Now that every turkey in the land has been successfully devoured and had its remainders thrust into the back recesses of the freezer, the harsh reality of the UCAS submission date of January 25 is firmly on most Sixth Formers’ minds and, with it, the big question of whether or not to go to university.

For a few universities, mainly Oxbridge, this day has passed, and for those wishing to study in the South, it’s January 20, but generally speaking, this is the month for Sixth Form doubts.

It’s a slow but definite burner. In the parent interviews in the spring of Fifth Form, pre-GCSE, their beloved charges are going to take the world by storm and highly-paid and glittering careers await them in life ¬– and woe betide the teacher who hints at more realistic ambitions.

Come the exam season, some of the halos start to look a bit shabby, and by the time of Year 13 A-Level entry, the person who was going to design the next rocket to go to Mars has now modified his or her ambitions.

Instead of doing Maths, Further Maths, Advanced Further Maths and Yet More Further Maths, he has now opted in favour of BTEC Media Studies and Dance at a FE College. Plus ça change.

As the journey through two years of Sixth Form study ebbs and flows, many indeed do follow their dreams.

Some are pleasantly surprised at how they grasp the nettle of higher level work, but for a great deal, there remains a big question.

In the words of the 1980s band, The Clash, “Should I stay or should I go?”

To get beyond the emotive questions, money is increasingly playing a bit part in this conversation.

Society is now used to the never-never of student finance, but at the end of the day, like it or lump it, you will almost certainly have to pay off your debt.

With this in mind, you’ve got to think about where you live and where you want to study.

Students here and in the Republic of Ireland currently pay £4,630 pa to study for a degree in NI, and €3,000 in the South.

For students from NI, going across the water raises the stakes, with the fees set at a maximum of £9,250; a maximum which is usually applied.

Add to this the cost of living away from home and doing a degree while keeping a flat works out at around £65,000 for three years.

Then enter sage Uncle Jimmy into the room, who rolls his eyes and tells his niece or nephew: “I just paid £160 for a joiner to do some simple work on my fitted kitchen. You’re mad in the head to go away and study History for three years and then work in a shop.”

It’s a difficult argument, with many plots and sub-plots. Some graduates walk straight into good jobs that are well paid and once they’ve given blood and signed their unborn children to the firm, will undoubtedly earn huge amounts of money in their lifetime.

The difficulty is more in the fine tuning. This could include, for example, those who like the arts, literature and studying areas that do not always necessarily directly translate to well-paid employment.

As someone with a PhD in Music and a MA in History, I am clearly aware of this argument, and it is people caught in this area that deserve the greatest help.

It may well be true that a good tradesman will earn more than an arts graduate, but it’s completely pointless explaining the rules of air pressure in pipes, or the skills of welding complex joints, to someone who really is only interested in deconstructing the writings of female authors in the late Victorian period.

One thing education has taught me over the years is that you can’t put square pegs into round holes – they bounce back and hit you in the forehead.

So what are the cold facts, so at least those caught in ‘decision limbo’ can use facts to back up their thoughts?

Well, according to the august London Economics, “one of Europe’s leading specialist policy and economics consultancies” – at least according to themselves – reckon that a student at, say, Queen’s University, Belfast, will earn £104,000 more over their lifetime than a non-graduate.

This of course includes everything from hemp sandal-wearing philosophy students to cutting-edge medics, though try the alternative of practicing medicine without a degree, and see how far you get.

Of course, it’s an inexact science, and – surprise, surprise – the government’s own Department for Education says that their figures show that graduates earn £10,000 more per year than non-graduates.

Despite my facetiousness, this may be accurate to some degree, as it includes all of society, so when you factor in those over 40 for whom going to university was not as commonplace as nowadays, and also include the many, many top executives and business leaders, then there may well be a grain of truth in it.

Breaking down the actual graduate salaries is also interesting. According to The Higher Education Statistics Agency, the average graduate starting salary in the UK is just over £24,000.

As for the various sectors, chartered accountants can expect a starting salary of up to £40,000 in ‘The City’, with anything upwards from £17,000 outside these hallowed walls.

Retail management used to be pretty decently paid, but nowadays it’s not much beyond the minimum wage, though Aldi starts its area manager graduate training programme on £44,000, plus a car.

Computer studies graduates seem to be typically at around £25,000, starting off, while teachers start at a fixed £24,137 in NI.

For engineers with some specialisms, such as chemical engineers, starting off at £30,000 in their first year appears to be the norm, while lawyers are recommended to be paid only £21,000 in their first year, according to the Law Society.

Junior doctors start at a minimum of £29,384 per annum, with dentists and vets around much the same.

That’s just a snapshot, of course, but there you go. The decision is big, but there’s no need to get too stressed.

After all, it’s fashionable in today’s society to take a gap year ... or two ... or three.