What is the most pointless degree to do ?
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Even the softest degrees have signalling effect - so if you have a first in Classics, you know that there are very few jobs out there requiring you to be able to read Greek. But it signals that you're a very clever person.
The ropey degrees with no real application like BSc Business and BSc Criminology - they still have status as "a degree" and will open up whole avenues because you're "a graduate".
In this respect, the most pointless degrees I would say are those that you pay for, have no signalling effect, and critically have no application outside of the specific. For this, I would say the absolute worst offender is the Policing degree that a candidate acquires privately rather than through degree apprenticeship or credit for prior learning.
These degrees are only really in furtherance of a career in policing - but do not guarantee you a place at a training school - and confer no benefit whatsoever in the recruitment process. They are almost exclusively at lower tier universities and have no application outside policing. Worse still, the same degree can be obtained on a paid-for basis.
The ropey degrees with no real application like BSc Business and BSc Criminology - they still have status as "a degree" and will open up whole avenues because you're "a graduate".
In this respect, the most pointless degrees I would say are those that you pay for, have no signalling effect, and critically have no application outside of the specific. For this, I would say the absolute worst offender is the Policing degree that a candidate acquires privately rather than through degree apprenticeship or credit for prior learning.
These degrees are only really in furtherance of a career in policing - but do not guarantee you a place at a training school - and confer no benefit whatsoever in the recruitment process. They are almost exclusively at lower tier universities and have no application outside policing. Worse still, the same degree can be obtained on a paid-for basis.
i studied compsci and basically everything taught is available for little or no money elsewhere; udemy, codecademy, youtube. its all there
Any degree can be pointless if it's not utilised
Original post by Mesopotamian.
More bizarre are the people who’d chuck thousands of pounds on these courses 
Quite a few english unis have lucrative partnership arrangements with educational consultants & public relations agencies and all of them can be very economical with the truth or downright dishonest in relation to their stats and claims.
Besides stuff like gender studies, I don’t think any degree is useless. The problem is that there are no jobs available for lots of degrees and the second problem is that lots of low ranked universities teach a lot of things like biology, sociology and whatever else but theyre overpopulating the graduate market. That’s why the govt want people with CCC and above with decent GCSEs to go to uni, any lower than that then you shouldn’t be going and should be doing stuff like apprenticeships.
Original post by londonmyst
Quite a few english unis have lucrative partnership arrangements with educational consultants & public relations agencies and all of them can be very economical with the truth or downright dishonest in relation to their stats and claims.
I can imagine! It’s not unheard of for someone to apply to a degree only to find out, once having started said degree that it’s completely different to what they expected due to a misleading degree title (and the information provided on the website did little to clarify expectations).
Original post by Bronfenbrennerzy
Classics
Not at all if you want to teach Class Civ, or work in a museum for example.
Original post by Little pecker
All the social sciences
Even economics, languages, English and law?
Original post by Flxmz
Sociology, business studies, biology, greek anthology, gender studies and languages (e.g. Spanish or French) I can’t believe people actually study a language degree…
Imma back out then...
Original post by Flxmz
Sociology, business studies, biology, greek anthology, gender studies and languages (e.g. Spanish or French) I can’t believe people actually study a language degree…
Ah yes, because heaven forbid someone should want to start their own business, become a vet or doctor, or work abroad...
Original post by Honey57
Besides stuff like gender studies, I don’t think any degree is useless. The problem is that there are no jobs available for lots of degrees and the second problem is that lots of low ranked universities teach a lot of things like biology, sociology and whatever else but theyre overpopulating the graduate market. That’s why the govt want people with CCC and above with decent GCSEs to go to uni, any lower than that then you shouldn’t be going and should be doing stuff like apprenticeships.
Should be a bit higher than CCC, no? I mean, I don't know what the average grades actually are across the UK, but CCC doesn't seem high enough, and a lot of people would achieve that?
Fine art, photography, Fashion, Food, psychology if not doing a masters in it, the degrees that London has listed, beauty degrees, horticulture, music, Egyptology, flim studies, could argue languages if you can already speak the language. Imo these degrees should be apprenticeship only and not university degrees (bar phycology, Egyptology and languages).
A degree is what to make it out to be though, like there's no point in having a Maths degree if you're not going to do anything with it and to just do the degree on the basis of it being "versatile" or "respected" or because your parents want you to do the degree (this happens for medical degrees, engineering and law especially) better off doing say a Sociology degree, being able to use it well thus getting a good job off the back of it.
Do whatever degree you want but I do think that there are some degrees where I'm thinking why is this being offered at university. Not going to deter someone from doing any degree.
A degree is what to make it out to be though, like there's no point in having a Maths degree if you're not going to do anything with it and to just do the degree on the basis of it being "versatile" or "respected" or because your parents want you to do the degree (this happens for medical degrees, engineering and law especially) better off doing say a Sociology degree, being able to use it well thus getting a good job off the back of it.
Do whatever degree you want but I do think that there are some degrees where I'm thinking why is this being offered at university. Not going to deter someone from doing any degree.
Original post by econhelp525
Should be a bit higher than CCC, no? I mean, I don't know what the average grades actually are across the UK, but CCC doesn't seem high enough, and a lot of people would achieve that?
You’re right, I was just thinking CCC would be the minimal. I just didn’t want to throw wrong info out there.
Original post by Talkative Toad
Fine art, photography, Fashion, Food, psychology if not doing a masters in it, the degrees that London has listed, beauty degrees, horticulture, music, Egyptology, flim studies, could argue languages if you can already speak the language. Imo these degrees should be apprenticeship only and not university degrees (bar phycology, Egyptology and languages).
A degree is what to make it out to be though, like there's no point in having a Maths degree if you're not going to do anything with it and to just do the degree on the basis of it being "versatile" or "respected" or because your parents want you to do the degree (this happens for medical degrees, engineering and law especially) better off doing say a Sociology degree, being able to use it well thus getting a good job off the back of it.
Do whatever degree you want but I do think that there are some degrees where I'm thinking why is this being offered at university. Not going to deter someone from doing any degree.
A degree is what to make it out to be though, like there's no point in having a Maths degree if you're not going to do anything with it and to just do the degree on the basis of it being "versatile" or "respected" or because your parents want you to do the degree (this happens for medical degrees, engineering and law especially) better off doing say a Sociology degree, being able to use it well thus getting a good job off the back of it.
Do whatever degree you want but I do think that there are some degrees where I'm thinking why is this being offered at university. Not going to deter someone from doing any degree.
As someone who did Egyptology, it's definitely not a pointless degree. It has a lot of overlap with History and Classics and Middle Eastern Studies, and no one calls those pointless.
Original post by gjd800
Or perhaps even Kelvin
Uhm, no, I have a collection of men called Kevin who walk into rooms before I do and tell me "Oh, it's a bit fresh in here!" so I know to wear a jumper. Who's this Kelvin guy?
Original post by CatInTheCorner
Uhm, no, I have a collection of men called Kevin who walk into rooms before I do and tell me "Oh, it's a bit fresh in here!" so I know to wear a jumper. Who's this Kelvin guy?
Then Kevins
Original post by Sandtrooper
As someone who did Egyptology, it's definitely not a pointless degree. It has a lot of overlap with History and Classics and Middle Eastern Studies, and no one calls those pointless.
Sadly several people in this thread have referred to classics as a pointless degree already
Then again these are the same people who have referred to fire engineering as a useless degree so, I think it's a case of people who have never lived life outside of school making judgements based on socially ingrained notions of what is currently "useful" or "prestigious". I worked with a loooot of fire engineers in my last job and let me tell you, they were definitely necessary even just for basic maintenance of the fire alarm systems (which are more than a little complicated in large scale situations like office buildings or academic environments), much less actually planning and designing fireproofing systems, which is evidently critical to further development of housing in the UK (cf. the Grenfell fire...).
Just kids making up stuff on the internet with no basis in reality...
Original post by Gilmore115
Just curious cheers lol
The ones which don't excite and interest you
Original post by Sandtrooper
As someone who did Egyptology, it's definitely not a pointless degree. It has a lot of overlap with History and Classics and Middle Eastern Studies, and no one calls those pointless.
Fair enough as I said I a degree is what you make it out to be as I said and I'm not going to deter someone from doing a certain degree.
Original post by artful_lounger
Sadly several people in this thread have referred to classics as a pointless degree already
Then again these are the same people who have referred to fire engineering as a useless degree so, I think it's a case of people who have never lived life outside of school making judgements based on socially ingrained notions of what is currently "useful" or "prestigious". I worked with a loooot of fire engineers in my last job and let me tell you, they were definitely necessary even just for basic maintenance of the fire alarm systems (which are more than a little complicated in large scale situations like office buildings or academic environments), much less actually planning and designing fireproofing systems, which is evidently critical to further development of housing in the UK (cf. the Grenfell fire...).
Just kids making up stuff on the internet with no basis in reality...
Then again these are the same people who have referred to fire engineering as a useless degree so, I think it's a case of people who have never lived life outside of school making judgements based on socially ingrained notions of what is currently "useful" or "prestigious". I worked with a loooot of fire engineers in my last job and let me tell you, they were definitely necessary even just for basic maintenance of the fire alarm systems (which are more than a little complicated in large scale situations like office buildings or academic environments), much less actually planning and designing fireproofing systems, which is evidently critical to further development of housing in the UK (cf. the Grenfell fire...).
Just kids making up stuff on the internet with no basis in reality...
Quite. I used to work on a chemical plant and you can imagine the fire safety measures designed and implemented in a place like that.
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