Is University Overrated?

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Hi everyone, welcome back to a new episode of Natural English with your host Nick. Today, we’re going to get into some controversy. We’re going to weigh the pros and cons ( consider the advantages and disadvantages) of going to university in 2021 and whether or not it is really necessary or worth it anymore. Today’s podcast is my personal opinion. My goal is not to be objective, at least for this episode and in general that's not the goal of this podcast. My goal is to provide those of you learning English with interesting topics that make you think and from which you can learn lots of useful vocabulary and new expressions. The topics I talk about in these podcasts have either been recommended by you guys, or things that have occured to me, I thought were interesting; which reminds me if you have any further recommendations, concepts or ideas that you want me to cover in this podcast, that I can simply and put into a format made for foreigners, please send me a message on Instagram @naturalenglishwithnick. Or if you prefer emails, you can email me @natural.englishwitnick@outlook.com. Remind, no idea is a bad idea. I’m here to learn new things with you guys and of course do my job which is to teach you English using this format and this kind of content. I always do research for the topics I don’t have personal experience with and I talk to other people to see whether they think it would make an insightful podcast or not. One quick thing before we get started is that if you would like a free transcription of today’s episode, you can find it on my website through the link in the description where you can also book one-on-one lessons with me to practise speaking English and get personalized feedback from a native speaker as well as guidance to refine your language learning methods and maximize the time you spend with the language. You can support me on Patreon and PayPal as well. For the moment, I’m just accepting donations but in the near future, I intend to compensate my supporters with extra content. I just want to ensure that I can afford the proper equipment to do so and be able to do it well and by supporting this project you are helping me do that, helping this project grow and ultimately helping me help you and thousands of other people around the world to learn English in this way. That I thank you for. That will mark the start of today’s episode. Enjoy!

Well well, university that pretentious word that just rolls off ( say something smoothly) the tongue. Often when people ask you know what do you do in life to people my age, a common response is to talk about school. What are you taking? They might ask. What do you want to do in the future? Where do you go to school? A couple years ago, I hated these questions. I should clarify that I’m a pretty extroverted guy and I enjoy engaging people in conversation. But the uncertainty, the having to give an answer that gave the impression that I had the slightest idea of what I wanted to do with my life really bugged (informal, bothered) me. I always felt like I had to sell myself, like it was a job interview which made me feel guilty for not having a fixed answer ready. When in reality, it is literally the most ridiculous question you could ever ask a young person. Hey Jimmy, what do you want to do for the rest of your life? I know you haven't really started living yet because you have only lived and breathed school since you could walk and talk but here let me put you on the spot ( To draw the attention to someone) so I can live my legacy through you and give you advice so that you don’t make the same mistakes that I did.

So I learned from a young age that it was best for my situation to simply make up( invent) what I thought people wanted to hear so ultimately, I don’t have to pretend I care about their advice and they don’t have to pretend that they think what I want to do is a good idea. I also learned that university is a great trigger word that invokes a smile and a pat ( a gentle slap) on the back. I learned that “ I don’t know yet” results in the conversation quickly being diverted for fear of awkward silence. I learned that “college” means you might have a shot ( you might have a chance) kid, with a short of half hearted smile. I guess sometimes the truth doesn’t hit the ears too well. The truth was at 13,14,15,16,17,18 I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. But the truth is now that I sit here at 19 rounding 20 ( approaching), I think to myself “does it matter?” Do I really care what people think I should be? “Should I really base my life and my identity off of a job or a title?” “Define my happiness by a bunch of numbers on a screen or paper that makes me feel nothing” I know I’ll never be fully self-actualized and what I feel today may change tomorrow, a week, or a month from now and that’s okay! So since society tells me that I need a degree to do what I thinkI ’m meant to do, what I think is going to make me happy, so like millions of other students around the world, I bite the bullet meaning I make the sacrifice and plunge myself into debt in the 5 figures (10,000-99-000).

The development of technology has led me to question: is spending all this money for a slip of paper really justified? Of course, there are certain fields where further study is absolutely necessary to be competent enough in a specialized field that requires knowledge and procedures that you can’t just google or buy books to learn like engineering, law or health/science degrees for example. But honestly, ask yourself if you are a university student in an Arts or Social Science program, how much of the course material can you easily retrieve for free or under say $50 (fifty) on the internet or in a library? In my case, the answer is at least 90% (ninety). To be honest I don’t know who I feel worse for, the students throwing themselves into all this debt for a degree that on its own, won’t give them the skills necessary to be competent in their industry or naive employers who actually think that because you have a degree in something, you know what you’re talking about and are therefore more worthy of that position than someone who doesn’t, without baring in mind ( keeping in mind) real world experience.

Ask yourself if you’re in an Arts major for example like me, be real with yourself:

Is this piece of paper really worth arguably the most fun and liberating years of your life? Think about it no wife/ husband, no kids, no house, no real obligations besides you know a little pocket change and a roof over your head, why would I spend that time trapped behind a screen, stressed to the point of wanted to rip my hair out for names I’ll never remind, formulas I’ll never use, and books I’ll never cite for something that is not enriching my experience on this planet? Of course, I’m not suggesting we upheave (destroy) the system and take no accountability for our lives. In fact it’s exactly the opposite that I want to make you aware of. Sacrifice is necessary to yield reward from something, you just have to determine what’s actually worth struggling for. School for me hasn’t been a struggle per say but I know for many it is, it has just increasingly seemed like a waste of time to have teachers take 20 (twenty) minutes to explain a concept that you can google and find free study materials for in 10 seconds. I don’t blame the system, the system of Canadian educational institutions was founded in unparallel times to today when the internet wasn’t around and there needed to be an education standard across the board. That I can totally understand, what I don’t agree with is university institutions abusing their status to get more funding from the government to encourage more students to blow all their money ( (slang, waste money) on a degree that will not give them the skills they actually need in the workplace. After all, education is like any big business and simply seeks to cut costs and maximize profits. The question is however, is this ethical? Should this still exist? Why this trend to create these almost trendy degree titles and somehow convince people that they are actually worth it?

Which brings us to our next point. At the beginning of the semester, I had an existential crisis, my grades were slipping (informal, my grades were falling), I was considering dropping out and moving away. Yeah it was not a good time for ole Nick. I was on the phone with my mom right and her only sound argument was that “well Nick a university is an institution, it has prestige and credibility”. And she’s right. Society just assumes that if you went to Mcgill, you must be educated and more credible than the next person in line simply because you got chosen to go to that institution. Universities in North America have gotten so big and monopolized so greatly that students' voices are reducing in volume but multiplying in numbers. The classrooms are packed (overcrowded). The Academic Assistance Centres are ironically underfunded and run by students. I mean I can only speak for my program but the mandatory course content is unacademic and completely unrelated to my program. But what can I do? What power do I have? Next to none. I can switch programs but trade-off after year one makes it illogical since you have to spend more time and money to make up for ( to compensate for) those courses. The answer is you either shake your head in disbelief and drop out or put your head down, do your work and say nothing because god forbid ( ironic exclamation) you speak out against an academic institution.

Institutional education status is something that is keeping society from evolving, employers from looking beyond “your title” and assessing your character and what you actually bring to the table. The word has already been given to everyone with an internet connection so it's time we start using it and demand the quality of education we deserve.

I want to make it clear that I’m very much pro-education. I love education. That's why I want to be a full time teacher and that’s why I want to create my own community of students who are passionate about learning but who are perhaps fed up with traditional learning methods or simply want to save time and money and achieve qualitatively better results. I truly believe that if we want to better society and educate people appropriately, university should only be reserved for people who really need it to get competency like specialized fields in the hard sciences, law and education for example.

I’m not discouraging people from pursuing their passions in other fields, quite the contrary I’m encouraging it. If you’re passionate about photography, go and learn (how) to be the best photographer out there, but don’t pay 50,000 to do it. Take one on one course, collaborate with people, practise, read anything valuable you can get your hands on. I mean it’s so easy nowadays to learn anything so don’t think that just because you didn’t learn it in school that it’s too late and it can’t be learned.

The three big takeaways from today’s podcast are:

1. The education system is a business and they want your money, so don’t let people talk you into something you don’t think is worth it.

2.) Just because an institution has a reputation and authority doesn’t mean you will actually acquire the skills necessary to be successful in your field.

3.) Don’t let external influences influence the decisions that you’re going to have to live with. Fear of letting yourself or your parents down for not knowing what you want to do or changing your path is completely irrational. Take responsibility for your choices, accept what you can’t change and work to change what you can.

Thank you for listening to today’s podcast. I hope it was interesting and you learn lots of new words and expressions while taking part in an interesting and controversial topic with me. My website in the description is where you can find the full free transcription of today’s episode along with the most difficult words and expressions briefly simplified and explained so that you can learn new words in context. You can also listen to episodes of the podcast right on the site and read while you listen which is definitely what I would advise if you don’t understand all of what I’m saying. There is also a link to my Patreon where you can support this project and contribute to making it sustainable so maybe one day I could dedicate myself to this full time. Thanks again and take care bye bye.