Beware meanlingless Degrees

[Helga]

I dont think its anyones business to look down on certain degrees, as long as the person has taken a degree that they enjoy/have a future career plan with and achieve a decent mark it doesnt matter.

 

Some may say my zoology degree is useless, why didnt i just take straight biology? Because both would lead me to be a teacher anyway, and i enjoy the specifics of a more specialized subject.

 

just an aside really. But I was told the other day that there are no zoology degrees any more, or rather that they have been re-branded as animal science. Botany is now plant science apparently. Is this true? and if so I think it is a shame.

[Helga]

Hi Mr Ming

 

There you go, a fine example of a useless degree. Useless in the sense, ie one does not take a degree in order to take a pay cut = FACT

 

But that suggests that people take degrees to improve their income in the short term. That would not generally be such a good strategy unless it was highly vocational. e.g. law, medicine, accountancy. Many people do it for the pleasure of learning or to improve their prospects and opportunities over the long term. Lots of degrees are only the starting point and a good grade would be required in your first degree to enable you to progress to either vocational or academic post-graduate qualifications.

 

Why are people putting the word fact in capital letters at the end of sentences that are clearly not factual or statistical but mere opinion?

[Bladesman]

Too many meaningless degrees I must agree BUT more to the point is I think some students need some direction on what to choose that will lead to a career. Not always being pushed down the university route necessarily which is all schools do.

 

I know enough people right now who have plucked the easiest uni degrees they can do and cant wait to get to uni for a good 2 to 3 year drinking binge.

[salsafan]

just an aside really. But I was told the other day that there are no zoology degrees any more, or rather that they have been re-branded as animal science. Botany is now plant science apparently. Is this true? and if so I think it is a shame.

No, that is not true. I just met a Cambridge graduate who finished her Zoology Degree and worked in a Zoo. She also got a job offer there, but felt too isolated from her family and friends, so she moved back home closer to family, in another job in a zoo. The zoo that she worked in just outside Cambridge had a breeding programme for some rare animal type, and in a global collaboration to try and increase the numbers. I found that fascinating, AND altruistic. It is not all about money. The girl really has a gift for animals as well, cos she can tame them so. She just have that natural sense with animals.

 

Reading this thread just brings back memories. Not everybody just works for money. There is definitely a different sense of reality here.

 

I agree with Max on the fact that university degrees are based on the demand of the industry. Event Management is now big business. Obviously matching the graduates TO the jobs are a different kettle of fish altogether. Not getting those jobs in the first couple of years before the market moves on is also another problem. Nobody teaches you these kind of things, even though your careers advisory dept in the university tries to match you up with a job, those positions are also still limited. Each industry moves on. Time waits for no-one.

 

There are no "meaningless" degrees. Just meaningless people, and meaningless blurbs online.

[Helga]

No, that is not true. I just met a Cambridge graduate who finished her Zoology Degree and worked in a Zoo.

 

How interesting. It was a friend from Cambridge Uni telling me this, although he didn't say that it was the case at Cambridge so perhaps he was referring to outside of Oxbridge. I'm not surprised that Cambridge has held onto it as they tend to be less swayed by the political climate and more influenced by tradition in these kind of things.

 

 

There are no "meaningless" degrees. Just meaningless people, and meaningless blurbs online.

 

[salsafan]

 

The diplomatic way is:

 

"Oh, I did not know that Salsafan. Thank you for clarifying the point that Zoology still exists as a degree in UK universities. This is interesting indeed."

 

*Courtesy* *Smiles*

 

 

Helga, I apologise for being so verbose on my previous paragraph. I was not actually aware that you took offence, until you reacted to my post. I did not mean to imply that your actual post was meaningless. I did mean to imply that some posts on this thread that was criticising decent graduates in attempting to better themselves as really meaningless. As it is nobody's concerns but the graduates themselves.

[max]

<snip>

 

Why are people putting the word fact in capital letters at the end of sentences that are clearly not factual or statistical but mere opinion?

 

Presumably because they didn't get a good education so cannot distinguish between fact and opinion.

[mwacuk]

I don't have a degree and after running a company for several years, I'm finding in recruitment that degrees hold far less weight than job experience.

 

So this degree snobbery aside; imagine you run a company and two applicants send you a cv; both are 25 years old.

 

Applicant 1: Left school/college, went to uni and worked part time at tesco.

 

Applicant 2: Left school/college, worked at tesco, worked in an office job, then worked as a junior in the field you require for 3 years.

 

A large corporate ingrained with a graduate snobbery post grad scheme would fall head over heals for applicant 1 when Applicant 2 is obviously the better person for the job.

 

Any SME or even a larger firm with a tight grip with how the real world works would almost certainly go for Applicant 2

[muddycoffee]

When these discussions arise I am reminded of people at both ends of the argument. On the one hand you have Mark Kermode who has a phD in basically "the Exorcist", a horror movie. Who is wealthy and successful and now in a powerful position in the british and international movie industry.

 

Whereas I know several people with history and art degrees that have never been anywhere near getting a proper job worthy of their studies.

[mikem8634]

I don't have a degree and after running a company for several years, I'm finding in recruitment that degrees hold far less weight than job experience.

 

So this degree snobbery aside; imagine you run a company and two applicants send you a cv; both are 25 years old.

 

Applicant 1: Left school/college, went to uni and worked part time at tesco.

 

Applicant 2: Left school/college, worked at tesco, worked in an office job, then worked as a junior in the field you require for 3 years.

 

A large corporate ingrained with a graduate snobbery post grad scheme would fall head over heals for applicant 1 when Applicant 2 is obviously the better person for the job.

 

Any SME or even a larger firm with a tight grip with how the real world works would almost certainly go for Applicant 2

 

Any particular reason why you have resurrected two threads to say the same thing twice?