Carving out a career — without a degree
WHY am I surprised when leading academics fail to understand that a university degree does not guarantee success or security in life? Most young people are told to go to university, but they are realising ahead of their parents and teachers that this will leave them in debt. Leaving school at 15, after being told I could never be educated, I picked my future as a furniture-maker. It was the best thing I could have done with my life. Out of choice, I work six ten to 12-hour days designing and making my work. I have made cabinets for the Cabinet Room of the White House for President Obama’s inauguration, and former President George W. Bush also owns three of my designs. Most of my 6,500 students over the years have gone down the same path I took, rather than studying for a degree. It saddens me that so many parents and teachers still fail to comprehend that many of us are destined to work with our hands. Why don’t schools brag about pupils who become woodworkers? Most graduates will never use their degree; it is simply the means to get an interview through the filtering system provided by universities free of charge to industry.
PAUL SELLERS, Abingdon, Oxon. FAR too many youngsters choose university, rather than finding a job that will teach them a skill to give them a stable future. I left school at 14 with no qualifications, which was mainly due to the fact that I did not appreciate the importance of schooling. I decided to rectify those wasted years by making sure I didn’t allow my past to jeopardise my future, so, with a little help from my father, I got a job as a building trade apprentice. This was the path that gave me the confidence to progress into the commercial world. When will the powers that be see that universities give youngsters the wrong impression that a collar-and-tie job is waiting for them? Life in the real world could mean you wear overalls and get your hands dirty. Third-level education cossets youngsters without preparing them to face reality.