Was university worth it?

I went to university to study Psychology with Clinical Psychology, something that's quite well documented in this blog as they were both started at around the same time. Since graduating, my career has gone in a completely different direction to what I thought it would, so was it worth doing in the first place?

To get into my current job, you don't need to have a degree; you don't even need to be qualified in...well, anything. Some of our best learning support assistants haven't done anything similar before starting with us. However, for me, going to university was worth it.

Here's why...

1. Life experience: Although my university experience didn't happen in the same way that most other people's do (I didn't move into halls, but into a flat with Alex), I'd argue that this gave me more experience, more quickly, than most other students my age. I very quickly learned how to get by with a limited amount of money and have taken some useful life skills from that time, such as meal planning (see post here).

2. Confidence: At some point, you need to learn how to live with yourself. For me that meant getting over the fact that I didn't have lots of friends at university, who were mostly far too interested in sticking with the people they lived with. I learned to just be comfortable being me, regardless of whether or not I was with friends.

3. Reality check: University made me realise that academia isn't always easy and sometimes you need to work hard, study and read and write for hours, and even then it might not quite be enough. You will always be better at some subjects than others. (And 'fantasy neuroscience' can take a long walk off a short pier.)

4. Knowledge: Obvious, but I learned so much at university. I learned how the brain is set up; how vision works; how attachments are formed; I learned about mental health disorders and some of the strategies clinical psychologies use to try to help. It was fascinating and I'm glad I had the chance to increase my knowledge like that.

5. Sense of achievement: Three years of my time spent was dedicated to this and at the end of it I'd produced a ridiculous-sized document called a dissertation. I was massively proud of myself and still get a little inside glow when I look at my graduation photo. I went to university because I assumed it was the natural next step for me, but I'm glad that I did.

Most of these experiences are personal rather than generic, but that's why university can be worth it -  because in the end you'll have your own list of positives. For some people, going to university isn't going to be on the agenda and that's fine too, but if you're reading this because you're sitting on the fence, hopefully this has helped you to make up your mind.