Do you really need a degree?

[k27]

I guess this all depends on the type of career you want but the way I was brought up was with a huge emphasis on going to university and getting a degree.

So I did. I have a degree and now I have a masters. I also have work experience relevant to the field I want to be in.

But I can't find a job. I see people / friends who didn't go to uni and it doesn't seem to have stopped them from achieving in their careers.

I think the emphasis should be on relevant work experience and not on spending 3 + years getting into debt and most likely coming out with the standard 2.1.

I just question whether you need a degree and whether those jobs which state you must have a degree are justified in saying that?

 

[TNGL]

What's your degree in?
Also, from what I can gather, having a degree can help with getting your foot on the ladder for some careers and it will also help with career progression. But that's not from experience, that's just what I've picked up on from reading things on here and elsewhere.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

can you become a teacher or doctor without having a degree? No.

I believe that answers your question.

I personally don't have a degree and I'm doing pretty well. My job didn't list it as a requirement though, just a preference.

 

[TheCenturion]

I guess this all depends on the type of career you want

This. Degree is important for a doctor for example. Not so much for a professional boxer.

 

[k27]

My degree was in Social Policy (interesting but not a lot of help when looking for a job) and I have a Psychology MSc. Ideally would like to be a psychologist and have work experience working with people with mental health illnesses and working with offenders and rehabilitation.

But...especially in regards to psychology .... how much of it is just common sense and being good with people?

 

[krooton]

Depends.

Youngest age of the group is 27, oldest is 34.
2 of my close friends have degrees. (Pharmacology and unknown)
1 close friend has a PhD in microbiology.
My gf has a degree in psychology.
Another close friend, my brother, and I have no degree.

Only one of my friends with a degree earns more than the 3 of us that do not.

 

[Addicted]

My degree was in Social Policy (interesting but not a lot of help when looking for a job) and I have a Psychology MSc. Ideally would like to be a psychologist and have work experience working with people with mental health illnesses and working with offenders and rehabilitation.

But...especially in regards to psychology .... how much of it is just common sense and being good with people?

Honestly I think you should know this answer if you have done a Masters in psychology, it does beg the question of did you learn anything while doing it?

 

[k27]

do you really need a degree to become a teacher?

and in regards to being a doctor, I agree with that one. But now even nurses have to have all these qualifications whereas there was a time they could learn on the job. Isn't hands on experience more valuable than sitting in a lecture ?

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

I guess this all depends on the type of career you want

Never has an OP's thread been answered so succinctly and so quickly by the OP himself.

 

[Addicted]

do you really need a degree to become a teacher?

and in regards to being a doctor, I agree with that one. But now even nurses have to have all these qualifications whereas there was a time they could learn on the job. Isn't hands on experience more valuable than sitting in a lecture ?

Not if you're in a situation and haven't been taught how to diffuse that situation, experience and learning go hand-in-hand.

And in terms of your teacher comment, how would you expect to teach higher education or even further education without inside-out knowledge of that area already?

 

[k27]

I learnt more working directly with people with mental health illnesses than have ever done by sitting in a lecture

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

I learnt more working directly with people with mental health illnesses than have ever done by sitting in a lecture

Are your peers now employed or are they also looking for work?

 

[krooton]

I learnt more working directly with people with mental health illnesses than have ever done by sitting in a lecture

My gf says the same, 1 year in an actual job taught her more than her entire degree.

 

[Maccapacca]

I'm going to say yes especially in this economic climate, when the chop comes one of the boxes on the matrix is qualifications.

 

[k27]

Are your peers now employed or are they also looking for work?

if employed they are not in a career they want to be in !

 

[k27]

My gf says the same, 1 year in an actual job taught her more than her entire degree.

exactly, but I feel the emphasis is more on going to university than getting work experience

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

if employed they are not in a career they want to be in !

Doesn't this indicate a poor Degree (and Masters) choice rather than the fact that all Degrees or Masters are unnecessary?

 

[Disco Boy]

It depends on what you want to do.

Also, not all degrees are made equal. The emphasis for many people has been on getting "a degree" (thanks New Labour). This is really unhelpful for everyone concerned.

Call me elitist if you will. But I believe that not everyone should be able to get a degree, it should be left to those who are able to get a good degree in a useful subject.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

I cannot wait for D.P. to turn up.

 

[postbox]

do you really need a degree to become a teacher?

and in regards to being a doctor, I agree with that one. But now even nurses have to have all these qualifications whereas there was a time they could learn on the job. Isn't hands on experience more valuable than sitting in a lecture ?[/QUOTE]

Erm...a huge part of their degree is being a student nurse, in a hospital, with real patients.