Does anyone else feel that their degrees have been a waste of time?

Pretty much self explanatory tbh. Wasted three years (two and a half at present) of my life on this stupid degree which I have utterly hated.

what degree is it if you don't mind me asking?

Film related

Yes, it's a big waste of time, but not just for film related courses but literally for every other course. All universities are the same. They just take thousands of your money and you don't learn anything. The reason you don't learn anything is because it's all just theory even for more practical courses like engineering. You are being shoved lots of pointless maths equations down your throat even if it's not at all related to what you would do for that specific job. That's the reason why I left uni slightly early. It's a huge waste of time unless you do some internships or if you volunteer but not everyone can do that anyway. And if you don't get a 2:1 degree then it's even more of a waste because half of these grad jobs are looking for graduates with 2:1 degrees or higher meaning that your options are limited with a 2:2 or less.

But I talked to people who got first class degrees at university and even they admitted that they haven't learned anything. So if you get a first class degree and you're not good at anything then what is even the point of uni? Literally, the only reason why you might go to uni is just so that you could get a certificate which shows that you're somewhat 'smart' although that's an entirely different subject of discussion. I personally think that these people are just good at passing exams and I wouldn't call them bright or smart. There are lots of people who leave uni with good grades and then go into the workplace and don't know how to do anything. Sad.

That is honestly a big fear of mine. I applied for modern languages originally with a deferred offer- I'm meant to start in September but I really am starting to have second thoughts. I just don't think the debt is justified for the type of jobs I could go into after my degree, if I did end up going. Then again I wouldn't want to miss out on the uni experience just to avoid debt. I did consider apprenticeships but I genuinely don't know what sort of apprenticeship would be best suited for me so I'm at a loss. Any advice would be appreciated.

I think that it's okay to go if you want to experience university life but don't expect it to be easy to get a job afterwards. There are lots of people who go to university for social life and general uni experience rather than career prospects. I think that it's okay to do that and lots of people do it because university is a place where you will mingle with a lot of young people and it's a chance to make friends and enjoy yourself. But as I said, the reality will hit when you leave uni and become serious about getting a job because the job market is terrible. All graduate jobs are competitive and you may need to put in a lot of time filling job applications and attending interviews etc.

If you want to do an apprenticeship then you need to know what jobs you want to do first because apprenticeships will be specific to the type of job that you would be doing and generally there are less apprenticeships so there aren't that many apprenticeships to choose from. And, ideally, if you can, do a degree apprenticeship because you will get a university equivalent qualification and work experience. You would be way ahead other graduates. The problem is for you to figure out what you want your degree apprenticeship to be in and what job you would like to do because apprenticeships are more specific and are specifically targeted for the role that you'd be doing.

If you could go back in time what degree would you have done instead?

Yes, it's a big waste of time, but not just for film related courses but literally for every other course. All universities are the same. They just take thousands of your money and you don't learn anything. The reason you don't learn anything is because it's all just theory even for more practical courses like engineering. You are being shoved lots of pointless maths equations down your throat even if it's not at all related to what you would do for that specific job. That's the reason why I left uni slightly early. It's a huge waste of time unless you do some internships or if you volunteer but not everyone can do that anyway. And if you don't get a 2:1 degree then it's even more of a waste because half of these grad jobs are looking for graduates with 2:1 degrees or higher meaning that your options are limited with a 2:2 or less.

But I talked to people who got first class degrees at university and even they admitted that they haven't learned anything. So if you get a first class degree and you're not good at anything then what is even the point of uni? Literally, the only reason why you might go to uni is just so that you could get a certificate which shows that you're somewhat 'smart' although that's an entirely different subject of discussion. I personally think that these people are just good at passing exams and I wouldn't call them bright or smart. There are lots of people who leave uni with good grades and then go into the workplace and don't know how to do anything. Sad.

Pretty much self explanatory tbh. Wasted three years (two and a half at present) of my life on this stupid degree which I have utterly hated.

Definitely not a waste of time but a waste of a degree. I did Biology and got a 2:1. I loved the subject and the university. I was offered a PhD studentship fully funded but I stupidly declined it a week before I was meant to start.
I got too comfortable with life outside university, I got too comfortable with having money in my pocket for once.

Now I regret every day since I declined that PhD offer. I was an under achiever at school and never took school seriously. My school English teacher described me as the class clown. I got no GCSEs. But I went to college for retakes a year later and got straight Bs and good A levels too! I was delighted to get into university and end up with a 2:1!

Too much time has probably passed since I got my degree meaning it’s worthless and I probably don’t have a hope in hells chance of ever getting back into my subject and doing any kind of related postgraduate degree.

Too much time has probably passed since I got my degree meaning it’s worthless and I probably don’t have a hope in hells chance of ever getting back into my subject and doing any kind of related postgraduate degree.

Depends on why you need it. I initially thought I wanted to be a teacher when I left school. Teachers need degrees so I did a languages degree. I even applied for teacher training but quit half way through the year as I realised it wasn't for me. I now work in the civil service and have climbed from the bottom up to a senior grade. Many people in the CS don't have degrees, so yeah, considering I changed my plans, it was a waste of time. But it wasn't for what I wanted to do at the time. My brother is a radiographer which required him to have a degree. Doctors, vets and lawyers all need degrees, so no, degrees are not a waste of time if you need them for a certain career path.

I don't need it for my career path so it's a waste of time lol

Seems like you made a stupid choice to apply for that degree and then spend all that time studying instead of starting a job