Do you really need a degree?

I have read for an economics degree the last three years and am likely to walk away with a DipHe or Bsc (Ord) after a disastrous year. Does it bother me? Not really. It has motivated me to work harder in fact. Thus I am off to college in September to start my City and Guilds plumbing and a Level 2 AAT course. What annoys me is that it will take longer for me to get to where I want to go. I will be 25/26 by the time I am actually earning a living really and am fully qualified. A degree isn't needed to go into plumbing. Hell a level 3 NVQ is the equivalent of A level plumbing and a chartered accountant is similar to a degree on the NQF.

I wouldn't change much, apart from working harder maybe, because my experiences have made me who I am, and I quite like me :p The life experiences you get from going to university on the other hand are priceless and unquantifiable, so in that regard a degree is awesome.

All roads lead to Rome.
 
Im just qualifying as a mechanical engineer, on a very steady wage too, more then most of my close friends, took the same amount of time as a degree would and i now have some very good skills.

Degrees are good in some professions, but there are some very good careers out there that you dont have to go to university to get into.
 
I dropped out of uni to take a job as an application developer, the offers I got didn't even ask for a degree, they were more interested in my talents/experience. Then again, I had two years experience working in ecommerce before I even went to uni then an abundance of experience in lead sales roles that all probably put me in a far better position than most graduates. I've always been more work/career focused.

Infact, most people I know who went to uni, not one of them has a job in their chosen field.

Examples: One of my mates has a degree in mechanical engineering from a decent uni, he can't get a job, currently works as a driver on a **** wage. Another friend has a degree in English from a good uni, she works as a receptionist in a car showroom. People who were on the same course as me at different times, either work in bars or aren't employed.

Degrees are over inflated, I don't see the relevance anymore unless it's absolutely necessary but even then, always get your foot in the door somewhere to build experience, show initiative etc.

I don't regret dropping out, I hated the dumbed down attitude of everyone on the courses and couldn't see many people getting far - it seems the true success stories come from people who just get out there and do it for themselves.
 
shifty_uk said:
Degrees are over inflated, I don't see the relevance anymore unless it's absolutely necessary but even then, always get your foot in the door somewhere to build experience, show initiative etc.

I don't regret dropping out, I hated the dumbed down attitude of everyone on the courses and couldn't see many people getting far - it seems the true success stories come from people who just get out there and do it for themselves.
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This is true. It's because of the push to make all the ex-Polytechnics into 'full degree granting institutions', even though their quality and general teaching/research experience is FAR from University level. That really dilutes the basic worth of the 'degree' as a general qualification, so now employers have to filter by university and degree-grading more than ever. The only universities really worth going to for the pure merit of the qualification thesedays is the Russell/1994 group. I get the feeling a lot of employers will basically filter out all their applications for some basic discrimination such as this nowadays - when anyone can go to a university with 2 C 's and a D at A-Level and technically get a "degree" at some ex-plumbing college, it really confuses the whole thing.
 
Moses said:
Right, so you're now saying this applies to barristers, rather than solicitors/barristers.

I still maintain it's a roughly 50/50 split, though... that's what I've heard from people from big law firms. It'd be interesting if you could find that link re: barristers (not that I'm interested in that route!) You seem pretty sure, so link?

I know certain firms will be different - for example, I believe my uncle's firm has a load of people from a scientific background (a number of PhDs, etc), because of their extensive IP work.

FYI, an LLB isn't just three years of legal theory and leaning statutes by rote, from my experience (although it's odd to bunch legal theory in with the negative side, considering you were extolling the virtues of studying philosophy, lol).
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Jurisprudence and legal theory is not really anywhere near the level of philosophy :p Basic ethics and learning your Aquinas and Bentham is not quite on the same tier. But yes, there is an overlap... which is probably why my friends from philosophy/classics backgrounds are doing better than the Law undergrads. I'll try and have a look for the link tonight.
 
I work in a call centre and out of 10 people in my team, 7 of them have a degree. I've not got 1 and we are working in the same job. They have a big fat loan to pay back as well.
 
For some jobs and careers it is really worth it. I start an engineering degree in October hopefully and even if I was to go to an unrelated career path, it will still teach me to have a logical and mathematical mind. Which is a very valuable attribute to have.
 
kcon1 said:
I'm starting a biology degree this year and I'm really worried about whether I'll be able to get a job at the end of it:(
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With all respect you shouldn't be taking a core-academic subject if you're so worried about job prospects. There's a division, here: if you care about getting a good graduate job and salary and a BMW, go do a Management degree and something that will outwardly equip you to get a comfortable salary. You do core science subjects because you have an interest in the subject/knowledge/world and because you are interested in it. If you end up getting a good-paying job at the end, that's a bonus.

People that say with some smug satisfaction that they are doing the same job for the same salary without a degree as co-workers with a degree are rather missing the point... your co-workers have educations. Universities don't exist to make your monthly earnings higher; they are there to make you a more informed, knowledgeable, flexible and cultured person.
 
Yes as I have an engineering degree and work for a big company who treat me well.

Without my degree I wouldn't be doing this
 
InKursion said:
With all respect you shouldn't be taking a core-academic subject if you're so worried about job prospects. There's a division, here: if you care about getting a good graduate job and salary and a BMW, go do a Management degree and something that will outwardly equip you to get a comfortable salary. You do core science subjects because you have an interest in the subject/knowledge/world and because you are interested in it. If you end up getting a good-paying job at the end, that's a bonus.

People that say with some smug satisfaction that they are doing the same job for the same salary without a degree as co-workers with a degree are rather missing the point... your co-workers have educations.
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You can't just say it's all about the money for some degrees that's not true, some people might want to study a management degree just out of interest and some people might study a core science for the money. It's important to have a balance between taking a subject you enjoy and job prospects.
 
It's all relative to what people deem success to be but generally speaking the answer is no.

On an anecdotal level to my knowledge my degree has been of no use to me and just meant a 3 year delay in my career... maybe in future it will open some doors to me, we'll see.

I don't necessarily subscribe to the "1 year in work taught me more than 3 years at uni" though; I learnt more at university, but that doesn't necessarily translate into something that employers value. Essentially one could say that there isn't a direct correlation between knowledge and success, it is as much about how one is perceived by others that matters.

Finally I wouldn't dissuade people from going to uni, especially the hardworking or intellectual elite who can get a good classification from a top uni... but I'm convinced my A-levels would have got me just as far in my career.
 
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James07 said:
Im just qualifying as a mechanical engineer, on a very steady wage too, more then most of my close friends, took the same amount of time as a degree would and i now have some very good skills.

Degrees are good in some professions, but there are some very good careers out there that you dont have to go to university to get into.
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You'll be needing a degree or a way of proving you have the equivalent academic ability if you want to become a professionally registered engineer with the engineering council though, something that will be vastly easier for your mechanical engineering peers who got where they are via uni.
 
InKursion said:
With all respect you shouldn't be taking a core-academic subject if you're so worried about job prospects. There's a division, here: if you care about getting a good graduate job and salary and a BMW, go do a Management degree and something that will outwardly equip you to get a comfortable salary. You do core science subjects because you have an interest in the subject/knowledge/world and because you are interested in it. If you end up getting a good-paying job at the end, that's a bonus.

People that say with some smug satisfaction that they are doing the same job for the same salary without a degree as co-workers with a degree are rather missing the point... your co-workers have educations. Universities don't exist to make your monthly earnings higher; they are there to make you a more informed, knowledgeable, flexible and cultured person.
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I'm not too sure what I want to work as and I'm not even bothered about earning a lot. The reason I picked it because I enjoy it and I'm quite good at it.
 
RomanNose said:
You can't just say it's all about the money for some degrees that's not true, some people might want to study a management degree just out of interest and some people might study a core science for the money. It's important to have a balance between taking a subject you enjoy and job prospects.
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Being interested in management makes about as much sense as liking the taste of sand.
 
I've posted my view about degrees a few times before, it's basically this: if you do a widely respected/known degree and get a 1/2:1 then you can get onto grad schemes and probably will be doing well. If you choose a lesser known or art degree and you prove yourself in that field, again you can do well. Otherwise, you may get an edge when it comes to picking promotions etc, but I think work experience would prove more valuable.
 
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