If you did a non professional degree at uni, do you regret it?

[Pheonix2023]

By no professional I mean a degree that wasn’t for a specific thing
like medical degree to become a dr, dentist,lawyer,nurse etc ?

I didn’t regret it, because I got a lot from the experience (doing presentations, living independently, writing essays in a formal style, self directed study) even though the content hasn’t particularly helped.

Given the price of degrees now, and the fact a “degree” doesn’t hold the same weight it did previously, I’d certainly think twice about just doing any general degree for the sake of it (which was what I did).

For my own kids, I’d probably advise them to do a professional degree towards a specific job, or if they aren’t academic, go down the trades route. We’re in Aus and trades are highly sought after and well paid here.
Having said that, my eldest is a chip off the old block (me) and already loves history and English and it’ll be a shame to encourage him away from
something he’ll love.
They probably won’t take my advice anyway so it’s a moot point.

Oh I just want to add. Having come from a working class family where no one had been to uni, uni also opened up a different world for me culturally. Possibly it helped set my expectations a bit higher, made me try different foods etc.

I did history at an RG, paying big fees, and loved it. Went into a £25k job on graduating, then doubled it within a couple of years.

If you look at the big high returns subjects, non are 'professional' and as many are humanities/social science as STEM.

Reason I ask really is because I am see my dd doing a geography degree

I did a vocational degree (accountancy and finance) and then went on to qualify as an accountant. I don't think I have used a single syllable of my degree in my professional life.

My degree studies were totally out of date and focused on entry into one particular branch of accountancy which I had no interest in joining.

I think it's different now than previously, because of the loan situation. Some degrees are poor value, imo.

No, the opposite, I slogged my way through a professional degree I hated and ended up with a low result. I’d have been much better off doing my favourite a level subject, getting a 2.1 then doing a grad scheme.

Im not saying that subject degrees are always a good idea but people are very tunnel visioned about subjects. The point of a degree isn’t so much what you learn about history/geography/Latin/business it’s the skills, the independent thought, the get up and go and the motivation to do it, learning to write in a way that would be useful in professional reports, using excel to represent data, group work, presentation skills.

I did a non vocational degree at a RG before fees. I was the first in my family to ever go to uni. I would do it again, with fees. I think it broadened my horizons and ambitions. Although I haven't used my degree in my working life, it opened my eyes to the world around me and pushed me to want to achieve more.

100% agree.

I did a professional degree and I'm working in the field it led to (teaching), but my student loan is a joke.

I'm on the second repayment plan and my loan just keeps getting higher each month.

DH is on the first repayment plan and he is set to pay off his loan next year. He's 30. That means he'll have an extra £200 odd in his account every month.

When I'm his age I'll probably still have thousands on my loan. I don't actually see me ever paying it off.

I did for ages (zoology) but now, I couldn't have progressed up the ladder without it.
I can only access higher roles with a degree and in fact needed to top up it up with post grad qualifications.
Lots of people coming into Sustainability (my field) have geography degrees.

I really regret mine, I did psychology and wish I'd done a qualification instead. It probably depends on how much your DD loves geography though and what she plans to do afterwards. I had no idea what subject to choose or career I wanted and was pushed to just choose something as university was put across as the only option. I've really discouraged my kids from university I don't think it's a good way to train in most subjects unless it's the only route to a professional career.

Geography has a good average return for women. About the same as computer science

What do you mean by non professional though in a time period of turbulence and change?

I did history. I went on to get a related job in museums libraries and archives, and started developing in that area, despite coming from a non professional background. That livelihood was of course taken away from me. I could wish that I had studied one of those areas that have not been taken away, or in computing which was barely getting started then, but the fact is I do come from that deprived background and the info that I had at the time did not factor in neoliberalist destruction of British social infrastructure.

I don’t regret the information I’ve gained and could have passed on, but I do regret the waste.

No, I don't regret it. The degree was a good springboard to post-graduate courses that were more vocational.

Yes I regret it. Did Philosophy. FFS. Wish I'd thought it through and done something more vocational.

Arts subject. Loved it and met friends who have, in the intervening years, been lifesavers figuratively and literally. Faffed about for a bit but now need my degree for my job and don’t regret it at all.

absolutely no regrets

I did a politics degree at a RG in the top ten and received a wonderful economic, philosophical and political education.

my family thought I was insane and should have done a proper degree like you describe in your post

the push for usually working class kids to do a ‘proper’ vocational degree is dangerous. Education is education’s sake is wonderful. It shouldn’t be restricted to those who have mental and financially security that allows them to take a risk.

i actually went into career which has a vocational degree route or a conversion. the vocational degree route is a competitive but has low entry requirements and a very narrow field of study. I absolutely don’t regret the debt accumulated through taking another path. The benefits of far outweigh that.

No, I don't. Apart from slightly wishing I had done a different arts degree. And I would factor in a postgraduate qualification to my plans if I had my time again. But I didn't pay fees.

No. It's hard to regret what was free! I regret going to uni so far away and being miserable though.

In terms of qualification I did Geography so not profession related. I later did a PGCE so now the Geography is totally profession related!

My actual regrets are being too far away from home, not studying unless absolutely necessary, not turning up for every lecture, falling out with people a lot, not going home after the first few weeks when I realised I was unhappy, being stoned for my full 3rd year and ultimately getting a 2:2 when I'm capable of higher.

Being happy at uni and getting a good qualification is way more important than what the qualification is. Most degrees can be used for graduate programmes in many different areas.

I did a degree in a non-vocational subject and I regret it, but mostly because it was a subject I didn't study at school and it turns out that I didn't really enjoy it (or the uni I studied at). It enabled me to do a vocational masters and I don't regret that. But if I relived my life I'd do something different. And that was without fees.

However, my friends son did Law and got a first, but didn't get a training contract afterwards. He found it easy to find a job not in law, but is pretty disappointed. Law is very competitive post-graduation so I don't think he's in a better position having done something more vocational. He'd probably be in the same place with English, Politics, or History.

Another friend did Latin - definitely not vocational - and she's the one who successfully got a law placement afterwards.

Given the cost, I'll certainly advise my DC to consider non-uni options.

Geography is a great first degree. Lots of options for postgrad professional study. I did geography and anthropology for first degree, then postgrad in chartered surveying.

I wouldn't have gone to uni probably as I was having doubts anyway before I went. I'd probably be better off perversely as my other option was pursuing careers in finance or HR. Probably would have made more than being a teacher!

I did a degree to get into an NHS profession and I regret that decision.
I owe >£60000 and the debt is rising and will never earn enough to pay it off but will earn enough to pay back >£100 every month.

I don't regret it at all.

I never bought into the idea that university was a free ticket into a job – I always saw it as an academic venture and so I studied something that fascinated me.

I learned what it felt like to engage wholeheartedly in something I loved, how to think critically and construct arguments to a high level, how to have impactful conversations with people much older and more experienced than myself, how to manage my time and energy. I was always intelligent, but I found a whole new level of security and confidence in my own mind and my abilities, and had a strong, structured springboard to independence.

I don't use the content or the subject matter of my degree much any more (although it's in my bones now, so it does find its way out!), but the skills I learned along the way have been priceless.