In a speech on Monday, Robert Halfon will say that between a fifth and a third of graduates take non-graduate jobs. Is a degree really worth £50,000 of debt?

Most graduates will tell you University was a great life experience. Moving away or out of your childhood home, to living with friends that will last a lifetime, joining societies and studying something that you want to have a career in. But with the amount of options available to you, will University put you in a good place to skyrocket your career?

While University leaders still maintain that a degree is an excellent investment, the chairman of the Education Select Committee said that many graduates receive “paltry returns” for their degree.

Nearly half of 2,000 graduates in a recent survey have jobs that they could have got as a trainee or apprentice. In fact, from these graduates, a quarter of them revealed they regret going to university. So, with the regret of so many graduates and the opportunity to start a career sooner and get paid to do it, why is university still such a popular option?

Is it worth going to Uni?

Robert Halfon says, "the labour market does not need an ever-growing supply of academic degrees” and this is starting to show with 2.6% fewer UK applications to university with a 70% fall of UK applicants aged 18 and 19.

I would never say not to go to University, for so many people it really is a way that they find out who they really are and what they want to do for the rest of their lives. But who’s to say that these same people couldn’t find themselves and benefit more in the future through an apprenticeship? After all, they could be in the same job after the apprenticeship or after a degree.

The real question you need to ask yourself if you’re thinking that University isn’t worth it, is what are you really missing out on? The reason to go to uni is no longer to be ahead in the working world, it is to have the ‘student experience’ but is the student experience worth sacrificing £50,000?

Let us know your thoughts and tweet us @GetMyFirstJob.

The inspiration from this blog came from the BBC article: Many graduates earn ‘paltry returns’ for their degree. Further information was found in The Mirror’s: A quarter of graduates say they regret going to university.

Apprenticeships