept recommending to me.

I’m grateful for university getting me into serious reading. I did time in Manchester University (Economics and Social Science), Manchester Poly (PGCE), Merton College, Oxford (brief teachers’ fellowship). Always managed to fit in the beer and the girlfriends around the reading so generally had a splendid time. I’d recommend anyone to go but not necessarily as an apprenticeship for a job, there’s more to life than work.

Sussex Uni (BSc) Biology (1991-1994). Lots of drinking…. it’s where it all started to go wrong.

Hora, my first year was the last year the Black Hole was standing and when Hard Times were at the church on the ring road that became the student union. I worked in what it became (Eden – Uni nightclub) in the cloakroom for 2 years but I never went out for a night out there.
Usually went to The Ship Inn opposite the Uni, where all the metal, punk, goth, skater, bmx types went to (a sad loss as they have no home now!!) then onto Follies (which is now a “gentlemans” club 8-0 ) as they played all the metal and punk.
Used to go to Callistos (had about 20 different names and owners since) when they had indie/metal/punk nights too, which wasn’t for long. Sometimes went to Bradford Rio’s when they had a similar night with skate ramps in the club as well!
Don’t think there’s anywhere to go nowadays, even the record shop that used to stock the type of CD’s I like has gone – hate shopping online for music, no fun anymore.

Graduated from Portsmouth in 91, BEng Engineering Geology, £2000 debt but did get to go to LegoLand in Denmark on a geology field trip.

Nearlly

Was all signed up to Leeds to do Chemistry / Chase a delightful girl I once knew, but I knocked it on the head the day I was meant to start and took an Apprenticeship in Instumentation instead.

I did start a BEng Electrical and Electronics when I lived in Aberdeenshire, but I moved so I didn’t finish it. Easy, but boring.