Success stories show a degree is not vital to make the grade in the workplace
Thousands of pupils across the UAE have their sights set on university after receiving their A-level results on Thursday.
But what happens when university life doesn’t work out as expected or you prefer to put a foot on the career ladder straight away?
Residents who left university without a degree shared their stories with The National.
Sarah Dyson, 25, a software consultant in Dubai, said she had no regrets about her decision to decline the opportunity to continue her education in Britain after high school.
“I was heavily pushed into applying for university by my school,” Ms Dyson said. “One teacher even said ‘I don’t care what you study, just go’.
“The school’s agenda was quite obvious. They wanted to brag about the high percentage of its pupils that transitioned into university.”
Ms Dyson said she received her A-level results in the UK in 2012 and secured good grades in psychology, sociology and economics.
She accepted an offer to study a business management degree at Newcastle University shortly afterwards.
“I was never sold on the prospect of university, but friends were going so it seemed like the right thing to do,” she said.
After setting up her student loan, doubt crept in again. Ms Dyson, who was 18 at the time, rejected the university offer and instead took an entry-level position at a company installing financial software. “There was stigma attached to not going to university,” she said.
At the end of her first year, she was offered three jobs.
With a handful of professional qualifications and certifications after years of work, she landed a job in the UAE last year as a software consultant with a technology company.
She said the lack of a degree had not turned one potential employer off, although she was still faced with challenges.
“Initially I got a job offer with a well-known corporate firm. When they found out I didn’t have a university degree they dropped my salary offer by Dh5,000,” she said.
Candidates with the best qualifications will always find a job more easily than those without, said Louise Vine, managing director of Inspire Selection, a recruitment agency in Dubai.
“Due to the high number of applications for each vacancy advertised, people without a degree may be screened out early in the process, purely because of the need to filter applicants,” she said.
“On some websites, artificial intelligence screens you out of the process if you do not tick the ‘degree educated’ box.”
Rochelle Milton, who works for a marketing agency in Dubai, left university in 2015, at the end of her first year, to work full time.
“I didn’t do that well in my A levels so was forced to switch my course choice from economics to fashion marketing. I opted to do a creative and strategy-focused degree at the University of Northampton because I thrived in subjects like that,” she said.
After renting private student accommodation, Ms Milton
Personality and an ability to persuade others can often be more important than a degree when it comes to some jobs
had to supplement her income and took on three part-time jobs while studying.
“I enjoyed work and became less interested in university,” she said.
“I was learning more on the job about marketing than I was in my lectures. University filled me with anxiety.
“I was suffering from depression and realised I had enrolled only because it was the traditional route most A-level pupils went down. But it just wasn’t for me.”
Ms Milton went from being a part-time mobile saleswoman to a full-time supervisor.
In less than a year, at the age of 21, she became the youngest store manager in her company.
Now working in a management role in Dubai, she said that in her opinion, if someone has the right attitude and is motivated, job opportunities will come their way.
“You have to work harder to prove yourself if you don’t have a degree, but it worked out well for me,” she said.
Recruitment trends in the UAE suggest that having a degree is advantageous when applying for a job, for several reasons.
But Ms Vine said many employers still list “relevant degree required” without necessarily considering whether it is really necessary to do the job properly.
“We had one candidate who was interviewing for a head of sales role and reached the third interview,” she said. “He was rejected for the position because one of the hiring managers discovered he did not have a degree.”
But if a candidate does not have a degree, they are not without hope. HR consultant Rohini Bhalla said if an A-level pupil chooses not to go to university, it does not make them unemployable.
“We want candidates to show attitude and passion. I have taken on so many people without a degree.
“A degree is looked on more favourably by employers in the UAE but if you don’t have one, be more astute when applying for a job.”
While it is impossible to enter certain professions without a degree, such as medical or legal fields, personality and an ability to persuade others is often more important for other jobs, such as business development roles.
“By starting at entry level in your desired industry, such as doing administration or an assistant job, you can still prove yourself while in the role and progress in your career that way,” Ms Vine said.