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Is there any point of having 2 Bachelors degrees (or more)?

Hi all!

I was just wondering if there is any point of having more than 1 Bachelors degree because won't it just feel like a waste of money and time for example doing a Business Management degree then after graduating doing a French degree.

Is it really worth it having 2 degrees or is it mainly useless, lets say if I did those 2 degrees?

Wouldn't it just be wiser doing a master's in the 1st degree because at least it will be more useful/worth it and it will take less time!

But I know there are some exceptions e.g. people who didn't have the grades or were rejected for Medicine then they do a degree in a Science and then they go for Medicine graduate entry.

The chaplain at my school has 3 degrees: Bachelors in Engineering, Masters in Engineering, Bahcelors in Theology and Philosophy (part-time) and Bachelors in English Language & Literature (part-time) and now he wants to do a languages degree starting in 2012, lol! :redface:

Is there a point really?

Thank you for your help! :wink:

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Reply 1

baffled_mathman

You could argue that everything in life is a waste of time/money if you wanted...

Reply 2

Joinedup

I worked with a graduate chap who was doing an OU degree in Geology for fun.

Some people really really enjoy studying - but you don't seem to find many of them on TSR.

Reply 3

PhoenixFortune

I know someone who did a BSc in Pharmacology, before suddenly realising it wasn't what she wanted to do. She tried to get on the MSc course for Speech and Language Therapy, but it was so competitive that she was rejected and had to do another BSc.

Reply 4

River85

Original post by Joinedup

Some people really really enjoy studying - but you don't seem to find many of them on TSR.

I do, though I think I'll eventually burn out (with a BA, BSc, Masters and possibly MPhil....we'll see).

It isn't "pointless", it really depends on what the second subject is. When considering surveying as a career I was tempted to take a second undergrad degree instead of coverting by doing a Masters (an MSc would only be a little cheaper). But I decided against this for a number of reasons (time, cost, increase in fees).

But it is incredibly expensive and time consuming. Since funding for second degrees as been withdrawn (with only a small number of exempt degrees). Modern languages are one of the exempt degrees, I think, meaning that a student (who already has an undergrad degree) is entitled to a student loan. But won't be entitled to tuition fee support.

For subjects not exempt from the ELQ rules no funding will be provided and tuition fees will be uncapped.

Haven't you considered taking French as an extra-curricular at university? Some universities have a language centre and offer language classes at a subsidised rate.

Reply 5

Joinedup

Original post by River85

I was recently talking to a chap who's bagged (in order)
BSc
MSc
Mphil
MSc

between the 70s and 90s - none of it cost him a penny. genuine story.

his CV's online but I'm not going to hotlink it, wouldn't want to risk bringing down a TSR crapstorm on him... I'm hoping to get him to eyeball my dissertation... though he doesn't know it yet.

Reply 6

innerhollow

If you mean in terms of employment, then no, there is no point.

The problem with pursuing knowledge through doing multiple university degrees is that degrees cost a lot of money when you factor in tuition fee costs + lost earnings, so staying in education for a long time is very financially tricky.

Original post by Joinedup

I worked with a graduate chap who was doing an OU degree in Geology for fun.

Some people really really enjoy studying - but you don't seem to find many of them on TSR.

O_o? You're far more likely to find study-lovers on here than anywhere else.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 7

boba

I suppose the only point would be interest?

Reply 8

Joinedup

Original post by innerhollow

O_o? You're far more likely to find study-lovers on here than anywhere else.

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places - I see mostly wannabe Investment Bankers prattling about institutional prestige.

Reply 9

innerhollow

Original post by Joinedup

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places - I see mostly wannabe Investment Bankers prattling about institutional prestige.

Well, in the world outside you see mostly very lazy, self-obsessed people getting drunk and bitching about each other... so I would say that TSR is pretty nice to be honest.

I think a passion for learning is very rare, but this site does tend to attract that quality. Certainly the Maths and Physics sub-forums of this site show a lot of people with genuine interest.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 10

Hylean

Nyah, I chose to do a second BA because I was worried my language skills wouldn't be able to handle doing an MA in a foreign language. Also, having emigrated from the UK, undergrad degrees tend to be more social, so it was a better way for me to make friends here in Reykjavík. On top of that, my second BA is so far away from my first that doing the second BA makes sense as it would give me a far better grounding than the MA would.

Reply 11

adilmorrison

Original post by JJ22

Is there a point really?

Thank you for your help! :wink:

I had a teacher who had six undergraduate degrees...

Reply 12

-G-a-v-

I've started my second undergrad degree, studying Maths with the OU. I've already got a degree in physics, but I realised partway through that I'm much more interested in maths. There's an MSc that I'm looking into doing, which I would be able to get onto with my physics degree, but might be quite expensive, so I dunno whether or not that'll happen yet, haha.

Reply 13

i'm no superman

I'm doing two for funzies. :dunce:

Reply 14

Samsong

Am thinking of doing another degree - already have a ba,but want to study economics/finance. does anyone knowwhether graduate recruiters look on a second degree unfavorably?or applications from a mature student for that fact

Reply 15

Alfissti

I have 2 degrees, there was a very practical reason behind it too. Far from bring a waste of time or money both has been extremely useful. Degrees were a MEng and a BA Law. They both have been useful in fact I would not have my job now without it. Having more than 1 degree isn't a waste if you can utilize them both and find ways to get returns for it.

Myself, the reason I have 2 degrees isn't so much I thought it out in depth, was going to stop after completing the MEng as was so sick and tired of always being broke and short of money, it was mostly because my parents pushed me into it because on my dad's side they are 5 generations of lawyers and my mum's side was 3 generations of it plus both my parents graduated from Cambridge and they thought it as unconscionable that their son didn't come out from Cambridge as well.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-P6800

Reply 16

kka25

Original post by Joinedup

I worked with a graduate chap who was doing an OU degree in Geology for fun.

I love people like this :smile:

to them.

Reply 17

Zenomorph

Why not, if the 2nd subject is unrelated to the first then it makes sense. What gets me is that often a lot of universities think that these poxy Gradip things can actually replace the breadth of a BA/ BSc which you sometimes need. They should do 18 month / 2 year degrees for people doing 2nd degrees.

Reply 18

py0alb

I'm doing a 2nd degree for fun in my spare time. Its pretty cool. Who knows, I might do a third in something completely unrelated if I can drum up the willpower to come home from work and study all evening for another three years.

Reply 19

xJessx

I did a BA in languages and while I did well in it and there's no doubt that languages are my thing, I studied at a low ranked uni and didn't find it very difficult so sometimes I wonder how much value my degree actually has. I'm actually a little bit in awe of science students because I think it is the most practical and useful subject to study but I always found it hard at school. However, now I want to apply for an MSc Speech and Language Therapy, sometimes I think about doing something like biology, which would help me and be something completely different. I don't have the time or money though, so I'll probably just redo GCSEs and do maybe a diploma or A-levels in science to help me.