The Student Room Group

Stop doing terrible degrees!

Hi,

I know my making this post is going to raise a lot of anger, especially among the new-age mob who say passion and determination are the only factors levying success, but sadly I have seen a lot of posts giving students terrible advice regarding their academic future by telling them a degree in a non-vocational and non-traditional subject will have little impact on their future job prospects. Put simply, it is morally indefensible to advice young people that a degree in some bizarre liberal arts discipline is a good use of their one-off student loan; employers nowadays have an abundance of graduates whom to choose from and being disadvantaged in one aspect of your personal profile because you were fed misinformation by your peers will lead many young graduates fighting it out for low-paid employment.

Of course there will be people who will tell you how they've become a millionaire with their English degree from London Met, but we also need to have a sense of perspective. Do not go to university if you are not sure what you want to do with the rest of your life. University is expensive. And is £50,000 of student debt a burden you want to carry when you don't even have an end-plan in mind? There are a lot of graduate opportunities available for students who graduate from any university with a 2:1, but if you don't possess much added-experience alongside your academic qualifications, then the subject discipline holds a lot relevance. My Area Manager, who is a young graduate, told me that he was informed during his application process that students with "weak degrees in weak subjects" are ignored during selection. He said the degree that you choose to study at university says a lot about you as a person and the level of work ethic you acquire as well. Spending time in industry and developing proper work experience is a much better and more efficient use of time for those who don't know what they want to do than going to university, as work experience is paramount for employers and the on-the-work pay is an added bonus as well.

Here's an excellent video I'd advice you all to watch:

[video="youtube;CVEuPmVAb8o"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVEuPmVAb8o[/video]
(edited 7 years ago)

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You're not my dad.
I think gap years are the best soloution to helping young adults to find their passion/interests.

Steve Jobs story shows us that if you don't know what you want to do, then university won't help you find it.

For me I know the degree I want but not the career
I feel like this is going to turn into one of those nauseating threads bashing anyone who doesn't do a STEM subject.
Reply 4
Thanks but no thanks.
Okay, Mum. :wink:
Reply 6
This is always a touchy subject, but making good decisions about what you study is essential, and certainly, you should consider as many options as possible.

The only bit of advice I would add is that doing a degree for 3 years that makes you happy probably isn't a good trade-off for having to do a job for 50 years that makes you miserable. Always consider the long-term plan.
They'll laugh now, tell you to bugger off. But they will kick themselves for their poor decisions in the future.
Shut up. women's studies and modern feminism are a great choice. when I leave I am going to become a Internet blogger and earn £100's a year
Yes, perhaps a "terrible" degree won't do me any favours when it comes to applying for a job. But doing what makes you happy is in my opinion much more important than doing something which you dislike but which gives you money. Unless you have a family to feed or other similar circumstances, you can find a job somewhere, even if it pays you the bare minimum you need to pay the rent, bills, food, etc., and you will actually enjoy those 40 hours every week (which really do account for a lot of your time) rather than spend your time dreading you ever went to uni to study a degree you hate in the first place.
You know what, I think you have just changed the world.


Not.

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Agreed.There are way too many people doing rubbish degrees and just making university more expensive for everyone else.They've even got a black studies degree at BCU how they have the audacity to charge 9 grand a year for that is beyond me.And yet that course will more than likely be full.
Have no regrets about doing my language degree straight out of 6th form.
Why do you care what other people are doing so much? If they want to spend thousands on doing the course that they want to do, let them get on with it - it's their life and they're feeding the economy.
tbh as much as its difficult to hear its a little true. my opinion is that its a good idea to keep your passion well away from your work. Surely if it's a passion it's shouldn't be so immensely structured and money driven
Original post by Plantagenet Crown
I feel like this is going to turn into one of those nauseating threads bashing anyone who doesn't do a STEM subject.


I did a physics degree and got nowhere with it :bawling:
Original post by jake4198
Hi,

I know my making this post is going to raise a lot of anger, especially among the new-age mob who say passion and determination are the only factors levying success, but sadly I have seen a lot of posts giving students terrible advice regarding their academic future by telling them a degree in a non-vocational and non-traditional subject will have little impact on their future job prospects. Put simply, it is morally indefensible to advice young people that a degree in some bizarre liberal arts discipline is a good use of their one-off student loan; employers nowadays have an abundance of graduates whom to choose from and being disadvantaged in one aspect of your personal profile because you were fed misinformation by your peers will lead many young graduates fighting it out for low-paid employment.

Of course there will be people who will tell you how they've become a millionaire with their English degree from London Met, but we also need to have a sense of perspective. Do not go to university if you are not sure what you want to do with the rest of your life. University is expensive. And is £50,000 of student debt a burden you want to carry when you don't even have an end-plan in mind? There are a lot of graduate opportunities available for students who graduate from any university with a 2:1, but if you don't possess much added-experience alongside your academic qualifications, then the subject discipline holds a lot relevance. My Area Manager, who is a young graduate, told me that he was informed during his application process that students with "weak degrees in weak subjects" are ignored during selection. He said the degree that you choose to study at university says a lot about you as a person and the level of work ethic you acquire as well. Spending time in industry and developing proper work experience is a much better and more efficient use of time for those who don't know what they want to do than going to university, as work experience is paramount for employers and the on-the-work pay is an added bonus as well.

Here's an excellent video I'd advice you all to watch:

[video="youtube;CVEuPmVAb8o"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVEuPmVAb8o[/video]

Remember, just because you're "passionate about something, it doesn't mean you're good at it".


What is your opinion on Medicinal Chemistry degrees?
Basically biology. Ew :poke:
Original post by Bristol Dawah
Crackers just seem to latch on to any deadbeat degree that takes their fancy, things like american studies and criminology for example. How the hell are we supposed to match India and China when our youths are basically spending 3 years smoking dope.


Asian kids are emotionally and socially underdeveloped to quite a degree - that's why they make no impact on the jobs market in Europe and the US. Yes, you get some finding jobs, but given their academic excellence (which I don't doubt for a second), why don't they have a monopoly on the graduate jobs market? I say it's because most are too immature and socially lacking to hold down the majority of high powered work.
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
Basically biology. Ew :poke:


U wot m99999, inorganic, physical and organic chemistry ain't biology bruuuv :wink:

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