goldenfleece Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 Overheard a group of who I thought were X students in the Pub the other evening, 1 appeared to be complaining he was £47K in debt, even after failing his Law degree, and he was unemployed. One of the others then was overheard to say that Higher Education was all a complete con and waste of time, and that a degree was as worthless in the real world as an expired bus ticket! he then went on to reveal to quite a few interested ears the fact he was in a good management job in a chain bookstore, and he had entered as a graduate trainee....BUT, had never been to University in his life! Having purchased one of many many fake degrees from the many many fake degree websites which now exist, apparently the Bookshop chain recruitment section did not cross ref his degree certificate with any University databases, and accepted it as face value. So with a bit of paper which cost him £55, the fake degree from a well known local University, this chap now has a salary of £27K a year, despite having no degree at all, and get this, no A levels.....these were also 'purchased' online from another fake qualifications site...... It makes me wonder how many people get away with this, and how many recruiters are aware that there are fake degrees all over the place, and apparently, according to this chap in the Pub, no centralised method of checking the validity of degree certificates. The person in question got the job with a fake personal reference from a non existent tutor at the University, a fake degree (a FIRST no less, not a 2:1 or anything more humble), some fake A level certificates and various other manufactured items obtained online..... Out of interest I trawled through some web siotes after a google search, and found it was as easy as pie to purchase a degree from ANY University, and some web sites even offered fake referees and references, etc, all seemingly direct from Universities of the purchasers choice...... Does this all not serve to further devalue the already devalued 'degree' from a University? Are employers not bothered to check? Does anyone take a framed degree certificate at face value and just assume it is genuine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Rock Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I think he dropped lucky. These days having a degree doesn't always guarantee you're going to have a good job at the end of it. After I graduated with a good degree it took me a good few years to be accepted into a job which needed a degree, other companies stated I was over qualified! Oh, and it's not DJing, before anyone comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Rock Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 Incidentally, putting my AM hat back on, we cannot condone anything illegal on this Forum..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica23 Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I'd rather have a degree that I'd earned, regardless of the cost, than be a liar and a fraud. Simple, really. Anyone considering either purchasing their degree or purchasing the work they're supposed to do for their real degree (equally easy to do online) may well 'get away' with it, but they'll have to live with the knowledge that they're actually quite dubious human beings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Buzz Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I don't think it is possible to buy them from ANY university. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffragette1 Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I agree with Classic Rock, this guy has been very lucky and may well come a cropper a future date. I used to work for an organisation which took over the database of awards of the former polytechnic sector and we had 1000s of requests from employers to verify awards. We also had a lot of bogus degree certificates and awards come our way, so anyone claiming to have one is taking a huge risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffragette1 Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I'd rather have a degree that I'd earned, regardless of the cost, than be a liar and a fraud. Simple, really. Anyone considering either purchasing their degree or purchasing the work they're supposed to do for their real degree (equally easy to do online) may well 'get away' with it, but they'll have to live with the knowledge that they're actually quite dubious human beings. I agree. Furthermore, Higher Education is not just about the end result but the whole student experience. Besides, you're leaving yourself wide open and can easily be caught out. It's very remiss of employers not to check and given that bogus degrees are on the increase, then employer checks will become more stringent, making it harder for those to try and cheat the system and act fraudulently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchdaride Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 their degree or purchasing the work they're supposed to do for their real degree (equally easy to do online) may well 'get away' with it, but they'll have to live with the knowledge that they're actually quite dubious human beings. Total opposite for me. I could quite easily live with the knowledge that Im a 'dubious human being'. If I could make life easier by cheating in this way, then I would. Although it's too late now as I already have my degree, but in hindsight, if the option was there, and I knew I would get away with it, then why not. No harm in giving my family a better life. Another point, is that surely it is down to the employer to employ a suitable person for the job anyway. The degree should only supplement the applicants qualities. And if after cheating their way into the job they can't perform, they will soon be found out, if they perform, then both they and the company are winners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savbaby Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I don't think it is possible to buy them from ANY university. its possible to purchase them for any university. thats what the op meant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica23 Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 Actually, having just been all righteous up there, I've just remembered that my brother got several jobs after he'd finished university without a degree certificate to back up his claims. He failed to pay his tuition fees in his last year, so techincally he didn't gain his degree until he'd settled the debt - two very well-paying jobs later. Ho hum. I also know someone who told me that she'd earned hundreds of pounds a time for writing essays for a website that sold them. A very small nasty part of me wishes I could have done that, back when I was working 25 hours a week to pay my way through uni. Imagine having the rent money after a day's work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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