A Levels Education Or Job - To Study Or Not To Study

Despite now having to pay tuition fees, more and more people are opting for further education rather than leaving school at 16 or 18. With low unemployment and an insecure job market, staying out of the rat race for as long as possible and increasing your chances of success when you do eventually enter it seem like the best plan. So universities around the country are overflowing.

This doesn't mean you can't get a job, even a decent job, without a degree, but life may be harder. And you may get stuck at a certain level on the ladder. You have to be a very special person to 'make it' with no qualifications these days, though it can happen.

Most companies look for graduates; many look for graduates with a minimum 2:1 degree. This is simply because they can; there are so many qualified people out there now competition is tough.

Think of it this way. Each stage of your education - GCSEs, A levels, degree and so on - gives you access to a greater number of opportunities. Personalities and charm don't count for much when companies are wading through CVs. You need a minimum level of education for most fields of work. Often companies don't care which subject you studied, they just want to know you have a qualification.

This can be harsh and is not always a valid way to categorise people - we all know people with first degrees who have the social skills of a small mollusc and people who are fascinating and worldly with not a GCSE to their name. But there's a system and either you play the game or you don't.

Education not only gives you the bits of paper you need to get on, it teaches you other skills important in the world of work. Living with people you don't know who eat all the bread and leave pubic hairs in the bath forces you to learn certain communication and social skills if you are to survive. And no-one's going to be breathing down your neck asking you for that essay; it's up to you to get a bit of self-discipline and make sure it's in on time.

Just meeting new people and learning about their lives can broaden your mind and teach you about the world.

So if you've had enough of studying and don't fancy learning any more, fair enough. But maybe a part-time job would be enough to put you off the daily routine of working life for a bit longer and encourage you to have one last look at that university prospectus? It won't guarantee you success, but it can definitely help