If you had your time again would you have done a different degree?

[malificent7]

I would. English. I was great at it at school (A*) gcse etc. Good degree but imo totally useless. No longer want to teach.
I was also good at science but found the maths component tricky. I wish id done something a bit more useful and scientific like radiography. I will prob go vack and study but i wish id done something more useful in the first place!

Anyone else?

I did Law and I very much enjoyed it. Qualified as a lawyer and spent my first few years in the profession.

I'm now studying a second degree to change careers. Frankly the money in law is crap and I hate the red tape, politics and constant drama.

I don't regret a minute of it but I'm glad I'm doing something else now I'm in my 30s.

Yes. I did English and in hindsight would have done psychology/ politics. Ultimately it probably would have made little difference to the career outcome but I would have enjoyed the course more. Loved my time at uni, hated the course.

Interesting question. I did my degree as a mature student. It started off as Biochemistry & Genetics but it turned into Molecular Biology (because it was a modular course & I wanted to do an Ethics module so I didn't have enough Biochemistry credits in the end). What I find slightly amusing about my course was that about half of the content was still unknown when I was 18.

Had I gone to uni at age 18 I would have done Chemistry (and probably concentrated on inorganic). I hated biology & dropped it as soon as I could, so genetics probably wouldn't have been an option back then.

If was was starting over, I think I'd still do Molecular Biology but I wouldn't do as much of the pure "classical" genetics, just concentrate on the molecular side.

I did Biotechnology. In hindsight I wish I'd done Biochemistry as I enjoyed that aspect of my course the most.
I did A level French against the advice of my school, who said Maths would have been a better option. I have to say my career has proved my school right - I think I've used my French a couple of times whereas I used Maths heavily for years and had to do a OU course to catch up.

I have a number of fantasy selves, and it's hard to say which is the path I really should have taken.

I did Law and liked quite a lot of it (criminal law, all that stuff about wills, even jurisprudence. I will still pontificate sonorously about the principles of natural justice if you get me in a certain mood). I haven't practised, but it seems to impress employers and it has proved quite useful to the jobs I've had. I've never earned vast amounts, but always enough to keep myself and I've done some interesting things.

I was discouraged from Medicine, and that's probably one of the things I regret the most. I think I would have been good at it. I'm not sorry that I avoided English Lit - while I love to read, I think having to stop and analyse things would have take a lot of the pleasure out of it. Archaeology - yes, I fancy myself with a trowel and have done an evening class and volunteered on a dig, but one glance at the average salary for field archaeologists made me think it's better as a hobby.

There are so many "sliding doors" moments, but the day you make your degree choice can be one of the more significant ones.

I read Philosophy and Psychology and loved it, would do it again. I work in a relevant field now (academia).
Would also quite happily have studied social anthropoloy, sociology, or linguistics.

But I am rather jealous of people with a MFL degree, I always intended to get fluent in a foreign language after the degree and have never quite managed it (yet). I occasionally find myself browsing the info for French and Spanish degrees with the OU.

I would definitely do something different or not even go to uni at all, but that's the benefit of hindsight!
I did a joint honours degree (English and another subject that was based an extracurricular activity I'd spent/wasted my teenage years on but felt I should plough on with it as I'd given so much time to it...). I realised early on I should have done another subject but stubbornly carried on. I struggled to get a grad job for a couple of years with an arts' degree, and I think the 2nd subject devalued the English half of my degree as it didn't fit with typical corporate backgrounds.
I eventually got a career in a completely unrelated field but wish I had done a course better suited to my personality etc.
Of course, it's difficult when you're 18 to know what will appeal as a job compared to what subjects you are good at and so often you get pushed down an academic rather than a vocational route.
Also, there is much more focus on getting work experience, mentors, internships and career insight that would help you out what you study to better use these days.

I had no idea what I wanted to do when I left school and didn't see the point in going to uni just for the sake of it so I didn't. I then decided later on what I want but waited until I had my children. I never did particularly well at school but have recently graduated with a first and was offered a job in the relevant field before even qualifying, amazing the difference it makes when you are motivated! I cannot see me ever regretting this, even if I end up hating the job eventually - I am incredibly proud of myself and uni has improved my confidence and communication skills immeasurably.

I did law but wish I'd done a more creative degree. That would have meant different A levels though too.

There are so many "sliding doors" moments, but the day you make your degree choice can be one of the more significant ones

So true. I'm trying to decide which discipline to go for in a second, vocational degree or whether to give it a miss and swerve away from health.

I did a History and Politics degree. I suppose practically speaking a more vocational degree would have been a much better option, maybe law. But I really enjoyed my degree so can't really say that I have any regrets.

Yes because Dentistry is too stressful and it's making me anxious.
I want out but can't because we need the money and I'm not trained for anything else.

I did a BA hons in Book Illustration. I'm one of the lucky ones and have made a very successful freelance career out of it and have done it full time for 15 years (22 years in total). However, I honestly don't think I needed a degree in it. No-one in publishing gives a shit about qualifications, just about the artwork.

I've been thinking a lot recently about my career choices. At one point I had a place at Sheffield Uni to study English (I changed last minute to art college). I think I really would have liked to do something with the Law, maybe even try for the Barr? Even now, I feel slightly unfulfilled. I work on my own all day and I never really get used to it.

No - I knew at the age of 9 I wanted to work in Computers and did a BSc / Ph.D in computer science and work in I.T. Security.

Love my career and the industry and am lucky that the money isn't bad, either.

No - I loved my degree subject Social Policy (comparative social and education policy) - really interesting and relevant to my job

I did maths and philosophy which is a genuinely fantastic combination and opens a lot of doors. The only better degree IMO would have been Physics and and Philosophy, which is the preserve of some of the most terrifyingly intelligent people I've ever met and way out of my league.

I don't think any of the maths graduates on this thread have regretted their choice have they?

YES! Teaching is soon very difficult and for the hours, the pay is crap.
I wish I had studied married a rich man and had lots of babies psychology and become a psychotherapist.

No, Law was brilliant. I adored every minute of it and use what I learned all the time (am a lawyer). I am very lucky indeed.