Post by Joe Makin

12 Years, £182.05, and 247 votes later... When I hit “submit” on that final student loan payment last week I didn’t expect the post to resonate quite like it did. 247 people voted, and a fair few of you shared their own stories. The consensus? There isn’t one path anymore. For over half of you (53%), success depends on the career. For many others (31%), experience carried more weight than any degree ever could. Reading through the comments, I noticed something: No matter the route — university, apprenticeships, or pure graft — the common thread was growth through experience. For me, university was where I learned independence, resilience, and how to to be self-reliant. But it wasn’t what defined my career. That happened years later — when I found myself learning recruitment on the fly, asking more questions than I answered, and figuring things out by doing, not just by knowing. Looking back, I realise education for me really started when the lectures stopped. And maybe that’s the real lesson — learning doesn’t have to happen in a classroom to be valuable. I’d love to hear your own thoughts — What’s one thing you wish school or university had actually prepared you for? Or, what’s something you only learned after you started working? Matt Scarr Sam Baker Sam Horton Cert RP Rowan Whitaker Tom Biltcliffe Leigh Page David Kitney Rebecca Shipley Stevie Leigh Moss