Stop doing terrible degrees!

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I'm pretty sure you implied you wanted to change to a straight Chinese degree completely, and that was only 4 weeks ago. I wonder what changed your mind so drastically about arts degrees to push you to make such a bold post.

Probably the same brainwashing that lead to this post.

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Reply 101

username2041985

If we didn't have 'bad' degrees that you have listed I'm pretty sure for the 'good' degree's there would be too many applicants applying for it. And Law...i know a friend who graduated with a high 2.1 and is working as a sales assistant. Biology shouldn't be on the bad list. Also, not all degree's are bad :colonhash:

teacher's of all subjects are needed due to teacher attrition. This includes Art teachers, Drama and even English.

Reply 102

username1022139

Original post by tanyapotter

I'm going make an assumption - and that assumption is that you disagree with my post because you disagree with me as oppose to disagreeing with my post because you disagree with its content. You're going to study engineering at Imperial because you want to have a comfortable life and work in an industry which is in high demand. If you like engineering because you're fascinated by it, then fine; but I bet the biggest factor behind your decision was job opportunity and potential income.

I've always had a passion for history, but I would never do a history degree because it will lead me nowhere. The compromise I made when choosing my degree was to do a joint honours involving both economics and a language.

Sent from phone.

Reply 103

I like chicken

Degrees shouldn't be labelled as bad, it shows commitment to further study which in my eyes is impressive on its own, its certainly better than sitting on your arse at home doing nothing. People should worry about themselves and their lives ahead of them instead of criticising the further study choices of other people. As long as you come out of it with the mindset of actually working and contributing to society. Then there is seriously no need to moan. Besides it's not necessarily true that the degree you do will mean you will most definitely work in that field.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 104

Jee1

Just got myself an apprenticeship in Engineering I should earn over 25k once I qualify proves that you don't need a degree

Reply 105

username738914

Original post by jake4198

Lol econ would lead you to the same place history would for the most part.

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Reply 106

Claire461

Original post by Jee1

Just got myself an apprenticeship in Engineering I should earn over 25k once I qualify proves that you don't need a degree

Well done, you!

Reply 107

Jjj90

I think the problem is young people feeling that they need to go to University straight after college, I actually don't think this should be the norm at all. It would be much more prudent to have at least a year after college in employment, I think this can hugely help people understand quite what sort of career they may want to pursue. Obviously some people have a clear idea of what they want to do in life, in this case there is absolutely no such thing as a terrible degree; if you want to become a writer, a journalist, perhaps an editor, then an "English degree from London Met" would be a quite reasonable choice.

The problem is when people do an "English degree from London Met" without any clue as to what they want to do with it. So they leave university with their degree, end up in admin or retail and because they already have a degree they are pretty much eliminated from going back to university and taking a degree in a subject that would help them towards their genuine career goals. In other words if you do an English degree, and end up with some crappy £15k job, and then a few year later think "hmm, I would really like to be a computer engineer", well there's a fair chance that your decision to take a degree in English has directly ruined your chances of pursuing that career, and that your often rash and arbitrary decision to study English has done more damage than good.

So my point is this; any degree can be hugely useful, but if you lunge into a degree without any semblance of a clue as to what you may want to do with it, that is a 'terrible degree', not the course itself, but the course in the context of your career.

Reply 108

Hamo2509

Surely you should praise the people doing 'bad' degrees as these popular courses often cross-subsidise the 'good' degrees you're so enamoured by.

Reply 109

999tigger

Original post by jake4198

I've always had a passion for history, but I would never do a history degree because it will lead me nowhere. The compromise I made when choosing my degree was to do a joint honours involving both economics and a language.

Sent from phone.

History is a pretty well respected degree. It matters more what class you get and where you studied. Subject matter less so..

Reply 110

frostfly

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".

Yes, I absolutely agree. I only learned recently that it's not about doing a degree you have passion for - it's about doing one that can secure you a decent and job. And I'm glad I realised this in time before applying for a degree.

Thanks for sharing the video, Jake. :smile:

Reply 111

Jjj90

Original post by jake4198

Good
- Engineering
- Medicine
- Dentistry
- Veterinary Science
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Economics
- Accounting
- Nursing
- Computer Science
- Law

Bad
- English
- History
- Gender Studies
- Media Studies
- Cultural Studies
- Biology
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Languages
- Theology
- Sport Science
- Business
- Design

So let me make up an example. I want to be a sports scientist, that is my dream! Ever since I was a child I wanted to be a sports scientist, I love the whole idea of it. In that case would a degree in Law still be "good" and a degree in sports science still be "bad"? Your argument is petulant, puerile and illogical.

Reply 112

Jjj90

Original post by Jee1

Just got myself an apprenticeship in Engineering I should earn over 25k once I qualify proves that you don't need a degree

If you want to be an engineer, then you have a point, some people don't want to be an engineer, you haven't 'proven' anything.

Why do you care?

I think it's harsh to say that, many people are simply not motivated/ intelligent enough to do the top degrees. You make it sound they chose to do a lower-end degree instead of a top one.

Reply 115

OGGUS

I guess the next year's year 13 should be taught this I guess.

Reply 116

Jee1

Original post by Jjj90

If you want to be an engineer, then you have a point, some people don't want to be an engineer, you haven't 'proven' anything.

At least I know I could specialize in something worthwhile earlier on than spending 3 years studying women studies and then finding myself at Mcdonalds. We have a skills shortage in this country and telling young people to do what they are passionate about whilst at the same time putting them on debt isn't working. Anyway back to my point I think it's a smart move for me to do my apprenticeship in Engineering whilst at the same time getting paid to study and learn

Reply 117

Jjj90

Original post by jake4198

I've always had a passion for history, but I would never do a history degree because it will lead me nowhere.

Sent from phone.

It will lead to nowhere unless you want to be a history teacher, a history lecturer, work in museums, in archaeology, in archives, in journalism, in publishing, if you want to write about history, if you want to be an author etc etc etc. Saying "it won't lead anywhere" is entirely dependent on what your career goals are!

Reply 118

Jjj90

Original post by Jee1

Yes, but if someone has identified the way in which Women's Studies can benefit their career then it is a fair choice to make. Stop making this about specific courses, it is no more silly to do a degree in Women's Studies than in Astrophysics or Quantum Mechanics if you want to be an interior designer!