should you still get a degree if you want to be

mrcow

talksalot81 wrote:

But it isnt just those without degrees who will comment... You will find alot of comments similar to my own, from those who are within academic circles.

Not in my experience.

People who I've heard "degree bash" have always been those who haven't got one themselves because they either don't have the capability or could never have put in enough hard work to achieve one.

Criticising the achievements of others is easy when you're too small minded to admit that perhaps they're more capable / have made better decisions than yourself.

Dan29

I didn't go to university as I wanted to work in the media and didn't think having a degree would make a great difference to my job prospects.

I think there are industries where relevant experience can be more useful than a degree, but I'd imagine it's very difficult as an 18-year-old to decide whether university is right for you or not if you don't know what sort of job you want to do.

talksalot81

mrcow wrote:

Not in my experience.

People who I've heard "degree bash" have always been those who haven't got one themselves because they either don't have the capability or could never have put in enough hard work to achieve one.

Criticising the achievements of others is easy when you're too small minded to admit that perhaps they're more capable / have made better decisions than yourself.

Maybe you just havent had enough contact within those circles... I can guarantee you that it happens. The reason is that many will get their degrees really without doing alot of work then will try and defend their 2.2 in TV studies against someone who has worked themselves as hard as they can go in order to get a first in electronics engineering (or something similar). At the end of the day the two achievements will be differentiated by a knowledgeable onlooker and one degree really will open alot more doors than the other.

mrcow

talksalot81 wrote:

I can guarantee you that it happens.

You can guarantee it all you like

I completed my science degree 12 years ago and the only people who have ever knocked it have been those who couldn't have achieved one themselves.

The reason is that many will get their degrees really without doing alot of work then will try and defend their 2.2 in TV studies against someone who has worked themselves as hard as they can go in order to get a first in electronics engineering (

I'm being personal here, but I think that you are suffering from a misguided sense of "degree snobbery" in that somehow someone who achieves a degree in engineering is better than someone who graduates in "TV studies? " :rotfl:

It's the same as some people who call tradiditonal universities "real" universities as opposed to the old polytecnics that gained university status in the '90s. I seriously think you need to get over it. Further education is a good thing. If someone wants a career in the media, then why not do a degree? A close friend of mine did just that and is now (12 years later) earing over £100k working in the media. He wouldn't have got the job where he is now without his degree, and that is a fact as he joined a graduate scheme.

I also don't like the way that you're inferring that a 2.2 is somehow inferior? Thousands of students work their hearts out to achieve 2.2s and it is something to be applauded, not knocked.

surfcat

mrcow wrote:

I also don't like the way that you're inferring that a 2.2 is somehow inferior? Thousands of students work their hearts out to achieve 2.2s and it is something to be applauded, not knocked.

A 2:2 is inferior, by definition. I wonder, did your school sports day not have any winners to avoid hurting anyone's feelings?

mrcow

surfcat wrote:

A 2:2 is inferior, by definition. I wonder, did your school sports day not have any winners to avoid hurting anyone's feelings?

Don't be ridiculous.

What I was referring to was the idea that if you're going to get a 2.2 in "TV studies", you may as well not bother doing a degree (which is what was being inferred)!

talksalot81

What was being inferred is that someone with a 2.2 in TV studies is miles inferior to a first in engineering. Which it is.

I am being snobbish about the whole thing. But lets us face it, most anyone can do TV studies and get through with some work. In contrast, this is not possible with other subjects. You have done a science degree, you really should know this. There are more than a handful of people simply cannot and will not ever grasp science. This simply is not the case for something like TV studies!

missk_ensington

I wouldn't be happy with a 2:2, just like I wouldn't have been happy with a D in my A-Levels. Just my ten penneth! And I'm fairly sure I could do a degree in TV studies, get a 1st and not turn up to a single lecture!

talksalot81

missk_ensington wrote:

I wouldn't be happy with a 2:2, just like I wouldn't have been happy with a D in my A-Levels. Just my ten penneth! And I'm fairly sure I could do a degree in TV studies, get a 1st and not turn up to a single lecture!

That opinion, correct or not, is fairly common (I of course have it also). It is for exactly that reason why not all degrees are equal. Employers are people too and many of them will hold similar bias towards or against certain degrees.

mrcow

talksalot81 wrote:

I am being snobbish about the whole thing. But lets us face it, most anyone can do TV studies and get through with some work. In contrast, this is not possible with other subjects. You have done a science degree, you really should know this. There are more than a handful of people simply cannot and will not ever grasp science. This simply is not the case for something like TV studies!

I'm not disputing that some people are more mathematically or scientifically minded than others and would find such courses less of a challenge, but going back to the original post, I just can't agree with the idea that anyone doing a degree in a less traditional subject is "wasting years".

Having never studied "TV Studies" (and I'm still unsure whether there is actually a course called this ) I couldn't tell you how I'd personally do. If it involved me watching any significant amount of the car crash drivel that is beamed to my house throughout the day, I doubt I'd do too well