AIBU to think a biology and psychology degree is a bit pointless?

[DallieO]

Hiya,

DD is off to uni in Sep. going to study a joint honours degree (biology and psychology) she couldn't decide on if she wants to work with people or animals

I don't really get how it can lead to a career? Surely she will have to do a masters now? So she can specialise??

I don't get it. What kind of jobs are there for that degree? I'm a bit worried because obviously is expensive, etc. etc.

Well the joint degree works well with working people so she has that covered. If you aspire for her to enter a "profession" immediately after studying then yes, some require a degree in the topic first. Others do not. But I rate those two topics quite highly so I would worry less about the topic and make sure that its a decent university and that she comes out with at least a 2:1 with practical experience through relevent-to-career summer jobs and voluntary experience.

If she wants a job in specifically biology or psychology she'd almost certainly need to do a post grad either way,

PLus you are forgetting that there are a lot of transferrable skills. When I was studying science a lot of the graduates went into other areas. Some into banking graduate schemes. A good number of graduates never actually use their degree subject after graduating. However, not sure what the modern numbers for this are but they will be available if you hunt them out.

There is nothing worse than studying a degree that your heart is not in. Plus you are much more likely to drop out if you do.

YABU.

Hmm, how are masters funded? I don't know I've just never really had any experience of this. 2 older dc did degrees and then went into a job (nurse, radiographer)

Well after first year she could drop one subject and just focus on the other. First year doesn't count towards your grade.

I think joint masters are good things. I think the English system should be more like Scotland where they study three subjects/modules in first year then specialise later on.

With respect I think you're being pretty narrow minded. I had friends who did that combination. One is a published researcher with PhD and the other is a secondary school teacher. I did psychology and have been anything from a research executive in FMCG companies to a project manager in the public sector. It's a joint honours with a lot of synergy and certainly psychology in my experience opens up a whole world of careers. Extra study along the way at my own choice.

Mate, so many jobs just require a degree - any degree - nearly all of the big graduate schemes. Unless of course, you are going into a technical role.

What do you out of interest? You sound very out of touch with the way that graduate recruitment works in 2017, so probably not in the best position to be advising.

A bit of light reading:

www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/biology

www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/psychology

Lists include:

commercial and industrial companies
financial organisations
human resources departments
local and national government
marketing companies
the media
the National Health Service
police forces, the National Probation Service and prisons
schools, sixth form colleges and colleges of further education
social services.

This is the unintended cost of tuition fees. If no one studies anything for the love of it in favour of vocational courses, the knowledge will just die out.

A good degree from a good institution has value in itself.

the combination I would think fairly common it sounds similar to a bachelors of science in psychology which has a heavy biology component.

with so many people taking university degrees a masters becomes more valuable anyway.

Is it accredited by the BPS in case she wants a psychology career? If yes, then it sounds great. If no, then question whether it is a good use of time - it's hard to start a career in psychology without graduate basis for chartership.

If it's from a good university and she gets a solid result, then it sounds like a perfectly good degree to me. There is merit in "traditional" subjects.

Is it accredited by the BPS in case she wants a psychology career? If yes, then it sounds great. If no, then question whether it is a good use of time - it's hard to start a career in psychology without graduate basis for chartership.

This is good advice, because if she wanted to specialise in psychology, she'd then need to do a Conversion course to satisfy BPS requirements, and a lot of these courses are Masters in themselves.

I did an English Literature degree and my brother did a History degree and we both work in insurance (no prior family connection)!

What's important is that she enjoys it and gets a good grade and transferable skills

Which university is it? Makes a difference if it is Cambridge or the University of Neasdon

This is the exact degree a friend of mine studied.

She is now doing a MSc in Neuroscience.

If they're still there in a few years time, there are now non-means-tested postgraduate loans that cover the cost of an MA.

If she does law after and applies soon enough (a lot of people don't get on with it anythnig like early enough in terms of work experience, applying for vacation placements etc - law firms recruit at least 2 years in advance) then the law firm if she has good grades and she gets a place will pay her post grad fees over the 2 years and an allowance. This is what happened with my daughter. However you cannot just sit there until graduation and then apply. It is a process you need to start early on. I don't know much about joint honours in terms of how competitive it is, what grades you need as my children have done one subject.

Also all those companies which have graduate recruitment programms from the big companies like BT and shell to the advertising agencies and accountancy firms recruit from university. She might want to consider being a patent attorney - they are not lawyers but the have science degrees and write patents for inventions.

Sorry it'd be an MSc wouldn't it? I'm applying for my MA at the moment so brain full of acronyms

Most people don't go into jobs related to their degree. The degree itself is what matters to employers. However that sounds like one of the more useful degrees.

Most of the biology and psychology graduates I know move into banking, realise by 30 that they aren't as promotable as those who studied maths/business/economics, then go into academia. A fair few are now lecturers at Oxbridge. It's not a route I would want my kids to move into, but it's still a valid career option.

Sorry Nutty I did laugh at your post. It seems more than likely a masters will be necessary to progress in either field but tbh that would be the case with single honours too.

My experience with dp is different to nutty his degree in biochemistry has made him more promotable in his world of procurement - he stands out from a sea of business degrees.

Op your dd needs to get the answers to these questions from the institution. What have previous graduates done?

I don't think you have unreasonable to ask these questions despite some of the answers you have received here!