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What job prospects/how useful is a degree in HSPS from Cambridge?

Original post by BridgeApplicant1

A degree from Cambridge is a highly respected academic degree and is useful for a range of graduate entry occupations where the ability to read and analyse data and documents, produce reports, present to colleagues or formulate plans and responses are essential skills.
There are very few graduate jobs which have directly vocational links such as medicine or law. Even financial jobs where Economics or Maths degrees are highly valued are still often open to History or English graduates who are numerically competent at roughly A-level standard.

So HSPS would be good for business, management, politics, planning, international and charitable agencies, journalism, advertising, pr, hr and so on.

Reply 2

username1865079

Original post by BridgeApplicant1

I concur with what @Colman said, but I also want to stress that you shouldn't choose to apply to Cambridge or a course there primarily on the basis of supposedly good job prospect. Choose it only if you're genuinely passionate about the subject. Any course at Cambridge is very intense and demanding, unless you genuinely love and enjoy the subject, your life will be miserable.

Reply 3

210555

Original post by vincrows

Well said. Whilst a degree from any top uni will obviously help, when we finally graduate employers will want to see more on a CV! Love your subject, enjoy uni but also look to the future! Two candidates going for a graduate position, one with a 2:2 from a top uni. The other with a 2:1 from a less prestigious uni but relevant industry experience ( maybe internship), other non academic interests which show "softer" employability skills. That would be a tough decision. Vincrows gives wise advice. No top uni degree can guarantee a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,

Reply 4

Colmans

Original post by 210555

I agree with this but in fairness it wasn't the question the OP was asking.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 5

210555

Original post by Colmans

I agree with this but in fairness it wasn't the question the OP was asking.

Posted from TSR Mobile

.????

Reply 6

alcibiade

Original post by vincrows

I completely agree. (TSR won't let me "like" what you say, because I have apparently done it too often.)

Reply 7

Colmans

Original post by 210555

.????

The OP never asked if having an HSPS Cambridge degree was the be all and end all or if there was a pot of gold at the end of it. He never indicated that he proposed to choose HSPS or Cambridge purely on the basis on whether the job prospects were good. He never indicated that he intended to rely purely on the degree and ditch all his other interests or avoid work experience or interpersonal skills.

If you come from a family without much experience of going to University it is a perfectly valid question whether a non-vocational subject has decent job prospects and not everybody is in a position to ignore that. So for him knowing that HSPS and other "generic degrees" have good prospects may encourage him to read the subject he is really interested in rather than feeling obliged or pressurised by family to go down a vocational route.

My reply was to encourage him to realise that most degrees train you in a variety of skills that are useful. Seeking a good degree from a good university does not prevent you from also getting work experience and having other interests or imply that you think these things are irrelevant.
As a Cambridge graduate in my second job I can say that the degree you got becomes less important with time, but a good grade from a good University is never a disadvantage.

Reply 8

210555

Hmm

Original post by Colmans

Hmm very defensive . I can assure you that. I come from a family of state educated parents who just happen to have studied higher level professional qualifications outside the traditional uni experience and they are doing fine thanks. The OP in my opinion was asking about the employability prospects of a degree and I was merely trying to point out that employers are in a position to seek a multitude of skills. I will be the first in my family to attend full time university. I do not take it for granted but know that in life a degree from a Prestigious uni guarantees nothing in the wider world. I was merely trying to give realistic advice. Of course love your subject as I do mine, just understand the bigger picture!