• I went to university in the UK and am now in huge student loan debt.
• Since my degree didn’t help me much in my career, I would have liked to give up my studies.

I started my English Literature degree in the UK in 2020 and college graduate a few years later. But, looking back, I wish I had dropped out of college just to save money on my growing debt. Everyone always told me I’d see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but for me, it hasn’t appeared yet.

It might have softened the blow if I needed my degree to begin my career as a freelance journalist. But at the end of my second year, I had already completed remote internships and had a few regular contracts to get me started. In third year, I was almost work full time.

Since then, no one has asked me about my university degree. In fact, the focus has been almost entirely on having a great portfolio and sufficient experience.

I’m not sure of my formal education was worth the debt I’m accumulating now.

Giving up would have made more financial sense

I now owe around £50,000, or almost $65,000, in student debtwhich will increase each year as the interest exceeds my payments.

All that money sometimes seems like a waste. My degree has not yet opened any professional doors for me. In fact, sometimes the restrictive semesters prevented me from having fantastic experiences that would have further enhanced my potential. portfolio and resume.

I think a mixture of fear of the unknown and sunk cost fallacy kept me in college – even though I knew I wanted to leave. I figured I had already spent enough time and money, so I might as well get my degree.

But it’s hard to predict what opportunities will present themselves before they present themselves. How did I know at that moment that no one would ask to see my diploma?

I believe my best – and safest – bet would have been to upgrade to a online degree when the pandemic first hit. And from there, I learned a valuable lesson: don’t be afraid to try different paths.

There were other paths I could have taken

When I was studying during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of my learning took place through my laptop or phone screen. The educational part of my degree was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the content. However, since online degrees are generally less expensive, I didn’t get my money’s worth.

I had already considered the idea of ​​completing an online degree while live abroad. Ultimately, my mother and I decided against it, wondering if a degree earned remotely would be as respected.

Little did we know that, like so many others, my current degree would transition to online learning anyway. This just goes to show that sometimes a little risk-taking can pay off; I wish I had been bolder. I encourage anyone in a similar situation to carefully weigh the pros and cons.

Another path which, in hindsight, might have been interesting to consider was that of corporate apprenticeship. My sister’s boyfriend took an apprenticeship opportunity at a prestigious company and loved the experience. Thanks to a job offer, he eventually emerged debt-free and fully fledged to launch his already thriving business. business career.

I liked the experience, but I would be wary of recommending the university

In hindsight, I could have dropped out of college, potentially completed my graduate degree online, and significantly reduced my current debt without impacting my current career trajectory.

However, you cannot go back. I would definitely characterize my college experience as “you live and you learn” territory; I have always really appreciated certain aspects of my university experience.

I would simply be careful not to blindly recommend the path of higher education to every young person; it’s definitely not for everyone. It is worth asking whether this is really a smart financial decision in the long term.

For me, the jury is still out.