to ask if you ever actually use your degree?

[Objection]

I'm particularly interested to hear if those with fine art or psychology degrees are actually using them/working in that field? But all degrees really? Do you think your was worth the time and financial commitment?

Yes everyday. I am an academic in the field my undergraduate degree is in.

nope, can also confirm another posters comments - i too hae never been asked for it

doing an MA in the field i work in at the mo, that's useful

Yes, but it's taken some time to get here. I use my masters which was in international development. I work for two organisations in east Africa, an ngo promoting sustainable rural agricultural development (a mouthful!) and an ngo providing help, counselling and advocacy for survivors of rape, abuse or domestic violence. I get paid relative buttons but love my work, it's a competitive market so postgrad is pretty essential. I have done plenty of unrelated jobs to fund the vast amounts of unpaid experience you need these days too.

I knew someone who studied fine art, he now restores paintings at a posh place in west London.

I'm taking this thread as a sign I need to go to bed. My thought process on seeing the title:

'Dagger? What sort of people have daggers? Like, letter opener type daggers? I'd use one of those. What a weird thread. There can't be that many people with daggers. Should I get one? Where on earth from, anyway? Do they have dagger shops? Oh. Not dagger. Degree. Um...'

I ended up dropping out of my photography degree a few months in as I realised I wasn't talented enough to work in the field I wanted to & the only way to make. Living would've been to be a wedding photographer :(

I now work in finance & working towards my professional accountancy qualification. I wish I'd realised sooner you can be a fully qualified accountant without a degree as I'd be further ahead right now. I'd say most people I work with aren't grads but are fully qualified accountants. Out of the grads I'd say only about 1/2 did a degree that's actually relevant, the rest still have to take the same exams as me.

I did a Modern Languages degree and an MBA and I use skills every day that were fostered during my education. However, many years down the line, I like to think I have built on those skills and have developed some of them way beyond what I learned as a student.

The older I get the more I realise that the really important skill to acquire is the confidence to teach yourself.

Can I ask, why so many of you studied Psychology? That is so interesting. Did we, as children of the 80's/90's suddenly want to study this? It just seems a bit over subscribed???

I think some sorts of graduates are over-represented on MN: psychology, law...

The nature if the forum means it is popular with certain personality types.

I have a fine art degree & a psychology degree & I only use the psychology degree in my job. I sometimes feel that I learned a great deal more throughout my fine art degree though.

I have a degree in law and another on English Literature.

And whilst I'm not often called upon to use my knowledge of rollover relief or heat waves as imagery of moral decline, I do use the skills I picked up at university every single day; close reading, gimlet eyed analysis, over viewing etc.

I think honing these skills at a relatively young age really moulds your brain.

I didn't do psychology per se, but it did form part of my vocational degree which I use every day, although after 26+ years of working in the same profession, and with CPD, I have considerably built on what I learned in my degree!

I have a degree in History of Art and use it pretty much every day as I write an art and history blog and mooch around doing reviews of exhibitions and galleries etc. It's less useful for my main job as a novelist though - although I write historical fiction so it rears its head every now and again.

I didn't use it at all in the bad old days long ago when I worked for other people though.

I have economics, english literature and MA in fine art. They're all pretty useful. I didn't choose to go down the finance route, but I am glad I did it. Good to stretch the mind with maths and economics etc

Oh and my husband has a degree in Psychology and has never used it (he's worked in financial IT since leaving university), although he's quite fond of armchair diagnosis of mental conditions.

I never fail to be amazed and impressed at how broad the spectrum of mumsnetters is!

Subject - nope. Analytic skills developed - yes.

My undergrad degree on its own was pretty useless. I got a 2:1 from Cambridge but really struggled in that environment and felt a fish out of water most of the time I was there. It knocked my confidence so badly that I felt was incapable of doing anything but fairly menial jobs, usually minimum wage jobs.

In fact I would say my university experience put my life back years. I did do a Masters and am now two-thirds of the way (through the funding, not the actual work) of a PhD as a mature student. I am glad my life is back on track but still mourn that 'lost decade' between BA and Masters.

I did Geography as an undergrad then pgce in secondary teaching, so yes, I do use it (though I don't teach secondary any more I still use it for marking/tutoring jobs). I use the teaching more as I still teach, only now I teach adults in the voluntary sector.

I also have a second undergrad in theology. I use this quite a lot at church as I'm involved in teaching, preaching, leading worship etc.

Dh uses his too - same theology as me, in the same roles, and as he has an M.B.Ch.B and is a GP, he's been using that one all along.

One of my degrees is in a vocational subject, and I did work in a closely-related field before maternity leave and the changes that came with and after it. I'd love to get back to that field one day. The other degrees are in English literature: sadly, I don't "use" them beyond the standard analytical skills/ability to write well side of things. Loved studying for them, though...

I don't use mine in my job, but I wouldn't have my job if I didn't have a degree as it was required.

I still have an interest in my degree topic though so it's good outside of work anyway.

I did a history degree and then the graduate diploma in law.

I use both - for the history degree some of the subjects aren't directly applicable to my every day working life (I don't do much on 17th Century Venice, mores then pity) others are. The skills I acquired (as others have said, things like critical thinking, analysis, writing skills, research, being able to work independently) I use constantly. And it's pretty similar for the GDL (even though I'm not a practicing lawyer).

would I do it again? Totally. It was indulgent, to an extent, spending four years studying whatever I thought sounded interesting, but I don't think there's many other times in your life when you get to do that and I developed skills that have helped me in my career (including presentation skills, arguing and knowing a buttload of random facts about Russia).

I did a Modern Languages degree & have 2 vocational postgrad qualifications. I live in one of the countries whose languages I studied and I work in a very international environment, so yes, strictly speaking I use my degree all the time.
My goddaughter has a psychology degree and works as a psychologist, so she uses her degree as well.
In fact most people of my age use their degrees.

I don't use mine, if I could go back I'd do something vocational instead.

Fine Arts, which I taught for years in schools, and now do my own work, hoping to sell it, so, yes, I've used my degree lots!

Degree in Social Policy & Administration (yawn!) Ive never used it, as went into the creative/arts field not so long after leaving Uni.