Progress Test 7–9

Track 3

A: I’m an American, and I can tell you, a college degree in the US puts you way ahead of people who don’t have one. If you want to work in cities like Boston, New York or San Francisco, your starting salary will be much higher than guys who don’t have a degree, and you certainly need a good salary to afford an apartment in those cities. I think I’ll get about $50,000 as a starting salary once I graduate, and I’ll get a lot of fringe benefits too, like life insurance and a retirement plan.

B: I’m from Argentina and everyone I talked to said ‘go to university’ – careers advisers, teachers, family, friends. Why did I listen to them? I’ve got massive debts now, and no chance of getting a good job. For the last five years, I’ve been in a dead-end job, with no security, no prospects, and low pay. Most of my friends left school at 16 and they’re doing really well now. They got promoted while I slaved away to get a degree, and it isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Of course I feel bitter.

C: I did my degree in Vietnam – it was a four-year course. I don’t like the idea that you study for a degree for what it gets you later in life. You should go to university because you’re really interested in the subject you choose. I don’t think my degree helped me to get a job. OK, it may have given me an edge over non-graduates for getting interviews, I suppose. But I really enjoyed studying French literature, and don’t regret it at all. When I left, I applied for lots of jobs, and I think employers liked the fact that I was confident and had good people skills. I’m now a computer programmer, nothing to do with literature.

D: I graduated in 2006, when Germany hosted the world cup. I did enjoy my time at university, and maybe that’s the problem. I did well at school, so it was logical to go to university. I guess I just enjoyed myself too much. Without the discipline of school, I didn’t study as hard as I should, so I only just got a degree. A lot of my friends got jobs straight from school and are now doing really well. There are a lot of unemployed graduates around these days. I don’t regret my time at university – I learned quite a lot about people, and I did a lot of sport. I’m not sure it really helped my career though.