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Odd/Useless/Jobless Degrees?

I was reading in the newspaper, i think it was The Times, that there are useless degrees and then in The Times' fashion went on to list the never ending problems of our education system etc.
and then i began thinking about the number of degrees i see on UCAS

i've seen many courses that i just cannot think of:
1. Why people would take it (apart from enjoyment/their hobby)
2. The jobs people would get from doing them
3. Why such degrees exist

I personally have no met anyone with a degree in, for example: 'Dairy Farm management'

Now, i don't want to get shouted at for anything here, because it is just my opinion and sorry if i offend anyone who wants to become a qualified 'pupet maker'
but i just listed a few of those degrees that you can get which i truly think are 'useless' (see below)

If there is anyone on TSR taking these 'weird'/'wonderful' degrees or anyone that can answer my 3 questions about these degrees then please enlighten me!

I only copied/pasted a few because there are too many to list them all:

BA Puppet-Making at Staffordshire University
BA Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge University
BA Turkish with Islamic Art Oxford University
BA Golf Management at Several universities
BA Ancient Near Eastern Studies at SOAS and Oxford University
BA North East Studies at Sunderland University

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Reply 1

QuantumTheory

Dairy farm management is useful if you want to run a dairy farm, and if you know you want to run a golf course; or perhaps you're being trained to, then I can assure you a gold management degree would be most helpful.

Also, a lot of these might be taken by older people, or people who wish for a career in local museums or something (like North East Studies)

And three of those degrees, I'm sure, involve learning a language, which is a really important skill.
Everyone's different, let's not judge and love the world the way it is :biggrin:

Reply 2

inksplodge

Some people use a degree as exactly that - a degree. There are loads of jobs that don't necessarily require specific subjects. I don't think any degree is useless *shrugs*

Reply 3

neomilan

oh no, i'm not saying they're useless, i was just wondering why people chose to take degrees with no actual lead anywhere, i understand what you meant about older people and local museums etc. that makes sense!

Reply 4

Lampshade

BA in Bed Selling at the University of High Wycombe?

Reply 5

la fille danse

The original purpose of higher education was not to gain employment, believe it or not.

Reply 6

TheBrightShadow

golf managment is usually aimed at people who want to be golf professionals, so they get help with golf whilst 'studying something at least'
and who cares about what you study at oxbridge!

Reply 7

cpj1987

la fille danse

The original purpose of higher education was not to gain employment, believe it or not.

And those degrees are suitable for niche careers.

Reply 8

River85

neomilan

1. Why people would take it (apart from enjoyment/their hobby)

Maybe that's enough?

neomilan

I personally have no met anyone with a degree in, for example: 'Dairy Farm management'

Every single person you've met in your life. Did you know whether or not they were all graduates and, if so, what they studied. I don't think so.

But maybe the reason why you haven't met anyone who does have a degree in that subject is because only a small number of people have one? 58 million people in this country. Also, perhaps you don't go to farms much.

neomilan

BA Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge University

neomilan

BA Ancient Near Eastern Studies at SOAS and Oxford University

Taught at universities for a couple of hundred years, at last. "Orientalists" are hardly anything new. I would love to study Anicent Near Eastern Studies at Oxford, actually.

All degrees (even those two) offer transferable skills that are relevant to the workplace. There will also be some people who'll be going into those (or similar) areas as a career and will therefore directly use that knowledge.

Not everyone goes to university just so they can get a good job at the end. It isn't . Some are passionate about a subject and would like to study it an a higher level, with people who also share their interest. Some like the challenge also. There are many reasons.

neomilan

BA North East Studies at Sunderland University

Nowt wrong with that. Fascinating heritage and history. From Roman occupation, Viking invasion, one of the cradles of Christianity in this country, leading Anglo-Saxon scholarship, violent and bloody battles, border reivers, industrial powerhouse, industrial decline and then the present day region that is re-inventing itself as a centre for science, arts and tourism. From what I can remember the degree only focuses on the 1800s onwards (which is disappointing).

A degree that may appeal to the older student, maybe people who have retired and have a passion for local history. They'd like to take this further and also have the challenge (usually funding themselves).

For those who are in their late teens, twenties or thirites and are looking to enter the world of work then this degree isn't completely useless. I think it has close links with OneNorthEast (the regional development agency) as well as local authorities and other major regional bodies. It is designed to prepare students for a career in the region's booming tourism and cultural sector.

Many will not agree with me here (and let me make it clear, I'm not saying everyone is suited to higher education) but I think any degree only enhances your employment prospects. Providing you still put in the work in, get the good honours, spend your time doing constructive things and get work experience and contacts. If you spend your time at the student union, coming away with a third and a three year hangover, well, that's another matter.

Reply 9

la fille danse

cpj1987

And those degrees are suitable for niche careers.

And for general ones which aren't specific to any subject.

philosophy

la fille danse

And for general ones which aren't specific to any subject.

Reply 12

Revolution is my Name

no degree form Oxbridge is ever going to be useless, because they'll always be someone willing to hire you.
this is useless though
http://search.ucas.co.uk/cgi-bin/hsrun/search/search/StateId/DP3ldwu0xKoKm2Bbbvg2ngqmCkzTC-U27k/HAHTpage/search.HsDetails.run?n=944711

Reply 13

akj08

Wine studies...sure it exists but can't remember where :p:

Reply 14

OhNO!

how is dairy farm management useless or jobless? it results in a job managing dairy farms, which is very useful if you're in need of a manager for your dairy farm.

english lit is pretty useless, I suppose, according to your criteria. I think saying that is sort of missing the point of academic study, though.

Reply 15

Jelkin

The academic ones (e.g. ASNaC at Cambridge) are just as useful as English, History, etc. They show you are intelligent. I don't understand why you would list these ones, frankly. Besides, I think ASNaC sounds great and have been considering applying for a masters in it (depending on my undergrad results). I did Old Norse last year and this year I'm learning Old English and I find them fascinating and really enjoy the literature. So what is it that you don't understand about these?

Reply 16

hobnob

QuantumTheory

Surely that would be even more useful for jobs in the finance sector, though? :wink:

Reply 17

Turdburger

Wine studies...sure it exists but can't remember where

Well it sounds like it would be good fun anyway

Reply 18

Jim-ie

I'm not doing a degree for a job, I'm doing it for an education and to better myself. I do politics, there are jobs in it and some I'd be interested in but its hardly going to have employers fapping.

Unless you're doing something that opens trades to you like electrioning then you'll find most degrees, especially academic ones, dont lead directly to jobs unless you know people. If I wanted a job (read: financial security) right after university I'd have done business management, computer science or a vocational course that goes right into a job.

No such thing as a useless degree.

Reply 19

JocastaJackal

Some of the degrees on that list sound interesting (like puppet making, Turkish with Islamic Art etc), but they seem like something you'd really have to be passionate about to pay £9000~ for. Still, they seem to be in demand by someone or the courses wouldn't even be available.

Besides, if we all did subjects like History, English, Biology, Physics and whatever else, where would be the diversity in society's knowledge?

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