University vs Degree

If English is what you most enjoy and are better at and you are most interested in non-healthcare careers then I would say go for English. It's not a bad degree! It is respected by most people and seen as a good basis for a variety of careers, and you will always have the option to train for higher paid professions. I would only say go for Biology if you might want to one day train in the health professions such as nursing or physiotherapy. If not, go for English because a good degree can open a lot of doors. For the majority of careers subject does not matter, it is a good class of degree, confidence, work experience, extra curriculars and a bit of luck which will get you a job!

Thank you for all of your contributions, they are much appreciated!

Ok. You may be right, thanks for all of your contributions!

Earlier this week I was worried about choosing what course to apply for at university as the personal statement deadline is fast approaching. My initial concern arose from the fact that I would have to make a hasty half-hearted decision about a course to study at Uni to comply with the PS deadline in my school (which I would later regret). Getting a degree in a course which I have no interest in and the working in that field for the rest of my life wasn't the most appealing thought.

I decided that it would be a sensible idea to speak to my school's careers adviser. I asked her whether I would be able to change my career after getting a degree in a completely different field to the career I may want to change to. She explained that it is very possible to change into a career unrelated to the degree and gave an example of a student that she knew who became a lawyer with a chemistry degree. What I got out of this was that it is possible for a job to be independent of the field of the degree, rather, the focus of acquiring a good job should be on getting a 'good' degree. However, a good degree usually comes from a good university, so i asked her which is more important to an employer. She told me that the University is more important in the eyes of an employer than the actual degree.

Would getting an English degree through a course in University X which requires the grades AAB be the same as getting a Biology degree in University X which also requires the grades AAB, in terms of getting a good job?

Also, does this mean that it would be better to get a 2:1 degree from a good university than a 1st in the same degree from a lower ranked university?

I am asking as I really want to study English at university, however I am unsure whether I would be able to switch to a higher paying job (as most of the jobs in English aren't that well paid) even if I obtain a good English degree from a good university.

Thanks!

Most jobs can be accessed through any degree and only some will stipulate certain degree courses to have been studied. These jobs are usually linked either with a heavily vocational subject, such as working within healthcare, or if it requires very specific skills and knowledge, such as an engineering degree for engineering related careers.

I found it helpful to consider which courses I enjoyed most at A-level and what I felt could sustain my interest for another 3 years. It's also worth bearing in mind what you'll be doing on a day to day basis (e.g. reading books for studying English Literature).

Very few employers know the league table rankings and though they have a vague idea of where they are relative to each other I don't think it makes that much difference. What employers are looking for are relevant skills and experience, which can be built within and beyond your degree.

If you study English you could definitely end up with a high paying job, you may struggle to break in to finance or aeronautical engineering but there's a huge range of options open to you.

Hope that helps.