Is a crap degree worth it?

Martynt74

Martynt74

Martynt74

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Not crap as in some rubbish subject but more as in a poor grade.

I'm currently doing my ACCA exams and as a side option i can do a case study which gives me a degree in Applied Accounting which gives a result based on my ACCA exam results.

The issue is that ACCA pass rates are only 50% and there's no merit to aiming for higher than that, so along with working full time and having a wife and kids i've just made sure i've done what i needed to to pass each exam (14 in total) and got results ranging from 50 (scraped it!) to around 70% but i'd say most were between 55% and 60%.

I presume from my grades above i'd probably be aiming at something like a 3rd or possibly a 2.2.

I imagine that the fact i am ACCA qualified will superceed any degree anyway. As such do you think its worth the effort to get the degree?
 
I wouldn't say a 3rd or 2.2 would be worth the financial strain personally, no offence.

Like you say if the ACCA is superceeding the degree, the skip it.
 
£100? Do it man, revise your **** off.

If you get a first or a 2:1 you'll be more employable for sure, a 2:2 or a third? Just do what I did with my STD test results, throw it away and pretend like you never got it.
 
pitchfork said:
[...] a 2:2 or a third? Just do what I did with my STD test results, throw it away and pretend like you never got it.
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While not a 2.1, a 2.2 isn't in the same realms as a 3rd. I'm doing quite nicely with my 2.2 in Mechanical Engineering...
 
2.1 2.2 3rd all really the same...its an *undergraduate* degree ...not worth that much but more than nothing. It is worth a lot more in other parts of the world you might find. At the end of the day its a piece of paper saying you know X about Y subject/s ....most people forget it all... but its a good system for getting us into the debt habit early...

....its all a bit of a con you see...
 
Dunks said:
While not a 2.1, a 2.2 isn't in the same realms as a 3rd. I'm doing quite nicely with my 2.2 in Mechanical Engineering...
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Ok yeah it depends on the subject and the university, someone with a 2:1 and no experience is obvious of lesser value than a 2:2 who has demonstrated aptitude.

There is no denying though that everyone and their mum has a degree nowadays, it's more and more competitive for graduates every day.
 
pitchfork said:
Ok yeah it depends on the subject and the university, someone with a 2:1 and no experience is obvious of lesser value than a 2:2 who has demonstrated aptitude.

There is no denying though that everyone and their mum has a degree nowadays, it's more and more competitive for graduates every day.
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Very true.

My girlfriend graduated with a 1st in Law from a good University last year, and it's still proving tough to get a training contract. If you've got a got a 2.2 you've not a chance in hell.
 
Do you have a degree already?

According to the ACCA website you need to average around 60 to guarantee a 2:1 (although it seems it is possible to get a 2:1 with as low as a 58 average). You wouldn't be on course for a 3rd as you have to average 50-53 http://www.accaglobal.co.uk/en/help/oxford-brookes.html

I'd say that if you don't already have a degree and think you can average a 2:1 then it's probably worth doing.

Ultimately though for accountancy jobs simply having completed ACCA is going to be the key thing, but the degree might help set you apart from someone who doesn't have one.
 
Ah cheers pcoltrane. I always thought it only took the exam results from F8-P7 exams. However it seems that it takes the results from F4 to F9 which i've already done which gives me 61% average which seems to suggest that i only need a "C" for the final project to give me a 2:1.

As i've not got a degree already it looks like for the minimal effort required its worth me going for it :)
 
To be honest, if you're fully ACCA qualified nobody is going to be looking at whether you've got a degree or not unless you're applying for a non-accounting job.

Once you've got your ACCA the most important thing is your experience.
 
Like you said I think the results that matter are F4 - F9 for the degree classification (and the grade you get for the extra work on the research project to get the degree).

However I think you have to opt in before you've completed the exams F4 -
F9 to be eligible.

May as well do it in my opinion, not that much extra work so long as you get at least a 2.2 classification from it. Oxford Brookes (which give the degree) are a decent enough university too from looking at league tables. You may be able to do it after you've completed all your ACCA exams if you don't want the distraction before then (baring in mind the 10 year time limit and opting in before completing exams F4 - F9).
 
pcoltrane said:
Ultimately though for accountancy jobs simply having completed ACCA is going to be the key thing, but the degree might help set you apart from someone who doesn't have one.
Click to expand...

In theory though in this case it ought to make very little difference.... assuming the person hiring is aware of what was involved, that you're getting the degree mostly as a result of the ACCA itself, then getting a degree for doing some extra coursework on top of the qualification you're already doing shouldn't carry much more weigh above simply having the ACCA...

in reality I wouldn't be surprised if it actually did help in some instances... especially if some firms require a degree in the job spec... recruiters/HR could be quite retarded like that and for a small fee and a however many extra hours it takes to do the extra bit of coursework you might as well... if you've not got one and some job spec in future requires one then you might as well tick that box while you've got a very easy opportunity to do so for very little extra effort.
 
WillyNelson said:
Once you've got your ACCA the most important thing is your experience.
Click to expand...

This is the truth. After you have a few years experience under your belt the degree dosen't even get mentioned at interview.

But it sounds like you've done the hard work, and if a few hours spent on a simple case study will net you a degree certificate I think it would be foolish not to do it. You never know if the 'got a degree?' question/barrier will pop up during your career.
 
A lot of degrees are just not worth the effort these days unfortunately. If I could go back again I wouldn't have bothered with uni and would have tried to get an apprenticeship or something.
 
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