Is my degree worthless?

Reply 80

Yes.

I sure hope its not because im doing that same degree!

Reply 82

lilahnurave

1

I think anybody who's a dick about something is usually insecure/jealous, they probably couldnt get past the first year of an arts degree

Reply 83

roh

17

Original post by Bobbler

I was at a meal with my boyfriend and his parents the day before his graduation and they got onto the subject of my degree and its contact hours.

I do History and Politics at the University of Sheffield and have six hours a week next term (I'm going into my second year in September). At this they turned up their nose at me and said how could I pay £3k a year for something with 6 hours contact time a week that I could just do at home because it wasn't going to lead me into anything (they're a really sciencey family)

It really shook me and I've been upset all week because of it, is this what people think? That Arts degrees don't have any worth to them?

Show them this and say unless they do/did either bioscience, a subject allied to medicine or Med/Vet/Dentistry your degree has better employment prospects!

Reply 84

River85

17

Original post by Bobbler

I was at a meal with my boyfriend and his parents the day before his graduation and they got onto the subject of my degree and its contact hours.

I do History and Politics at the University of Sheffield and have six hours a week next term (I'm going into my second year in September). At this they turned up their nose at me and said how could I pay £3k a year for something with 6 hours contact time a week that I could just do at home because it wasn't going to lead me into anything (they're a really sciencey family)

It really shook me and I've been upset all week because of it, is this what people think? That Arts degrees don't have any worth to them?

They should be happy as you're subsidising their son's degree. You are paying the same as their son, despite having fewer contact hours and facilities, if it wasn't for arts graduates subsidising science students their son would have to pay far more for his degree.

This is an attitude that you'll find many do have and it can be frustrating. The truth is, from a career point of view, we are saturated with humanities graduates and a significant number of them (a majority at some universities) will not find a graduate job.

However, your degree can follow a clear path in the areas such as heritage and information management (something that your boyfriend will find hard to enter with his degree) and a wide range of other graduate careers.

At times I feel that my humanities degree (2:1 in philosophy and politics) is worthless when you see the sheer number of people all clutching their 2:1s. However, I know that my degree has been a journey and one I'm stronger for completing. I've been able to discover many things about myself during the course of the degree and also demonstrate some important qualities. As a result of my undergraduate experiences I began to realise the career path I want to take and that talents I do have. There are also new interests I gained at university. Interests that I don't think I would have been able to develop otherwise.

I wouldn't say your degree is worth it if you're able to gain important skills and personal qualities, such as greater self-confidence and determination, during the course of your degree, and also take up volunteering. It certainly isn't worthless if you've enjoyed the degree furthered your knowledge. But you need to remember that, although your degree includes a reasonable amount of breath and will allow you to apply for a wide range of jobs, having a degree alone isn't enough and the graduate market is tough.

Reply 85

A7d8i6l

1

It's not worth the paper it's written on!!
Sorry, but it is true!

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 86

River85

17

Nobody does "golf studies" or "David Beckham studies". Golf Course Management is only offered at a small number of universities (though the number has increased over the years) and certainly had a high employment rate. David Beckham studies has never existed as a degree.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 87

DickDastardly

13

i was under the impression that a university course was meant to be mostly self taught

really though, university should be state funded

Reply 88

BO'H

11

do you enjoy it?

do you feel that you are learning cool stuff?

if you can answer yes to these questions then it is not worthless

also, i loved my undergrad studies (mainly history but lots of politics and literature) and as a result i did well in them, which led me to a career in the law far more lucrative than anything the vast majority of science spods could hope for.

Reply 89

asparkyn

15

I'm paying 14k for an arts degree upfront without sponsors or any form of government bursary, don't know what people here are banging on about tbh.

I don't want to regurgitate what everyone else has already said, but I think it's what you do in between the degree that counts. I have a cousin who just completed Chemical Engineering with a year's industrial placement at a good university, and got a highly paid job barely months after graduating. In contrast, a friend of mine did the same course at a university no less respected, and hasn't found a job since, because he didn't bother looking for relevant work placements.

Arts degrees are no different. No one is stopping History/Politics graduates getting jobs if they spend time looking for relevant internships/part-time work and beefing up their CV with leadership skills from societies etc. If you spend the three years ****ed drunk and lazing without giving a damn about anything, you're going to get what you deserve after graduation, whether or not you do an arts or a science degree.

I think the main point of the OP is the contact hours -- we humanities students have so much reading to do in between our lectures, thank god for limited contact hours!

Reply 90

xoJessicaAnn

14

Original post by Bobbler

I was at a meal with my boyfriend and his parents the day before his graduation and they got onto the subject of my degree and its contact hours.

I do History and Politics at the University of Sheffield and have six hours a week next term (I'm going into my second year in September). At this they turned up their nose at me and said how could I pay £3k a year for something with 6 hours contact time a week that I could just do at home because it wasn't going to lead me into anything (they're a really sciencey family)

It really shook me and I've been upset all week because of it, is this what people think? That Arts degrees don't have any worth to them?

I'm going to do a History degree and when I tell people, I usually get the same response. However, I've found that the people who have taught me history in the past have been incredibly inspirational people and even if I could be half like them in the future, I'd be very content with myself.. and they're not doing too badly money-wise etc 'Head of Humanities' and such...

Basically, everyone will always slag off this degree because they also think learning about the past is pointless and insignificant, but what they forget is how hard we work to even get on this course - for me it's AAA and that's a GOOD requirement for a History course, many now want A*'s and when I was searching for clearing places in my desperation currently waiting for my results, there really aren't that many lower than AAB... so we don't deserve to be told our degree will get us nowhere when we've worked so hard just to be there.

History has so many transferable skills and I'm not too scared of my prospects after it, I know my degree will be worthwhile and teach me alot about worldwide societies and people's behaviour so I'm very much looking forward to it and will metaphorically put two fingers up at people who think I shouldn't be :tongue:

Reply 91

MrHappy_J

14

most degrees offer 6 hours a week of contact time so i can't see what your boyfriend's parents mean by that. Don't be disheartened by it, just ignore them. I'm interested to know what your bf is graduated in.

i take psychology and sociology at kent :rolleyes:

imagine the comments I get.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 92

River85

17

Original post by MrHappy_J

most degrees offer 6 hours a week of contact time so i can't see what your boyfriend's parents mean by that. Don't be disheartened by it, just ignore them. I'm interested to know what your bf is graduated in.

i take psychology and sociology at kent :rolleyes:

imagine the comments I get.

Most humanities degrees, yes, but not "most degrees". Science degrees will typically have far more contact time (workshops, labs, seminars) though might not require as much outside reading as arts degrees. The OP says her boyfriend's family are a sciency family, so I assume he is a science student or graduate.

Reply 93

fellowjoe

8

Original post by Bobbler

I was at a meal with my boyfriend and his parents the day before his graduation and they got onto the subject of my degree and its contact hours.

I do History and Politics at the University of Sheffield and have six hours a week next term (I'm going into my second year in September). At this they turned up their nose at me and said how could I pay £3k a year for something with 6 hours contact time a week that I could just do at home because it wasn't going to lead me into anything (they're a really sciencey family)

It really shook me and I've been upset all week because of it, is this what people think? That Arts degrees don't have any worth to them?

If i were you, i wouldn't give a damn about it.

If your boyfriend is supportive of whatever you do, i don't think his parents can do anything about it.

And for the record, History and Politics are definitely NOT worthless. You pick up critical analytical skills that will go a long way in the corporate world.