In Stephen Fry's semi-autobiographical novel "The Liar," there is a passage in which the protagonist, a future student, is given a warning by a benevolent don, that things are not quite what they seem. He tells of a brilliant student, a mathematician, thought to be capable of great innovation, capable of, as great mathematicians are, creating vast new fields of uncertainty and ignorance, of carving out incomprehension where previously there was nothing but certitude. He was to read pure mathematics at Oxbridge, sponsored by a well-known academic - this was his lifelong hope - but when the time came, he instead applied for an engineering course. On being questioned about this peculiar change of heart, he revealed that he had been offered large amounts of money to do so. Our Don was shocked - but not for long. This one man was the beginning of a steady stream of students willing to make the crossing from the academic to the vocational - students that once would have explored the mysteries of mediaeval studies, the lifetime of Isaac Abrabanel and the peculiarities of the scholastics, would instead learn the intricacies of management. From chemistry to chemical engineering, from philosophy to social policy. When the benevolent don has finished his piece, our student is enraged and excited, demanding to know who is involved and how many people know, whether the papers or parliament have been informed, whether prosecutions are in order. He thunders against this terrible injustice, the systematic destruction of the greatest minds of his generation - and is amazed to see our don laughing to himself. "Don't you see," asks the don, "that there is no conspiracy? I was describing society!" Indeed, yes, compared to times gone by, students are more serious, more career-oriented, and keener on the material than the spiritual or the intellectual. They see debts piling up in front of them and a job market for the asking. Vocational education, then, becomes important - education ceases to be about freeing the mind and throwing wide the doors of perception and becomes about freeing the body and opening doors to the World of Work. Perhaps it is society that is to blame. Certainly a number of institutions are keen on encouraging vocational qualifications - a cursory glance at BBC News reveals that, in the last month, OFSTED and the CBI have expressed the opinion that there should be 'more of a work focus' in schools, the Scottish Executive has been speculating on bringing an end to Politics Highers, and Kent County Council has begun to subsidise training in hair and beauty care. More bursaries in exchange for working for a particular company are available then ever before - both the official bursaries and the automatic bursary of time-serving in an office to earn a crust. But society doesn't make the decisions. Students do, of their own free will. In case you were wondering, yes, I have considered the possibility that I am merely naive. I do not know how the world works and do not realise that people must make a living in this world. That is certainly true - but how early must work-oriented study begin? Fifteen-year-old boys, who should by rights be wearing teddy-boy outfits and giving their female opposite numbers love bites in a late-night coffee bar while listening to Bobby Darin on the jukebox* now spend their time training to be travel agents. Perhaps we should make some capital out of toddlers playing shop - training, perhaps, for the exciting world of retail management. How many people, exactly, make a living as travel agents or beauticians? Probably not as many as take GNVQs in Beauty Care or Leisure and Tourism. No, this isn't a rant about vocational qualifications, although if one is requested that I would certainly supply. It's a rant about careerism, and the rant is this: it doesn't matter. If you'll forgive the 'Desiderata' tone, do what you wish to do, and be who you wish to be, and career prospects be damned. In the words of Robert M. Pirsig, the University is a Cathedral of Reason, a place where the wider truths of the world are explored and challenged. It is not a training ground for those who are deeply interested in a career in marketing. If you are interested in a career in marketing, that is fine. But if you are not, then you should not let anyone try to convince you to do it. Do not worry about what's going on your CV - if you do what you enjoy, then that should be enough. There are too many people in this world whose greatest goal in life is to become the Treasurer of the Insert Name Here Society already. We have the advantage, in this country, of having student loans which are approximately progressive to income - very approximately, I grant you, but still - if you do not earn enough, you do not have to pay your student loan back until you do. You can pursue your dreams; like Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, you can use your talents however you want to, and ignore the pressures of society. Whatever your circumstances, if you are a student in Britain right now, you have at least some intellectual freedom. So use it! I am bored with the people around here whose interests are entirely practical, who proceed up the echelons of the student union with the sole aim of being something, rather than doing something. I am irritated by a variety of student artworks, crammed with pretentiousness and with the sole intention of appearing serious or sensitive. And, while not wishing to encourage anyone to neglect their studies, the class of your degree lasts approximately the time between your graduation and your first job. By all means, take care of your future, study, be involved in societies, but don't allow it to consume your soul. Be a student, let your mind be free and your dress sense awful. Try not to let your university life get in the way of your education. Explore the country, sit around in campus kitchens at four o'clock in the morning, read the collected works of Richard Bach, recite poems, write, sing to yourself in the shower, learn Czech for no discernable reason, develop a keen interest in William Burroughs, construct Airfix models, do tours of the East, join the Sons of the Desert, become the Messiah - but only if you want to, not because your CV requires it. Rouse up, young men of the New Age, and set your foreheads against the ignorant hirelings! Here endeth the lesson. *I never said I was up to date.
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Matt P: Turn on, tune in, drop out
Oliver C: Is university a little pointless?
Henry: Checklists: need to complete them Could you be a student diarist?
If you hail from North Yorkshire or are studying in the county and think you could squeeze out a few hundred words about once a month (more if you want to!) get in touch with us by emailing northyorkshire@bbc.co.uk | 
