Best Degree Now?

cmw1212

I don't think there is any such thing as a "best degree" and that has nothing to do with the credit crunch. Even with courses like medicine and law there are not enough jobs. You say you are interested in planning and surveying you should just pursue that, look at maybe doing a sandwich course so you get industry experience. Also most degrees now allow you to study some unrelated modules so take a few of those to widen your options.

hethmar

Unless there are other problems - I think you should go for a degree in the subject you are interested in, 3 years will broaden your outlook on life and employers will see you have learning skills even if you decide to change career once you graduate. (Apart from anything, enjoy being a student)

Get in touch with some universities that cover your subject and ask their advice - it may be you could do a part time course.

I think out of my sons year there are only 3 people working in the careers they had planned for degree wise.

Volcano

Anything can happen in 3 years; though a degree that requires a certain amount of technical ability will always be well recognised.

Vocational degrees aside, many end up working in completely different fields to their degree. Without a doubt, actually getting that degree is more important than the subject it's in. As others have said, do something you're interested in as it needs to keep you interested enough that you'll complete it.

Is it not better for me to just keep trying to get a job and hope that I can work my way up from 'the bottom'?

No. Then you're at the whim of your organisation, your supervisor, people leaving etc etc. A degree opens doors like no other qualification can.

Top_Banana_2

I only have a few random qualifications, plus my GCSEs and A levels. I do have a BTEC in construction/surveying and a estate agency qualification, but these have got me nowhere.

I have struggled in recent years with ill health, so have a massive gap in my CV. I think that most emplyers back off when they realise that I have a near 10 year gap in my CV- especially when they find out it was due to ill health.

I'm 100% fit now, but I feel I'm at the back of the queue fighting against 18 year olds for minimum wage jobs.

hethmar

You really need to speak to a Careers Adviser. It doesnt matter what age you are now - ring the local job centre or colleges/unis and make an appointment for a face to face meeting.

Very best of luck.

Horace

As others have said there is no best degree to study for..if it were me I would be studying business or even engineering (there are jobs to be had in engineering still, and we have a shortage of good engineers).

You need to look in the right magazines for jobs in horticulture - sounds mad but The Lady magazine is full of ads for gardeners etc.

It depends on what you want to do really, there is no one good degree to recommend.

Anyway there is a guy in Cambridge who did a degree and wanted to teach so he moved to Cambridge 30 years' ago and the only job he could get was that of a temporary roadsweeper which he stuck at for 30 years and has just been awarded an honorary masters degree in history - apparently he wanted to be a teacher but never left roadsweeping.

barnaby-bear

Top_Banana wrote: »

As I'm struggling to get a job, I'm thinking about going to uni'. My interest lies in surveying or planning, but the industry is on it's knees. I'd be taking a huge risk by hoping that it will have picked up by the end of my degree. If it doesn't then I would pretty much be in the same situation that I am now.

So, I've started to look at other degrees.

Which area would you say would provide the most realistic chance of employment upon graduation?

I'm not keen on nursing, and teaching seems to be a non starter due to my lack of Science GCSE.

I have average grades, so cannot think about things like law, medicine, etc. I have been made an offer to study a surveying degree, and they have told me that I can move to another course if I decide that's what I want to do. It's at Wolverhampton Uni'.

I have seen a Horticulture BSc which I'd be genuinely interested in, but again- this industry has poor employment chances. I don't want to go to uni for 3 years to just end up weeding someones back garden.

Any tips?

The quality of the university can affect employment prospects as much as the degree itself.

Have you considered the OU, you can do it full time and they are experienced and set up to deal with mature students and career changes rather than 18 yr. Moreover you can make your degree up of components as you go along and have the flexibility to take time off /work/work experience if needs must.
http://www.open.ac.uk/

Ewarwoowar2

Top_Banana wrote: »

I only have a few random qualifications, plus my GCSEs and A levels. I do have a BTEC in construction/surveying and a estate agency qualification, but these have got me nowhere.

I have struggled in recent years with ill health, so have a massive gap in my CV. I think that most emplyers back off when they realise that I have a near 10 year gap in my CV- especially when they find out it was due to ill health.

I'm 100% fit now, but I feel I'm at the back of the queue fighting against 18 year olds for minimum wage jobs.

If you really want to be tactical about the degree you choose, perhaps you should do a bit of research about what areas of business/the public sector are likely to doom in the next 10 to 15 years.

I read an article on the subject in one of the popular American business magazines last month (I can't remember which one). It said that the demand for medical service and other jobs associated with the elderly would grow. It also mentioned some areas of science and engineering.

After a brief bit of research I found this info:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/nextjobboom/

hethmar

But things do change - remember how everyone was told to get into IT 25 years back? Then it was the building trade? Thats why I think its best to do something you are really interested in because you cant foretell the future - and having a degree in anything still adds brownie points to job applications, whatever the position is (except if they think you are over qualified - but then someone I know was recently asked to write in 2000 words why he thought he was suitable for the vacancy of a bin man).

I feel its pointless looking too far ahead because none of us know what may be the next boom industry - old age caring has been growing and growing but unless you are interested in nursing then its pointless looking at that as a career.

Do what you like best and have an interest in and just adapt as life changes

Volcano

Top_Banana wrote: »

I have struggled in recent years with ill health, so have a massive gap in my CV. I think that most emplyers back off when they realise that I have a near 10 year gap in my CV- especially when they find out it was due to ill health.

While doing your degree, try and find time (maybe during the summer) to volunteer or get work experience in an area you're interested in.

Then when you graduate, you'll have a degree AND work experience AND proof for an employer that you can stick something for 3 years so obviously aren't ill anymore AND references from a work employer.

If talking to a career adviser, try and talk to a uni one (most unis allow non-students to visit their career advisers for a nominal fee); it's not very helpful talking to an adviser that hasn't got uni experience and is mainly experienced with placing people dependent on their qualifications.