Are there any courses, you would actively discourage your dc doing at uni ?

[JennyTals]

Is anything a no go for you, or would you support any course

I would advise them to think very carefully before embarking on a joint degree of any sort. Really quiz the uni on how the combination of subjects works practically.

One of my DC did a Chemical Physics degree. Turned out the course was run by two different schools within the uni who barely acknowledged the other existed.

Every semester DC would have to spend a week sorting out timetable clashes then exam clashes. The workload was very heavy as each school added extra topics, labs etc ignoring that the other school had done the same.

I'd only discourage a course if there was a clear alternative to entering a particular career. For example, my friend didn't go to uni but got a job at an accountancy firm who trained her up. No need to get in debt with an accountancy degree (I don't know if that's still possible, this was decades ago).

You’re joking, right?

https://www.mastersofwine.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/imw_s2_exam_2022.pdf

This is just the ‘Master of Wine’ qualification exam, not a university setting, but as some idea of how much knowledge is required to pass.

I wouldn't recommend an Accountancy and Finance degree except for the professional exam exemptions it gives.

I've been an accountant for 35 years and don't think I have ever used a single syllable of my A&F degree.

Ours have talked to us about possible degree courses, a level choices etc
they are level headed about it all and we trust them

we don’t even know what jobs are going to be like in 10 years, with AI rapidly coming up the sidelines, so telling them to keep and open mind, be adaptable, enjoy learning, exploit all opportunities, which they do, and hopefully will continue

they are entering an uncertain world, youngsters mental health and pressure is huge, uni is vastly more expensive than it used to be, so building up resilience, social and emotional intelligence and keeping them calm and focused for exams overrides “future salary”

We want them to move about, take chances, make mistakes, not get tied down to a job, here, with a mortgage to pay in their 20s. They like learning, doing different things, exploring how far you can push ideas and theories, they are not same in same out day after day - but if that’s what they gave to do they will do it to the best of their abilities

it’s only on MN that money seems to matter above everything else
we’ve never had to say you are not doing that we like their ideas, passions, choices, we’ve given advice and the eldest took listened to us for his a level choices which was a new feeling!

maybe we have been lucky, or maybe our guidance has had more influenced than they let on, but so far so good, their university plan seems decent (eldest just doing GCSEs so it’s far from set in stone)

they a growing into decent, hardworking, smart, caring, strong young gentlemen who love others around them succeeding because if everyone’s bar is raised it’s raised for all if they can’t find a way to enjoy their adulthood then fuck knows what the world will look like

we are raising people who will be adults soon and make decisions regardless of our preferences- as it should be - did everyone do what their parents wanted?

one step at a time - their life their decisions

'I'm never keen on calling degrees Mickey Mouse. There's a lot of ignorance about other subjects. To study in depth, with independence, research and critical thinking is a fantastic thing'.

This. Wine-tasting programmes presumably include a critical engagement in how wine developed as a social drink historically; its business, advertising, pricing, its promotion in societal contexts - and with this latter, how government health promotion messages may impact its sales. I'd assume it looks at quality and its production, variation in its chemical make-up; its use across different countries and cultures. Pretty sure it's not all about sitting there quaffing huge amounts of alcohol.

Someone my DS knew at university has just got a role within an accountancy firm. It is a position that doesn’t require a degree as they provide the training. One the one hand you could think the time and money he spent on his maths degree at an RG university was a waste of time. On the other hand, he got the job having probably beaten a lot of other candidates.

I agree with that. My son did "financial maths" which was a combo between the Maths, economics and business departments and he had an absolute nightmare, not just with clashing lectures/seminars/tutorials, but also administrative cock ups as the departments just didn't communicate with each other.

He also said he never felt he "belonged" to any department when it came to socialising with course mates etc as most of the others were doing the "rounds" of the same lectures/seminars/tutorials so got to know each other pretty quickly, but he was dipping in and out of what he regarded as "other peoples'" lectures so was often on his own when everyone else in the room all seemed to know each other, came in and out in their own groups etc.

Joints and combined degrees sound really good in theory, but do have practical problems. One of his flat mates did Natural Sciences which is another "mix and match" between different departments and he hated it too for the same reasons.

Criminology seems to be a popular degree to do at the moment. However, if you join the police force, you can do a degree whilst working.

None of the people I know who did an acting or musical theatre degree have ended up in the profession.

A business degree graduate I know ended up doing an accountancy apprenticeship, but entering it at school leavers level. Business studies does seem to be another one of those degrees that are a jack of all trade, but master of none.

A friends daughter did an osteopathy degree. All her student friends got good jobs afterwards.

I would discourage all types of humanities' degree at the moment. In 10 years it will be totally useless with AI and all the automation. Also, there are so many threads even on this forum started by desperate parents whose kids who graduated from some humanitites' specialty can't find any job at all even now. I'd encourage my kids to study STEM, accounting, medicine, engineering, robotics, architecture, finance, etc. Good money and future settled - no financial worries at least.

media studies and any degree that isn't part of a career plan. A degree is a means to an end. It helps a lot to have thought about what the end is to avoid wasting 3 years. The end goal may change but all students should have one.

Plumpton College has a BSC in Viticulture & Oenology. Looks quite interesting. There is a Compulsory module on Applied Wine Sensory Evaluation.

Marketing or communications. In my whole career I never encountered anyone with a marketing career. Everyone in senior positions, including myself, had degrees in things like Economics, English, History etc. It wouldn’t put me off a candidate if they had a marketing degree, but it wouldn’t make me consider them anymore favourably either so you’ve shut a lot of doors by choosing to study that. It’s very much something you learn on the job and the industry landscape changes constantly.

Ditto Business Studies.

I think as parents we tend to be out of date.

media studies - every company now uses social media so it’s prob more useful than most. My only concern would be how up to date it is.

wine - hospitality is a massive job area - you could go to work in high end hotels, restaurants and cruise ships etc as well as as a supermarket buyer.

drama - hugely transferable skills even if you don’t work as actor. Marketing and PR departments are full of actors as they have the people and presentation skills.

the real question is if the course itself is well taught and up to date. Some of the curriculums my kids looked at were so old fashioned. They really do need to read all the info before they apply

Humanities.

At 9k plus living expenses I would discourage most mediocre courses at mediocre universities eg. literature, anything fashion or arts (unless DC has exceptional talent), history, some sciences with questionable focus.
Personally I would look at it case by case.
It's the job prospects afterwards that would concern me.

Sociology, even our lecturer said unless you want to end up working customer service or teaching it it's not taken very seriously.

Literature too, everyone who studied it ended up working in bookshops on the till and dreaming they would be a writer.

Our local university runs the epitome of mickey mouse degrees in theme park management (or Visitor Attraction & Resort Management to give it it's full title). Graduate outcomes are really good. Some do go and work for the mouse on graduation!

But basically the degree began when a local theme park approached the university as they had identified a gap in skills/training for it's work force. They offer 15 weeks PAID placements as part of the course.

A friends son is doing a degree in patisserie. He is very talented but the degree is being undertaken at a specialist catering college. Many of these previous vocational courses are being changed to degrees so that students can get the funding.

Before we get too down on Humanities degrees, DD graduated in the summer from a good RG uni with a History degree, and is working as a graduate project manager for an international print and digital media company.

Their department took on 3 graduates, 1 has a masters in marketing from an ex-Poly, and the other has a law degree from a good university.

FFS. I always come on these threads to search for the inevitable "sociology" comment. Was it a sociology lecturer at from a respected course that made that comment? I suspect not.

Me and my husband both went to a college turned uni. I’ve taken time off to raise our family but my husband hadn’t had a day out of work since graduation (almost 30 years ago). As far as I can tell, that’s been the case for the vast majority of our cohort.

I did archeology and most of us worked in a related field. One girl in my year went to work for the UN.
Im not sure it would be the same 30 years later though, the opportunities aren’t there.

Wasn't Bath a college in the 60s? Plateglass university or something. It's quite well respected as a university now. I know a lot of kids want to go there and need good grades to do so

I wouldn't be crazy about a drama degree at a normal average uni. If they could get into Lamda, Rada, Guildhall etc then fair enough to do drama. But I fear it wouldn't be useful if not a very prestigious drama school.
I guess I'd want them to get a 2.1 or above, so it would want to be a subject I thought they were good at. If they were very bright and I'd sent them to private school at massive expense I suppose I would want them to go somewhere with a good rep. Maybe not Oxbridge but I wouldn't be pushing for Roehampton or Bradford. If they weren't that academic I'd rather they went into apprenticeship or got a job tbh.