How many of you saw a BSc/A as not enough?

Disco Boy

Disco Boy

Disco Boy

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How many of you who did degrees did postgraduate study? Or an undergrad course that was more than a bachelors (undergrad masters?)

It seems to be becoming increasingly prevalent, I think due at least in part to degrees being given out like sweets and the large increase in people going to university. This has lead naturally to the best students needing to set themselves above the rest by being further qualified (obviously there are other ways like classification, institution, references, interview technique etc.).

Cases in point (okay biased sample groups I'll admit before we start)

my house last year
me: finished BSc, 2:1, going on to do a DPhil
#2: finished BSc, 1st, going on to do a PhD
#3: chose to do a 4th year of his course to get a MEng instead of a BEng*
#4: chose to do a 4th year of his course to get a MEng instead of a BEng*
#5: dentistry student

* it seems that if you actually want to use an engineering degree to become an engineer, you have to have a MEng these days

my girlfriends house
gf: chose to do a 4th year of her course to obtain a MSc instead of a BSc
#2: finished BA, 1st, going on to do an MA
#3: finished BA, 1st, going on to do an MA
#4: finished BSc, 2:2, going to do an MSc
#5: finished BA, 1st, taking a gap year to raise funds for an MA
#6: finished a BSc, 1st, failed to secure a PhD place this year, will apply again
#7: chose to do a 4th year of his course to get a MEng instead of a BEng
#8: medical student
#9: doing a law degree, not finished undergrad, but post-grad is required for employment
#10: extenuating circumstances, hasn't completed degree yet. won't be doing a post-grad

So of 15 people there is only one who will finish study with a bachelors degree (all things being equal).
 
Whilst I agree that the number of students leaving university with a degree has increased, people who graduate with a valuable degree can still secure employment without needing a post-graduate qualification.

At least from a BSc perspective.
 
I don't doubt. But it still seems to me that post grad is quickly becoming a requirement rather than an option. Engineering is a case in point, nobody who is serious about becoming an engineer will leave after a BEng.

Chemistry is becoming that way (although not as much and in a slightly different way). In that undergrad masters are the norm if you are a good student who wants to continue in the field. PhDs are much more necessary (compared to engineering) if you want to become a professional chemist and it's easier to get a PhD place with a masters. I've managed to get a studentship with only a bachelors but that's fairly unique because I am going into a specialist field.
 
Disco Boy said:
* it seems that if you actually want to use an engineering degree to become an engineer, you have to have a MEng these days
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Moses said:
Isn't the engineering example because a MEng means they don't need to do as much stuff post-uni to become chartered, so it's just easier to do it at uni?
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Almost - nowadays (since 1998 I think, although the date could be slightly different) you must have an MEng in order to tick the academic criteria for being a chartered engineer. People with a BEng have to do a top-up to fulfill this criteria. You also need experience of work on a variety of engineering projects and references from chartered members. This is speaking from the point of view of the Institute of Chemical Engineers - I presume the other institutes have similar requirements.

I applied for and did an MEng as my undergrad degree for that very reason - a view to becoming a chartered engineer, which is an important stepping-stone in a young engineer's career.
 
Disco Boy said:
I don't doubt. But it still seems to me that post grad is quickly becoming a requirement rather than an option. Engineering is a case in point, nobody who is serious about becoming an engineer will leave after a BEng.

Chemistry is becoming that way (although not as much and in a slightly different way). In that undergrad masters are the norm if you are a good student who wants to continue in the field. PhDs are much more necessary (compared to engineering) if you want to become a professional chemist and it's easier to get a PhD place with a masters. I've managed to get a studentship with only a bachelors but that's fairly unique because I am going into a specialist field.
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You mention post grad then go on to talk about an undergrad masters...:p

I think there are certainly more doing post grad courses to stand out from all the other grads, especially for more competative jobs. There isn't really a need AFAIK if you just want to do IT or become a middle manager in an office but for more technical positions it is becoming far more important. For research/work in a lot of the pure sciences you will need one, for Petroleum you have needed one for a long time.

I think we do also need to distinguish between a post grad and undergrad masters though in a lot of cases. Yes some areas an undergrad masters is enough (for example engineering) but in other areas, if you don't want to do a PhD (so you can skip the postgrad masters before going into one) they can be esentially worthless employment wise.
 
When you are doing your degree you don't really know what is enough. Do what you want and be happy - there is no right or wrong answer.

I finished with a BSc (7+ years ago) but am hoping to start an MBA soon as it's the path i'm looking to go down with regards to management. I've got enough experience so I think it is time.

I finished on a Comp Sci BSc as I didn't feel another year of education was right after 4 years of bumming it around and I didn't think it would help me that much on the job hunting side.
 
I finished with a BSc Maths and the decision to keep studying was based roughly on 50% wanting to and 50% feeling I needed more than a BSc.
 
I did an MBA after BA in economics (and sociology:p) wanted a broader grounding and wanted to accelerate my career and it worked, got me my first consulting job in a company that typically didn't take on people with just a degree. If I'm honest I also wanted a bit more time messing. Now almost 15 years on the MBA keeps paying for itself.
 
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I did a postgrad because I was generally interested in the subject matter and wanted to go deeper into the rabbit hole.
 
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I'm doing a 5 year MSci in Chemistry, with 4th year as a placement year. Everyone applied to the course on a masters, the ones who couldn't keep up are doing bachelors.
 
Dont agree on the MEng bit, i have BEng(hons) and there is no real pressure in work to go for a masters. The road I'm going down is chartership (CEng) via the IET. If anything i see management with MBA's alongside there technical (BEng/BSc) degrees.

Another point is that industry prefers real experience to "i didn't see that in a text book".
 
I got a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics. I planned to keep going but I was really burned out so decided to leave it there. I think that a first in Maths is still regarded quite highly though so not having anything more has never really hindered me. I may go back and do more, just not yet.
 
After my BA I went on to do an MSc and a PhD. I didn't go this route to improve my employment prospects though - unless you want to go into a specialist field that requires the extra training, then going straight into employment is usually more beneficial in the long term.

I went for my post-graduate courses to gain research training, and open up doors in R+D and academia. At the time I thought that academia would be the path I would take, although I will admit that


[FnG]magnolia;19740790 said:
How many here are continuing their studies because they simply don't want to go into the workplace?
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... had a little to do with it at the time. I think I made the right decision though - staying in academia for a couple of years allowed me to start building a consulting business. I don't think I would have had the time or energy for that had I gone straight into employment at 22.
 
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