The value of a Degree

[rtbiscuit]

i'm priud of what i have education wise, but if i'm honest i do kind of feel i was miss sold the whole concept when at college.

 

when doing my GCSE's and then A' levels the teachers, government, etc were all saying you wouldn't get anywhere without a degree. that it was the only way forward if you wanted to amount to anything.

 

i must admit i'm not built for academia but i have pushed my way through to achieve well in a solid subject, from a good uni.

 

 

with hind sight, i wish i had done some kind of apprenticeship; it would have suited me so much better.

 

as a teacher i now tell my kids to do what they enjoy, if it leads to a degree then fair enough, if it leads into other things then alternative learning is just as good.

 

i'm also very pro the armed forces, and careers within, they offer excellent training opportunities, the only thing i advise them to do is to go for a skill, and if they can get more qualifications before entering to do so, like A levels or a GNVQ, and that when in to do as much training and new skills as possible.

at the end of the day my degree got me to my career crossroads, and it got me in the door.

 

my 2 options were:

 

Teaching and warfare officer in the navy, (could have gone in lower down, but the degree meant direct entry as an officer)

 

i couldn't have done either without the degree, i passed my AIB but decided to go the teaching route in the end.

[Sarnie]

In my opinion and experience, each stage of education is just a stepping stone to the next.

 

You need good GCSE's to get onto your A-levels, then they become irrelevant almost.

 

You get good A-levels to get into a good uni, then no one asks what a-levels you got.

 

Your told to get a good degree to get a job, and once in it and have job experience, the relevance of your degree dissipates.

 

Once your out in the real world, your GCSE's/A-Levels/Degree are nothing more than slightly relevant.

 

In my industry you need qualiications like CeMAP & Cefa, which I have, and if I ever needed an employed job, they would ask i I had these to merely tick the 'qualification' box. But that alone would get me no where. My ten years of industry experience and being a successful (imo) selfstarter in a crumbling industry would see me through. I'd hope!! lol

 

There seems to be a culture whereby people think that a degree means the world owes them a living!

 

I have a friend who got 10 A* GCSE's, 4 A grade A-levels, turned down Cambridge, Got a first from Birmingham Uni, and now earns £40k a year.

 

I have another who let school at 15 before taking his exams. We used to laugh at him and his '@*!#' labouring job, working 12 hour days for £100 a week. He now runs a national construction company and lives in a £1m house, go figure!

[Ricey]

There seems to be a culture whereby people think that a degree means the world owes them a living!

 

Got to give that a +1.

 

Not everyone mind but I think those that do feel this way are probably a bit pi**ed off following the general culture that they were brought up in............like Biscuit says you were basically told you wouldn't amount to s*@t if you didn't have a degree......if you couldn't get a degree then you MUST get an office job otherwise you wouldn't amount to s*@t.

 

That was the general message I got from my family who were all Blue collar workers.

 

So here I am.........stuck at a frigging desk 11 years later, in a bullshit industry, miserable as sin, day dreaming about one day being in a working life that doesn't so closely resemble hell.

[gangzoom]

I think motivated, resourceful, intelligent people will get to the top no matter what their education status. Look as people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Simon Cowell, Richard Branson, Alan Sugar.... none of them graduated from university ( Gates dropped out of Harvard to start what was to become Microsoft)...i don't think anyone one would argue these guys failed in life because they don't have a university education.

[Chris`I]

Once your out in the real world, your GCSE's/A-Levels/Degree are nothing more than slightly relevant.

Not always true. I used to work for a massive technology service company and have just joined a world leading payment business and both wanted to know my GCSE, A-levels and details of both degree's, even with 6yrs continious experience at large blue chip firms. Certain industries want to know what you have done in the past no matter what experience you have until you have - they use it for profiling. My current employer wanted 5yrs experience of what I do, and I have just over 6yrs. Its hard to get much more as the software we use is only 10yrs old itself. This is for a payband of B on a scale of A-F (top-bottom), so a fairly senior role as a technical specialist.

 

Oh and Gates just cleverly stole Microsoft

[rabbitstew]

I know someone else who was promoted 5 times, because he was crap at each job...... but they could not sack him

 

 

A common idustry term - You F*ck up, you go up!

 

That is so true, i have seen that in loads of companys ive worked for. You fail upwards! I have seen some shocking examples over the years of people who were completely useless at their jobs but amazingly got promoted!

 

In my experience as an employee, I have found these days more and more companies seem to value degrees over experience. Especially American companies. Ive been turned down for jobs I had 15 years experience in over guys straight from Uni purely because they have had degrees.

 

As an employer, personally it makes no difference to me if a guy has a degree or not. Id much rather see proven experience and give the guy tests myself to ensure he has the experience and knowledge I am looking for. I also look for someone who will fit in with the rest of the team and so personality and character is as important as me as having the right experience.

[greido]

I'd say the institution you gained your degree helps you get your first position as a graduate but the longer you work, the more experience and reputation count, rather than where you gained your degree.

I've certainly found this to be the case in Scotland's IT Industry which is relatively small and most folk have connections either directly or indirectly to most people in the same field of expertise.