Use of BSc, BA, etc

NathanE · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:12

Duff-Man said:
Yes. A masters as well. And I still think it's incredibly pretentious.

Do you also get wound up when people miss out commas or capitalise Random words of Text?

Duff-Man · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:13

NathanE said:
Do you also get wound up when people miss out commas or capitalise Random words of Text?

No...

HEADRAT · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:13

dirtydog said:
My academic achievements are poor. I am not embarrassed about that

So you seek to devalue something you don't have, are you happy with your current job/salary, do you think you may have got further if you did have a degree?

I'm not sure you've ever posted what your occupation is?

I wouldn't put letter afters my name as it's pretty much meaningless in my current role, I obviously would put them on my CV as in a "tied" situation it may give me the edge over somebody with similar experience but no Degree.

Poor use of grammar/spelling on this forum is not a shock TBH and it doesn't bother me one bit.

Degree's still open many doors, many employers will just bin you're CV if you don't have a one.

HEADRAT

[TW]Fox · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:19

HEADRAT said:
I'm not sure you've ever posted what your occupation is?

He refuses to do so - despite belittling others choice of career patch.

I think this speaks volumes about what he must do. It must be something he feels he cannot tell us as it will greatly undermine his opinions. Perhaps he's a checkout supervisor at Sainsburys?

Kreeeee · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:20

[TW]Fox said:
If you keep telling yourself that it will help you feel better about your academic achievements

It's very true though.

The 4 years are almost better spent just getting on the job ladder.

NathanE · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:22

Duff-Man said:
No...

Shrug. Well I'll continue being proud of my degree whether some minorities like it or not.

HEADRAT · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:24

Kreeeee said:
The 4 years are almost better spent just getting on the job ladder.

I wouldn't be where I am now without my degree, I wouldn't have got the jobs or the experience without my degree, in fact my current employer stipulated a science degree in the spec. of the job.

NathanE · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:24

Kreeeee said:
It's very true though.

The 4 years are almost better spent just getting on the job ladder.

But almost as soon as you get on it you'll have reached the ceiling of your career... a degree gives you a boost up and lets your career go much further. Obviously though there are exceptions to the rule.

Arcade Fire · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:25

NathanE said:
Shrug. Well I'll continue being proud of my degree whether some minorities like it or not.

Sure, be proud of your degree. But including it in all your communication makes you come across as either pretentious, or as someone who is so deficient in other areas that they need to tell everyone that they have a degree to make up for it.

233 · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:26

oh dear

think its a bit silly all this

Rob Finlayson BA (Sta) Research Developer

Rich_L · 2 Jul 2007 at 18:26

dirtydog said:
There's a difference between getting something 'perfect', and making tons of primary school errors on a regular basis. If you do the latter then it can be reasonably assumed that your English is poor.

Well yes, but from the evidence I've seen I suspect what you would judge as 'poor' English* certainly doesn't preclude someone from being a successful, highly paid professional, which begs the question - how important is it really?

If 'poor' English doesn't really matter when you are in the workplace, then why should degrees bother with making students perfect their English (i.e. by demanding a standard of English competence beyond that demanded in the workplace in order to award a degree) when they can instead focus on grasping concepts and models which are of far greater value to employers.

*For example I've seen barristers & partners in law firms mix up their they're and there on many occasions in early drafts of legal documents - of course after checking and polishing they are ironed out but they still get it wrong.

Also I would never under-estimate the value of networking while at University - in the top Uni's you will never encounter as large a group of similar-aged, similar-minded individuals with excellent potential career paths that may open doors years down the line.

NathanE · 2 Jul 2007 at 19:00

Arcade Fire said:
Sure, be proud of your degree. But including it in all your communication makes you come across as either pretentious, or as someone who is so deficient in other areas that they need to tell everyone that they have a degree to make up for it.

Opinions and points of view are great things aren't they

psyr33n · 2 Jul 2007 at 19:47

Sonea Fifer said:
BSc = Bronze Swimming Certificate?

Beat me to it.

Swordfish · 2 Jul 2007 at 19:54

A slight change of direction

As the OP, I would like to ask the following with regards a degree.

My degree is in Computing & Networks and I would ask what the thoughts are regards Degree's v Company Cetricification such as MCP, MCSE, Cicso etc.

I plan to sit some MS Exams later this year, and CISCO next year, after gaining (hopefully) my hounors.

the-void · 2 Jul 2007 at 20:26

NathanE said:
Opinions and points of view are great things aren't they

You will find that the majority opinion is that you don't put your qualifications after your name unless its on a CV, no matter how pretty they look to you.

Arcade Fire · 2 Jul 2007 at 20:49

NathanE said:
Opinions and points of view are great things aren't they

I didn't say that's how you are, I said that's how you come across. That's not an opinion, that's a fact.

NathanE · 2 Jul 2007 at 21:43

the-void said:
You will find that the majority opinion is that you don't put your qualifications after your name unless its on a CV, no matter how pretty they look to you.

That's because the majority of the population don't have degrees so of course they are going to get all defensive and mock people that do.

NathanE · 2 Jul 2007 at 21:43

Arcade Fire said:
I didn't say that's how you are, I said that's how you come across. That's not an opinion, that's a fact.

It's a fact that I come across as pretentious? Sorry but what on earth? :confused:

A few letters after someones name tells you all that?

Arcade Fire · 2 Jul 2007 at 23:02

NathanE said:
It's a fact that I come across as pretentious? Sorry but what on earth?

A few letters after someones name tells you all that?

Either pretentious, or making up for deficiencies in other areas. And yes, it's easy to make snap judgments based on tiny amounts of information. Never heard of first impressions?

the-void · 3 Jul 2007 at 09:02

NathanE said:
That's because the majority of the population don't have degrees so of course they are going to get all defensive and mock people that do.

You sound very insecure. I don't think that people who don't have degree's are going to mock you because you have yours. I think the people who are likely to mock you for putting your qualifications after your name in general written communication are other people who have professional qualifications, degree's, masters and doctorates.

It just isn't the done thing Nathan, you're supposed to be a professional. It really does make you look either insecure or pretentious. I am surprised no one has had the decency to let you know earlier. However, if you feel that it is for you and you prefer not to listen to good advice, go ahead and use them. Just remember you have been advised not to.