Getting a degree... less worth by the year.

[the_brainaic]

A 1st class in Maths from Oxbridge with a year working in industry with an intreresting and relevent final year project with something extra like badminton club captain etc will really be looked highly upon.

I don't want to be nitpicky but... There's no 'Year in Industry' for Oxbridge Maths courses, and they don't have final year projects either. The Cambridge course is just a straight 3 year course with exams at the end of each year, with the final exam counting as the degree result. I don't know about Oxford maths but it's probably the same.

On the other hand, I understand that Maths was just used as a representation of an old-school 'classic' degree that is still respectable!

To put in my tuppence, I don't see the point of mickey mouse degrees, especially at the so-called 'ex-polys'. If you want a degree that will help your career then go for a subject that has a history, and that is recognised by potential employers. And do it at a repectable university. Oxbridge, London (KCL, UCL, LSE, Imperial), Bristol, Durham, Warwick, etc. I'm afraid that Southampton Solent doesn't count as a respectable university, neither does Lincoln. If you're going to one of those universities that noones ever heard of, then the employer probably won't have heard of it either. Hence, no job offer.

 

[rotter023]

A friend who graduated in June with a 2.1 in Chemical Engineering has recently started working as a plant manager for Shell, earning £31k per year plus bonus. Another friend who received their PhD in Chemical Engineering last year is now working as a financial analyst for an investment bank, earning £40k plus bonuses. It's not an entirely bad path to choose.

Straight out of uni into a plant MANAGERS job, sounds fishy!

 

[NaNd0!]

Straight out of uni into a plant MANAGERS job, sounds fishy!

thats probably because its a case of 'not what they now... but WHO they know"

 

[NaNd0!]

Simple solution... do a degree at DECENT university, and you won't struggle....

IMO there should only be around 30 univerisities in the country... non of these "ex-poly's"

David

Increasingly.. what university you studied it isnt carrying as much weight as it should. I can count a few individuals who i went to school with... 2 of which have first class honours degrees from 'DECENT universities' who are struggling to find well paid jobs!!

As i've just posted... the high paid jobs go to those who have inside contacts or those who are just by chance extremly lucky!

 

[Arcade Fire]

Straight out of uni into a plant MANAGERS job, sounds fishy!

thats probably because its a case of 'not what they now... but WHO they know"

Or perhaps it's a case of having an excellent degree from an excellent university, being knowledgeable and interested in the field, very quick to learn and having an incredible ability to synthesise and digest information?

The guy in question did an internship with Shell the summer previous to graduating, so he already had a foot in the door - but then again, he only got that internship by already being a very impressive candidate.

Given all that, I'll thank you not to jump to hasty and ignorant conclusions about my friends, if that's okay with you.

P.S. "Plant manager" doesn't mean that he oversees an entire plant - rather that he manages a specific area of one of their plants. His exact job title doesn't immediately spring to mind.

 

[Arcade Fire]

As i've just posted... the high paid jobs go to those who have inside contacts or those who are just by chance extremly lucky!

I'll be sure to let all of my friends with first and upper second degrees from great universities, who are now earning £30k+ straight out of uni, know that they were just extremely lucky.

 

[Dave]

Forgive my ignorance (pre-google) but what sort of jobs does chemical engineering lead to?

If you don't go straight into an engineering job (be it chemical process engineer or just site engineer) the career paths are usually down finance or marketing.

 

[Dist]

currently im studying with the OU towards a degree in ICT, itll be quite a while before i complete it but already ive looked at places like monster.co.uk just to see whats out there, and ive seen a few places that offer graduates (usualy with a 2:1 degree) great learning experiences, and these sort of things wouldnt be possible without a degree. And since im going for an area of work thats getting more and more crowded each year, its going to be very difficult to get that first job that will give me the experience i need, and the way i see it, without a degree, i would have a near impossible time trying to get into the field of work that i want.

 

[crystaline]

$35k! Good god is it that expensive in all of america? It's only 3k here for any degree at the best university.

No, it's not that expensive everywhere. For a regular 4 yr degree program you can go to a State University eg... NYU or a private one.. eg. Harvard etc..(Also there are many that are much MORE expensive than $35k.That's a good price for a private uni)

State ones are a lot cheaper and you get a lot of assistance if you live in the same state as the uni you want to go to is in.

Private Universities or Colleges are a lot more expensive and offer less in financial assistance with regards to interest free loans.
I was at Sheffield uni in England for 1.5 years and there is no comparison in terms of teaching quality. In England I felt they did not really care particularly for the individual, you could sit in lectures of 200 people and fall asleep. There was no emphasis on growth of transferable skills or real preparation for a job post uni.

I consider the classes here to be very dynamic, with a variety of requirements. I have happily given presentations to huge numbers of people in a skilled manner, something I could never have imagined being taught before.

The cost is not so bad for me.. I have a scholarship and I work a lot. I shouldn't leave with much debt, if any.. and I believe it to be very worthwhile.

 

[crystaline]

dp

 

[Hellsmk2]

The actual opportunities that my degree has given me in the workplace is zero so far. It's a complete waste of time in that respect. I'd have progressed far further in a career by getting a job instead of going to university (and many times wish I did do!).

Not once has any job I've gone for been interested in whether I have a degree suitable for the field, or even whether I have a degree.

The social aspect of my time at uni was by far the best benefit and something I wouldn't swap for anythng in the world. It gave me the opportunity to meet a whole load of similar minded people who were intelligent and interesting, and introduced me to whole new scenes. That is pretty much the only reason I would recommend uni to anyone anymore. The majority are kidding themselves if they think a degree will help them further in the workplace these days.

 

[shifty_uk]

It anoys me that universities make courses that aren't really academic, just for the purpose of getting more students. This then allows people that just want to go to uni for the experiance an easy ride. however when they graduate, they expect a good job "because they have a degree". this however, coupled with the fact that thousands of people now have their "experiance degree" cant get a good job because their degree means nothing. this raises stats for unemployment and makes concept of a degree less worth while.

Gets on my nerves, as im doing a really hard degree and getting coated with the same bad rep.

I agree.

I want to be educated in an area that interests me, yet other people just see Uni as a "life experience", and will never get a job, or be interested in taking a job in their chosen subject.
In my opinion, University should only be open for individuals who want to learn about their chosen area of study, and not for those who just see it as a degree on their lap, at the end of the day.

If I leave College and get rejected from Uni, I'll partly blaim those who see the course as "just some old subject to do at uni, which will lead to me getting a good job".

 

[rotter023]

Or perhaps it's a case of having an excellent degree from an excellent university, being knowledgeable and interested in the field, very quick to learn and having an incredible ability to synthesise and digest information?

The guy in question did an internship with Shell the summer previous to graduating, so he already had a foot in the door - but then again, he only got that internship by already being a very impressive candidate.

Given all that, I'll thank you not to jump to hasty and ignorant conclusions about my friends, if that's okay with you.

P.S. "Plant manager" doesn't mean that he oversees an entire plant - rather that he manages a specific area of one of their plants. His exact job title doesn't immediately spring to mind.

touchy....

lol, ignore me im an a**hole!!

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

Surely the average earnings of graduates is going to diminish if more people are going to university, which they are. The increased number of graduates are competing for the same number of jobs (proportionally to population) so many are going to be paid less than the average of any time in the pat.

Personally i think we'd be better of providing degree equivalent qualification in vocational areas than having so many Media Studies courses.

I do feel that there is a place for course like media studies otherwise you could equally argue that there is no place for courses like Art History, and that's one I feel is important. I jsut think that the number of students taking these course should be restricted regardless of demand, and efforst should be made to take people into more useful areas.

I'm glad i went to university. It's a pretty sweeping statement, but I earn more than my friends who didn't and I feel I'm a more rounded and generally better read individual.

 

[frogboy]

University is only useful for people who want to be doctors, dentists, engineers etc. For everyone else it's useless, unless you want to party and get drunk all the time or if you're genuinely interested in a subject. However, don't expect to be able to get a job in that subject when you come out..

The problem with university is it's just not geared towards the world of work. You cram a load of information into your brain, dump it onto paper come exam time, graduate and then forget it all. The transferable skills people talk about have already been picked up during A levels and GCSE's. Time managment, organisation etc is just common sense. Why would anyone pay 15K to learn such skills?

I have a degree, had teachers said you can get just as far and further by not having one, I would never have gone. Instead they fed us a load of BS about not being able to get a good job if we didn't go. We were all young and naive and didn't know any better. I'm not bitter honest..

 

[bitslice]

IMO there should only be around 30 univerisities in the country... non of these "ex-poly's"

Unbelievable ….

I think there are two types of student, those that are academic and those that have a practical approach to solving problems. Polytechnics were excellent at teaching the practical aspects of a subject.

One day we will realize that producing bucket loads of academic clones has wasted the potential of those that are more practical; particularly in Engineering.

Knowing the theory behind a problem is pointless if you lack the lateral thinking ability that will solve it. This tends not to be something you can teach

In IT, one lateral thinker is worth three academic clones

.

 

[cleanbluesky]

IMO there should only be around 30 univerisities in the country... non of these "ex-poly's"

David

Indeed, education for the moderately wealthy and corporal punishment for everyone else

Long live the Snobsbridge ways!