AIBU to feel that some parents just want their children at Uni even if its a BS degree

which includes Business Studies which was on your list of wasted degrees! I did Business and wouldn’t have been able to apply for my job without it so wasn’t wasted for me

That’s the point the op is making . My friend is a tattooist with a shop visited by lots of famous people and extremely well off and doesn’t even have A levels

2 of our three kids never went to uni and the one that did is earning less than the two that did not. Thy left school at 16 ... and started from the bottom ...... recent years employers have paid most of their fees in computer-related degrees and I won't say how much they earn but they are now in the top 5% of earners

So they two you have wanged on about not even having degrees do in fact have degrees, that directly enabled them to move up into a higher tax bracket? I'm clearly just a thick drama graduate because it almost sounds like you're making this shit up as you go. Perhaps studying writing and story structure might have benefited you.

I have to disagree. I'd want anyone giving me a tattoo to be trained in techniques and health and safety relevant to that job. It doesn't require a degree but I have degrees and I wouldn't want anyone to suffer a tattoo from me. I have no real artistic talent for that sort of thing so the result would be most disappointing.

You are full of bull!!

Nobody is interested in your kids!!

I worked for Accenture, then Arthur Andersen/Andersen Consulting in the late 80s/early 90s!

Meeting people different to you.

This is an important thing imo.

I'm still struggling to understand the point of your post to be honest.

My BIL has a degree is media studies (you know, the degree you think is the biggest waste of a degree that there is). He worked for the BBC for years and has also worked for several media and TV companies all over the world (currently Sydney). I have a medical degree - so does my dh but we don't earn anywhere near as much as he does with his "Mickey Mouse" degree.

And getting a degree is about so much more than what job you will do with it. It teaches you these things called transferable skills. If you want to do a job that just requires "A degree" then you might as well spend three years studying something you like and are interested in, rather than what the OP deems to be an acceptable degree.

Then there's the life skills you get from living away from home, learning to live on a tight budget, learning to balance studying with enjoying yourself, learning to look after yourself, to cook, to maintain friendships and relationships

I can't be arsed to read all of your posts @DistinguishedSocialCommentator because not only are you a generally goady poster, but you are clearly sadly lacking as well. You can't spell. You choose to post using at least (on the last count) three different user names, so I think you delight in having us all on.
And your posts display your general ignorance as well.
So I'm out.

(Arts graduate and successful business owner, now retired)

Of course, more even.

People get into debt for cars, houses, Christmas even.

Education incl uni shouldn’t just be for those that can afford it.

There aren’t enough apprenticeships or internships available. That’s another matter.

I've read the entire thread.

So it's not necessarily university education you're against, but rather the cost of it?

Nothing wrong with vocational degrees or degrees purely done for the love of a subject. All teach useful skills and all give a young adult enjoyment, independence and life experience. I get that money makes it not worthwhile for many to pursue higher education but I actually think it's a shame to head off into 50+ years of full time work at 18. Being a student is a fabulous experience that everyone who wants it should have.

My parents wouldn't let me take up my offers to do Performing Arts, Drama or Creative Writing at university. My Dad's exact words 'what on earth would you do with a degree like that?' And what do I do - I'm a Performing Arts teacher who also write play scripts.😆The desire for my dad to know this fact is one of many reasons I wish he was still alive.

My degree is in English Literature. Almost certainly no more (and perhaps less) useful than what I really wanted to do but it satisfied my parents because it was a 'real subject' from a posh university.

What about the life experiences that you gain at university? Living away for three or four years teaches you independence and self-sufficiency. Getting a job after GCSEs and living at home with mum and dad is not the same.

The debt is only payable if earn over a threshold.

It’s a narrow world view to think only in terms of money.

i belueve that’s why things are such a mess as too many are only concerned with the pursuit of profit.

I'll bite. Lots of people go to university to learn, not to get a specific job. A degree in politics is not "wasted" on someone who works in a shop instead of in the house of lords.

You're also mistaken. Many entry level management jobs want a business degree. You won't get far starting on the shop floor and working your way up.

I have a BA in Business Studies (accounting and marketing) and I am now a chartered management accountant. The classmates I was closest to studied law or economics with accounting; they all qualified as chartered accountants. Two are now CFOs in organisations in the USA, another is the FD of a renewables company in Scotland.
My cousin studied what would now be seen as "exercise science". She heads up a sports programme for young people in our council area.
DD1 (23) has an arts degree in English and French. She is currently doing a postgrad to allow her to be an English teacher (her year in France gives her enough credits to dual qualify as a French teacher once she is qualified).
Are our degrees all BS?
DH's first degree was LLB but he has never used it (he took a couple of years out and then took another vocational degree under sponsorship and that has been his livelihood since 2022; which of his degrees is necessary?

My DD is going to do a BA in Fine Art. She has all A's and A*s in both her GCSE and Levels, thank you very much! She doing it because that's what she wants to do- not because she wasn't bright enough to do anything else and not because it's a soft degree- she could have done a medical degree if she wished, but she didn't want to.

The Arts are vital to our culture- after all, when everything is gone it's the Arts that remain- how do we know so much about about the ancient world and long lost civilisations? We find their cave paintings, decorated vases, mosaics, statues, jewellery, carvings etc.

Maybe she'll end up as a renowned artist, selling her work for millions of pounds, and maybe she won't. Who knows!

At least she'll have the chance rather than just getting a boring job to pay the bills like the OP thinks she should!

Degree gives you much more than subject knowledge.

It’s a goady thread… but there is a ring of truth to it. I have lost count of the number of young people who I have worked with who have degrees they cannot use. Dance, forensics, media etc. I am sure there are people who are going to come and tell me how well they have done with said degrees but I suspect they are in the minority. Universities are businesses, they are after the money. Some kids would be far better off going on the apprenticeship schemes. A degree does not hold the sway it once used to. Of course a job is not everything- but it’s pretty important!

I did a "BS" degree in business studies. Earnt £725k last year. I'm 99% sure the degree did me well

Now kindly take your shallow minded opinion and f off.