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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To have not used my degree for anything.

60 replies

Rockerchic · 28/06/2011 15:52

I'm not sure if I'm the only one but hearing on the news about university fees got me thinking about the debt I got into to get my degree in history.
At the time I wanted to be a teacher when I 1st started my degree, but when I completed and was in so much debt I took office jobs and I've never done anything with my degree. Is anyone out there the same?

OP posts:

Fizzylemonade · 28/06/2011 16:59

I have an english degree from many years ago, I never had a graduate job but did office jobs that I loved.

Dh has a degree in mechanical engineering, he got a job in IT, so he doesn't use his actual degree but got a graduate job.

I am a SAHM and have been for 7 years so definitely don't use my degree any more, except maybe with school projects

Riveninside · 28/06/2011 17:00

"Add message | Report | Message poster HappyMummyOfOne Tue 28-Jun-11 15:59:46
As long as you paid your student debt off who cares. If you havent, then yes YABU as you had the financial support and should pay it back."

Start thinking that way and older people and those with little chance of getti g a job will be excluded. Not something id like to see.

vickibee · 28/06/2011 17:07

i have a physics degree from the days when all was free. I taught the subject for 9 years and enjoyed doing so. left because of all the other stuff that went with it and now I am a boring bookeeper.
Doing a degree is not only about learning the academic subject -it is a life expereince and broadens your horizons etc choosing a degree soley on the job it gets you is wrong, no one will study the arts anymore

Dlamis · 28/06/2011 17:17

I have a physics degree too vicki :) although I've never used it ( not for want of trying though :( )

I also worked in offices and factories. The plan was to do something/anything to pay of the debts till i found something i could use the degree for but it never happened.

However since i met dh while studying I have absolutely no regrets . Plus it was also a valuable experience.

purplepidjin · 28/06/2011 17:18

I have a music degree and a PGCert in English.

I work in care and make barely above minimum wage.

I don't foresee ever earning enough to do more than pay the mortgage and feed myself

LRDTheFeministNutcase · 28/06/2011 17:26

I needed to do my degree to work out what I wanted to do. No way was I mature enough at 18 to have worked that out without more study. In retrospect, I didn't do the most useful undergraduate degree to prepare me for what I'm doing now, but I'm glad I got the wider experience.

Thinking all higher education should be targeted to a job description is stupid, imo.

LRDTheFeministNutcase · 28/06/2011 17:28

If the only people who did degrees were those who, at age 18, felt dead sure they would use those subjects, we'd be going to hell in a handcart. Who on earth wants a cocksure 18-year-old to be making those kinds of decisions?!

MoreBeta · 28/06/2011 17:29

I never used my degree for anything either. Surely not many people do a job that directly uses their first degree except doctors, vets, lawyers, etc?

Rowgtfc72 · 28/06/2011 17:39

I got a degree in English Lit in 1990 after changing from a teaching degree when I realised it wasn't for me . Since then I've only had factory jobs and never earned enough to pay back my student loan. However, I have worke. University made me the person I am today and gave me the confidence to do things I would have never done if I hadn't gone. You can't put a price on that sort of thing.

YankNCock · 28/06/2011 17:47

I have a degree in psychology, nearly finished a master's in public health (but moved here instead). I work in a pub, where I note daily the signs of substance abuse and addiction. Does that count as using my degree?

vickibee · 28/06/2011 19:09

I am really interested in Greek Mythology and would love to study Classics purely from an enjoyment POV - don't think you could do much jobwise

Bonsoir · 28/06/2011 19:32

MoreBeta - my first degree was in Modern Languages (French and Spanish) and I can assure you that my French is absolutely invaluable on a daily basis!

I must admit, however, that I have progressed a great deal in my understanding of French language and culture since university.

WhoAteMySnickers · 28/06/2011 19:39

I have an unused law degree, though elements of it have helped me to get to where I am now. I realized almost as soon as I started that law wasn't for me and wish I'd have had the balls to change my course, I often wonder what I'd be doing now instead.

Original poster

Rockerchic · 28/06/2011 19:45

I was the same I enjoyed modern world history but I really wished I was studying something else in the end, but I saw it through and I still love history but not as a career, I'll stick to gems instead.

OP posts:

Grumpystiltskin · 28/06/2011 20:26

When anyone complains there aren't enough NHS dentists, the first cry is usually "The tax payer paid for your training so you should all be forced to work for the NHS for 5 years". Why should this public sector handcuff not be applied to everyone else who had a tax payer subsidised education?

I have paid off my £30k student loan.

Just some musings

stuffthenonsense · 28/06/2011 20:28

whilst i have every sympathy for those who CANNOT find a job/work due to caring for family/sick etc. i do get annoyed when i hear of people who CHOOSE to be in a situation where they are not repaying their loans.....and its not just the loans, university education has so far been heavily subsidised, an amount that most people see as an investment toward society, not a three year subsidised jolly.

(sorry for little rant, i am annoyed at FOUR family members who have done just that grrr)

so actually, i dont know if YABU or not, depends where you fit in my mind.

Oblomov · 28/06/2011 20:28

My BA in Russian and my MA in Russian Literature , were completely pointless. I did them because I loved it. No carrer in mind. I regret thta. I wish I had been given some decent carrer advice, or atleast myself had the forethought tho think about what I was going to do.
Only good thing was that I owed nothing. I was lucky enough ( and am grateful) had been given a grant, took no student loans and had 3 part time jobs all the way through my 6 years of unis. So atleast it cost me nothing.

Bonsoir · 29/06/2011 07:53

I think that there is a lot of confusion in the "education system" (school and university) about "education" versus "training". British universities are traditionally about education, in the main. Even so-called vocational degrees are only part of the training people require to actually qualify for a profession.

Both education (broadening the mind and developing general analytical skills) and training (developing expertise in directly applicable specialist skills) are important, but we all need to be able to differentiate the two.

InWithTheITCrowd · 29/06/2011 08:16

Rockerchick - i didn't use my degree for years. Felt the same as you- that i'd wasted it doing jobs i could have got into without it. But i wouldn't have my current job ( which i love every single day( without my degree, and i was 34 when i was employed in this role. You may not use it now, but you might one day

InWithTheITCrowd · 29/06/2011 08:18

And also- a previous employer told me ( after i had left) that although my degree wasn't a requirement for that job at the time, i was the only graduate that applied in that wave, and it was a deciding factor. So it could be helping in an invisible way?

tyler80 · 29/06/2011 08:28

If I had my choices again I definitely wouldn't do the degree I did (biology) and I'm not certain I'd go to university at all.

I'm paying off my student loan but interest on it means it's growing almost as fast as I'm paying it back, at current projections I'll pay it off when I'm around 64!

helpmenow · 29/06/2011 09:04

University made me the person I am today and gave me the confidence to do things I would have never done if I hadn't gone. You can't put a price on that sort of thing. agreed.

I needed my degree to teach and the subject was what I taught. No longer teach and if I had paid for my degree I'd probably only have paid off a fraction of what it had cost- can't say it bothers me- I needed those years away from home and pre workplace to grow up.

nickelbabe · 29/06/2011 10:15

exactly Bonsoir - it's amazing how many people are shocked when they leave uni that they can't find a job in their field- the only ones who even stand a hope (in a non-vocational course) are those who have completed other training afterwards - and those who do PHDs etc, only ever seem to be able to get jobs in research and academia, which are notoriously low-paid.

I like the idea of dentists working for the NHS for a certain length of time, but not because "tax payers have paid for their training" but because I think it would be a valuable part of their training - making decisions based on cost, rather than going for the best solution because the payment is private.

MoreBeta · 29/06/2011 14:06

Far too many people go to university now. We need more people with technical skills and not degrees. University is about teaching the mind to think and not teaching a subject or particular piece of knowledge.

I never used my undergrad subject (biochemistry) in my first job which was moving oil around the world but was very glad I did it because it taught me ow to think critically, analyse informtion and present arguements. I use my MBA every day but it only taught me technical skills. I used my PhD to get a job in academic life but dont use it now at all.

Believe it or not I am going to do a 5 week pre course programme over the summer with a bunch of 19 yr olds just about to start on their undergrad degrees. I need the technical knowledge. Those undegrads will never be taught to think. It is just technical knowledge they will get over their 3 yr degree. They would be better off just working.

clit · 29/06/2011 14:27

YANBU.

I have a Drama degree

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