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What was your degree in and what is your job now?

158 replies

Purplturpl · 12/01/2025 16:17

I am looking for inspiration as my ds has very different interests to me and dh. We are both engineers and not really sure what other career paths there are. Degrees such as marketing or politics and economics for instance. What career paths do they lead to.

OP posts:
Icequeen01 · 12/01/2025 19:43

I didn't go to uni but DS did Business Management and now works in digital forensics.

WillYouDoTheFandango · 12/01/2025 19:43

BSc in biochemistry, PhD in structural biology of drug design.

I’m a medical writer. I was always torn between science and English and this combines both.

tinytemper66 · 12/01/2025 19:45

Degree in English and History.
English teacher and Head of Year.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

gilletorgilet · 12/01/2025 19:51

Degree in medicine

Work in internal audit, management and consultancy (not in a medical setting).

Hugely outing if you know me 😂

MikeWozniaksMohawk · 12/01/2025 19:53

Modern languages degree, now a lawyer.

DH did PPE and now works in finance

ILikeDifficultSums · 12/01/2025 19:55

Physics degree followed by a Master’s in Education. I’m a Physics teacher.

DS did PPE - politics, philosophy and economics. He’s 35. I asked him recently what his friends who did the same course as him are doing now. Some are civil servants working in Whitehall but most are academics.
I think that’s as much a reflection of the sort of people he was friends with as much as the degree.

CantHoldMeDown · 12/01/2025 19:57

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

CantHoldMeDown · 12/01/2025 19:58

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Simonjt · 12/01/2025 20:02

Maths and actuarial science, I’m an actuary, I like it so much I qualified a second time when I emigrated!

Ihaveated · 12/01/2025 20:05

Degree in midwifery- worked as a clinical midwife then specialised in quality and safety in maternity care.
MSc in Health and PhD in Nursing.
Also work as an expert witness which I really enjoy.
So many options now for healthcare related degrees.

MargaritaPracticallyCan · 12/01/2025 20:06

Law and Politics in the early/mid 90s, post-grad in journalism, career in print and broadcast news, then private, public and charity sector communications.

changecandles · 12/01/2025 20:11

Dwrcegin · 12/01/2025 18:33

BSc Psych.
Masters in Mental health.

Cleaner.

Interesting. You are obviously academic and have interest in the mind and mental health so why did you choose to be a cleaner? Is it purely because it fits?

JoJothegerbil · 12/01/2025 20:12

History. Now in marketing. I really wanted to be an archivist though.

changecandles · 12/01/2025 20:14

This reply has been deleted

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

I am starting to agree. Things need to change. So many people end up doing jobs unrelated to their degree and the skills they gained as students for 3 years could be surpassed by the skills gained from working doing many things for those same 3 years.

I think it's a bit crazy that people get hired on the basis of 3 years studying some random subject after they left school.

MidnightMusing5 · 12/01/2025 20:17

Mumofteenandtween · 12/01/2025 16:35

Maths. I am now an actuary.

What is the earning potential like? And how easy is it to find actuary roles ? I’ve heard mixed things

Xanadu58 · 12/01/2025 20:18

Degree in Diagnostic Radiography
Working as a Diagnostic radiographer

MidnightMusing5 · 12/01/2025 20:19

Simonjt · 12/01/2025 20:02

Maths and actuarial science, I’m an actuary, I like it so much I qualified a second time when I emigrated!

What are the earnings like and actuary roles available? I’ve heard mixed things ?

MidnightMusing5 · 12/01/2025 20:21

gilletorgilet · 12/01/2025 19:51

Degree in medicine

Work in internal audit, management and consultancy (not in a medical setting).

Hugely outing if you know me 😂

do you earn more than you would have if you were a doctor?
my DS passion is medicine, but I think they should go for. The finance route

ThisIsClearlyMe · 12/01/2025 20:23

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn due to privacy concerns.

ArtNotDishes · 12/01/2025 20:27

Fine Art Degree

Full-time professional artist (have been for 25 years)

Simonjt · 12/01/2025 20:27

MidnightMusing5 · 12/01/2025 20:19

What are the earnings like and actuary roles available? I’ve heard mixed things ?

It depends on the company and sector, I work in pensions I would say my pay has always been good, I could have earned more elsewhere, but I was happy at my company who were flexible and family friendly. I started on mid £40’s.

GirlOfThe70s · 12/01/2025 20:28

Degree in English Literature, career in TV at a high level.

IUseThisNameToTalkAboutMoney · 12/01/2025 20:28

changecandles · 12/01/2025 20:14

I am starting to agree. Things need to change. So many people end up doing jobs unrelated to their degree and the skills they gained as students for 3 years could be surpassed by the skills gained from working doing many things for those same 3 years.

I think it's a bit crazy that people get hired on the basis of 3 years studying some random subject after they left school.

The thing is, other than the professions (law, medicine, engineering etc) degrees weren't supposed to be vocational training for a specific job/career. That's what school, apprenticeships, polytechnics and adult education classes were for. Plus employers expected to train their junior hires, they didn't expect them to take specialised courses at their own expense before they would be considered employable.

Degrees were supposed to be academic, and it genuinely didn't really matter what you were studying because the value was in the skills you learned to be able to study a topic at that depth - research, critical thinking, ability to organise your thoughts into papers and reports, ability to debate and discuss, and so on.

But somewhere along the line it turned into the idea that a degree is "school+" , an add-on of specialist education to fit you to a certain job.

So I do agree with this "the skills they gained as students for 3 years could be surpassed by the skills gained from working doing many things for those same 3 years" but I don't agree that we should be making degrees more relevent to specific jobs, firstly because I don't think it's up to individuals to take on debt to fund the specialist training for an industry, and secondly because that means the courses will always be behind the current need anyway.

weegiemum · 12/01/2025 20:31

First degree - geography then pgce and was a geog teacher for years

Then did a second degree in theology, and am now doing a postgrad diploma in counselling and psychotherapy.

Never a dull moment!

stayathomer · 12/01/2025 20:32

Biotechnology- retail (also an author!)

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