Giving up after one year - too soon?

maggiesoop

devildog wrote: »

maggiesoop-Just a thought, if yours is a low income household is he claiming everything that he is entitled to? Those students from such a household are usually given more than enough to cover their studying without needing 'extra' from bank of parents. Infact I think it is fair to say that they get a fair bit more than those from higher income households (after the family has subbed them). Unless there are facts that we are not aware of I think he could be pulling the wool over your eyes.


Thanks for the financial advice. Put in for everything we could last year (amounted to around £500 per month between bursary and student loan) but this only covered the monthly cost of his Halls of Residence! Hence the reason I'm sending him £200 a month to cover food/books/travel etc. However he's moving into a flat with some friends next year so hopefully this will be reduced drastically.

He seems fairly intent on doing this Film & Visual Culture/English joint degree so I'll give him my blessing and hope that he enjoys it.

What I would like to know is.... does the degree you come out with at the end make much of a difference when job hunting in the big wide world. I realise you would need a relevant degree if you were doing medicine etc but if he gets the aforementioned then decides to go into a different field, will it count for much? I wished I knew more about University education and how much impact it does or doesn't make in one's future.

I phoned (three times!) to make an appointment to meet his Academic Advisor in the hope that she would be able to explain how it all works but when my son met with her, she said they dont want to meet the parents (I can kind of understand they don't have time to "nursemaid" parents but thought out of courtesy she may have been good enough to call me back!)

duchy

Thing is your son is over eighteen so they deal with him direct -they have no obligation or need to speak to you. It's just the way it is with universities.

The_One_Who

maggiesoop wrote: »

Well, that's me told then! Don't get me wrong, I would be more than happy for my son to choose any career path he likes if he was mature and a hard worker, but I know him better than anyone and he really will take the easiest option!

All the more reason for him to actually take some time and figure out what he wants to do. Some people are more impulsive than others. They think something is great and that they are really keen on it, but when push comes to shove, they aren't.

What I would like to know is.... does the degree you come out with at the end make much of a difference when job hunting in the big wide world. I realise you would need a relevant degree if you were doing medicine etc but if he gets the aforementioned then decides to go into a different field, will it count for much?

The class of degree is generally more important than what is actually studied, but it will depend on what sort of 'field' he wants to go in to.

Person_one

maggiesoop wrote: »

(hence the reason I feel he may have a better chance if he has two degrees, specially the English one)

Any comments gratefully received.

maggiesoop wrote: »

Please don't sound so patronising that I didn't know what a joint degree is.

Well, you did refer to it as two degrees...

Also, not all replies were exactly gratefully received, were they?

Dunroamin

As well as the subject and class of the degree, the university it's from is also important, although that's already decided for him if he transfers.

In theory, a degree subject is irrelevant for many careers but, in reality, those who have done a traditional, academically demanding degree subjects are likely to be looked on more favourably by employers looking for generalists.

Lokolo

If he's wanting to do some sort of Film, TV and English then broadcast and media are the way to go.

Things he should be doing over the summer;

YouTube channel where he can post his own videos.
A blog of some sort, on a subject he loves.
Find a summer job to get real world experience. Local paper for a start.

I know a number of people that have done degrees in both English and TV and none of them have jobs. (one has done a couple of articles on The Mail though)

It is a very tough industry. He needs a lot of experience and a lot behind him if he wants to make a career out of it.

liney

Just my tuppence on a joint degree as I have just completed a joint English and History.

The main downside for me was that I had very little choice of optional modules. For example, English students had 1 core and 2 optional each semester, whilst I had 1 core History, 1 core English, so only 1 optional each semester. Whilst this wasn't the end of the world, I missed out on some interesting modules due to this additional restriction.

maggiesoop

liney wrote: »

Just my tuppence on a joint degree as I have just completed a joint English and History.T

The main downside for me was that I had very little choice of optional modules. For example, English students had 1 core and 2 optional each semester, whilst I had 1 core History, 1 core English, so only 1 optional each semester. Whilst this wasn't the end of the world, I missed out on some interesting modules due to this additional restriction.

No idea what you're talking about! But I take it you're talking to someone else on this thread?

liney

maggiesoop wrote: »

No idea what you're talking about! But I take it you're talking to someone else on this thread?

Your son wants to do a joint degree in English and film doesn't he?

kayr_2

No idea what you're talking about! But I take it you're talking to someone else on this thread?

Does anyone know about joint degrees? Are they horribly difficult?

I think liney was answering your question. I thought it was a relevant comment given what you had asked.