Education: Polytech vs University

After leaving school, students are usually presented with a few choices. They can decide to continue their education, whether this be with a Polytechnic or University, or choose not to further their education and find a job with their current qualifications. What they may not realize, however, is the huge differences between Polytech's and Universities, even though it may appear that you can achieve the same qualifications at either institution.

Polytech's seem to revolve a lot more around hands on experience, combined with a close bond with the industry which would appear to make it easier to get a job after achieving the required qualifications. They are usually very skills based, and used to only offer Cerficates and Diplomas, forcing students to go to a University to achieve any higher education. Times have changed though, and now you can get a Bachelors Degree in many different fields.

Universities on the other hand are more theoretically based, and students attend lectures on a broad range of topics that usually apply somewhat to the area they hope to get a job in. Universities most often try to give students a rounded, broad set of knowledge instead of a highly focused one.

As to which is better? Different strokes for different folks. Some people are a lot more hands on, and enjoy the physical experience Polytechs usually offer. Some do better with theory and abstract ideas. But a lot of people seem to choose the wrong one, as I have noticed with classmates in my course at a Polytech. Seemingly around 75% (may be a high estimate) of students doing Digital Media realize sooner or later that they don't really want to get into this industry after all. This includes both students studying towards the Animation and Film strands, which is really surprising to me. Seeing how easy it is to change ones mind about your field of interest, a lot of people may be far better off attending a University, selecting a range of papers that would suit their needs, and getting a varied set of knowledge that you could apply to a lot of different jobs.

As long as Facilities make it clear whether their services would best suit the individuals pursuing them, rather than going for numbers and money. As always, it comes down to the individual, and as long as they are well informed about both education choices they should be able to make a good decision. Unless of course this choice is distorted because of price factors and misleading information, as is the case with Southern Institute of Technolgy... but I'll leave that for another post, preferably after I've recieved my Diploma from them.